South Africa elections 2014 outtakes: Caution to the victor

The ANC has won a resounding victory in the Fifth National General Elections against seemingly insurmountable odds. The ANC has had one of its worst terms in government under the leadership of one of its most controversial and divisive leaders. Other than the successions of scandals that have plagued the administration of Jacob Zuma, the government has had to deal with socioeconomic issues which have been at the centre of violent community protests. Just before the elections there were various service delivery protests serving as a reminder of South Africa’s underlying problems. The Marikana event of 2012 which saw the deaths of 36 miners will be a lingering memory in the history of South Africa. What happened in #Marikana should serve as a warning to the ANC to not rest on its laurels but tackle head-on socioeconomic issues which have been brewing since the fall of apartheid.

Mind back in the game

Now that the ANC has won the election it will have to set its sights at actually governing the country. For a fifth time the South African electorate, consisting of the black majority has given the party a mandate to run the country. Whilst the ANC has insisted that it has a good story to tell conditions on the ground for many black South Africans tell a different account. Two days before the elections Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) released labour figures which showed that unemployment had jumped from 24.1% to 25.2%. This meant an additional 237,000 people were added to the jobless bringing the total unemployed to around five million people. It is important to note that official unemployment in South Africa does not account for those who have stopped searching for work. The unofficial figure grows beyond 30% when all unemployed are included. Of these unemployed it is the black majority, the ANC’s core support base that is most affected. The figures from StatsSA also showed that Gauteng had a serious issue of joblessness with a 30% unemployment rate. As the economic heartland of the country, with the largest population Gauteng becomes a lightning rod for future instability should the employment problems of South Africa not be resolved.  The Statistician General of South Africa noted the unemployment was key factor in poverty in the country, with the youth remaining the most vulnerable #demographic.

One thing these elections have also reflected is that the #ANC may find it increasingly difficult to stay above 60% in the future elections. The ANC should be cognisant that while it may have attained a mandate from 62.2% of those who voted; there is a substantial demographic which has not placed its support behind the party. The ANC has won 11.3 million votes out of a possible 25.3 million. Together, those who registered but did not vote and those who voted for the ANC, 14 million South Africans did not back the ruling party. This needs to be taken into account. The ANC cannot simply ignore this, especially when it comes to key issues such as corruption, service delivery and economics. The ruling party must be aware of a possible tidal wave that could create instability in South Africa in the near future. As the ANC prepares to govern for the next five years it will still have to find paths pf consensus which have been a part of the South African story for the past 20 years. 

Originally published on the africapractice website here: http://www.africapractice.com/blogposts/page/24/?id=6251