My South Africa Since The ANC Led Government

"Slavery is cruel and disgusting but... It's not a crime" ~ Athos. This is from one of The Musketeers in the series set in France in the seventeenth century. To think that there was a time when enslaving Black people was legal is hard to believe, and not something those of us alive today experienced. Our "memories" of slavery are therefore based on the experience of others, not our own. What has that got to do with South Africa since the government has been led by the ANC you ask? A lot if you think about it! The first democratically elected government of South Africa has come under review of late since it is an election year, and we are twenty years on. The opinions are in "Black and White", being either backed by emotion or fact. That never makes for a constructive debate, but as they say "it is what it is".

A colleague and friend read an e-mail to me that is being circulated which gives a quantified account of the results of the country since the government led by the ANC took over. I say quantified, but I can't speak for the stats as to whether they are true or not. The usual suspects are quoted; "our climbing the league globally in terms of crime rate"; "our soaring heights reached in corruption"; etc. I remember the tone of the article as sarcastic, highlighting how we are achieving the wrong things. While he and I "laughed it off", I couldn't help but be saddened that someone would write the contents of the e-mail. The aim of the e-mail was to convince everyone that the negative stories quoted were true for all South Africans. For me the agenda of government bashing without any form of constructive suggestions is not going to make things better. What's even worse is the story isn't true for all South Africans.

The irony of this mail depicting a worse off South Africa is that I was experiencing it from a position that I would never have dreamt possible 20 years ago. The e-mail was being read to me in my place of work by my boss, who is Black and today is an Exec in the largest bank in Africa. That was never possible, even for my vivid imagination growing up in South Africa before the ANC led the government. I dreamt I would "live well", but never imagined working in the Financial Services Sector, where our large banks had Black and Women CEO's.

Growing up, Black people couldn't own a business in South Africa. Yet for me, under this ANC led government, I rolled up my sleeves, jumped out of a "comfortable" job where I was the Financial Director, and with my White female business partner started a business out of nothing, creating what is today one of the leading businesses in scale in the distressed debt management space. White woman and Black man start a large scaleable business together? There are many more of those today since the ANC led government.

As for the crime, that is my biggest joke of them all. South Africa post independence did not have a significant increase in overall crime as many would like to have us believe. Ask anyone who lived in a township in 1989 and is still in one today if crime is worse today for them? Most answers will be a confident NO! The major difference today is the crime which historically was limited to the township, has now spread into the beautiful leafy suburbs. My personal incident rates of crime have come down drastically since the ANC led government. I grew up in Alexandra, a rough township, moved to Kelvin when there was a change of government, where there was crime but less than Alex. I later moved to Riverclub in Johannesburg where there was crime,  but less than Kelvin. I now live in Constantia in Cape Town and there is crime, but less than Riverclub.

Maybe, mine is not the story of the average South African, but neither is the story people are selling to incite an anti ANC mindset. It is fair to say things could be better living in a country run by an ANC led government, but totally irresponsible to argue that the government has made conditions of living here worse. I grew up in a country that was at war, where on any given day I could not go home, and had to take refuge at a friend's house. My list of many White friends who took me in is endless. I had back up clothes in my bag, as I never knew what violent troubles would be happening in Alex as a result of the SADF or SAP (before the name changes) being in conflict with the residents of Alex.

Even if you did not live in a township, entering the Sandton City mall required you going through metal detectors, whether you were Black or White, for fear of terrorism. Alex, my township was literally under siege, surrounded by the South African Defense Force and we had to go through a security check point to enter and leave the township where your mode of transport could be searched at random. I remember numerous ocassions where we would be woken up at crazy hours in the morning, as the police and/or army would knock on the door to do a routine search or "enquire".

I could go on forever, but that would only bring up anger, not the joy I experience this country with today. I have had opportunities I never thought possible prior to this ANC led government. I live a life today where I am free to walk where I want without feeling like I am a "suspect". My children don't covet what White people have, because nothing legally prohibits them from getting the same.  I have memories based on my personal experience of my life in South Africa before this ANC led government. A lot of critics of the ANC led government compare to a South Africa based on the stories of their father, as opposed to a South Africa they lived in.

The good news is slavery was abolished a long time ago. Slavery was abolished in 1652, the same year Jan Van Riebeeck, the Dutch colonial administrator founded Cape Town. By my calculations, that means other governments have had over 300 years to afford Black people rights that have only been accorded in the last 20 years.

Perhaps we should widen the scope when giving an account of how the ANC has performed. That's not to say I was not healthy or well educated under the last regime but even with a lower crime rate (questionable if you look at sanctioned violence against certain race groups) and less visible corruption how far could I have really gone? Despite the numerous, despicable, unethical faults of the ANC I have to say that I am much better off under ANC rule.