THE 90-YEAR-OLD Nelson Mandela gave a pre-election boost to the African National Congress on Sunday when he reminded a rally in Johannesburg that its primary task is to “eradicate poverty and ensure a better life for all. The ANC has the historic responsibility to help build a united, non-racial society”.
These are noble objectives, which the ANC will now seek to achieve under fresh leadership after its expected victory in tomorrow’s general elections. The new parliament will elect Jacob Zuma to be president, the only uncertainty being how great is his majority there as ANC leader.
Considerable progress has in fact been made since the end of apartheid towards providing housing, welfare, electricity, water and free education for the poorest South Africans. That should not be forgotten as the ANC makes this transition amid fears about South Africa’s continuing deep inequalities and racial divisions. Mr Zuma’s roots in the popular left-wing of the movement make him well aware of those cleavages; but he insists he will not change the current liberal market orientation of economic policy steadfastly upheld since 1996 by finance minister Trevor Samuel. Mr Zuma is an adept negotiator who intends to balance these two ANC wings, while seeking to shift more resources towards eradicating poverty than was achieved by his predecessor, President Thabo Mbeki.
The principal concerns about him have to do not with those political skills but with his willingness to tackle corruption, his latent authoritarianism as a leader and his intolerance of organisations and media opposed to the ANC. Two weeks ago charges of racketeering, tax evasion, fraud and corruption against him were withdrawn by the National Prosecution Authority. His consistent case that they were trumped up politically by Mr Mbeki is less than convincing, since they reflect a much more widespread fear that South Africa’s leaders cannot escape from such corrupt networks and that they enfeeble the ANC’s idealism by merging party and state structures.
Many of Mr Mbeki’s supporters have broken from the ANC to form the opposition Congress of the People, which hopes to deprive it of a two-thirds majority tomorrow. Mr Zuma gives such opponents no quarter – and extends the feeling to media supporting them, often in scathing criticisms of the ANC’s ability to rule even-handedly and capably. Constitutional checks and balances are an important reason why South Africa has made progress beyond apartheid. There is a good case for a stronger political opposition from this election to keep the ANC democratically accountable.
Mr Zuma will take power not only as national president but as Africa’s most important player on the world political and economic stage. The continent’s one billion people have lagged in development behind other regions and its states are especially vulnerable to the global economic crisis. South Africa’s record over the last 14 years is better than many realise. It has huge wealth and human potential. Mr Zuma’s challenge is to prove the critics wrong by releasing and realising it.