With great expectation, the New South Africa was born. After a brief period – like the Prague spring – it wilted under the pressure of cronyism, corruption and incompetence.

Each Society has its own rules about attaining one’s majority and some of them are illogical. For example in some one may not drink until one has reached 21 years of age but yet their sons are expected to wage war from the age of 18.

In South Africa’s democracy’s case, the age of 20 has arbitrarily been elected as that age. As such it is an opportune time to reflect on whether that child born to universal expectation and acclaim now displays those characteristics that were so earnestly desired and whether it has withstood the vicissitudes of times.

For me the conception of democratic South Africa was not the date of the first elections in 1994 but rather 11^th February 1990 when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. Like all conceptions, it had both its detractors and well-wishers with its antagonists anticipating an apocalyptic and tumultuous future whereas the protagonists expected nothing less than the Second Coming.

Both viewpoints would be disappointed.

Instead of the ogres as portrayed in the public’s mind’s eye, here were normal people expressing normal desires and what’s more they espoused not some Stalinist dictatorship but rather a Liberal Democratic Constitution albeit leavened with egalitarian socio-economic rights.

That is not to deny that the hurdles during the CODESA talks did not very nearly eventuate in a miscarriage. Sanity prevailed in the form of cool heads and the Constitution was conceived. Whilst not 100% perfect, it certainly possessed all the hallmarks of potential. This Constitution was protected not only by a Constitutional Court but also by 7 Chapter 9 Institutions such as the Public Protector.

Universally the newly born infant was acclaimed as a wunderkind. The initial cohort of ANC Officials, like all newly appointed officials represented efficiency and exuberance. But what marked them as different – superior to their predecessors – was their integrity and intellect. Tito Mbonweni and Cyril Ramaphosa amongst many those like Frene Ginwala shone out. With Mandela playing the role as the magnanimous reconciler and Nation Builder, Thabo Mbeki filled the role as Prime Minister and ran the government.

It was like a breath of fresh air. Even the SABC felt the winds of change as it adopted an unbiased news reporting stance.

White Papers, Green Papers and Yellow Papers appeared in quick succession all addressing the myriad of problems facing the infant democracy.

Then the proverbial Pandora’s Box was opened: The Arm’s Deal. With international arm’s suppliers offering inducements in the form of bribes, the senior officials involved failed at the first hurdle. Venality and moral turpitude prevailed.

Like the proverbial finger in the dyke analogue, the deal pitted the idealist against the “venalists”.

And the bad guys won.

Once the ANC has lost their virginity as regards corruption, they were insatiable – unable to get their fill.

After Mandela with his saint like aura, came Mbeki with his African Nationalist tendencies but with one fatal flaw: myopia as regards AIDS. Ultimately his denialist beliefs were to cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa being mainly Black. Another fatal flaw was his inability to root out corruption and incompetence. Solidarity came before such concerns. This deficiency has possibly a far greater consequence for South Africa than the loss of life due to AIDS.

The third President of the New South Africa was certainly the least likely person to be appointed: Jacob Zuma. Notwithstanding corruption and rape charges hanging over him, he was nevertheless elected as president of the ANC and ultimately South Africa. This was akin to appointing the fox to guard the hen-house. In the time honoured political tradition, Zuma quickly commenced the appointment of Zuma acolytes in all key posts in government. In order to prevent the charge of prosecution proceeding Vusi Pikoli, a man of great integrity, was dismissed as boss of the NPA.

From this point, it was a downhill rush with an unending wave of corruption scandals and cronyism. Factionalism, venality, corruption and expediency have now become the order of the day.

Zuma and the ANC Administration are now synonymous with malfeasance and incompetence. Countless signs of incompetence and decrepitude abound – too numerous to mention.

With the current crop of ANC MPs, the ANC has scrapped the bottom of barrel. An inordinate number are not even 2^nd rate but plainly 3^rd rate. With negative reports abounding, what was the message that the ANC used during the last election? They invoked the memories of Mandela and the Liberation Struggle instead presenting a cogent plan of action for the future.

Rather than me bewailing this state of affairs let the thoughts of the late Nadine Gordimer, who was deeply involved in the Anti-Apartheid Struggle, express my profound disappointment at the current situation. Nadine Gordimer used the last interview shortly before her death to condemn South Africa’s Secrecy Bill and the current direction that South Africa is following.

For me, the ANC has not achieved the greatness as an adult that it once displayed as a precocious child. From being a straight A’s pupil in kindergarten, it mixed with the wrong crowd and rapidly adopted the worst attributes of the delinquent child. At puberty, their desires were satiated by corruption and venality and as they reached their majority, they were like the dissolute and indolent young adult disappointing their parents at every turn.

Such has been the trajectory of the ANC.

Adulthood has not been kind to them.

Unless the ANC rapidly adopts a different lifestyle, by 30 years of age, like a latter day Jimmy Hendricks, they will die through the desertion of the voting rabble who would by then have cast them aside.