ARTICLE: 75 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR: PART II 1994-2020
2020-05-15
This article will consider the factors that have determined the course of events during the past 26 years of ANC rule. They include jockeying for position between the various factions within the Alliance; the contest between ideology and pragmatism; and the temptation to translate political power into personal enrichment.
The first two years of ANC rule represented the golden (but perhaps false) dawn of the new era. South Africa won the Rugby World Cup; Nelson Mandela used his immense charisma to promote reconciliation and national unity. The country was ruled by a Government of National Unity (GNU) that represented 90% of the electorate.
In six articles that recently appeared in Politicsweb, Prof Koos Malan provided an expert analysis of many of the problems facing the constitution.
No right-thinking South African doubted the necessity of the lock-down for the past three weeks. President Ramaphosa was widely lauded for his decisive and clear leadership. The majority of South Africans adhered to the regulations of the past three weeks, because we believed that the infection curve would flatten and that lives would be saved. Many excused the unintended consequences of police and defence over-reaction, and even understood that the curtailment of basic human rights may be necessary for the greater good. When our president announced a two-week extension of the lock-down, he was emphatic that some regulations would be relaxed in due course. Most of us understood the need for the extension, and we welcomed the prospect of the relaxation of the regulations to help the economy’s recovery.
