Fourteen years after the transition to majority rule, South Africa now face a stern challenge. The outbreak of xenophobic vioence across the Gauteng region this month prove that the current South African government had failed miserably in its mission to provide all South African citizens, regardless of race and colour, with a secure livelihood and a strong sense of democracy.
It is a well known fact that South Africa is now one of the most violent and unsafe countries in the world, with more than 16,000 murders a year. Violent crimes are common place, esepcially in the Townships - slums and informal settlements where the majority of black South Africans still reside.
Many black South Africans are without jobs - the official unemployment figure is 30% and the real unemployment is far far higher - and they lack decent education. While it is true that more and more black Africans have become affluent thanks to the 'Black Empowerment' Programme - a kind of reverse affirmative action - the majority of black Africans are still struggling on a daily basis.
The failure and absolute ineptitude of the current ANC government to address the issue of poverty, AIDS, and prevalence of violent crimes all over the country, suggest that the current political leadership has already served its purpose and should retire from the political scene.
In other words, South Africa of the 21st century needs an entirely new kind of political leadership and political power structure in order to deal with problems that are not heard of during the struggles against the Apartheid in the 1980s and 90s.
Current generation of ANC leaders are mostly in their 70s and 80s, most of them social revolutionaries from the bygone days. Age, in their case however, do not seem to equate with wisdom.
Sadly enough, their political mentality and understanding of what has been going on both within South(ern) Africa and in the wider world are out of date and no longer capable of coping with the current needs of the country/region.
ANC leaders now in power might have contributed to the struggle against the Apartheid during the period 1960-1990s, and their contribution and sacrifice ought to be recognised. But Apartheid days are well over and it is now not racial discrimination that hinders the country's development, but widespread violence and crime problem that put the country on her back foot and seriously threaten to undermine the democratic system in South Africa. It was the black South Africans that suffered under the Apartheid regime; now it IS still the black South Africans that suffer most under the current crime problems. So something must have gone fundamentally wrong. And what is it??
It is a well known fact that South Africa is now one of the most violent and unsafe countries in the world, with more than 16,000 murders a year. Violent crimes are common place, esepcially in the Townships - slums and informal settlements where the majority of black South Africans still reside.
Many black South Africans are without jobs - the official unemployment figure is 30% and the real unemployment is far far higher - and they lack decent education. While it is true that more and more black Africans have become affluent thanks to the 'Black Empowerment' Programme - a kind of reverse affirmative action - the majority of black Africans are still struggling on a daily basis.
The failure and absolute ineptitude of the current ANC government to address the issue of poverty, AIDS, and prevalence of violent crimes all over the country, suggest that the current political leadership has already served its purpose and should retire from the political scene.
In other words, South Africa of the 21st century needs an entirely new kind of political leadership and political power structure in order to deal with problems that are not heard of during the struggles against the Apartheid in the 1980s and 90s.
Current generation of ANC leaders are mostly in their 70s and 80s, most of them social revolutionaries from the bygone days. Age, in their case however, do not seem to equate with wisdom.
Sadly enough, their political mentality and understanding of what has been going on both within South(ern) Africa and in the wider world are out of date and no longer capable of coping with the current needs of the country/region.
ANC leaders now in power might have contributed to the struggle against the Apartheid during the period 1960-1990s, and their contribution and sacrifice ought to be recognised. But Apartheid days are well over and it is now not racial discrimination that hinders the country's development, but widespread violence and crime problem that put the country on her back foot and seriously threaten to undermine the democratic system in South Africa. It was the black South Africans that suffered under the Apartheid regime; now it IS still the black South Africans that suffer most under the current crime problems. So something must have gone fundamentally wrong. And what is it??
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