Excitement of the 1994 poll
black man, so the transition was not a big issue for me. I knew, however, of white people who had concerns about the transition.”
Seventy-four-year-old Nosisa Tandwa, who emigrated to England in 2001, also remembers 1994 with bittersweet nostalgia, recalling how exciting it was to vote for the first time after growing up under apartheid in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Tandwa said she could still picture the excited younger version of herself, and the beautiful weather on the day of the elections.
“It was one of the best days of my life. I was staying in Mthatha and there were different voting points. We went from one station to another and it was a day of jubilation. The queues were so long you could not see the end of them; the streets were lined with vendors selling food,” she recalled.
But, sadly, the opportunities that black people anticipated democracy would open up largely did not materialise, she said.
Seven years later, she made the decision to leave South Africa.
“The country gradually went into chaos — our people took over and you could see the difference between the administration of white people and black people.
“It became clear black people were not ready for office. They displayed selfishness and qualities of not caring for their own which was a shock.
“There was something called the gravy train — this about who you know, where they are. It gradually became clear that the people we thought were going to be for us were for themselves or their families and friends. This came with a lot of suffering and resentment,” Tandwa said.
“I was in nursing and had bought a house in Margate but I realised that I could barely manage the basics.
“I couldn’t even afford money for the taxi to go to work and we lived on borrowing. We ended up living in shame. When the opportunity to go overseas came, I could not resist.”
Tandwa, who has now retired, said living abroad was a mixed experience — she missed home, but it was also nice to move from a country besieged by violence to one where she felt secure and safe.
Although she is now a British citizen, she still thinks about coming home to live, but is uneasy about what that would entail for a pensioner.
“I’m at an age where doctor’s appointments are frequent, medication is becoming an important part of my life and here [in England] they look after their old. By virtue of having citizenship, I am their responsibility — they help you with everything with the prices going up.”
“When you think of going home, you think — I’ll go and not have medical aid, how do I survive in South Africa with the state of the hospitals being so appalling?
“You are not safe at home, in your car, and safety is a necessity in everyone’s life. I want to be home but it’s the survival of the fittest at home,” says Tandwa, who believes that its “by God’s grace that the country is still standing”.
Now only coming home for visits, Tandwa has not voted since she stopped living in South Africa.
“The thing is, you must know their manifesto and, being here, we are out of touch ... If I say I’ll vote for this one, what do I know about them?
“We know the ANC but it is the ANC that has let us down. I haven’t bothered voting although I do receive letters to remind me about voting.”
Johannes Mnini from Wattville in Ekurhuleni, on the other hand, is even more excited about voting next month than he was in 1994.
He sees this year’s poll as defending the democracy the country gained 30 years ago and is particularly animated about how former president Jacob Zuma’s umkhonto wesizwe party has shaken up the political landscape.
Mnini believes the ANC is on the right track, that South Africans have not been fully appreciative of what the government has done for them, and that black people, in particular, should be thankful for the opportunities that democracy created for them.
Even after 30 years, Mnini believes the ANC’S shortcomings are partly because of the historical imbalances of apartheid.
“For example, back then, when it came to education, there were certain courses black people were not supposed to do. Today, those courses are relevant, hence why we lack the capacity of running the state,” he said, adding: “Things will come right, there are changes that I see.”
Where Mnini faults the ANC is its failure to hold those in government accountable for failing to deliver services.
“This is where the mess is happening. The party gives direction of what must happen but those who are in government end up doing their own thing, hence we are stuck with issues which need to be resolved quickly but end up taking a lot of time,” he said.
Mnini’s wish, beyond the 29 May elections, is for the government to focus on identifying key economic areas in each province and on creating opportunities for young people, to minimise migration to regions such as Gauteng and the Western Cape to look for work.