Corruption instead of a rainbow nation: the crumbling legacy of Nelson Mandela

Tenth anniversary of death - Corruption instead of a rainbow nation: the crumbling legacy of Nelson Mandela

National hero, icon, Nobel Peace Prize winner. South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela died ten years ago. It is almost 30 years since Tata Madiba, as South Africans affectionately call him, liberated his country from the racist oppression of the apartheid regime and led it into democracy. The world celebrated with South Africa, full of hope for a better future.

As South Africa's first democratically elected president, Mandela founded the rainbow nation with the vision of a constitutional state, with equal opportunities as the basis of an inclusive society. He wanted solid education for all, good healthcare and decent jobs. The national interest should be paramount. But there is hardly anything left of the former freedom fighter's legacy today. "If Mandela were here today, he would be very disappointed with the current situation in the country," says sociologist Roger Southall from Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. "He would say the government has lost its way."

End of Nelson Mandela's rainbow vision

Mandela's party, the African National Congress (ANC), which has ruled with an absolute majority since 1994, has systematically run down the country with its 62 million inhabitants over three decades. Poverty, unemployment and crime are constantly on the rise. The education and healthcare systems are crumbling. The government is riddled with corruption, nepotism and incompetence. State-owned companies are going bankrupt. An ever-increasing budget deficit is also contributing to the economic crisis.

"Mandela's dream is in deep crisis. His ideas of a non-racist society that provides for all and leaves no one behind have failed. We have gone backwards at all levels," says William Gumede, Chairman of the Democracy Works Foundation. This is shown, for example, by the high youth unemployment rate of more than 60 percent.

Mandela was president for five years. In 1999, he voluntarily did not stand for re-election to make way for party colleagues. He was a democrat in heart and soul. In retrospect, South Africans doubt that this was a bad decision. After Mandela's departure, things went downhill politically and economically. His successor Thabo Mbeki denied that the immunodeficiency virus HIV was the cause of Aids and did not allow Aids medication to be prescribed in South Africa. According to a Harvard study, an estimated 330,000 South Africans died as a result and around 35,000 babies were avoidably born with HIV.

After Mbeki came Jacob Zuma (2009-2018), whose name became synonymous with the term "state capture", the exploitation of the state through the abuse of power. Zuma has repeatedly been on trial in recent years. The 81-year-old is accused of corruption, money laundering and fraud amounting to billions. He faces up to 25 years in prison. However, Zuma's trial has been repeatedly postponed to date.

Systematic undermining of the state in South Africa

When Cyril Ramaphosa took over the presidency in 2018, hopes were initially high that the 71-year-old would follow in Mandela's footsteps and make amends for the ANC's mistakes. However, it quickly became apparent that the reform-oriented Ramaphosa lacked the decision-making power within the powerful ANC structure. He was also unable to put an end to the self-enrichment within the party.

In his book "After Dawn", former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas (2014-2016) describes South Africa as a country that is being systematically destroyed by the ruling elite: "Political rents continue to be extracted, corruption is rampant, the functioning and legitimacy of the state continue to decline, investor confidence and thus the volume of investment are dwindling, the economy is stagnating, unemployment is rising, and social tensions continue to rise with the unequal distribution of income and wealth." Instead of promoting inclusive economic growth, the governing party is seeking its salvation in populism, writes Jonas.

Jakkie Cilliers, political analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in the capital Pretoria, agrees: "The ANC has done considerable damage to the country. It is a tragedy. South Africa is in a deep crisis".

South Africa's biggest problem is no longer black versus white, but growing economic injustice. According to the World Bank, it is the country with the largest gap between rich and poor in the world. Among the country's wealthiest are the "Black Diamonds", millionaire black entrepreneurs and politicians. On the other hand, the high level of youth unemployment mainly affects black people.

Mandela remains the ace up his sleeve

So far, the frustration and disappointment of South Africans has hardly been reflected in the election results. The ANC has ruled with an absolute majority since 1994. This could change in the elections in mid-2024. Although the ANC is likely to continue to govern, it would probably have to form coalitions with smaller parties for the first time, according to analysts.

South Africans have so far found it difficult to realistically assess the work of the liberation party. "The ANC is not in a position to implement Mandela's vision. The longer the ANC is in power, the more it destroys Mandela's legacy," says Gumede. "We have no choice but to hope that the opposition adopts Mandela's vision."

Nevertheless, Mandela remains the ace up his sleeve. In the country itself, but also on an international level, the government still draws on the almost untouchable image of the father of the nation. Mandela is cleverly brought out of the drawer as a showpiece whenever it is useful, for example to impress investors, explains Southall. Although all the political indicators in South Africa are red, people continue to meet "at eye level" and turn a blind eye. It is as if the world desperately wants to hold on to the belief that South Africa is the most progressive country on the continent, the poster child of Africa, that there is political will for reform and innovation. "In truth, however, Mandela's ideals have long since been disregarded," says Southall.

Yet South Africa has so much potential: rich in diamonds, gold, platinum, manganese and uranium, the country has enormous opportunities for growth. The private sector is robust, as is the institutional system. "Unfortunately, the ANC does not want to invest in real growth drivers such as good infrastructure, education and healthcare in order to create an innovative, incentive-oriented population," says Cilliers.

Only one thing remains: the hope that another Mandela will emerge from the ANC in the near future - or at least an ambitious politician who puts the welfare of the people above self-interest.