South Africa awaits Mbeki speech

Mbeki faces calls for a tougher stance on Zimbabwe

		By Barnaby Phillips BBC South Africa Correspondent

The South African President, Thabo Mbeki, will outline his vision of South Africa's future in today's State of the Nation address at the annual state opening of parliament in Cape Town.

It comes at a time of growing concern about the crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe and of opposition to the president's policies on Aids.

The newspapers here are calling for President Mbeki to get tough on Zimbabwe and for him to change his policies on Aids.

On both fronts he is likely to disappoint.

The South African government will send observers to next month's Zimbabwean elections but says it has an open mind on how those elections will be conducted.

Unemployment pressure

At home, Aids activists want the president to back down on his refusal to make anti-retroviral drugs widely available.

He is unlikely to do so in such a high-profile speech.

President Mbeki is more comfortable talking about the economy.

Despite modest economic growth, the unemployment rate is rising and the government is under pressure to create jobs.

As long as millions of people are without work, President Mbeki cannot realise his dream of overcoming inequalities inherited from the apartheid years.