“What we have been talking about is the establishment of genuine and stable democracies in Africa, in which the systems of governance will flourish because they derive their authority and legitimacy from the will of the people”, Mbeki said in one of his speeches.

This part also has a chapter called Bound by a Common Destiny which highlights the importance of unity in Africa because of the existence of one common goal – development of the continent so that Africa catches up with the rest of the world. Mbeki also emphasised the importance of unity in South Africa to enhance recovery from the apartheid era.

The General section, the last part of the book has various chapters which include The Emancipation of Women where Mbeki highlighted that “The progress we make towards the attainment of a democratic society can only have full and deeper meaning if it is accompanied by significant progress in the struggle for the emancipation of women.”

He added that his belief is that South Africa and the rest of Africa should accept the proposition that success must be measured by advances made in the struggle for a non-sexist society.”

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The book, Africa: The time has come presents Thabo Mbeki from his childhood political consciousness to his present status as a renowned politician, strategist, philosopher, poet and visionary.

Mbeki is also said to have used the time he was in the United Kingdom to try and find ways for the liberation of the South African people. It is also during this time that he managed to present a speech on behalf of his father who was one of the Rivonia trialists who were later sentenced to death for their fight against apartheid.

“The years that Mbeki spent in the United Kingdom were not only devoted to the attainment of knowledge, but also to the pursuit of the struggle to free his people. He was active in the effort to build the worldwide anticiapartheid movement, occupying positions of leadership among South African youth and students in exile and gaining exposure to other countries, especially in Europe, as well as the world student movement, which took him to cities such as Oslo, Moscow, Sofia, Ulan Bator, Algiers and Khartoum”, the book says.

The Prologue, gives the reader an insight of Mbeki’s role in politics with special attention to South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC). It gives a cross-section of the events in which Mbeki took part such as his involvement in the signing of the document ‘African Claims” which is the African version of the Atlantic Charter in 1943. He also played an important role in a national conference called by African ministers in 1957.

“The challenge that lies ahead of us is to achieve reconciliation between the former oppressor and the formerly oppressed, between black and white, between rich and poor (who, in our own conditions, are also described by colour), between men and women, the young and the old, the able and the disabled”, he said.

The book demonstrates the philosophical side of Mbeki in its third part called Transition, Strategy and Priorities. In this part, it is highlighted that Mbeki was aware of the fact that change could not take place overnight but could only be achieved over time. There is also a clear outline of the roles of the specific components of the society such as media, industry and the rest of the community.

In a section on South Africa, Africa and the world, the book highlights that the time for Africa to act has come because Africans can no longer blame the colonialists since they have left the continent. It is now up to Africans to make the continent a better place to live. It outlines the specific challenges that Africa has to face which include developing the continent’s economy.

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