Jacob Zuma has become South Africa’s fourth President since apartheid was dismantled in 1994. He is an interesting character, and someone who is not exactly the country’s most pure citizen. But the challenge he faces is not really about him proving his worth as a law abiding citizen. It is more about what he and the African National Congress (ANC) are going to do about the sorry state South Africa’s black majority still find themselves in long after Nelson Mandela has left the President’s office.
Apartheid was a system that did nothing for the black majority, so it was logical to think that when a black President took the reigns, things would get better. Ok, it was never going to happen overnight, but 15 years? In some cases, things are no different at all.
New estimates of poverty show that the proportion of people living in poverty in South Africa has not changed significantly between 1996 and 2001. However, those households living in poverty have sunk deeper into poverty and the gap between rich and poor has widened.
What has happened since apartheid is some black South Africans have had a taste of the good life and they like it. It is akin to denying a kid entry into the candy shop and when he finally gets to go inside, he becomes a glutton and forgets about all the other kids that still don’t have that same access. Those who have been able to have, have grabbed it with both hands and no longer is South Africa divided on racial lines, but on class lines. A classic case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. South Africa has become like every other country in the modern world. It promised so much, but has delivered so little.
Former President Thabo Mbeki suffered from an affliction that befalls most world leaders. He was handpicked by Nelson Mandela, and we all thought that he would continue the dream of turning South Africa into a truly functioning African nation rising from the ashes of discrimination. But he was a leader out of touch with his people, totally unaware of their plight, and incapable of understanding what problems they faced. His complete lack of basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS in a continent where it is on the rise, bordered on negligence, not to mention his appalling handling of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. This last incident proved to the world that he was a failed leader, not just to his own people, but to the African continent as a whole.
But Jacob Zuma needs to demonstrate that he is far more effective than Mbeki. He comes across as a good time boy who seems not to have a good grasp of the issues at hand. Already he is blaming the ‘global economic downturn’ as a way of saying he can’t do things. Plus, he has admitted to having unprotected sex with a HIV+ woman, and ‘had a shower after’ to stop infection. Oh dear. Not another Mbeki.
When Nelson Mandela made his speech at the beginning of his historic Presidency he had this to say:
We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity–a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/mandela.html
We have to ask ourselves, as does Jacob Zuma have to ask himself, has this dream of Mandela’s been realised, or were they words that sounded good at the time, but have paled into insignificance. Zuma needs to do so many things, but I believe he has a ‘top three’.
1. Put in place some firm policies to genuinely alleviate the suffering of the poor who have not moved one inch since apartheid.
2. Educate the country (and himself) much more on HIV infection and be the leader in Africa on how to stop the spread of this disease which kills millions of Africans each year.
3. Be a true leader who will stand up to Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and stop the humanitarian crisis that occurs there. Poverty in South Africa will only worsen as thousands of Zimbabweans flee over the border. Sorting Zimbabwe can only benefit South Africa.
Let me leave you with some more of Mandela’s famous words. Let us hope true freedom will come to the poor in South Africa and true respect will finally be shown.
For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Enjoy your day
