The South African government has rejected a warning by the United Nations that creating refugee camps would be a mistake. "Just because something is a mistake, is that a reason not to try?" said a spokesperson at Luthuli House. "This government has a long and proud history of going ahead with plans that were clearly mistakes, and has it cost us votes? No."

According to spokesperson Beowulf Ngema, the ANC and its voters had never shied away from potential catastrophes "just because some so-called expert says it's going to end in disaster".

"Our government has established an almost unrivalled legacy for embracing unpopular policies, whether we are talking about the so-called Aids malnutrition syndrome that has killed so many dozens of our people, or our efforts to ease the transition between Robert Mugabe's seventh and eight terms in office.

"And our voters have stood by us all the way."

He said he believed that the ANC's electorate had also embraced the party's approach to potentially disastrous long-term projects.

"In every election since 1994 our numbers have swelled. This is because the masses have embraced our modern political ubuntu, which roughly translated means 'I am possibly making a big mistake because you are possibly making a big mistake, but if we both make a big mistake we can blame the Democratic Alliance and Buthelezi.'

"Our voters are not fools. They know that continuing to give us power without accountability is a mistake, that we're just in it for the money and will almost certainly screw them over as soon as we've secured our pensions; but they are willing to be stakeholders in our risk-taking vision."

He also urged South Africans to "look on the bright side" of the crisis, saying that refugee camps might provide the country with a solution to its electricity shortage.

"The generating potential of 50 000 refugees running like mad on treadmills is immense," said Ngema. "And it's not like they've got anything else to do, you know?

"If they slow down, you deport them. If they produce more power than you need, you export it to Zimbabwe, where it is transmitted via police electrodes directly into the genitalia of MDC supporters."

He said more power adhered to MDC genitalia would translate into more refugees, which in turn would result in more people on treadmills.

"It's what we call renewable energy," he said.

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