Ramaphosa taking South Africa ‘in right direction’, ANC making ‘steady progress’ with major reforms

Ramaphosa taking South Africa ‘in right direction’, ANC making ‘steady progress’ with major reforms

South Africans are heading to the polls today and what’s set to be the country’s most crucial election since the end of apari 30 years ago 27 million registered voters are set to elect a new Parliament which then chooses a president and for the first time since 1994 the African National Congress is at risk of losing its outright majority and could be forced to negotiate a coalition thec was once led by the late Nelson Mandela who helped win freedom for black South Africans after Decades of AP partha but now with inequality and unemployment on voters Minds many are hoping for change danana dza reports long Q’s outside polling stations as Africa’s largest economy heads to the polls Wednesday’s vote is seen as one of South Africa’s most pivotal as support for the ruling African National Congress has begun to wne according to projections thec may lose its majority for the first time since it came to power in 1994 under Nelson Mandela I just wanted to be the first one to take out thec I’m sick and tired the youth don’t work they have at least three degrees with no jobs if there are jobs they’re given to friends of thec we’re hoping that things will change because our biggest problem our children are not working 30 years old I’m still maintaining a son of 30 something years is he went to University but no job South Africa has a population of 62 million and the average age is just 28 many of the country’s firsttime voters grew up only knowing the ANC and they blame the party for South Africa’s numerous problems including power outages corruption crime and an unemployment rate that stands at nearly 33% We Are Young And there’s no job for youth we have degrees we not getting job this is definitely my first time voting I’m excited and uh I hope to see I hope to see something different in the future I’m just really interested on where this country is going to go now from this election cuz it’s really a critical point right now voters in South Africa vote for a party which in turn chooses the president sirel Raposa is seeking a second term in office and defended his record during the campaign polls are due to close at 900 p.m. local time with results due out on Sunday Richard kand is a law professor at the University of Cape Town and he joins me now live to talk a bit more about the election in South Africa today Richard thanks for joining us what are your thoughts could this Mark the end of the anc’s majority there I think that’s more likely than not though I think all the smart money is on thec dropping below 50% that’s clearly a watershed moment they’ve dominated the Electoral scene for six national elections and 30 years it’s what uh I’ve been calling a second transition obviously the first transition 30 years ago was out of apartheid as your package suggested now the second transition is out of that period of electoral dominance by thec so we’re going going to have to get used to a more cluttered more competitive and probably more complicated political landscape indeed more complicated though could mean looking at some kind of Coalition building if thec loses below 50% what kind of post-election Coalition could we be looking at uh it will hinder very much on where exactly thec vote uh lands if they are between say 46 and 49 thec will be able to put together relatively uh easy and comfortable Coalition president Raposa will probably remain in office and life will continue more or less as it is below 46 we enter a period of far greater uncertainty and complexity and it will be difficult then for thec to make a choice about who would be a reliable stable uh partner our experience of coalition so far at local government level has not been a happy one a series of really unstable coalitions have denuded uh citizens of good governance in cities as important as Johannesburg Petoria uh and Port Elizabeth so that’s the I think anxiety or the concern here that in fact maybe the devil you know is is better than an alternative that is less stable well talk us through thec Challengers what are the other parties that could be the big Winners today well the interesting thing there is is that for the last say 20 years the Democratic Alliance has been the main opposition party but as thec declines it’s not the da that is necessarily going to benefit because the opposition landscape has also become more com uh competitive and more cluttered there are new Runners and Riders like action SAA and the Patriotic Alliance quite populist parties and and one of the big issues for the future Jenny is is this going to be a switch now to more mature multi-party democracy or are we going to find a much more fractured and splintered landscape where populist parties can prosper and the void at the middle that thec will in a sense create as it weakens may become a a real weakness for our democracy indeed because it does seem like a coalition could be a a risky gamble moving toward a stable government well that’s right and I think again for me 46 which I happen to think is is certainly my prediction more or less for the outcome if the goes below 46 as I say much more complicated they may have to choose for example between a coalition with the economic freedom fighters which is a very kind of hard nationalist uh populist party uh inherently unstable and unreliable partner probably or the Democratic Alliance which is a Christian Democrat right of Center party both thec and the da will find it difficult to sell that to their constituency but for both parties it may well be the most stable and the most consistent option were the political leadership of those two parties to be able to rise to the occasion and they would probably in those circumstances package it as a government of national Unity Richard what are for you the biggest issues facing voters in South Africa today well it’s clear that jobs uh we have a sort of 35 to 50% uh unemployment rate which is of course uh extremely problematic and challenging uh we have a sluggish economy uh that isn’t driving growth and jobs uh and we have a really difficult crime rate so I think the the core issues for voters are jobs and security at home what about for young voters something like less than 50% of South Africans under the age of 20 even registered to vote today where is all of that apathy coming from that’s a really important point and I’m glad you raise it a third of our eligible voters that’s 13.7 million voters failed to register for this election after 30 years they’ve effectively turned their back on Democracy or elector democracy and seven or 8 million of those are under the age of 30 that’s a real concern it suggests either that there is a sort of dry Tinder uh group of re revolutionaries in Waiting or perhaps simply that the current political leadership and parties has been unable to offer a value proposition that is enticing enough for the those young voters you know Richard I think everyone agrees that perhaps 30 years in power is too long for any party let’s say that South Africa does move some towards some sort of Coalition with thec and with other parties do you think things will be better for the country that way are you hopeful for what will come out of this election well the the the contradiction here is that whilst thec is an organization is in Decline it’s in many ways broken there are large parts of it that are corrupt it’s highly divided it lacks any new ideas or fresh thinking but on the other hand thec in government particularly around s Raposa our president and the people he’s appointing into government in fact have been introducing really important reforms and although the pace of change in the last few years has not been as as sharp and as as bold as many would uh say we need uh it is steady progress and we are heading slowly in the right direction an example of that is the absence of load shedding now the fact that electricity sector uh uh sector reforms are beginning to to kick in and work so I would argue that the best thing for the country is a few more years of Mr roposa as president rather than turning to a kind of very messy and uncertain Coalition Arrangement all right Richard thanks for that Richard Ken there speaking to me from Cape Town

South Africans are voting at schools, community centers, and in large white tents set up in open fields in an election seen as their country’s most important in 30 years. It could put the young democracy in unknown territory. As Delano D’Souza reports, the ANC’s three-decades of dominance is at stake. While they led South Africa out of apartheid’s brutal white minority rule in 1994, they are now the target of a new generation who are exasperated over widespread poverty ravaging half the country of 62 million people. Africa’s most advanced economy also has some of the world’s deepest socioeconomic problems, including unemployment rates upwards of 30%. With lingering inequality, poverty and joblessness threatening to unseat the party that promised a “better life for all”, FRANCE 24’s Genie Godula is joined by Richard Calland, Emeritus Associate Professor in the Department of Public Law at the University of Capetown and Fellow of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

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