The 1994 elections in South Africa brought big changes to the country. The African National Congress (ANC) won the first all-race elections.

With the changes came a lot of uncertainties.

Everyone was wondering where the country would be heading under ANC rule. Was it going to flourish and grow, or was it going to become another failed African state?

The ruling ANC’s supporters were hopeful of a wonderful new life. Many other people were uncertain. But they hoped that things would be OK. Others feared that South Africa would start falling apart.

Now it is more than 20 years later. Who was right?

ANC Rule Since 1994

The ANC has ruled South Africa ever since the 1994 elections. They won four more general elections with large majorities since then.

These victories were not based on exceptional performance by the ANC. They were thanks to a large voter base who seems unwilling or unable to truly judge the ANC’s performance.

The ANC is so sure of continued victories that President Zuma declared that the ANC will rule South Africa forever.

How are things going under ANC rule?

The ANC is looking out for itself first, and not for the people of South Africa. President Zuma recently even admitted that the ANC comes first, not the country.

The ANC will tell you that things are going well. After all, many in the top echelons of the ANC have become wealthy. This seems to be their primary goal.

Many others disagree. They say that things are not going well at all.

In fact, there are some informed people who say that South Africa is failing.

8 Reasons Why South Africa Is Failing

Here are some of the developments that suggest South Africa is failing under ANC rule:

1. Crime is out of control

Crime is ongoing, and the police seem unable to deal with it. There have even been cases where they took part in it. Yes, some of the crime is as a result of the socio-economic situation for many people. But not all poor people are criminals. Many criminals have made crime a lifestyle. Others have turned crime into profitable businesses.

2. Leaders deflect responsibility and stir up hatred

Instead of taking responsibility for the ANC’s failures, President Zuma likes to blame whites for the country’s problems. Julius Malema, the leader of the EFF, also makes anti-white statements while claiming not to be a racist. He has been found guilty of hate-speech before.

3. National infrastructure is crumbling

Eskom, the national electricity company, is crumbling. This is due to poor maintenance and insufficient planning for new generators. Electrical blackouts, a.k.a. “load shedding,” have become common over the past year or two. Eskom warned that this will continue until at least 2017. Recent reports say that the water supply is starting to crumble as well.

4. Unemployment is increasing

Unemployment has been a problem in South Africa for a long time. It is worse now than at the end of apartheid 20 years ago. The current unemployment rate is more than 25%. Among youth aged 15-24, it is 50%.

5. Education system creates unemployables

The education system is in an appalling state. It has high failure rates despite low passing requirements. About 50% of kids who enter school in Grade 1, never make it to Grade 12. Combined with a high Grade 12 failure rate, it leaves a large percentage of youth that is unemployable. One commentator has even referred to South Africa’s youth as a “ticking time-bomb.” This situation is also likely to make the crime problem worse.

6. Corruption & fraud have become a way of life

Corruption is running wild in government. President Zuma’s Nkandla project is the poster-child for government officials using government funds for personal gain. The inner circle of the ruling ANC and their families are getting rich off government projects. This is like what happened in Zimbabwe with Mugabe and his inner circle. Many consider the ongoing corruption and fraud to be the biggest problem in South Africa.

7. Credit rating & currency is falling

Constant labor strikes and violent protests have cost the country. Credit ratings agencies have downgraded South Africa’s credit rating. This makes it more expensive for South Africa to borrow money. Another downgrade is looming. With the downgrades come the departure of foreign capital investments. Along with that came the drop in the value of the currency. The Rand currently trades at more than R14 per 1 US Dollar, an all-time low.

8. Economic growth continues to decline

South Africa’s economic growth has been slowing for several years. In 2013 the economy grew by 1.9% and in 2014 by 1.4%. This is partly due to many of the issues already mentioned, like labor strikes, power outages, and credit rating downgrades.

This list is not exhaustive. There are other problems as well.

What Prominent Commentators Say

In his book, How Long Will South Africa Survive?, R.W. Johnson opined that South Africa may have to approach the IMF for a bailout in as little as two years. Johnson feels that the ANC government is unlikely to change it ways. It will take a regime change to rescue the situation.

Magnus Heystek, a prominent investment strategist, says that South Africa is on the road to bankruptcy.

Can This Really Be Happening?

The above issues paint a dreadful picture. Are there positive things that could make a real difference? Are there things that negate the above issues? It would only be fair to consider those as well.

What do you think? Take the poll and share your opinion in the comments.

Africa has a secret… a filthy secret, that is in fact not so secret at all… rhino poaching!

• In 1970 there were 70,000 rhinos in Africa.
• Currently, there are fewer than 30,000 rhinos left.
• That decline is largely due to rhino poaching.
• In 2013 alone, more than 1,000 rhinos were killed by poachers!

Rhinos are magnificent animals that have inhabited our planet for about 50 million years. Now, humans are threatening to wipe them out.

If something is not done to stop rhino poaching, rhinos will be gone in another 30 years!

Why Rhino Poaching?

The short answer to why rhinos are being poached at such an alarming rate, is money.

There is a huge demand for rhino horns in the East, particularly in Vietnam, where people believe that rhino horn has medicinal properties. The demand for rhino horn is so big that it sells for about $45,000 per pound on the black market. The average horn weighs about 15 pounds.

This belief in medical properties of course absolute nonsense. Rhino horn is made of keratin, the same material found in hair and fingernails. There is not a single scientific study that even remotely supports any kind of claim that rhino horn has medicinal properties.

So, all of these rhinos are being killed for absolutely no good reason at all!

How To Stop Rhino Poaching

There are a handful of organizations that actively fight rhino poaching.

One such organization is Rhinos Without Borders. It is an anti-poaching organization that has arrested more rhino poachers than any other organization. Rhinos Without Borders is also a leader in ground support and education in the fight against rhino poaching in South Africa.

To be able to function effectively, these organizations need money. They have equipment to purchase, and staff to train and pay. One of the best ways that you and I can support the fight to save the rhino, is by supporting these anti-poaching organizations with donations. It keeps them functioning!

Here in the US, two South Africans, Clint Weimann and Graham McDonald, have created an organization called Project Rhino Charleston, based in Charleston, South Carolina. Project Rhino Charleston‘s mission is to raise funds to support Rhinos Without Borders.

In 2013, Project Rhino Charleston exceeded their fundraising goals more than 4 times! In 2014, their goal is to raise $36,000 to support the wonderful work of Rhinos Without Borders.

This year’s fundraiser will be a massive “Save the Rhino Party” on November 8 from 1 pm – 6 pm. The party will include live music, a South African “potjiekos” competition, kids’ activities, and much more.

If you would like to make a contribution to the fight, here is how you can help…

• Attend the Save The Rhino Party (that will be a lot of fun!)
• Make a Donation if you can’t attend the party.

Fighting rhino poaching is a very worthy cause! It needs to be stopped! If we fail in this, rhinos will be gone in 30 years!

Whereas American jerky is usually made from slim strips of meat that consist of very little fat, traditional South African biltong are manufactured using large cuts of meat, often having a third of the cut consisting of fat.

The meat cuts are normally thicker than other dried-out meat cuts and the moisture differs greatly depending on the cook’s preference.

I personally favour my biltong to be moist and have a slightly pinkish colour in the middle, including a thick strip of fat on the side, whilst my better half enjoys the biltong without any fat and much-much drier.

Some folks argue that venison biltong ought to be really dry – almost to the point of falling apart, while others like it really soft. There are several different inclinations as there are South Africans on this planet.

We think the real shame is that many people cannot afford this South African delicacy, or even more depressing, have absolutely no idea how to make it for themselves.

Please check the biltong recipe below and afterwards you can enjoy this awesome treat watching the local rugby game on television or enjoy it as treat if you are peckish. You can always pop a few pieces in your youngster’s lunch box; they will enjoy it immensely. It’s not a difficult recipe and quite simple to make, so let’s give it a try.

A Typical South African Biltong Recipe

• 5kg sirloin/rump meat (normally use silverside or topside)
• A cup of brown sugar
• 500 grams of coarse salt(not normal table salt)
• 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda
• 1 cup of broken up coriander seeds
• 1 cup of red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp cracked up black pepper

Just what is the procedure in making your first batch of biltong?

Begin by cutting your meat into strips; remember to only cut on the normal grain of the meat. I definitely prefer our end product to be a little moist on the inside, so if you enjoy a bit of pink in the middle, try to keep it 5cm wide. If you like it dry, you can make them a bit thinner.

Now you need to mix up the salt, coriander, pepper, bicarbonate of soda and the sugar together to make rubbing mixture. You now need to use a large glass container; wipe and rub some of the mix into each item of meat. Place a solitary layer of the mixture in the bottom of this container. Spray some of the red vinegar over meat strips then continue the exact same procedure till all the meat is layered and there is no more vinegar left. You need to remove the access salt from the meat otherwise you may produce really salty biltong.

You now have to cover the container with some cling wrap and leave it to marinade for at-least 12 to 24 hrs depending on the thickness of the meat and the strength of the flavour you want.

At this point you should find a cool completely dry and well-aerated location to hang your meat (we normally hang it high it in the garage area and cover it up with a net to keep the bugs and flies away). If you live on the beach front or in an area where it’s not always dry, you may want to invest in a biltong-maker-ventilation-system. Not everybody likes it moist, so for those that don’t want the biltong to be moist you can leave it for longer to dry out more completely.

Get some galvanized wire hooks to hang your meat. You can hang them until the exterior is dark. Try some of the biltong after 2 days. You will then be able to do a taste test to determine if it is working for you or whether you need to leave it hanging for a while longer.

Some might say, “So what? People have migrated for thousands of years and will continue to do so in the future!”

The thing is, South Africa’s emigration rate has been higher than what can be described as “normal migration” and there has been significant concern over the so-called “brain drain” – skilled people leaving.

Given the audience of this website, many of the readers of this blog fall into the category of people who have left South Africa in recent years to build a new life in another country, including the United States.

Ever wondered why? What are expats’ main reasons for leaving South Africa?

To all of you South African expats who have permanently settled elsewhere, I ask this… (Pick up to 2 answers, but if you have only one reason, pick only one.)

Vote in the poll and leave your comments below…

At the time, as this article suggests, South African President Jacob Zuma said that nationalization is not ANC policy, and that the ANC has not shifted its policy on nationalization.

Yet, a mere 4 months later, Jacob Zuma launched a state mining company!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that exactly what Malema was talking about, and that Zuma said was not ANC policy?

Zuma says that this is all about building a strong, mixed economy and that local communities will benefit from the mining operations in their area. I sure hope this is true because the recent service protests seem to suggest that there may be some doubt over how much the local communities have really benefited from ANC rule.

People like Julius Malema, who have extravagant lifestyles, and there are others (Jacob Zuma’s son being an example), have ensured that they make a lot of money off state operations by having state contracts awarded to companies that they have a big financial stake in… Jacob Zuma’s son already has interests in a South African mining company. No doubt, a lot of money will be made off contracts awarded to them by the state mining company.

With all this being said, the question is…

Vote in the poll and leave your comments below…

The conflict I am talking about is between South African expats and non-expats in the MyNews24 (letters) section of News24. And at times, it gets downright nasty!

In the past, every now and again, some expat would write a letter talking about their new life outside South Africa. They would touch on the positive aspects of their new life, which would also usually be the exact opposite of the reasons they left South Africa.

Then followed the inevitable comments… some sympathetic to the author, but others… oh boy… according to them, the author is a chicken and a no-good traitor who ran away from South Africa and without whom South Africa is so much better off!

Now News24 seems to have opened the floodgates by openly inviting expats to write about their experiences as expats. They did, and so did the anti-expat commentators!

Out of all this, five groups of people seem to have emerged:

1. The expats who have already left South Africa. They feel that South Africa does not currently offer them and their children a viable future due to various reasons. Some left South Africa simply looking for a better future, while others have left with hatred in their hearts due to their personal experiences (perhaps having been victims of crime). Almost all miss some aspects of South Africa though, especially if they have still family living there.
2. Expats-to-be: Those who are still in South Africa, but who are in the process of immigrating. Their views on South Africa are pretty much the same as the expats… or else, why bother immigrating?
3. Expat-wannabes: Those who share the views of the expats and expats-to-be and want to immigrate, but can’t immigrate for some reason, usually a lack of immigration options or money.
4. The Neutrals: They may not be very happy with some aspects of the current South Africa, but they have no immigration plans. They try to be generally positive, or they simply ignore the negative, and hope that things in South Africa will improve. They try to get on with their lives. Expats don’t bother them. They might not agree with the expats, and might say so, but they generally remain courteous.
5. Expat-haters: The words say it all. Nothing an expat says is good or worth considering. Expats are the slime of society. South Africa is better off without them, and their new countries are worse off for their presence, never mind that expats usually take some valuable skills along with them. Included in this group are also those who hate white people, plain and simple, and who love Julius Malema.

It is the last group, the expat-haters, that intrigues me.

If you read a letter written by an expat who was asked to, or decided to write about his or her experiences as an expat, what do you expect he or she will say? Will he write about how good he had in South Africa? Maybe (and fair enough, it can’t all be bad), but there will likely be some negative stuff too. They left the country, afterall!

Why all the hate? Why are they so unwilling to acknowledge that all might not be well and damn anyone who says it? Are they perhaps closet-expat-wannabes?

Prof. Jansen says he senses a lot of anger developing amongst young white South Africans, who are often faced with messages like, “only Blacks may apply [for a job]” or “it’s just a matter of time before we take your farms” as a result of BEE or other proposed government actions.

Prof Jansen and South African Deputy President, Kgalema Mothlanthe, who was also a speaker at the same event, reportedly feel that the vision of a united, non-racial society set out in the ANC’s Freedom Charter started waning soon after the ANC came to power.

The question now is…

Vote in the poll and leave your comments below…

While soccer is a hugely popular sport around the world, not all South Africans are soccer fans. Some may not care to watch SWC 2010 whether it is held in South Africa or not. Others may be very excited about it and can’t wait for it to start.

South Africa has many good points, but it is also known to have very high crime rates. That was one of the reasons for very lackluster ticket sales in Europe. A lot has been said about the crime, and the South African government has gone to some lengths to assure people that they will be safe during SWC 2010.

So, now my questions to you are…

About Soccer…

About The Crime…

These polls will remain open until July 11, 2010.

I want to wish South Africa the best with the hosting of Soccer World Cup 2010. I hope some very good things come from it!

This seems to have set off a firestorm in South Africa, especially amongst AWB members and supporters, who regard this murder as “a declaration of war by black people on white people.”

The timing for this murder could not have been worse! A few weeks ago, Julius Malema, the controversial leader of the ruling ANC’s Youth League, was singing a song called “kill the boer” (“kill the farmer”) at a rally where he was a speaker. This rightfully upset a lot of people, and last week a South African court banned the singing of the song, declaring it hate-speech.

The question now is: Is this a declaration of war on whites in South Africa? Is this murder the beginning of wide-spread racial violence?

I don’t think it is, and here’s why…

Motive for the Murder

Eugene Terre’Blanche (ET) was a right-winger who didn’t have much time for black people. He started the AWB in 1973 in response to what he considered to be the liberal race policies of former South African Prime Minister, John Vorster.

Anybody who followed ET’s activities over the years will know that he was not afraid of violence. He threatened with violence if a black government ever took over South Africa, and the AWB supposedly had a hand in a bombing campaign orchestrated before the first all-race elections of 1994 in an attempt to destabilize the country and derail the elections. More recently, he spent three years (2001 – 2004) in jail for beating a black man to the point of brain damage.

Given all this, I doubt that he treated black workers on his farm with much respect. As I suspected, and as now reported in the press, the two black guys who killed him had done some work for him on his farm and he refused to pay them. Who knows why he would not pay them… maybe they did a bad job… maybe he believed that he didn’t need to pay them.

The point is, it was a dispute over pay that led to the murder, which makes it a criminal murder and not a political murder!

This does not mean that the murder is justified in any way.

Malema

Back to Julius Malema… The AWB has accused Malema of being responsible for this murder. This is one point that I partially agree with. I don’t think Malema is directly responsible, but…

Whether I like it or not (and I don’t like it), Julius Malema is a leader in South Africa who has a large following whom he has a lot of influence over. If he goes around singing “kill the boer” songs, he is planting the seed in his followers’ heads that it is OK to kill white people. While thousands of white farmers have been murdered in South Africa since 1994 and before Malema came on the scene, he is further fomenting the current situation and should therefore carry at least a partial moral responsibility.

War?

The AWB considers this murder to be a declaration of war, or so they stated in the press. They obviously feel this is a political murder. It is very convenient for them to consider it a political murder because that strengthens their political beliefs. I think they are wrong!

This was a criminal murder over a pay dispute. If it becomes a war, it will be because the AWB makes it a war. Luckily they have stated that they do not intend any violent retribution. I hope all their members abide by that.

Farm Murders

Eugene Terre’Blanche was a well-known man, hence all the attention his murder is getting in the press. As I stated earlier, thousands of white farmers have been murdered on their farms, mostly by black people, since 1994. ET’s murder counts as a farm murder.

So far the South African government has been largely indifferent to the farm murders. Terrible as ET’s murder is, if anything good could come from it, I hope it is that his murder shines a very bright light on farm murders and that something finally gets done about it.

My condolences to the Terre’Blanche family.

I was ready to take on the day and have a good one… until I saw a news report on Fin24.com…

It is a report on the appointment of a new CEO by SAA (South African Airways).  The report talks about how the former CEO, Khaya Ngqula, was fired by the SAA Board after allegations of corruption emerged. Chris Smyth was then appointed acting-CEO until a suitable replacement could be found. Now came the announcement that Siza Mzimela has been appointed as SAA’s new CEO.

Now one could quite legitimately ask, what’s the big deal? One person got fired. Another person was appointed as a temporary replacement, and then a third person was appointed person as a permanent replacement.

The thing that struck me though was that the person who was fired was a black person, the temporary replacement was a white person, and the permanent replacement was a black person. I was wondering why the white person wasn’t good enough to be permanently appointed. Afterall, he was good enough to be temporarily appointed.

Then I remembered… this is BEE (black economic empowerment) South Africa we’re talking about. Black people are supposed to get the top jobs. That’s what black economic empowerment is all about.

Yes, apartheid and its racist policies are long gone. It has been replaced by a new set of racially-based policies. These new policies are of course not racist in nature. No, they are merely supposed to “address the injustices of the past”. This is apparently not reverse-racism at all.

(If you think I am kidding about people being excluded from certain positions only because of their race, a friend of mine recently told me about how he can’t get fulltime employment at a big TV company in South Africa because they have a specific policy that prohibits hiring white males! That’s a double-whammy… racism and sexism!)

Now I’m wondering: When will the day come where all South Africans, regardless of race or sex, will have an equal shot at jobs and other opportunities? There were the apartheid-years where white people were favored. Now South Africa is in its 16th year where black people are favored. Will there ever be a time where race is not a primary issue?

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about this. At least I live in the US and my kids won’t be subjected to this stuff!