In 1994 the African National Congress (ANC) took control of the South African Parliament after nearly fifty years of struggle against Afrikaner rule. The ANC, under the direction of former political prisoner and movement hero Nelson Mandela, promised to bring unity and equality to a country that had been ravaged by Apartheid, a system of institutional discrimination that was very similar to America’s “jim crow.”  Since then the ANC has been the most POWERFUL political party in Africa.

Yet despite the ANC’s promises, thirteen years later the ANC has a growing list of detractors who feel that the political organization had done very little to improve the lives of everyday South Africans.  Many complain that power still rests in the hands of corporate elites, both black and white, who refuse to democratize society.  Critics even argue that the South African government is quickly becoming a one-party system dominated by a few wealthy elites.

Sound familiar.

Check out this article by South African journalist Khathu Mamaila who argues that “politics as usual” is discouraging young South Africans from participating in the civic process.  I guess even in South Africa anti-democratic practices turn off young people from becoming active participants in the civic process. I wonder if this is a universal truth?

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