Here’s to an invigorating 27 years of democracy

For many, 1994 was the best of times. The worst of times were, we believed, behind us. After all, what could be worse than the evil system of apartheid, which April 27 consigned to the dustbin of history? If ever there was a new dawn, Nelson Mandela’s first administration was it. South Africans, black and white, were relieved that democracy had been attained without a resort to war, despite adventurist threats by a lunatic fringe. SA shed its pariah status in the family of nations and promised to put a lid on the injustices of the past and remove from its statutes anything that enabled the subjugation of one race by another.

There was as much restlessness as there was hope. Many wondered how soon the democratic promise, the fruits of liberation, would be realised. They hoped that access to education and quality health care would be prioritised. Some hoped unemployed people would get jobs and have their dignity restored. Hope had triumphed — only to be followed by a season of hopelessness in later years.

Many of the challenges we had in 1994 are still with us. Unemployment and poverty remain the biggest twin challenges facing the country, made worse by the spectre of state capture. Access to basic education remains uneven, dogged by age-old infrastructure challenges. University students have embraced a culture of protesting against financial exclusion at the beginning of each academic year. Much has been done to ensure that children from poor families get access to universities through state bursaries and loans but, commendable as this is, it’s a drop in a sea of needs.

The government has done much to deliver water and electricity to many households that previously did not have these basic services. At the same time, the government’s mismanagement of Eskom, the country’s electricity monopoly, sticks out like a sore thumb. As does corporate SA’s legendary struggle to transform, as seen in the drama unfolding at Absa this week.

It has been a scintillating 27 years of democracy. Despite our loud nature, much has been achieved. True, an awful lot is not going right, and we should make a lot of noise about it — but without believing that things are worse than they actually are.