There is an alternative to both the sadly corrupt ANC and the idea of not voting. There is an opposition party--the Democratic Alliance. It has undergone name changes changes, but today's Democratic Alliance has transformed from the heir to the (mostly English, not Afrikaner) white liberal reformist movement under apartheid to a somewhat multi-racial competitor post-apartheid to the "new" National Party for white and non-ANC votes to, now--more than a generation after apartheid--a black majority party that actually absorbed the National Party after its collapse and offers the only truly liberal democratic rule-of-law political movement on a national scale.
It's not surprising most white voters support it, but it is no longer "their" party. It is no longer a "white party" with a notable black minority following. It's now a party reflective of the country's ethno-racial makeup that isn't afraid of demanding government represent ALL the people of South Africa.
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The ANC has already resolved to take white farm owners’ land without compensation, which will cause South Africa to become an economic and agrarian disaster like Zimbabwe.
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So who is the opposition to the ANC? They appear to have support of the poor which will give Ramaphosa the election. These people are receiving dwindling services and endemic corruption has angered middle class blacks. The threat is that the ANC will become a poor peoples party whose primary concern is to corruptly gouge the countries wealth.
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It seems bizarre for the NYT to promote Cyril Ramaphosa as a white knight who will fight corruption in ANC and in South Africa.
After all, as noted in another article in today's NYT, Ramaphosa has somehow managed to accumulate a fortune estimated at $550 million through his political connections (he was ANC's chief negotiator in talks to end apartheid and was supposed to succeed Nelson Mandela as head of ANC).
Further, it is ANC, supported by Ramaphosa, which has resolved to expropriate the land of white farmers without compensation.
If uncompensated land expropriation takes place we can expect South Africa to slide into the economic decline and chaos of Zimbabwe, which took the land of its white farmers without compensation and found itself transformed from relative prosperity to an economic and agrarian basket case.
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If this was just South Africa one could conclude that corruption reflects a few rotten apples. But it is not. Mozambique, Angola, the Congos, Zimbabwe, CAR etc. are corrupt to their cores - when you look at them with Western eyes.
Is it reasonable to expect that an entire continent will absorb the (democratic) practices developed by the Greeks and later Western Europe? In Africa you always first take care of yourself, then your family, then your tribe. What we call corruption is how things were always done. Whether Africans are capable of changing - remains to be seen. What is obvious is that this is water for the Chinese mills.
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Why is there no mention of the names of the ANC opposition political parties until the very end of the article? Why is there no description of these parties' platforms and how they achieved their successes? If one surveys past NYT South Africa articles, one may observe the same pattern of omission and neglect...why?!?
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Ramaphosa has been in power for just than two years, and he has had to lead an ANC that his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, had 9 years to turn into a termite mound of corruption and incompetence. But Ramaphosa has made positive steps, and there is no other leader who can both keep the set the still influential and probably indispensable ANC on the road to recovery by undoing the catastrophic damage wrought tomit and the country by Jacob Zumba. If South Africa does not elect someone of Mr. Ramaphosa’s skill and stature, its long decline is likely to continue.
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Ok, corruption is NEVER good. But China has huge corruption issue too, yet its leaders in Beijing still manages to work on improving average people's livelihood, if only to consolidate their case. What did ANC do?
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Reminds me of the voters in the USA who decided that Clinton would win anyway so bother to vote? It’s sad that the precious history of Democracy in South Africa is being frittered away by those who do not remember history.
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Unfortunately many of these new democracies are run by people who have been poor and they are very susceptable to corruption. Lusting for material things is a very powerful cause of these problems. Maybe you can only have a government salary no other income allowed, while in office.
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One party rule. Never a good idea, even in a "democracy".
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A lot is riding on the success of South Africa, as it is a beautiful, modern and diverse country.
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It seems odd for the NYT to promote Cyril Ramaphosa as a white knight who will fight corruption in ANC and in South Africa.
After all, as noted in another article in today's NYT, Ramaphosa has somehow managed to accumulate a fortune estimated at $550,000 million through his political connections (he was ANC's chief negotiator in talks to end apartheid and was supposed to succeed Nelson Mandela as head of ANC).
Further, it is ANC, supported by Ramaphosa, which has resolved to expropriate the land of white farmers without compensation.
If uncompensated land expropriation takes place we can expect South Africa to slide into the economic decline and chaos of Zimbabwe, which took the land of its white farmers without compensation and found itself transformed from relative prosperity to an economic and agrarian basket case.
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"Mr. Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid labor leader who made a fortune in private business before returning to active politics in 2012, was narrowly elected the A.N.C.’s leader in late 2017."
Mr. Ramaphosa made a fortune in private business selling his political influence.
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As a black middle class voter, I’m struggling with some of the themes in this article. Most especially the idea that a vote for the ANC, strengthens Cyril’s hand to shape a corruption-free South Africa. I fear that a vote for the ANC will send a different message to the rogue elements within the party. It will be seen as a vote of confidence in the party’s legacy and emotional stronghold on the country.
The ANC will win tomorrow’s election; however, the margin of victory needs to be smaller to give South Africa a chance at recovery — and real economic and social progress.
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We spend our winters now, between two and four months a year, in the Western Cape. The new South Africa, the "Rainbow Nation," is indeed grappling its way forward. They got rid of apartheid, and there is a real love of country among all South Africans. As I always say when asked by South African friends of whatever color or ethnic group (not that I don't have many opinions to offer), "you have to figure it out," quickly followed by a statement that it's "just like we have to figure it out in our country." I like to say "you got rid of Zuma, and we need to deal with Trump," which always produces a lot of laughs. On inequality, which is truly awful in South Africa given the history of the country: There are many policy initiatives that will help (my opinions coming into play now), including sensible land reforms. We also lived for 2 years in Zimbabwe in the mid-90s, and it's still debatable that the Mugabe land grabs since then could have been avoided if the white commercial farmers, less than 1% of the population and owning almost 100% of the productive land, would have been willing to give up, say, half of their acreage for reasonable compensation -- a much longer story there, but that's the gist of it.
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@C.L.S. White farms agreed over and over again to land "reforms" but it was never enough for Mugabe and his most rabid supporters due to both ideology and (perhaps even more so) corruption.
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Let us hope that South Africa does not become Zimbabwe.
If either the radical wing of the A.N.C. or the Economic Freedom Fighters takes power, that is likely to happen.
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May they make wiser choices than we have here in America. Democracy is very precious.
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It is essential to consider the global political-economic context in which the ANC's corruption has taken place.
The negotiated settlement that led to one person, one vote left control of South Africa's fiscal and monetary policy out of the majority government's hands. Afrikaner Nationalist Party interests controlled the central bank and treasury, and the country agreed to IMF and GATT + WTO restrictions on wages, on public infrastructure spending, on providing low-cost medications, and a large number of other restrictions.
Result: South Africa was not able to conduct the land redistribution and fiscal spending necessary to raise large numbers of people out of poverty. Black and brown South Africans had been impoverished as a direct result of Apartheid public policy, and it would take massive public policy initiatives and spending to reverse this condition over time. We're talking most basic needs: clean water, education, raising wages, jobs + public works programs, etc.
So, while a relative few prospered post-Apartheid, a much larger portion of the majority stagnated.
Into this climate, political machine connections become one of the few ways that broad numbers of people have to move out of poverty. We should not be surprised that South Africa's dominant political party has become a machine for graft and favors. This is a model replicated over and over again throughout history, and around the world, including in some of America's biggest cities.
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The legacy of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sissilu, Desmond Tutu and Albert Luthuli has faded as much lesswr black and white men and women have failed rise to their heights in a post apartheid South Africa. In addition to the color aka race divide there are black African ethnic tribal differences.
Truth and reconciliation without socioeconomic educational health reform and reparations for the black African majority is a simmering and smoldering looming danger.
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Just a quibble on the current composition of the South Africa population by race categories. The article refers to the black population as 90%. I think that this percentage must include the colored population, which is roughly 10%, added to the black population, which is roughly 80%. The balance roughly 10% is white. The Indian population is <1%.
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So sorry to hear voters have not registered. They should register and vote against the ANC if they want change in South Africa. The educated and technocrats are abandoning the country to move elsewhere, the infrastructure is failing and crime is rising. The electorate should at least have a try at electing the D.A. If you want a more in depth analysis of this election, read the New Yorker article in the most recent magazine. Ramaphosa wears a $17,000 watch and was bullied into supporting the legislation allowing the government to seize land from white landholders with no compensation, a strategy that ruined the economy of Zimbabwe. There is no evidence that he cares about the country, he seems to be just another leader obsessed with feathering his own nest.
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@Eero
The guy was rich when he came back to the ANC, so criticizing his watch seems somehow beside the point. His nest is already feathered so I am not sure he's motivated by more feathers.
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Ramaphosa has been in power for just two years, and he has had to lead an ANC that his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, had 9 years to turn into a termite mound of corruption and incompetence. But Ramaphosa has made positive steps, and there is no other leader who can the set the still influential and probably indispensable ANC on the road to recovery by undoing the catastrophic damage wrought to it and the country by Jacob Zumba. If South Africa does not elect someone of Mr. Ramaphosa’s skill and stature, its long decline is likely to continue.
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This is the type of a voter demographic swing I imagine happening in the us. Middle class black voters, while not necessarily going republican like pre-fdr, will leave the dems because of high taxes and lack of action.
As more black voters experience wage gains and continued economic mobility I feel this is bound to happen.
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@Mike, So, are we supposed to vote for someone as vile as trump because some of us have jobs?
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@Moe
So middle class African-American voters, like for instance my veterinarian and my car mechanic, will vote for the Republicans who gave us the current occupant of the Oval Office? Whatever you are on, please don't drive or operate heavy machinery - or even a lawn mower.
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