From the bright light into the gloom
February 11 marked a significant milestone in the history of South Africa.
On this day, in 1990, a quite unexpected moment arrived when FW de Klerk announced that the late Nelson Mandela would be released.
Mandela’s release came eight days after former President FW de Klerk announced the unbanning of political parties, including Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC).
Mandela’s release was dubbed “the long walk to freedom” and, with every step, there was this expectancy that the nation, once divided, was also embracing a time of enlightenment.
One has to wonder if, 24 years ago, while the world looked on astounded at the birth of democracy in the south of Africa, Madiba ever envisioned how his Rainbow Nation would lie in ruins so many years down the line.
Was there ever a real expectation that South Africa would experience a similar golden era to what England did during the Elizabethan era, which was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558–1603).
During this marvellous historical period, the symbol of Britannia was first used in 1572, and often thereafter, to mark the Elizabethan age as a renaissance that inspired national pride through classical ideals, international expansion, and naval triumphs.
It was an age which represented the apogee of the English Renaissance and saw the flowering of poetry, music and literature.
The era is most famous for theatre, as William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England’s past style of theatre.
We can surely be forgiven for thinking that 1994’s first democratic election would usher in SA’s renaissance and instil a growing national pride with which to conquer the world.
When South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, and the African Cup of Nations in 1996, this blossoming hope of a glorious future was a burning flame.
However, despite the country’s sporting and cultural achievements since 1994, if we fast forward to 2014, we find our potential golden era has dimmed into a time of fear, doubt, uncertainty, continuing ethnic division, strife and discontent among the masses.
When, in 1990, Mandela walked towards freedom, the Rand traded at R2.59 to the dollar and, by all accounts, the price of fuel was around R1.23 a litre for 97 octane petrol at the coast (the price soared on the back of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait).
Who could have predicted that, more than two decades later, the petrol price has spiked to R14 a litre, with no end in sight, while the Rand trades at over R11 to the dollar?
The year 2008 marked another important political shift, when Jacob Zuma took over the presidency from an embattled Thabo Mbeki.
With it, hope was rekindled that SA would once again rise like the Phoenix.
At the time the Rand traded at R8.26 to the dollar.
Sadly, no matter the political transformations over the years, that were supposed to get SA back on track, it seems if the slide into our abyss of misery has become quite treacherous.
As an example, consider the survey conducted by labour specialist Adcorp that shows that South Africa’s weak economy continued to shed jobs, with retrenchment levels at a 10-year high.
Adcorp’s Employment Index report showed that the economy shed 36 290 jobs in January, most of them in manufacturing and construction.
Consider that, around the early 1990s, it is estimated the unemployment rate ranged between 13 to 18 per cent (in the most extreme case).
Last year, the quarterly labour force survey (QLFS), for the second quarter of 2013, showed how, in the months of April to June, the official unemployment rate rose to 25.6 per cent, while the broader rate of unemployment rose to 36.8 per cent.
It can be argued that, in 1994, the first non-racial democratic government in South Africa inherited a somewhat stagnant economy, with already high levels of unemployment, and persistently high inflation flirting with 10 per cent per annum.
Twenty years have since passed, in which the economy could have been rectified, but violent service delivery protests are now a stark reminder that we have not entered into an golden age, as more people go deeper into debt and are faced with a daunting tomorrow.
Some would argue that, at least, the inflation rate hasn’t spiraled out of control, but then again, who can smile in Gauteng with the e-toll system demanding blood from a stone?
Yes, SA has seen its share of highlights (hosting of the 2010 World Cup and the legacy of Madiba), while there has been a mild flowering of music and literature [many will of course disagree], but all of this is marred by the myriad of social ills and levels of poverty.
One has to wonder how much faith is left in our political leadership; after all, the glory days of 1990 and the new hope of 2008 have rapidly faded.
Maybe it all comes down to leadership – England had Elizabeth, and SA, well, we have our government.
These are indeed tricky times for politicians, as we head towards our fifth general elections.
Even though all contesting political parties are promising the sky and the ocean [haven’t we heard the same song before?], we cannot ignore the reality that the last 24 years have been a period of grand illusions, rather than of true prosperity.
