Twenty years after Mandela's release, SA struggles

At times Madiba can be blamed for being too soft on those who richly deserved a scorn went unpunnished. Now, at a time when it's convenient for the same known culprits who got off scot-free, they give the majority of our people the middle-finger.

The progress is disappointingly slow. There was so much hope in 1994 but now there is much despair. Where is that next leader, that revolutionary. God help us if it's Malema. God help us all.

The ANC has abandoned the people. It speaks of BEE and AA but fails to educate the masses so that they are able to extricate themselves from poverty.

Without education there is no hope. Nothing else will make any difference. AA and BEE are smokescreens. The ANC now dines with whoever will fill their gravy-boat. And the voters just can't see the wood for the trees.

Worth noting that our economy was predicted to grow at 6%plus after 1994 but we've struggled to get over 3%.

Maybe the ANC isn't so special afterall?

if your attitude in genarally does not chage, in 10 years you will have an other zim.i used to lve in rhodesia+sa!!
I AM STILL A SA-FAN YOURS SICERELY G ROZH AUSTRIA

Ngoako. I've just read a very good letter written by a man from Botswana. He says that the Haiti earthquake has made him realise how little African countries do for their own people nevermind their black brother in times of need. He noted that all the rescuers were white, all the dog handlers were white, all the aid was donated by whites, all the doctors that came were white. His conclusion was that he hoped to see blacks arriving from Africa, he hoped to see black African rescuers but alas it didn't happen. He said that he never wants to hear another African complain about colonialist, imperial whites. He also wondered why black Africans always insult imperialist whites and yet when they arrive in their droves to help and rescue they are welcomed with open arms. He wondered why they could never tell their whites that they are grateful for their help but they don't need them. The good things about all of this is that there are many African blacks that are starting to see the same as this letter writer sees. The days of blaming whites, colonialism, imperialism etc are coming to an end as more and more blacks realise they are now free and realise their leaders are holding them back.

Yes,Zuma is right to say De Klerk did not do what he did because of change of heart but wrong to say it was because of the effectiness of the armed struggle.

Yes,the armed struggle was giving whites slleepless nights but they were prepared to fight it to the end than begging the ANC to end it.In fact the manner in which they returned back home so quick even before the ink dried shows that they were finish.It was the sport boycotts and economic sanctions that resulted into the De Klerk statement,finish and klaar!!!1

The progress is disappointingly slow:This is because we(South African) are not willing to work with the GOV to help fast track the prossess of economic development.How many companies do gladly take part in the skills tranfer programmes?

The develepment of our Country is not only on the shoulders our GOV but on the rest of US as SA citizens.Too many crimes are committed daily in the business circle and goes unpublished but we never stop hear about how corrupt our officials are.

By not willing to tranfer skill is a crime on tis own and it doesa hugh dent onthe develpment of our country.BEE/AA is a very good initiative and will only succeed if the all the intended role players do take their part in the game.

Tiger...BS.
There were lots of Black people that assisted Heiti, from South Africa to America.... Gift of the Givers for example is not white. In the SA rescue team there were black people. The biggest online fund raiser was done by a black person (even crashed the net as a result of volumes of contributors).

So you talking racist SH$T....

Heiti was the first black country to get independence in 1804, since then the white countries have made sure it starv with their sanctions. And only now the G7 is cancelling their dedts, who owes who? They should be reversing the debt cause they owe Heiti more.....

Former pres of Heiti was welcomed by blacks when he seeked assulym. The whites like you were bitching about taxpayers money.

You need to think before posting crap like this...

The fact is that since that in 15 years of rule and nothing has changed for the poor man in SA. How you can blame whites for this lack of change I don't understand.

The reason for the lack of economic upliftment is:
- Poorly run state education
- Corruption
- Poor leadership

Blame the whites if you must but see where that gets you. In 15 years time you'll still be blaming the whites and the poor will still be poor.

This is a rather slight article from one of Reuters journalists, who are masters of the slight, long on stereotyping and short on anything approaching nuanced reporting. The only objective of the article is to reinforce sterotypes of South Africa amongst its European and North American audience, rather than promoting anthing approaching a debate on how much has been achieved and how much more needs to be done. Shame on you M&G, you had so many capable journalists in the past who would have been able to provide us with a solid statistical basis for where we were, how far we have come and what more needed to be done. I just hope that the print M&G contains something somewhat more stimulating and worthy of M&G's journalism of the past.

Muzi Oscar - So, you've got your ideal world. Blacks suffer, helped by blacks with funds raised by blacks...

The white countries? Like USA which leader is black?

Aristeed, like Zuma, Mugabe and their shit ellectorate, like you, deserve to repay debt to the people who brought economy, roads, technology and education to the dark continent. Or, you can follow the primates and return our beautiful country to the dark.

If I had to take anything from Madiba's leadership - he enjoyed the praises by whites in particular such that he ignored the important economic transformation that was required from the begining. When Mbeki implemented what was expected from Mandela he was seen as racist.

Mandela did well in avoiding war and drastic sanctions but he did not balance it with looking after the oppressed. Instead he gave them RDP houses.... South Africa does not need another Mandela, we need another Mbeki (without Dictator tendencies). Mbeki did well in affirming dignity of the majority and created a huge middle class and thousands of millionaires.

But with limited intellect from white people, I guess any drastic move by Madiba was going to seen as "communist". But we are still paying for his sins as young white boys can piss in our mothers foods and expect us to apologize.

Muzi, why are you turning this into a racial issue? How have whites got in the way of transformation?

Do you want them to hand over all there wealth etc to be "redistributed" mugabe style? Catch a wake up.

The whites in SA are partly responsible for driving the country forward and pay a huge percentage of the personal income tax. So be thankful there is such an educated segment of the economy and they havent all left.

As I said- blame whitey for everthing and in 20 years time SA will still have millions of unemployed and you will no doubt still be blaming whitey. It's time you got of your ass, educated your children and stopped waiting for the next hand out.

In the 15yrs of the new GOV,the following were succefully archived.
1.Free water and electricity for the better part of the country.(You must go see Ga-Sekhukhune in Limpopo just to name one)
2.Free Higher education for the better ppl of the South(myslef included through Umsombomvu)
3.Free Houses for the South Africans.
4.The play field has been leveled for every South African to compete without one having advantage
5.All South African citizen(Black and white) were afforted the opportunity to can cast thier vote.

Need I say more?

The folowing remain the challenge going forward:
1.Labour Brokering(am just glad that the City of Tshwane will not be renewing all those contracts)
2.Fronting that is defeating the goal of BEE/AA.
3.Working together in buiding a united SA unlike sitting and waiting for someone to go wrong be quick to publish it on every media posible.
4.Wrong pucblicity about our country(The WC come to mind)

Amazing. ANC has been in charge now years and you still blame it all 100%on the whites. Please man, until Africa accepts responsibility the majority of people will always live in poverty.

Keep blaming whitey and see where that gets you.

moloko - you told you there were no roads, economy, technology or education in africa before whites came here. Go to Berlin Museums, London Museums, Paris Museums, and learn more about what was stolen from Africa.

From your posts african history only starts 600 year ago when europe "discovered" it. Stop your ignorance man... even in SA there are lots of sources of information that can teach you more about your history as an African like KARA Heritage Institute in Pretoria, Pretoria Univ Museum, etc. STOP being ignorant....

Just a few things you need to check:
1. Europe was civilized by Africans. We took them from caves in Europe (Greek, Romans, Jews) and enslaved them in Africa for centuries. Moses in the bible for example was born a slave in Africa and was over 40years old when he left. He wasn't the firm slave. From the bible you will learn that he got a privilage to go to school in Africa. Europeans only came back to defeat africa around 300BC. The black people in Zim, Bots, SA only arived around 1200AD. And there is proof sophisticated ruins of developments that dates back around that era. What your European masters don't tell you is that they destroyed all they could and stole all they could (not only in Africa, in America, Asia, etc.). They were the last ones to rise to power. They were the last ones to be civilized. They were the last ones to get educated. And they re-wrote history to suit them.... Funny its white anthropologists that are now digging the real history....

Muzi- Europe was civilised by Africans. hUH? Please man get your info from accredited journals not YouTube buddy. Some nut case posting videos from his basement in Queens NY is not accredited. What a load of hogwash.

I do agree though that Europeans should learn a bit more about African history. However you will actually find that the British were serious archaeologists and did a lot of exploring of the lands they conquered.

How about we move forward together by:

Holding the National Party elite accountable for 40 odd years of oppression, misrule, racism, tribalism, corruption, and gross violations of human rights.

And

Holding the ANC elite accountable for the plundering of public funds, the gross enrichment of a few at the expense of the many, gross negligence concerning HIV - AIDS and the respective ARMS DEALS gone wrong?

Only them can we instil a culture of good governance, respect for human dignity and the rule of law in Southern Africa. And flourish as a nation.

Who’s on board?

Muzi, your ranting and raving won't change a thing. This letter was written by a black man from Botswana! You obviously haven't been watching much on the goings on in Haiti. What this writer was referring to was African countries and African governments. Gift of the givers is a charity organisation. Our government sent no toops, sent no rescuers, sent no hospitals etc..... And the same goes for all the African governments. Deny it all you want but it still remains fact. The truth really does hurt hey!

Muzi Oscar - you are wrong about gift of the givers; it is run by a profoundly caring indian. Many white people support his organisation and actually help with relief efforts. So, GOG is definitely not black otherwise it just wouldn't work as corruption would have been the predominant theme.
Btw, what is the colour and language spoken by the artist who held a charity concert for Haiti this past weekend? Where were you kwaito and other kings?
Get the real facts straight before you talk, my man, because the rest of your diatribe on this blog is also factually incorrect.

Saint Mandela was a reconciliator? The builder of a rainbow nation? A non racist?

Actually he was A.N.C. through and through, and, under instruction, wooed the whites in an effort to keep their assets in S.A.

" entice them to keep their assets here, so we can loot, pillage and rob them of it at our convenience!"

Mandela was, and remains, a convicted terrorist. His avuncular,benign image is a smokescreen to hide an A.N.C. private racist face.

I do admit that since then we have gone downhill, until we have an accused rapist,fraudulent,unlettered, adulterous, lieing incompetent president.

Malema to follow.

And you wonder why the poor suffer? It is their own fault, just as it is the Zimboes own fault that they are starving.

They voted in black solidarity, not for competence

How …

1. A new PRESIDEDNT with LEADERSHIP/INTEGRATY/HONEST/EDUCATED/ LOGIC and common sense to steer South Africa.

2. Get crime under control. (bring back the death penalty)

3. Sent all illegal immigrants back. (from 300 townships 1994 to 2500 townships in 2010)

4. Stop BEE and affirmative action. (all skilled people are leaving SA)

5. Stop State tenders & Municipality tenders to government/civil officials and or to their families.

How …

1. A new PRESIDENT with

LEADERSHIP/INTEGRATY/HONEST/EDUCATED/ LOGIC and common sense to steer South Africa.

2. Get crime under control. (bring back the death penalty)

3. Sent all illegal immigrants back. (from 300 townships 1994 to 2500 townships in 2010)

4. Stop BEE and affirmative action. (all skilled people are leaving SA)

5. Stop State tenders & Municipality tenders to government/civil officials and or to their families.

Ivan, Mandela was no saint but he was a fantastic facilitator and had humility to forgive his jailers. Show many any other man in the ANC with those qualities and I'll vote for that person. It's sad to see how quickly we have gone from Mandela to Zuma!! Compared to Zuma is was a saint!

Dear Etienne mokwana,
So you really think that SA’s lack of progress is to blame on SA not willing to work with the ANC government?

You are entitled to your opinion, but I on the other hand think that we are not in a far better state because the ANC leadership is too busy grafting and covering up theft and incompetence on a huge scale.
It’s similar to lying.
If you start off with telling all sort of lies, in the end you cannot keep up with the previous lies without going to extreme lengths to keep up. So you are forced to tell more elaborate lies, etc.
The ANC steals, therefore the ANC lies, and has to adjust all it does, all it says so as to keep the earlier thefts and lies covered.
A nice point in case is the recent appointment of Menzi as national director of public prosecutions.
Clearly the man is far out incompetent.
His sole raison d’etre is to help JZ cover up their theft, fraud and corruption.
Do you see how a whole system can be in place just to steal and cover up?
Well, that’s how SA operates –to an ever increasing degree.

This explanation is far more honest and logical than “society is not willing to work with the ANC”

But the truth does not serve them –hence they blame us.

Etienne mokwana,
On a bit of analysis, your “achievements” are far from glorious.
In fact what you write down is propagandistic twaak –let’s see:

In the 15yrs of the new GOV,the following were succefully archived.
1.Free water and electricity for the better part of the country.(You must go see Ga-Sekhukhune in Limpopo just to name one)
(But we cannot longer afford electricity, due to cronyism, the ANC / Hitachi-theft and mismanagement. In fact you were relying on the infrastructure inherited from the apartheid regime. And the experts tell us that soon we’ll run out of water too. ‘Will blackouts seem like a pick nick.)
2.Free Higher education for the better ppl of the South(myslef included through Umsombomvu)
(So when did you receive your formative, primary education –under the ANC or the apartheid regime? For the last 16 years the ANC education has been churning out illiterate, innumerate unemployment fodder. Tertiary educators are desperate.
3.Free Houses for the South Africans.
(Nice, but many fall apart because of shocking BEE contractors)
4.The play field has been leveled for every South African to compete without one having advantage
(Not quite –BEE is supposed to skew things in blacks favour. Which is fair because generally blacks will never be able to compete without it.)
5.All South African citizen(Black and white) were afforted the opportunity to can cast thier vote.
(And time and again they shoot themselves in the foot and vote ANC)

You seem to be unhappy about our criticism.
Do you HONESTLY there is no base for this?
Or is it that the truth hurts?

Very good answers Twannie, but in all honesty you are wasting your time with people like Etienne. They are programmed to vote ANC, to support ANC, to vilify DA etc...... They are not humans that can be debated with. They are ROBOTS!

Muzi Oscar 1. Europe was civilized by Africans. We took them from caves in Europe (Greek, Romans, Jews) and enslaved them in Africa for centuries. Moses in the bible for example was born a slave in Africa and was over 40years old when he left. He wasn't the firm slave. From the bible you will learn that he got a privilage to go to school in Africa. Europeans only came back to defeat africa around 300BC. The black people in Zim, Bots, SA only arived around 1200AD. And there is proof sophisticated ruins of developments that dates back around that era. What your European masters don't tell you is that they destroyed all they could and stole all they could (not only in Africa, in America, Asia, etc.). They were the last ones to rise to power. They were the last ones to be civilized. They were the last ones to get educated. And they re-wrote history to suit them.... Funny its white anthropologists that are now digging the real history....
------------------
Are yoy saying that Greeks, Romanms and Jews were cave people???
Pfffffffff!!!
As for the rest, they did not exist, there is no Moses and co, It's all a fairytale.
The Zimbabwe civilisation was alone in an ocean of cultural development and no one knows really how they dissapear. As for the rest, don't hide beneath their skirts, they were unique. The rest simply were not anywhere near.

Etienne mokwana my man. One or two instances in a sea of white money and aid. How politically expedient of you to call gift of the givers a Black orginisation. They are SA Indian and Islamic to the core. It their way to help in need.

I say do not give them a red cent. like you, they are fork tongued. Take the aid then at the next UN meeting bite the hand that fed them. Where is Astride in all this? Living it up here at oir expense. Why has he not run back to help his own.

Here is a prediction. In the months to come we shall hear of anti west protests because in the black mind the western whites did not give enough. And AFRICA still does not send a penny to help their brethren.

My nephew brought a black american friend to visit. He wanted to see his African roots. After touring S.A., Namibia, Angola he came back shocked. His words were "the blacks in this country have a chip on their shoulders" and loved Namibia and Angola. He just found the S.A. blacks unfriendly. Not surprised the way they treat foreigners! He said he never ever wanted to be referred to as an Arican American ever again. He's never been back again. Sad, because he was such a lovely chap and came here full of hope and excitement. It's a sad indictment of our fellow south africans that they loath everything that is white, foreign, be they black or white.

Muzi Oscar,
Forgive us when we simply ignore “history as she was wrote by Muzi”
I understand that for a proud man, it must be humiliating to know that your’s is a savage’s background.
But there’s a remedy: lie and re-write said background!

So you had roads here, hey?
Man, you had not even invented the wheel until the white man came!
It may be so that the Egyptians imported the wheel idea pretty soon (but not before the Europeans) but an early Egyptian is more different from an early Bantu than a European from a Chinese.

Best is not to go there, you end up being hurt and painted into a corner.
You’ll never win this one.
References to the ruins of Great Zimbabwe just go to prove that even backward nincompoops can get something going every thousand years or so.
(It’s a fluke which has aspects of civilisation – nothing more)

Rather stick to blaming the West, Blair and Bush –or those despicable Afrikaners and Settlers for all your current ills.
(But maybe I am lucky and 'can have some fun with you -feel free to come with all that you want.)

The M&G give the following guidelines for comments:

No hate speech;
No racist, sexist or homophobic remarks;
Keep it short;
Keep it on topic;
Show respect to all.

How come so few people comply with this request? I have yet to see a mature debate on these pages. Bloody idiots, all!

Why do you read them Eric? Better still why do you even bother commenting?????

Eric.
You yourself just treaded the Guidelines with your feet.
You are therefore a hypocrite.
Nevertheless, I for one am well aware that currently my own demeanour is not very dignified. ('Was coincidentally thinking the same; this cannot be wholesome)
So, I admit you are right.
Perhaps all this dishonesty here is getting a bit too me and I resort to be unpleasant and cynical.
I could say that certain chaps here deserve it.
I could say that one is severely provoked by their deranged balderdash.
But you are still right.
So I’ll try to ignore the liars and fools –but no guarantees!
So will there any honest and rational chaps from the other side of the divide post here?
Or are they simply non-existent?

The finance minister really explained it best, when he said "R27B is lost in mismanagment or poor spending".

The answer is corruption my friends. That R27B is equal to around R100K adult here in SA. We could uplift EVERY citizen in a single year..........only thing is, we need to stop the ANC stealing all the money.

By now, we should be living in an African Germany, not a nation on the road to Zumababwe. It's all in the hands of the people as it has always been. Oust these crooks at the next election, and we may still have a chance of unscrambling this egg.

Oh, and just to assist in the debate about who colonised what; all human beings originated in Africa. i.e. we are all Africans.

“all human beings originated in Africa’
‘Not too happy with you pointing this out.
It’s of course true, but now we Europeans also stand to be accused of stealing ourselves from Africa.
Next thing will be that some lawyer shysters (hate speech towards lawyers will be always permissible) will think of asking the entire world to pay about 137 trillion Euros in reparations to Africa.
Even if we deduct the odd hundred billion already paid in aid, we will be still left with some hefty tab.

all vitriol and no answers what a waste of space some of the commentators are.those who still do not believe in the dignity of the african race and do not accept the brutality of colonialism and racism can always be identified but fortunately for all times are changing the dignity of african identity can no longer be referenced from a eurocentric perspective there are so many of us born after opression who have travelled the world and know what needs to be done.the leverage of reapppropration of ourn resources is the price that will be paid for our future prosperity.you may curse name and insult all you want but affirmative action is here to stay untill it has achieved its goals.those who dont feel tolerant to this noble method of correcting centuries of injustice should relocate...simple
aluta continua

Look what polarization has done to all of you. There are elements of racism in most of the above comments. If you think South Africans are free, think again! The majority of Black South Africans are at the mercy of both corporate greed and government corruption of which both blacks and whites are responsible. White South Africans find themselves boxed into a corner called "Affirmative Action" with little hope of gaining employment based on merit, and have no choice but to look after themselves. When any race group feels undermined, they come out fighting!! That is the simple truth in SA. Government is there to facilitate/coordinate a positive process of bringing the best out of the country and its people, to find a common goal, economic and social for the benefit of the next generation. This government is slowly draining all that hope!

very true Twannie - also we could have some issues if all our people return to their place of origin. We'll have 3.5 billion citizens. SARS WILL be happy! That's a LOT of gravy!

Eric da Costa is the biggest bigot and racist commentator on here. Not even sure if he's a south african but what he has to say about Black peopl is mind blowing. I reported him to the Mail & Gaurdian last week for his racial slurs.

Carl Wille......if you were Candidate for President, My cross would be next to your face in the ballot.

We need to blame each other to a certain degree but be willing to move foward. We cannot ignore the back-log inherited from the NP government, NO WE CAN'T. On the other hand we CANNOT ignore the ANC's slow pace in the attempt to bring change and economical equality.

My main worry however is with the South African media and how they force their negative views to us.

Vic, the media can only report on things that happen. The way to fix the ANC public image issue, is simply to stop it at the source. This means no more theft and corruption. No more attacks on minorities, no more blaming anyone but themselves, no more promoting Juju as a serious leader, no more talk of nationalising mines and banks, no more salaries to criminals, no more BMW's and hotels and bling. Just straightforward serious attempts to solve our nations problems, and the ANC would find itself getting good press again. In the 90's the coverage of the ANC was positive, and that was because they didn't behave like they do today - with impunity and not a care for the people who hold such high hopes.

Thobile

Stop being such a victim. From 1914 to 1945 Europe was smashed to smithereens. The death of the Russian economy as a result of the Bolsheviks was akin to taking the US out of North America.

The colonial powers lost their colonies or were about to do so.

They visited more destruction one each other than any colony in Africa, even the Congo. How did they get back to the top? It wasn't by affirmative action or BEE. It was sheer hard work and investment in education.

The end of Apartheid was the end of exclusion from the economy, and the beginning of hard work and study. Only the former has occurred on any meaningful level which is a primary cause of the present malaise.

You are a victim only in your own mind. When you cease to care about whether someone is racist to you or not, you'll be amazed at the feeling of liberation! Try it.

Grow up all of you, we all need to be moving forward without all this aggression. Love one-another, try to see yourself in others, we all came from the same original point, discover our oneness with each other. NOW let go of all that fear and resentment, turn to nature and discover the unconditional love we all need to embrace. Lets give up all the thoughts that divide us and think positive thoughts that will help the people of SA rise above and visualise a wonderful people that will make a great country. People make a country wonderful not a government !!!!

I love and respect Madiba as a person and as a leader however I feel that other leaders are not given the respect due to them.Leaders like Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe,Steven Bantu Biko,Thami Ribusana,Stanza Bopape,Shadrack Mafokwane and other.

zoo keeper

how you deduce my victimhood from my statement just baffles me.i have no sense of hinderance from anybody merely because of my skin colour but i am wise enough to know that for me and the rest of my kind progression and entry into the mainstream economy of the country will definately require government intervention.i have worked hard,have travelled the world and come to this simple conclusion and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.you talk of europe working hard to bring itself out of self inflicted destruction but you do not mention the plundering of africa and the use of its people and resources in both those wars.i do not want anything that i am not entitled to,i certainly do not want your car or your house or your life all i want is to benefit directly and contribute to the developement of this country and affirmative action will give me that opportunity.
a lot of us have experience working in white dominated institutions in this country and we know the sidelining and obstruction that comes with that.i will consistently vote for the party that will put in place legislation that gives me a chance to prosper.
in conclusion, i dont know what victim you are talking of,this young person here is in the ownership phase of their life journey...are you comfortable with that?????

aluta continua.....

thobile

Affirmative action can be equated to apartheid in the sense that a privileged few have the opportunities to truly prosper. Whites had the privilege based on racist policy, you have a privilege based on policy that protects middle class (aspiring Africans) - A privilege that the majority of Africans will unfortunately never be able to achieve. By this I mean: If you live in poverty, have no money, no role models, poor education, you have very little hope of attaining a prosperous future. But, you do not have to worry about it because it's not your problem, you have what you need, and government will somehow rectify the imbalance. Many whites during the apartheid years showed no racist tendencies, but because the racist policy worked in their favour they had a slanted belief that government (propaganda)was trying to improve the lives of the majority - Simply put, ignorance was bliss. I hope you are not caught in the same trap, because if you are, history will eventually repeat itself.

The reason I would like to have affirmative action scrapped is simple: Open the opportunities to the best, build a strong foundation with good government regulation, grow the economy and the economic cake from which all South Africans eat can only get bigger. It is the government's responsibility to ensure that the increase in tax revenue is primarily used to serve and improve the lives of the millions of South Africans who are suffering economically. You cannot take without giving, and to receive you must be humble.

I don't think that South Africans really believe they can be have the best nation on earth in every sense of the word because the unfortunate past governs most of our beliefs.