Publications
Partners
PRESIDENT FW De Klerk’s February 2 1990 speech, which paved the way for a non-racial South Africa, marked a stunning turnaround for a cautious president and most strikingly for a public highly galvanised by the thought of living in a free country.
I was a young student at the University of the Western Cape at the time and members of Umkhonto we Sizwe who studied at the university started promising us all sorts of positive things about the new, non-racial South Africa.
Some of them went on to become influential members in the public sector, including directors general, MECs and provincial premiers. They became responsible for how the country is now governed.
Nelson Mandela, whose special generosity of spirit helped prevent racial conflict, later helped create a rainbow nation that would be an inspiration for the rest of Africa four years later in the first all-race elections.
However, Mandela and his cohorts could hardly have imagined that 20 years down the line, public opinion would be against them.
Talk about plunging from heroes to villains.
This is in view of the fact that in the past 12 or so years, Africa north of the Limpopo River has seen gross domestic product growth rates hovering at around 6% to 7% while South Africa’s GDP has been less than 2%.
We are told that the world’s three influential credit rating agencies, Fitch, Standard and Poor's and Moody's, could soon slap South Africa with junk status rating because of power utility Eskom’s woes, among other things.
South Africa learnt this week that business confidence has registered its slowest start for the year in nearly two decades. According to chief economist at Econometrix, Dr Azar Jammine, this has hit the country’s business confidence badly.
Education is in a shameful state: a high percentage of university students do not graduate and are either financially or academically excluded.
Schools, which have been there for many decades, are now being closed down in the country’s townships because not many pupils enrol there any more. Teachers are the most disgruntled professionals in the country. Many of them are resigning and cashing in their retirement money.
The jobless rate, formally hovering at 25%, is perhaps closer to 40%, according to some experts. It is understood that nearly half of South Africa’s youth has no jobs.
Disparity among the rich and poor has grown since South Africa held its first all race-elections. It is believed that this inequality is among the world's largest.
Pathetic management
From the time Mandela stepped down 15 years ago and his successor Thabo Mbeki was recalled in 2008, the country has been pathetically managed.
President Jacob Zuma came to power with a flawed reputation, having had a series of encounters with the law of the land for alleged corruption and alleged rape.
Zuma has cruised along and wasted time, showing no foresight or firm leadership.
And it gets worse.
He has dismally failed to get rid of the blight of corruption. His party, the ruling ANC, has on several occasions tried to emasculate the courts, the press, law enforcers and the prosecuting authorities.
As the country celebrates 20 years of the unbanning of all political parties, South Africans must bear in mind that some things have become worse in the country they so much love.
I was a young student at the University of the Western Cape at the time and members of Umkhonto we Sizwe who studied at the university started promising us all sorts of positive things about the new, non-racial South Africa.
Some of them went on to become influential members in the public sector, including directors general, MECs and provincial premiers. They became responsible for how the country is now governed.
Nelson Mandela, whose special generosity of spirit helped prevent racial conflict, later helped create a rainbow nation that would be an inspiration for the rest of Africa four years later in the first all-race elections.
However, Mandela and his cohorts could hardly have imagined that 20 years down the line, public opinion would be against them.
Talk about plunging from heroes to villains.
This is in view of the fact that in the past 12 or so years, Africa north of the Limpopo River has seen gross domestic product growth rates hovering at around 6% to 7% while South Africa’s GDP has been less than 2%.
We are told that the world’s three influential credit rating agencies, Fitch, Standard and Poor's and Moody's, could soon slap South Africa with junk status rating because of power utility Eskom’s woes, among other things.
South Africa learnt this week that business confidence has registered its slowest start for the year in nearly two decades. According to chief economist at Econometrix, Dr Azar Jammine, this has hit the country’s business confidence badly.
Education is in a shameful state: a high percentage of university students do not graduate and are either financially or academically excluded.
Schools, which have been there for many decades, are now being closed down in the country’s townships because not many pupils enrol there any more. Teachers are the most disgruntled professionals in the country. Many of them are resigning and cashing in their retirement money.
The jobless rate, formally hovering at 25%, is perhaps closer to 40%, according to some experts. It is understood that nearly half of South Africa’s youth has no jobs.
Disparity among the rich and poor has grown since South Africa held its first all race-elections. It is believed that this inequality is among the world's largest.
Pathetic management
From the time Mandela stepped down 15 years ago and his successor Thabo Mbeki was recalled in 2008, the country has been pathetically managed.
President Jacob Zuma came to power with a flawed reputation, having had a series of encounters with the law of the land for alleged corruption and alleged rape.
Zuma has cruised along and wasted time, showing no foresight or firm leadership.
And it gets worse.
He has dismally failed to get rid of the blight of corruption. His party, the ruling ANC, has on several occasions tried to emasculate the courts, the press, law enforcers and the prosecuting authorities.
As the country celebrates 20 years of the unbanning of all political parties, South Africans must bear in mind that some things have become worse in the country they so much love.
