A work in progress: the new South Africa's first fifteen years

Inroads: A Journal of Opinion, Summer-Fall, 2008 by Robert Cohen

It is almost 15 years since the African National Congress took power in South Africa--a good time to assess what has been accomplished, what has not been accomplished and what just might be accomplished. Here I follow these paths through several territories: political reform; economic policy; health, especially the HIV-AIDS pandemic; housing; crime and corruption; and foreign policy. Though hardly definitive, these fields together provide an overview of a remarkable story.

In a sense, it is a blend of two stories. On the one hand there is the ANC inspirational version: the transformation of a society historically based on systemic race-driven discrimination that made South Africa a pariah among nations, a democratic revolution that brought the excluded majority to power within the framework of a progressive constitution. And indeed, many positive changes have taken place for which South Africans can rightly be very proud. But the second story is one of disappointments. Many South Africans are angry and feel betrayed by the failures of the new government. Overall, we get a picture of a democracy that is still fragile, sometimes messy, yet all in all a potential vehicle for peaceful social change for citizens willing to exercise their prerogatives.

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The political transformation

On April 27, 1994, all South Africans were able to vote for the first time. Overwhelmingly, they endorsed the multiracial Government of National Unity led by Nelson Mandela. The new nation of South Africa was born. Years of apartheid and brutal social and economic injustice were behind it. Under the new interim constitution, the country was embarking, full of hope, on an era of political, social and economic development.

Election day in South Africa ended a tragic history of colonial rule stretching back to 1652. It happened because both Nelson Mandela, his ANC having consolidated mass support, and outgoing President Frederik de Klerk knew that neither side could impose its will by force. Beyond seeking to avert a terrible bloodbath, they could see that international sanctions were draining the economy and the business community was losing confidence.

During the negotiations leading up to the elections, Mandela was able to prevail on the principles of elections based on one person one vote, decisions in cabinet to be taken with a simple majority of 50 per cent plus one, and a Bill of Rights entrenching civil liberties in a permanent constitution still to be drafted. To allay fears in the White community, the Bill of Rights entrenched property rights, established a power-sharing arrangement for five years and guaranteed employment or retirement compensation to the police, military and civil servants. Although there would be no general amnesty, there would also be no "Nuremburg-style" trials. Instead, there would be a Truth and Reconciliation Commission: those who told the truth about their crimes, so that victims' families could come to terms with the loss of their loved ones, could apply for amnesty.

Mandela's cabinet included Blacks, Indians, Coloureds, Muslims, Christians and Jews--in marked departure from the Afrikaner apartheid governments that had ruled South Africa since 1948. De Klerk's National Party held five cabinet positions, including his own as one of two Deputy Presidents. Chief Mongosuthu Buthelezi's Inthaka Freedom Party (IFP) had been put on the ballot at the last minute and he was made Minister of Home Affairs. Thabo Mbeki, ANC Deputy President (and eventually Mandela's successor), assumed the de facto position of prime minister with a key role in running the day-to-day business of government.

ANC cadres shared the cabinet table with people who would have had--indeed did have--them arrested for their political activities. Mandela at age 71 had walked out to freedom on February 11, 1990, after spending 27 years in prison. On that day he addressed a jubilant gathering in Cape Town: "I stand before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you the people. Your timeless and heroic struggles have made it possible for me to be here today. I therefore place the remaining years of my life in your hands." Four years later they made him their president.

Managing the economy

Nelson Mandela knew that there would be scepticism about the ANC's capacity to assume the task of managing the economy, and its readiness to do so was a major concern for him. The scepticism was driven by sometimes racist anxieties in the domestic and international business communities that the ANC would seek to redress the injustices of apartheid with state-imposed quick fixes that would undermine financial stability.

The fundamental issue then, as it still is today, was White domination of the South African economy, the enduring legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Blacks could not own real estate throughout most of the 20th century, and were thus denied access to a key generator of assets that middle-class families pass on from one generation to another. It was difficult to own businesses, let alone trade in the White areas, which made up 87 per cent of the country. Pass laws and designated areas had been devised to provide cheap labour for the mines and farms; laws restricted access to skilled jobs and professions; the education system deliberately prepared Blacks for low-skilled jobs. Poor transportation and access to housing, water and electricity made daily life a struggle for survival.