See, this is why I don’t appreciate it when these foreign johns comment on the state of South Africa. They’re bound to get it wrong.
The worst thing about the World Cup is the masses of scribes, descending onto our little wedge of turf like carrion birds onto the carcass of a giraffe, to prod, peer, smirk and pontificate.
The most entertaining so far have been the British gutter press scribblers. Who can forget their delightful, if shrill articles, warning the unsuspecting tourist of the dangers of Africa? From hijacking baboons, killer snakes and warring tik gangs, they have been there every step of the way, informing and equipping.
Not even Ben Trovato could come up with some of their stuff (maybe if he stumbled out of a pub, as dizzy as an owl, and promptly fell into a vat of psychedelic drugs).
A recent offering, from the BBC no less, runs along similar lines, even though the Beeb journalist respects the readers’ intelligence enough not to feign outrage.
Hugh Sykes, the journalist in question, found a few black South Africans to give him the “some things were better under apartheid” soundbite, and he was away. And it’s quite a statement, coming from a black South African. But it begs the question: Some things were better under apartheid? Oh really? Like what — the police brutality? The fact that millions of South Africans were spared the enormous schlep of standing in a queue to vote for someone they implicitly mistrusted?
It is not undeniable that the prevailing mood post-1994 was one of exuberant expectation. RDP was supposedly going to fix everything. Blame it on naivety, or blame it on devious electioneering if you want, but the ANC eventually sobered up and realised that running a country isn’t as easy as running a pseudo-guerrilla war. That’s when Gear was implemented. Growth. It’s a terribly slow thing at the best of times (ask any teenager’s mom), and the economy is no different. But it’s the correct path, one that will eventually yield the highest returns.
The shift in focus from quick-fix to a more sustainable solution, forced in no small part by the reality that South Africa’s economy just wouldn’t be able to sustain sweeping socialism, doesn’t translate to the statement that things were better under apartheid. Sykes acted irresponsibly by making that connection, something I flatter myself to think no local journalist would have done.
Yes, the corruption, cronyism and general mayhem in our government departments isn’t helping. And yes, we have massive service-delivery problems. But things are moving forward, slowly. One disgruntled former activist doesn’t change that fact.
A lot of black South Africans feel as if the government has let them down by not delivering on their promises. But I also think the government is only beginning to realise that it’s a very long walk to economic prosperity. Some things will take quite a long time to fix. These “some things were better under apartheid” blacks are simply venting their frustrations at what they perceive to be an unjustifiably slow pace of development.
I can’t wait till the World Cup is over so these Africa correspondents can turn their attention back to Sudan and whatever it is that the Daily Mail normally concerns itself it. In fact I can’t wait till South Africa gets out of the world’s spotlight and we can be a normal country, like any other, and not burdened down by the thoroughly unreasonable expectations of the West.
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75 Responses to “Were things really better under apartheid?”
Not your most convincing article Sipho.
I think the “some things were better under apartheid” argument is that, for many black people, their quality of life has deteriorated since ‘94 because of, amongst other things, dreadfully poor service delivery.
I do not know if this is the case but your article, which seems a little bit defensive, does little to convince otherwise.
However. The problem with the “some things were better under apartheid” argument is that it will undoubtedly be used in support of racist rhetoric.
For me, the argument, if correct, does not mean that blacks in general were better off under apartheid, simply that the ANC have failed in many respects. I am sure that even those black South Africans that say “some things were better under apartheid” are not wishing to go back to pre ‘94 times, but simply for less corruption and better service delivery.
The fact that some black people think that “some things were better under apartheid” does however support the view that I, and many other white (and presumably black) people have; that the ANC has in many respects been a colossal, failure and that their neglect of the majority of South Africans borders on criminal.
The delusional, apartheid apologists and denialists will always make those claims, spread misinformation and create hysteria whenever they can. Its a pity we don’t have adequate media watchdog organizations to hold these “journalists” aka “bloody agents” to journalistic ethics and standards! Fortunately most of the world does not take the sensationalist British press or certain local media too seriously anymore.
Sipho, in your anger you have overlooked the word ‘SOME’ …. in which case you might agree that SOME things were better before 1994.
Certainly our school results were better. And our skills output. And certainly those houses built in Gugs, Langa and Nyanga, Mitchells Plain are palaces compared to todays RDP boxes. Healthcare, even in rural areas, was also better. Our TB program (SANTA)was copied by the rest of the world.
I have also heard people voicing the opinion that life was better before then. However those who express these views, unlike you and me, don’t have decent housing, jobs, cars, holidays etc. So who are we to judge their opinions? Or even deny the truth of their before/after experiences?
It doesn’t really matter what you think in this regard, because the reality and opinions of the potential tourists and investors who have any inkling of coming to/ investing in South Africa are not shaped by you. They are shaped by the foreign media who you are criticizing. That’s the bottom line - the immutable truth.
It may be hard to swallow, but other nations also have a right to judge us by their standards. These standards that we each individually have, and have collectivity as a nation, are how we evaluate our realities. They are entitled to look at South Africa through their own eyes and they are entitled to form their own opinions based on their own value systems, whether we like these opinions or not.
Once we as a nation can grow up and accept the possibility that there many actually be some find of truth and value to the opinions of others instead of rejecting them outright through the populist mantra that they are ‘the white racist oppressors that are not to be trusted’
Sipho, some of what you say is true - there are many who would love the 2010 World Cup to fail. It won’t which will make the naysayers even more angry.
I do however disagree that the average citizen is better off since the dismantling of Apartheid. The basic pillars of a democracy, Education, Health and Law and Order have all deteriorated since the ANC came to power and the very citizens who need these basic services are definitely worse off. In reality all that has happened is that a corrupt white government (who did deliver services) has been replaced by a corrupt “black” government who are unable to deliver the basic services. Nepotism is even more prevalent and the few wealthy get wealthier by the day. All that counts is political or family connections.
I am not sure what the solution is but hoping that the media will focus elsewhere after WC 2010 will only make things worse. The media, while not always ethical, does at least highlight the issues and this encourages debate.
Have a great World Cup.
Not sure - while one cannot and should not compare different periods of time as the dynamics have changed so drastically that the comparison can only be wishful thinking, I can’t help feeling that we are on a slippery slope.
Our matic pass rate (or lack thereof) is of hugh concern for the future of this country. btw Had the Nats remained in power they would today be facing exactly the same problem - namely a large unemployable impoverished population and the very real possibility of a slide into anarchy bearing in mind the tenuous position the world economy finds itself in.
The Daily Mail focusing on Sudan? The only reason it’s focusing on us is because Wayne Rooney will be here. It’ll be back to reporting on how the Lib Dems are destroying Britain as soon as England lose on penalties in the quarter final.
“I can’t wait till South Africa gets out of the world’s spotlight” I don’t understand why? For years, under the Nats, we languished in a backwater under a glass jar, not able to compete or exchange ideas. I think it is rather like coming out of jail. We will obviously make mistakes and it will obviously be pointed out with glee (by some) but eventually we’ll get the hang of the global village and the art of good governance if we persist and keep beating up our government. If some journos prefer to tar and feather us instead of pointing out the things we have achieved and the places of interest worth visiting, well, sour grapes is something they are exceedingly good at and tomorrow it will be another’s turn. By the way, I have heard the “things were better…” statement from a taxi driver, of all people. I also took him to task. It is very easy to forget the humiliation and lack of freedom, education and the right to own assets.
In fairness to these foreign johns, the “life was better under apartheid” was explored recently in book-form by Jacob Dlamini: “NATIVE NOSTALGIA” published by Jacana.
Yes there have been delivery issues, and some people’s living standards have become worse. Others have become better. That is true everywhere. Would I want to go back to the racist-sexist-christian-nationalist-dubbed into afrikaans-censorship obsessed-paternalistic-conscription days of apartheid? Not a chance. Give me the current lot any day. And yes I am a biased privileged white person who doesn’t have to suffer in poverty so maybe my perspective is skewed.
Dave Harris … amazing that the “The delusional, apartheid apologists and denialists” are destitute black people living in shacks.
Sipho …. I think in your outrage you missed the word “SOME”.
And certainly Some things have gotten worse. Like schooling and healthcare. And today’s RDP house just doesnt compare to those solid structures built decades ago in Gugs, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain.
I, too, have been astonished to hear people say that “apartheid was better” …. the more so because the people who say this are black and poor. Perhaps we, who live comfortably in decent homes, really have no right to condemn or deny the views of destitute people who feel things were better then.
Sipho, while I agree with your argument, and believe the BBC article was very superficial, I think your piece would benefit by being bolstered by figures, such as per capita income, infant mortality, literacy, access to water and electricity, number of people in informal housing, etc.
Of course, you’ll be called off for using selective statistics (you’ll get a lot of crime stats I would guess) but it does make the whole argument a bit more grounded in reality.
I do think the intangible and unquantifiable concept of ‘freedom’ is actually the trump card again the equally ambigious “things” that were supposed to be better.
Why are there “African” standards and “Western” standards? We’re all part of humanity here. If a child is raised in a mud hut, with no formal roads, electricity, running water, decent schooling, etc…then the government should be judged on “human” standards. African standards should not be any lower or higher than “Western” (or eastern standards for that matter). How much does the government care for its people? Its simple and obvious. If a government is corrupt, useless, self-serving (like our own) - we should judge them on human scale. It matters not that they happen to be in Africa (and largely African). They are useless in human terms - and they need to be criticised and removed! Bring on good, honest, hard-working governance, and many of the problems we face as a country are solved!
The myth that the Apartheid government delivered cannot go unchallenged. All the ever managed to do was deliver in the white designated areas the rest we were out in the cold, from not having tarred roads, running water and electricity to access to proper education. Seems to me all the people here who say things were better were those who were afforded them. For the rest of us it was hell. This is not to say the ANC government has covered itself in glory. But some perspective here is needed. Just saying that people will judge us by “their” standards without understanding the context of how development or the lack thereof took place in South Africa is foolish, to say the least.
Whilst we strive to get the ANC to properly serve all the peoples of Mzansi we must not make the mistake of glorifying the incompetence that existed under apartheid. I challenge any of your to go into townships and speak to the people who live there instead of the pontificating from your ivory towers.
If a man could tell on his comrades under apartheid and now can not. Things were better for him under apartheid.How many black people lost their positions and promotion chances in the police and army because the comrades had arrived?. Things were better for them.
Dont forget the power of the expatriate white influence who left because black power had come. They are everywhere and they spread they gospel far and wide. Is the jorno not one of those or a son or relative/friend of those.However let him print what he likes.
Its your job to write the good in SA and show the good in SA.
Agenda agend agenda. What does the world know about Malawi
1) they put gays in jail.
2)madonna was there.
Thats what they want to write about to sell their papers to make a dollar. Its up to the malawians and friends of malawi to write something good (if it exists) about malawi.
Why should a jorno write something that does not put food on his table. you do it.!
Sipho I agree with you, this sounds like a “fishing” piece of journalism, trying to look hard hitting, but really creating the story before it is there.
@Belle, when you say that school results were better under Apartheid, you are taking into account most South Africans had to complete that which was set out under the “Bantu education act” which was specifically dumbed down to keep black people as servants and labourers, right?
The killer snakes were the giveaway really that this was an actual campaign of selling newspapers by creating a dark ages, super-violent Africa to titillate braindead tabloid readers. You should have heard my in-laws laugh at this one.
This place has far more of its share of issues. Don’t forget it by rushing into the defence against stupidity.
“Its a pity we don’t have adequate media watchdog organizations to hold these “journalists” aka “bloody agents” to journalistic ethics and standards!”
Who trains the watchdog then? Someone sensible, with little hot-headed partison rhetoric, has to otherwise it will turn around and savage its master, Freedom. Or better still, just forego the ill-trained watchdog and train yourselves to keep your own eyes open and defend your own freedoms as the MJC, for example, will do in court as a group.
If we set Apartheid Days as the “low-water” benchmark - then to me the issue is not nostalgia for those days, but anger at those people milking taxpayers today and carelessly providing lesser service !
Poor policing, services (look at the recent article on water quality for heavens sake), tenderisers, nepotism… All of these items set a new low that we don’t need.
When you add to that the ANCYL deliberately interfering in people’s lives by breaking the little infrastructure that we are able to get going… Well, all I can say is that even the Broederbond or the Rapportryers never were seen to behave like that. A new, low watermark indeed…
Apartheid was a crime against humanity. To argue this is like pointing out the average German was better off during the reign of Hitler. Deal with the now, not the past. And right now things are pretty bleak, with the average life expectancy falling to 50. The ANC has been in power long enough to have fixed up problems. Blame them - without drawing on historical comparisons which don’t help anyone.
” These “some things were better under apartheid” blacks are simply venting their frustrations at what they perceive to be an unjustifiably slow pace of development.”
But, then again, maybe they’re simply correct. And they don’t need a local journo to decipher or interpret the words they chose themselves to convey how they feel?
Sipho, the “New SA” is a million miles better than Apartheid SA but one will always find “Blacks” who were better off under Apartheid but this does not change the 1st statement.
The Western (especially English) press has always been negative to “2nd/3rd world” countries, remember the Nats wining daily about biased media etc etc. So just ignore these negative ones as most are positive, CNN have done a good job the last 4/5 weeks spotlightning SA hosting the world cup.
I grew up at the time when the excesses of racial discrimination were accompanied by state violence, deprivation in homelands, second class education, job reservation, “ministerial consent” to study in white university, imposition of section 10 provision. Was there anything better under apartheid, a definite NO!
I know many white people who have (with a certain level of satisfaction) stated: ‘the blacks were happier under apartheid’. A lot of this has to do with their own cultural pride as Afrikaners but I think it is more than that. A lot of white people make this statement (or statements to this effective) because of common misconception. They believe black people are like cows: as long as they have grazing land and a watering hole, they will be happy. However, black people are as human as any Afrikaner. The material needs of life are important but so is freedom of speech, movement and association, the promise of hope and opportunity, dignity and self-respect. Whatever you think about the economic nature of the transition, the post-apartheid transition has delivered more than water or food to a poverty-stricken black population but the rich and golden opportunity to live free of tyranny.
Whether things were better in 1990 or now is irrelevant; If apartheid was still in place in 2010 things would be worse than they are now.
The reality is that we are now integrated into the global community and we have to compete with China, India, Brazil, etc. Since we were uncompetitive in industries that were protected during the sanctions/isolation period many people have seen their quality of life and employment prospects go down.
@Sipho: The glare of the spotlight and the ‘unreasonable (foreign?) expectations’ that you wish to avoid are exactly those that keep their own governments honest and the best instrument to ensure good governance. Leaving it alone will cause South Africa to be left further behind.
Are we going to have this pathetic argument about what was better or worse under apartheid for the next 500 years?
The fact of the matter is that right here and now people are suffering, disease is rife, there is no respect for the law, there is no effective law enforcement , living standards are dropping corruption abounds and so on and so on and so on.
Lets stop being delusional and just get our act together and look after our people.
Apartheid dismantle the livelihood of the majority of Blacks and that is a fact. Secondly it was used as a yardstick to control the success that a Black person can achieve. How pathetic! Avhathetshelese ngeno: Those of you who think that apartheid time was better you have lost your mind. It is not about service delivery but the respect of human life that we should engage ourselves into. I am glad that SA will never and never again be under the White administration. You had your chance to stay in Africa and you blew it. We are aware of the syndicate of white journalists who selling SA abroad badly. What do you benefit from that. or shall we say this is beggining of the fourth world war. My question is why don’t you mind your damm business.
If some things were better “under apartheid” then it wasn’t because of apartheid at all but because some things were different in that era.
Perhaps we should be asking: Were some things really better pre-1994?
Let’s leave apartheid out of it and refer to a chronological period rather than an evil ideology.
And the answer is yes, sure some things were better pre-1994. And many things were very much worse too.
Over time things change, that’s inevitable. Some things improve, some get worse.
Denying this simple and obvious truth by making it an issue of apartheid or any other variation of racism is just silly.
We South Africans already waste far too much time and energy blaming things on race or racism. It’s enough already!
Where something is genuinely a race issue then fair enough but the bulk of it is nonsense and only serves to hold us all back when what we desperately need is to race forwards.
Thank you for an enlightening article - and I wish that as many South Africans (of all races) could have access to it. I also would wish that a lot of what is written in some of these blogs (the good stuff that is) was filtered UP to members of parliament that they might take cognisance and act positively to some of the criticism that is leveled at them. And yes I concur with what you have said with regards to things moving slowly but the ANC sometimes lacks in taking a firm stand against various members of its own - especially when blatantly accused of “corruption, cronyism and general mayhem”. But better under Apartheid - please the BBC needs to look at its own country before pointing fingers at SA and I was born there but would never go back
To say some things were better under Apartheid is to insinuate that it should be brought back. If specific things need to be changed people should concentrate on that instead of harping on about bygone eras. And why do people conveniently forget that Apartheid was about keeping black people as oppressed, undereducated and restricted as possible?
Hi All
Things were never better under Apartheid.The fact that Whites were always right no matter what they did,they were always perceived to be better even they had just primary education,the police and margistrates erred on the sides of Whites and crumbs that whites get “eat” were thrown at us.
Now we tenderpreneurs drunk with corruption and Shivas speaking like ZANU PF who want to Nationalise our lives.
Urgent action is needed. If we can bring Apartheid down this lot is childs play.
Some of the mud huts across our landscape during apartheid stood up better to the weather than many RDP houses of today do. White people on farms and in peri-urban areas lived quite happily with long drops and septic tanks. This had nothing to do with race or politics, it had to do with doing whatever you did to the best of your ability.
Journalists are entitled to report as they see things and they are bound to have a skewed perspective of this country. Everyone who watched the toilet saga on TV last week would have condemned those ANCYL jerks for their behaviour and everyone who sees the way some of our workers behave during strikes must also shudder at the content we are handing freely over to foreigners, to do with as they wish.
The blame, Sipho, sadly rests fairly and squarely with us.
Firstly 20 years is really not a long time in a nations history especially when they are emerging from a period where the majority were excluded and not allowed entry into decisions which directly affected their lives. I too have had black people saying that things were better under apartheid and things worked under apartheid but for whom did they work really? We talk of crime today in white areas, there has always been crime in black areas, people just didn’t care as long as THEY were okay. My late husband fell under the apartheid scrutiny purely because he was an expat and had the audacity to be a Radio Ham. He was hauled before the authorities and had to explain himself but this was nothing compared to what happened to so many of the comrades. There are many things that the ANC can be accused of and they are primary issues which in their zeal for revenge and enrichment have caused these problems in Health, Education, Security and unemployment. They literally shot themselves in the foot. Of course there are also things such as a worldwide recession and global warming and most vitally overpopulation. No government will ever succeed unless they tackle this problem head on. Yes we will give you welfare but in return you will be sterilised. Welfare should be given in the form of food and medical care for the children.38million divided by 8 does not go far. tbc
Nobody could seriously debate apartheid was better! And while a lot of sensationalist rubbish has been spoken about SA, there have also been a large number of articles, radio and TV programmes in the UK that have been balanced and non judgemental. Saffers of all shades are such a prickly bunch. In summary though the country is going backwards economically and its social development is faltering, its far from affirming and overflowing with progress. Its tilting more Nigeria than Argentina, of course what you can’t really get your heads around is no one actually gives a dam (outside of ZA).
It is not that life was better under apartheid - even for whites. The problem is that the ANC changed structures that worked just because of their distaste for any structure the whites created, with unintended bad results:
* Why reinvent the school curriculum when we had one that produced quality matriculants, why did the ANC just not roll out the old “white” curriculum to black schools?
* Eskom - the policy of producing too much electricity now seems like a good one, doesn’t it? And is it really better to employ black foreigners that whites born here?
* The police - The ANC demilitarised the SAPS only to bring back old structures. They seem to want to bring back the specialised units too - why did the ANC change that?
* The armed forces - Did we really need the arms deal? Why did we stop developing our own weaponry?Is the army as effective as it was 20 years ago - remember that Lesotho almost kicked our butt. I also cannot imagine soldiers going on strike 20 years ago.
* Municipal management - White a-political municipal managers was replaced with ANC deployees most, some incompetent.
In short the ANC wanted to change everything they perceived as too “white” and a lot of damage along the way. Maybe it is time that we realise that the only why to heal the country is for everyone to work together, black and white.
The BBC article was trashy and basic and I understand exactly why you felt you needed to retaliate.
In reality, an honest person would admit that some things are better and some are worse after 1994. Some of the bad is apartheid legacy and some is pretty terrible ANC governance.
It is impossible to measure based on ‘better’ and ‘worse’. Even putting numbers to the issue is misleading because I would rather be poorer but free and I suspect this is the case for many people in South Africa today.
I also wonder if you, as a black South African, would ever be able to admit that things were better under apartheid if that situation ever developed. In my opinion, things in Zim under ZanuPF are way worse than they ever were during colonial rule from a living standards point of view. And the people in that country are now not free either so the balancing factor has been removed.
Can you admit that things under ZanuPF are worse than they were under Ian Smith I wonder?
Is it possible that some things were done well during the apartheid era (even if only the white population were beneficiaries). If this was the case then maybe we should be identifying those things that were done well and try to emulate them for the benefit of all South Africans.
Comparison is meaningless unless done like for like, which makes a lot of sense theoretically, but not always the case in reality.
The reality that we are faced with is that we have moved out of one political epoch onto another, and may soon move onto yet another and so forth. The past is behind us and so we have to contend with the challenges of the present.
Unless if we are looking at the past, with a view to copy some models for present use, i do not see the need for comparison.
And about the expectations of the WEST - the reality is, if we deslike their scrutiy, then we should paly away from them. If we want to be left alone, then why bother compete with them for hosting events like the world cup?
By so doing, we are going out of our way to prove to them that we are just like them, so we should not complain when they throw it back at us
Because in reality, we cannot change them. The only thing we can change is what we do, and let them have their field day
And remember no matter how successful the worldcup is, those so called westerners will not suddenly wake up and say ‘See those Africans are now like us’ - we will still continue to be the third world in their minds.
So, just enjoy the world cup and forget about proving a point
Apartheid was an appalling system, as systems based on racial nationalism usually are. There are not many cases of successful similar systems historically, so this is hardly surprising. The most unfortunate reality is that many, but not all, of the aspects of the old ‘racial nationalism’ have been appropriated so faithfully in the RSA of 2010. If we do not learn from the mistakes of the past, we are destined to repeat them.
Grant Walliser, don’t kid yourself. Ian Smith’s reign was no different to apartheid. More blacks are educated in Zimbabwe than could have ever been under Ian Smith with his bantu education policy. White are scared of any African leader who talks about black empowerment for obvious reasons. South Africa is reaping the benefits of Mugabe’s education policy. Sanctions have destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy but not the spirit of the people. I am saying this as a Zimbabwean. Your views are synonimous with white views about what makes blacks happy. John Everyman summed it up nicely above.
A simple example of this point is the argument above in favour of press censorship. Eschel Roodie and BJ Vorster would have been proud . As a wise person once remarked: “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose”.
Life expectancy under Apartheid (1992) – 72 Years, under ANC (2008) – 49 Years.
How can life be better if we don’t live to experience it?
Conviction rate for serious crimes Under Apartheid – 72%, under ANC (who won’t give the latest figures so we have to use 2005) – 11%
How can life be better if what we have is stolen? How can we have a better life while being murdered?
Employment has decreased by 2.2 million real jobs since 1994 – Yes, the ANC have created almost 1 million tomato and sweet sellers at the taxi ranks and train stations but these aren’t real jobs. Even if you include these we are still 1,3 million jobs short.
How can life be better if we don’t have a job?
When, in SA Medical Services’ long and proud tradition have 151 babies died in one hospital over 4 months?
How can life be better if our children die before they can enjoy it?
Hey ANC supporters - is this how you’ve improved my country? Is this a better life for all? Are you proud?
We shouldn’t compare the current South Africa to the vastly better but still disgusting Apartheid South Africa. We need to compare ourselves against the successful developing nations. Trouble is that if we do, the picture is even more depressing!
Am I the only person that reads the newspaper? Maybe the foreign journalists read the South African newspapers the same way I do.
“But I also think the government is only beginning to realise that it’s a very long walk to economic prosperity”
This is the reason the ANC does not have any sense of accountability; everything is passed of to the future - same argument used before by others on this continent.
The ANC has not even been able to maintain the standards and infrastructure they inherited. But they are very able to loot the coffers in the process of wholesale destruction. No, things were not better under apartheid - the ANC has only managed to demonstrate that they are not capable of thrift, hard work and vision, the very qualities that are the foundation of success.
The DA also had no experience in government but they demonstrated in a very short space of time how to steer around the sinking ship they inherited from the ANC. So, what does that say?
Altogether poor arguments by Sipho.
I’ve read many times about how South Africans are deeply offended by the various journalistic opinions from around the world. And it is just that; an opinion. Do not worry yourself with what UK tabloids write their goal is to shock and awe.
Yes Africa has its problems and those opinions will never change until it starts to actually act on those problems. Look at the UK’s recent expenses scandal, a classic corruption case. What happened? MP’s were hung out to dry and shamed in the media, there was an actual response to the situation.
What happens in SA when there is corruption/nepotism? Absolutely nothing.
Its going away. No point freedom if not have the capacity to enjoy it, and those who do, get richer with NO plan for the rest… class apartheid without an economic plan CAN be worse than apartheid with sanctions (the fat lady has not sung yet) and the world bank is coming to take over luthuli house… the boere denominated their loans in local currency… and we are exposed to the full vagaries of the market… hold your breadth and see how GEARed up we are on the down side… its gonna get a lot worse before we even think about making it better…
I was 17 in 1994 and doing matric but I find it difficult that people of my age can claim to compare pre 94 and post in terms of things where better then, Have we bored to check the status of this people is they are in a position to make such statements to start with , with out insulting their inteligence nor them being taken too seruisly?
Some things were better and some things were worse.
During apartheid, Afrikaner psychopaths tortured and murdered people in detention, while the people who paid their salaries sat in church every Sunday.
But they did not steal from their own. FW de Klerk, presumably hated by the majority of the population, drove around with one bodyguard and one following police car.
Today you people have much less torture under police care. But ANC cronies, darlings of the masses down to the lowest papier mache cadre, are never without their team of bodyguards and black vehicle convoys. And whether its Trevor Manuel sallying forth from his 5-star suite at the Dorchester to lecture ‘The West’ on their responsibilities to Africa, or the mayor of a poverty stricken community, they are all hardwired to mug the people who voted them in.
Which is better? If one had to choose between a bunch of thugs and a bunch of hypocritical thieves, I suppose one would choose the latter. But the best choice would be to give your children the opportunity to live elsewhere
@Gunslinger - Nice clear analysis but I would like to add two points:
- conscription - Yes it was put to inhumane uses in the past but it nicely matured the boys and would not be a bad idea to bring back for both sexes this time. A stint doing border patrol stopping poaching and illegal immigration can only be beneficial to growing relationships and undertstanding between the ivory tower and squatter camp kids.
-Parastatal apprenticeships: definitely one where the ANC shot themselves in the foot. In the bad old days, these workshops, notably the Railways workshops, served to give a future to those white kids who’s parents were too poor to sent them to varsity. It did not rule out getting a degree but was a slightly longer, cheaper route, which also served to give people real skills for employment. Instead, the ANC builts a multimillion dollar career opportunity centre that (presumably) will tell kids what is available in the jobmarket, something an afternoon search on the net will duplicate.
But I cannot help but to strongly agree with your last sentence by stating it my way: If we are to make progress as a country, this “us” and “them” business must be left in the past, where it belongs. There is only “us”. Go Bafana! There, I’ve said it.
But let’s be honest for a minute. In all probablity the Nats were also corrupt, appointed their mates to get big tenders and they definately werent open and transparent to the public (mirror image of the ANC). So this can be added to the list of vices over and above Apartheid.
But even with economic/trade sanctions in place they still built a world class network of public services for the urban areas that the ANC inherited in 1994. But what do we have now? Crumbling public administrations, service delivery protests, crime has become a joke, Durban (my city) is disgracefully filthy and even though we call ourselves a democracy promoting inclusionary governance, The ANC and their friends are untouchable by our laws.
The bottome line: South Africa has the opportunity to become better than what it was under Apartheid, but in order to achieve that goal the last relic of apartheid (i.e. the ANC) needs to be discarded and replaced by people that want to uplift the poor and make positive change. If you believe Zuma and malema will be the catalyst for positive change in this country you are a fool. So foreign media may be sensationalist but if you water it down everything they say is true.
I know RSA will be great but not with the megalomaniacs that have taken control of the ANC.
The trouble with that statement is that it has “apartheid” and “better” in the same sentence, which implies a view that is only held by a tiny minority. It should rather be said that that the Nat government were better at governing; unfortunately they chose to apply a policy of apartheid.
Proudly South African.
I always enjoy reading these comments more then the articles. It gives me and indication where we are as a nation.
Personaly.
Back then I was shot at by apartheid police, pushed from the whites-only coach on the train, had to commute past 6 whites-only schools to get an education that would hopefully land me a low income job working under a white male who figured he new everything.
Today…after lots of sacrifices by my parents, hard work, Unisa after hours… things are definately much better then back then.
Am I on par with my peers who benifitted from the system back then? Probably not, but I’m getting there!
-Service delivery is a pain, but
+I’m getting some service
-Education is poor, but
+My child can get an education “at any school”
-Electricity is expensive and water quality is poor, but
+We’re servicing the masses not the minority
-Security services are sheit, but
+We havent been at war with our neighbours for 2 decades
Are things looking up for S.A? I will do my part!
Undoubtedly, life is better now, except for the following, which still need to be made better than pre-1994. Spred of AIDS, balance-of-payments-deficit, communications, crime, disinterest, education, energy, Eskom, exchange rates, farming, fraud, fuel price, government departments, government ignorance, health, hospitals, housing, incompetence, infant mortality, inflation, ‘initiations’, land restitution, lawlessness, life expectancy, maintenance, maths-pass-rate, passports, police apathy, potable water, potholes, poverty, power cuts, ‘quiet diplomacy’, racism, rape, river pollution, roads, rudeness, safety/security, sanitation, sewage treatment, skills shortage, slow growth, slowing commodities markets, taxis, TB, Telkom, town planning, trains, travelgate, violence, governance, filthy beaches, sewage treatment, sewage in the ocean, municipalities, brain-drain, mortuaries, universities, shipping, schooling, municipal costs. Simple, reall.
The tragedy was to allow the ANC to measure itself against the Nats (lowest denominator) instead of what could have been achieved given the resources generated,the ideas available available.
Apartheid could never be better, but it leaves one wondering mostly because African leaders in general tend to forget the people and focus mostly on self.
the pillars of our constitution i.e education, health e.t.c are at a state that no patriotic South african should be proud of, however the argument that these mentioned above were better in the apartheid days is a fallacy, these were good for the few millions that were privilleged by the inhumane laws of those times, i remenber sadly how there was no clinic in my rural village of Centane prior ‘94, there was only 1 high school in a 50 km radius and people walked long distaces to get education, the was no magistrates courts in these arears and police stations were virtually non existent. Offcourse you would expect thouse who lived at the lap of luxury at the expense of the majority to cry foul , perhaps what we also should look at is that , even though nepotism and corruption have a direct impact on service delivery, the bulk of services in the apartheid era were for the few millions whose skin was paler than most and resources will suffer if you have to extend that to 48 million people of all skin colours and creeds
I find the double standards rather amusing. During apartheid the ANC hung onto every word any Jorno wrote and encouraged some rather dubious reports on the country at the time. Sanctions was the rage and great to bring the big evil empire down. I watched reguarly in the UK (yes the same “Blood Agents”)use any bit of fabricated journalism they could get their hands on with impunity. Every little incident was run over and over from different angles to create the illusion that it was new and fresh. South Africa was burning. Journalists paid locals to stage events, anti-apartheid groups and the ANC orchistrating behind the scenes like a crazed conductor. Whites on a day out at the shooting range was edited in to show them shooting blacks sleeping in the local parks as they do. Not a word was uttered against this blatant falsehoods. Why then now are the press treated like the enemy, they are doing their jobs, exept this time its for real. They fought for your freedom (The west in general)Never before and never after was the condemnation of a state so publicised and hated by the west, the rallies in support of a free South Africa was unprecidented across the world. What they didnt know at the time was that they fought not for democracy but a takeover of the wealth of this country by a few. So get real and stop being so sensitive about your goverments failing of the people.
The complaint that ‘apartheid was better’ is being voiced, not by the journalist who wrote the story, but by poor shack-dwellers.
Obviously, if you are reading this blog you are part of the comfortable middle class. All of you, who gush over how pleasant your present lifestyles are, have no right to judge the views of those who remain destitute since the fall of Apartheid 20 years ago.
The poor constitute the majority in this country. Who are we to dispute their opinion?
This is the topic which has been whispered by so many people next to me, and i have been ignorant of such attempts of undermining the hard work, sacrifice which had been endured by truely freedom fighters. please do not get me wrong here by freedom fighters I mean it, not beneficiaries who claim to be one while they have only had fought some for petty struggles such as being involved in the battling of ousting those that are in power as to get their frinds then they make din.back to the point in honour of our true revolunaries for what they had done they is nothing that can be compared to the apartheid period, to dare do that its a denialism of truth and the progress that we are moking as South africans. there is one thing that I want to beseech memebers of the blog, is not to make reference of the ANC when they want to talk about general mayhem that we are experiencing ,do they want to say 1960 soweto uprising was not a mayhem which resulted to so much lives lost.I dare not refer back as better than today. Egibithe was never bettered than kwa-isirayeli. I only infer with the reality of poor service delivery of which ANC is dealing with. don’t forget that many councillors are unlettered where service delivery mattered most that is why you see this mayhem generally.ousiders must back off.
thanks Sipho nice argument. let those that don’t belong here leave SA for its business. history taught us that even our former oppressors opted SA as better place. we know very well that there is nothing that pushes one away except competition. those hypocrites pretend to be caring for SA, no its not true their concerns are informed by interests of wishing to colonize us indirectly even if they are not with us through seeing they aspirations prevailing. Nelson Mandela our iconic historical hero once said ” never, never,never again shall it be that this beautiful land, shall ever be oppressed by the white minority” this must find expression in the words of many people whenever they think of SA.
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Sipho Hlongwane has done none of the things that normally qualify people to be on this august site. He has never written a book, or completed a fancy PhD in the vagaries of politics, economics or even a BA.
What he does then, is scribble. For fun. And that somehow landed him here. He earns his keep as a very tiny cog in a massive industrial machine, and occupies his evenings and early mornings slogging away at an LLB degree.
An avid fan of jelly beans, reading and Arsenal FC, he enjoys political satire (what he does not enjoy is talking of himself in the third person) and thinks that South Africans tend to take themselves a little too seriously. May this blog never fall into the same trap.
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Not your most convincing article Sipho.
I think the “some things were better under apartheid” argument is that, for many black people, their quality of life has deteriorated since ‘94 because of, amongst other things, dreadfully poor service delivery.
I do not know if this is the case but your article, which seems a little bit defensive, does little to convince otherwise.
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