The Alan Paton Award
A Rumour of Spring: South Africa after 20 Years of Democracy, Max du Preez (Zebra
Press, R230) In what way do you think your book “illuminates truthfulness”? I tried my best to reflect honestly on the years since 1994; the history that influenced the political settlement 20 years ago; the failures and successes of the last 20 years; the political and social dynamics of the present; and what all that says about our road forward. Can you outline one or two of the biggest challenges to our democracy? To correct the failures of education over the last 20 years; to be pro-active about our challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment; and to jealously guard the openness of our society and the freedoms we enjoy. Any surprises for you in the last elections? I was surprised by the loss of ANC support in the big metros. What is your view on Julius Malema and the Economic Freedom Fighters? I think it is good for stability and democracy that the EFF got proper representation in parliament. Every citizen should feel that he/she has someone speaking for him/her in the highest policymaking body. I hope the EFF will develop from populist rhetoric to a positive contribution to parliamentary debates and processes. I hope they know that they will have to work hard and establish national structures and branches if they want to grow and make an impact. How do you see the state of race relations in South Africa today?
Unexpectedly good. South Africans get on very well on a personal level in offices, factory floors, board rooms, sports stadia, suburbs and churches, but they still tend to attack and defend from racially defined trenches when they’re in groups. Does the title refer to metaphorical green roots in our society, or the possibility of an Arab Spring? The title A Rumour of Spring poses the question, whether we face the possibility of an Arab Spring or a metaphorical spring of new growth, hope and development. I conclude that we may not face our own Arab Spring, but that we should be prepared for a prolonged winter before we get to a new spring. In general terms, are we better off now than we were in 1994? Almost all of us are much better off than in 1994, spiritually and materially. But we need to ask the question, whether we have developed to our best potential and whether the poor and unemployed aren’t rightly angry and frustrated at the slow pace at which their lives have changed since the fall of apartheid. —