Mandela’s dream for SA comes apart at the seams

IF there were ever any doubts, the protests that erupted around the country this week are further proof that the nation-building project, aptly coined and led by Nelson Mandela, has been derailed. South Africa has been on edge for the past few months, with racial tension threatening to undo the miracle of 1994.

This has led to many analysts warning that the country is sitting on a racial time bomb.

At least eight protests were reported around the country this week.

Things started in Vuwani, Limpopo, when President Jacob Zuma declined to address a public meeting, and soon spread to other provinces.

In Coligny, protesters set alight homes and looted shops as racial tension boiled over when farm workers Phillip Schutte and Pieter Doorewaard, who are accused of killing 16-yearold Matlhomola Mosweu, were granted bail on Tuesday. They claim he was stealing sunflowers.

In Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, residents took to the streets, burnt and looted shops and demanded houses, claiming that the government overlooks them because they are coloured.

The violence accompanying many of these protests cannot be condoned, but the demands and grievances are valid.

The racial tension in Coligny and Eldorado Park should have all of us worried. Clearly the glue that has held South Africa together is coming apart.

There is growing unhappiness among minorities in the country. They feel disregarded and left out in the cold by their government.

They are never invited to key decision-making forums or to partner with the government when decisions about their own communities are taken.

For a long time, the ANC preached and implemented its policy of a nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa. Mandela was passionate about nation-building and led the charge for social justice in the country.

Today, things are different. How we long for such leadership.