.
This is one of those weeks where South Africa gives watchers across the globe their regular
dose of its "one minute before midnight" scenarios: is this the tipping point?
Twenty years after Nelson Mandela cajoled, threatened and shouted down even his own comrades
and led us down the path of freedom, his successor Jacob Zuma has been crisscrossing the country campaigning to be re-elected.
In answer to virtually every question, he trots out his party's election slogan: "We have
a goooooood story to tell."
The masses imitate him, and so do the middle classes. But how good a story do we have to
tell?
If there is one thing South Africans agree on, it is that our country is a far better place
than the monstrosity it was before 1994. The fruits of freedom are numerous and real for many of us: a country where we walk
proudly, without fear; a full citizenship of the world; a democratic dispensation and constitution to be proud of.
For the government, there is also much to trumpet on economic transformation, on access
to health and education, and in relatively harmonious race relations.
For a black man who grew up under apartheid, it is unimaginable to even dare to compare:
I grew up with stories of my father and my brother being arrested or harassed because they were in a "white area". We were
not human under apartheid, we were a cipher. Now, my humanity and dignity has been restored and – as Archbishop Desmond
Tutu once said – the humanity of the perpetrators has also been restored.
So as South Africa celebrates its 20 years of democracy the question is how much better
could our story have been. The truth is that the shine is coming off our rainbow nation.
Every day now there are dozens of protests across the country over poor or absent services.
Unemployment remains as intractable as it was 20 years ago (36% are out of work). The state of education remains parlous.
South Africa is one of the top five most unequal societies in the world today. The economy is anaemic, growing at a mere 1.9%
last year compared with averages of 5% across the African continent.
But the shine of the new South Africa really came off in the five years of Zuma's leadership,
though. Corruption is rife, with the scandal of the president's private home receiving "security upgrades" of about £20m becoming the main motif of the election.
Other clouds loom. A pernicious secrecy law is awaiting Zuma's signature. The police are under the spotlight
after the daylight killing of 34 mineworkers at the Marikana mine in August 2012. A handful of former ANC ministers have become
so disgusted with their party they are calling on citizens to vote for smaller parties or spoil their vote.
As Thabo Mbeki, Mandela's successor, said in the early
2000s, South Africa is still a country of two worlds: the first rich and white, the second poor and black.
It is a reality every visitor to our country sees, and which ordinary South Africans are
beginning to question. New political parties such as former ANC firebrand Julius Malema's Economic Freedom Fighters –
which calls for nationalisation of the economy and expropriation of white land without compensation – are tapping into
this disquiet.
A look back at the past 20 years is bittersweet. We have come so far, achieved so much,
and yet have fallen so far short of truly transforming our country.
At an election debate, Congress of South African Trade Unions leader Zwelinzima Vavi, a
fierce critic of corruption, told a minister who tried to defend Zuma's home improvements: "If you want people to believe
in the future then you must be honest about the present."
The truth about South Africa today is that there are elements of a good story, as the ANC
puts it. But that story is marred by how much better we could have been – and how much further we could have travelled
– had we not allowed the twin evils of corruption and poor leadership to enter and settle into our political firmament.
A boy walks past ANC election posters in Embo, KwaZulu Natal. South Africa is one
of the top five most unequal societies in the world today, with unemployment at 36% and an anaemic economy. Photograph: Rogan
Ward/Reuters.
Although South Africa has an unequal society , but still it has a truly successful
democracy firmly established by Nelson Mandela . The white people are very rich and black people are comparatively poor .
MWCA believes that gradually the black majority population will be rich since democracy is firmly established in South
Africa . In a true democracy there should not be huge gap between the rich and the poor. In the history of a democratic nation
, twenty years is nothing and is a very small period . The sufferings and great sacrifices of a truly democratic leader
like Nelson Mandela shall never go in vain . MWCA believes that entire world shall never forget Nelson Mandela
. The presence of all top leaders of the world in his funeral ceremony shows his popularity in the entire world . He
can be truly compared with Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King .
ELECTIONS HELD IN SOUTH AFRICA
Today
that is on 7 May 2014 elections were held in South Africa . Voters turned out in large numbers to cast their votes .
FACTS REGARDING SOUTH AFRICAN ELECTIONS
The 2014 South African general election was held on 7 May 2014,[3][4] to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election held under conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994. These elections also are the first held since the death of Nelson Mandela.
The National Assembly consists of 400 members elected by proportional representation with a closed list approach. Two hundred members were elected from national party lists; the other 200 were elected from provincial party lists
in each of the nine provinces. The President of South Africa will be chosen by the National Assembly after the election. The premiers of each province will be chosen by the winning majority in each provincial legislature.
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) consists of 90 members, ten elected by each provincial legislature. The NCOP members will be elected by the provincial
legislatures in proportion to the party makeup of the legislatures.
The main issues
in the current elections are high rate of unemployment and economic development of black people who are very poor compared
to white people . There are no good educational facilities for black people . South Africa is now ruled by
African National Congress (ANC) of late Nelson Mandela for the last fifteen years . MWCA fully supports ANC .
Ultimately election results announced today show a massive victory for ANC . Our past prediction regarding South African
election results have ultimately turned out to be true .
ELECTIONS IN MALAWI
Now elections
are going on in Malawi another country in African continent . When results will be declared , we will provide here full reports
.
BOKO HARAM
Boko
Haram is a very dangerous Islamic extremist organisation . It is an Islamic terrorist organisation to terrorise Christians
living in African continent . It's main motto is " WESTERN EDUCATION IS SINFUL ". It is a Jihadi organisation of some dangerous
Islamic terrorists . This organisation has a very notorious track record of attacking and bombing Christians , tourists
from western countries , Churches , Schools , Colleges and other government targets like police stations and other government
offices . Boko Haram kidnaps school girls and sells them in neighbouring countries . It is linked to Al-Qaeda which is an
international Islamic terrorist organisation .
The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad[2][3] (Arabic: جماعة اهل السنة
للدعوة والجهاد Jamāʻat Ahl as-Sunnah lid-daʻwa
wal-Jihād)—better known by its Hausa name Boko Haram (pronounced [bōːkòː hàrâm], "Western education is sinful")[4][5]—is an Islamic group and takfiri militant and terrorist organization based in the northeast of Nigeria,[6] north Cameroon and Niger.[7][8][9][10] Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002,[11] the organisation seeks to establish a "pure" Islamic state ruled by sharia law,[12] putting a stop to what it deems "Westernization".[13][14] The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets,[13] bombing churches, attacking schools and police stations,[15][16] and kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment.[17] Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.[18][19][20][21][22][23]
The group exerts influence in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. In this region, a state of emergency has been declared. The group does not have a clear structure or evident chain of command[24] and has been called "diffuse"[17] with a "cell-like structure" facilitating factions and splits.[12] It is reportedly divided into three factions[13] with a splinter group known as Ansaru. The group's main leader is Abubakar Shekau. Its weapons expert, second-in-command and arms manufacturer was Momodu Bama.
Whether
it has links to jihadist groups outside Nigeria is disputed. According to one US military commander, Boko Haram is likely
linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),[25][26] but others have found no evidence of material international support,[27] and attacks by the group on international targets have so far been limited.[12] On November 13, 2013 the United States government designated the group as a terrorist organisation.
Many of the
group's senior radicals were reportedly partially inspired by the late Islamic preacher known as Maitatsine.[28][29] Others believe the group is motivated by inter-ethnic disputes as much as religion, and that its founder Yusuf believed
there was a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” by Plateau State governor Jonah Jang against the Hausa and Fulani people.[12] Amnesty International has accused the Nigerian government of human rights abuses after 950 suspected Boko Haram militants died in detention facilities
run by Nigeria's military Joint Task Force in the first half of 2013.[30] The conflicts have left around 90,000 people displaced.[31] Human Rights Watch states that Boko Haram uses child soldiers, including 12-year-olds.[32]
