South Africa: Teenager on the Road to Maturity

On April 27, 2007 South Africa becomes a teenager.

Poor countries with high levels of income inequality, like babies in poor countries, have very high infant mortality risks.

So we should be celebrating this achievement. In some of our religious communities we would be celebrating the taking on of some adult responsibilities. So let’s have a party and enjoy ourselves.

But not too much – after all, we are only at the beginning of a long journey in which much can still go wrong, and will go wrong. Fortunately, there is every indication that the constitutional democracy which we have founded is flexible enough to withstand the shocks that will come.

Temptations, therefore, to combat what appear to be immediate crises by tinkering with that constitution need to be avoided.

However, birthdays are also times to take stock and to look forward into the new year.

Taking stock, can we really be satisfied that we are progressively realizing the rights of access to adequate housing, health care services, sufficient food and water, social security, a basic education and further education, and that all our citizens have the right to freedom and security of the person.

It is not enough to assert these rights. Chapter two of the constitution requires the state to respect, protect, promote and fulfil these rights amongst others. And it reminds every South African that the Bill of Rights is a cornerstone of democracy, affirming the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom.

They are not an optional extra but the foundation on which our society must be built. They are not supposed to be a by-product of economic growth but the way in which economic growth is achieved.

Of course, when we take stock we focus on our failings rather than our successes – this is understandably human after all. There have been successes. At last there seems to be concerted action on HIV/AIDS. Too late for some, but never too late for the rest of us who must learn to live with the disease in the future.

We have accompanied the people of the DRC to an election and have committed ourselves to continue working with them to build a prosperous and peaceful country. There are other achievements in Africa, some of which have been supported by us. But we are still far from comfortable or convincing in our international actions and in meeting the expectations of many people as an African promoter of freedom and democracy through international solidarity and citizen action – the hallmarks of the struggle against apartheid.

Before we celebrate our 14th birthday, the ANC will elect its party president. There is a great deal of debate about who this person should be and insufficient debate, although the momentum is gathering, about the party platform which that person will be expected to embody and represent. Although the next national election will only take place in 2009, everybody is pretty sure that the person elected this year as president of the ANC will be the ANC candidate as State President and therefore the State President elected by the newly constituted National Assembly.

It is important for South Africans to listen to all the assumptions in these sentences. We have no doubt, as do a number of countries, that there will be a national election in 2009 – some 24 odd months away. We have no doubt that the ANC will still be in existence in 2009 and that it will contest the election as a unified party – this too is an assumption of continuity that others may envy.

We are also convinced that it will continue to dominate the electoral landscape. All the evidence is that it will, but other political parties, of which we have a number, all legitimate, all seeking to contest power and all seeking support from the electorate, may beg to differ. They will certainly hope that their own attempts to organize will be bearing some fruit over the next few years – and it is good that they have this hope and are encouraged. Otherwise disagreement and difference may not find institutional opportunities and may return to the streets or bush.

All South Africans will therefore remain interested in what the ANC does and how it does it. It is an opportunity to talk about what kind of society we want and what kind of leaders we want to represent us – the type of national conversation that often only emerges during election years.

Well, let’s celebrate another freedom day – and make sure that we let freedom continue to thrive . Amandla Ngawethu.

– Paul Graham, Director, IDASA.