Viva Democracy...all 20 years!

Twenty years of democracy…

How the decades have flown.

By David Batzofin

“Has it REALLY been twenty years? SERIOUS”? I hear you ask. And the answer is a resounding “YES”.

I could unpack the past two decades in the context of the rest of Africa however, I believe that we in South Africa are unique.

Yes, we do have similarities to other African Nations, but there are more positives than negatives here “at home”.

That being said, as I write this there is the shadow of load-shedding hanging over my internet connection (If you are reading this, then I was able to finish, and mail before the power vanished)

We have potholes that can swallow cars whole and traffic lights that are more out of order than operational and yes there might be beggars of all colours on every street corner.

Is that the way we are to judge the past two decades?

The negatives are always front of mind, but if we dig into our memory banks we will discover that are a plethora of positives that will bring a smile to our faces.

Like waiting for hours for Nelson Mandela to be released from the Victor Verster Prison. The TV announcer had to ramble on with no archival footage to back up the time on air. A dripping tap became the analogy for “Madiba’s time in prison…and the length of time he took on the day to be released from the system.

His speech on the Grand Parade in Cape Town was a milestone in our history and set the tone for his Presidency over the coming years.

And to be fair to Cape Town they had Table Mountain as the backdrop to that momentous occasion.

We had been warned to stock up with tinned goods as “fire and brimstone” was about to be unleashed on us. It did not happen and in 1994, we all stood in queues while some of our citizens were allowed to vote for the very first time.

Mandela’s release ( aided by the outgoing National Party),allowed us back onto the world stage in many areas previously denied to us.

As the old flag came down we stepped proudly onto that stage with the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected President of the “New South Africa”

Sport was one of the first barriers to fall. Unfortunately many of our sportsmen and women were past their prime and thus missed out on earning a living from their chosen field.

But we did get to take part in the Olympic Games. And even if there were more managers and delegates than athletes, we watched as some proved their worth.

Yes, there were teething problems as some of our citizens came to terms with the changes that were being brought about.

Not everyone was happy and many of the older folk hung onto the notion of “rather the devil you know”. Humans are not designed for change of any sort, large or small, and there was resistance. But the majority won and most embraced those.

I suppose the old adage ”You can’t please all of the people all of the time” is apt , but to quote Bob Dylan…”The times they are a changing”…and change they did.

The previously disadvantaged were trying to become advantaged and those that had benefitted from the past 48 years of Nationalist rule, were offering apologies left right and centre. Ministers from the old regime emphatically denied that they were involved or that apartheid even existed.

Yet we all soldiered on…bravely looking to a brighter future in the not too distant future.

The modern generation were not prepared to wait another 48 years for change and were trying to right the wrongs as quickly as possible. Not always with success though.

Fast forward to 2010 and the Soccer World Cup. All of us proudly wore Bafana Bafana shirts (There were counterfeits, but they provided work for street vendors)

We did not do well, but that did not stop us “showing the flag”

And now we find ourselves in 2014…20 years into a democracy that still has its ups and downs.

We have been through three Presidents, some good and some not so good.

We have lived through the death of Nelson Mandela and survived, and we are about to face another election.

Will the masses vote for radical change? Will young Julius Malema and his band of merry EFF men be victorious?

Only time and the ballots will tell.

In the meantime, let us be grateful for the Protea cricket team, ongoing soapies on TV, the strange use of the English language, some of the best wines in the world AND the fact that love us or hate us, we are

 PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN.

VIVA US, VIVA.
This article will also appear in the April Skyways magazine.