South Africa’s new President Jacob Zuma – the third elected president of the country since the end of apartheid – promised at his inauguration last Saturday that he would renew the country.
According to Zuma, the future of democracy in the nation depends on all South Africans, who he urged to support his leadership. As a sign of his commitment to a new South African nation, he reached out to his political arch rival, former President Thabo Mbeki, who was forced to quit office last September.
And in a rare development widely welcomed by many South Africans, Zuma has also sought to reach out to the country’s Afrikaans minority by appointing Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder as Deputy Minister for Agriculture.
Zuma’s message of renewal could not have come at a better time. With manufacturing output significantly down and inflation running at almost nine per cent, South Africa is staring into its first recession in almost 20 years. Unemploy-ment is also rampant, with nearly 21.9 percent of the population without work.
Moreover, South Africa has one of the highest rates of crime in the world, and poverty, corruption and HIV/Aids are also extremely prevalent. South Africa could find itself relapsing into ethnic crisis if President Zuma’s administration does not reform the country.
The consequences of inaction on these hot issues would be very devastating for South Africa. Metro Éireann believes that Zuma and his government will have to make some serious sacrifices if they are to avoid the degeneration of the ‘rainbow nation’.
editor@metroeireann.com
