South Africa election: The ANC has failed and many people will vote for change
As South Africa votes on Wednesday, Sky's John Sparks says the country's one-time liberators look tired and untrustworthy.
Tuesday 7 May 2019 21:22, UK
Some people in South Africa refer to it as the 'liberation dividend' - a dividend that has paid handsomely for the African National Congress (ANC).
The party of Nelson Mandela has dominated the political life of this nation for the past 25 years with voters repeatedly backing the organisation that ended the apartheid regime.
In return, Mandela and his band of democratic revolutionaries created a country where the media is free, the courts are independent and civil society groups are vibrant and assertive.
But the ANC has failed to do the basics.
It has failed to provide essential government services, stable employment and a platform for economic growth. Under the calamitous presidency of Jacob Zuma, the party become a by-word for corruption, dirty-dealing and grubby officials.
As the nation goes to polls on Wednesday, the one-time liberators are looking tired and untrustworthy. Many South Africans will be doing the unthinkable and voting for a change.
It is not like the ANC do not know this. In an attempt to save their collective skin, they forced Zuma out of office last year and replaced him with a charismatic, self-made businessman called Cyril Ramaphosa.
The 66-year old, who has served 15 months as state president, benefits from his association with Nelson Mandela who favoured Ramaphosa to replace him when he went down in 1999 (the party chose Thabo Mbeki instead).
But that was 20 years ago and the nation has begun to reconsider 'Madiba's' long-term legacy.
The current rate of unemployment stands at 27%. The economy is barely growing and conditions in the country's hospitals and schools are desperate - 80% of Grade 4 pupils in South Africa cannot read.
Plus, there is the inability of the state-owned corporations to perform basic tasks - like treating sewage or keeping the lights on.
The state-owned power utility Eskom has introduced rolling electricity blackouts as it grapples with a debt mountain of £23bn and poor management and corruption.
The water treatment system serving the country's largest city, Johannesburg, has collapsed. As a result, tens of millions of litres of raw sewage pour into the Vaal River every single day.
Adding insult to injury, ANC party officials have placed a bunch of current and former cabinet ministers, widely suspected of stealing public funds, on their list of official parliamentary candidates. This makes them eligible for seats under the country's proportional representation system.
The ANC's secretary-general, Ace Magshule, who himself is subject to wide-ranging allegations of corruption, simply shrugs his shoulders: "What we have done, we have looked at what the law says."
"You are talking about people that have never been charged with any crime or offence. Why do you want to single out people because they're out there in the media with allegations?" asked Magashule.
The noxious odour of unaccountability clings to the ANC and Cyril Ramaphosa knows it. At his final campaign event on Sunday he promised to restore trust.
"We are determined that those found guilty of corruption or involved in state capture will not be allowed to occupy positions of responsibility, either in the ANC, in parliament or in government. The era of impunity is over," he pledged.
There are a lot people who believe Ramaphosa when he says he is going to clean up the government. They also think he has the ability to turn the economy around for the 66-year old has amassed a sizeable fortune.
It is because the ANC has opted for Mandela's prodigal-like son that it will probably win the national election, albeit with a smaller majority. The public will give their liberators another chance, after two decades of second chances.
But this is it. The party is badly damaged and it will take a national renaissance to rehabilitate the brand.
Meanwhile, the liberal 'Democratic Alliance' party and the radical far-left 'Economic Freedom Fighters are making inroads with younger, historical voters.
The revolution is over. Now the ANC are going to have to govern.