South Africa of today far from the ideal of Nelson Mandela
(Vatican Radio) Ballot counting in South Africa shows that the ruling Party, the African
National Congress, has taken an early lead in the general election.
Partial
results reveal that the ANC has garnered 62% of the vote, followed by the opposition
Democratic Alliance at 24%
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party is in
third place with 5%.
Turnout for the election was calculated at just over 72%
with voting proceeding peacefully in most areas.
These elections are seen
as particularly significant as they are the first to take place since the death of
Nelson Mandela as well as marking the end of apartheid 20 years ago.
But serious
economic problems, corruption, unemployment and lack of service delivery are just
some of the issues that continue to plague the nation.
Reporting for Vatican
Radio on the South African elections, David Maggiore asked Raymond Perrier, director
of the Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg whether the economic themes will continue
to be challenges after the election…
Listen to the interview…
Perrier says
that all the economic problems that existed before the electoral campaign will continue
to be major issues after the campaign and “I’m not sure that anyone feels that any
party has come up with any proposals that really make a difference” he said.
He
explains that one of the reasons that the extreme left EFF party has gained some interest
is because it appears to have solutions, and even if they are not good solutions,
Perrier points out that when people are so worried they are looking for any solution
that might possibly work.
Regarding other issues the government will have to
address, Perrier says South Africa has suffered very badly from the decline in its
currency which has lost some 30% in two years. This – he says - has a huge impact
on the cost of living, and South Africans are angry and frustrated because of this.
Another
source of anger is the widespread corruption at all levels of society, but especially
within the political classes. Perrier says: “the best way to address corruption is
to address corruption, so electing as President (Jacop Zuma) a man who has been accused
by the Public Prosecutor a man who has been accused of stealing public money, shows
the party has very little genuine commitment to tackling corruption”. “They keep talking
about it , but for as long as nothing is done about ANC officials, nobody believes
they are serious” he said.
Regarding what is left of Nelson Mandela’s idea
and ideal of the “Rainbow Nation”, the “new South Africa”, Perrier says that unfortunately
one of the things that the ANC has shown in its years as the ruling party, is that
it is “moving away from the vision of the ANC which was always a multiracial party,
to a focus which is very much of it being a black party”. “That’s quite contrary to
the vision of the ANC which historically was multiracial” he said.
Of the role
that civil society and religious organizations can play in the development of society,
Perrier says Churches continue to play an important role in the provision of education:
“not big in terms of number but important in terms of showing that a public school
run by a religious organization can deliver better results using the same budget as
a public school run by the government, so it’s a good model of what can be done in
service delivery” he said.
Raymond Perrier also points out that the Churches
and particularly the Jesuit Institute have been particularly involved in encouraging
people to vote reflectively: “not simply to just vote for the Party they have always
voted for, but to think about the issues and think about what best serves the common
good”.