Mutumwa Mawere

South Africa is the youngest country in Africa and yet can boast of 15 years of uninterrupted but eventful post-colonial/apartheid democracy.

As expected, the ruling party, African National Congress (ANC), the party of liberation won by a landslide garnering 65.9% or 11,650,748 of the 17,680,729 valid votes cast.

The white-led opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) won 16.68% of the votes followed by the new kid on the block, Congress of the People (COPE) with 7.42%.

With an estimated population of 49 million, it is significant that after 15 years of democracy, notwithstanding the growing pains of nation building and implications on human and social development, about 47% of the total population registered to vote and the electoral participation level is higher than in many developed economies.

Although ANC has been in government for the last 15 years, it is evident that its core support base has yet to harvest the fruits of democracy.

To the extent that more is expected from the state by the majority previously disadvantaged persons, there is no rational reason why people who remain at the basement of the opportunity ladder would still want to enthusiastically participate in a process that yields minimum or no returns.

What is remarkable, however, is that the last 15 years has delivered more rewards to the people who support the opposition parties and ruling party office bearers and yet the ruling party in government has delivered peace and stability without which the obvious gains of liberation would not have been realized.

The transfer of political power to a black-led government in 1994 has regrettably not been accompanied by meaningful economic and political transformation.

The ANC remains a dominant political force in South Africa and yet as an enduring business model it is institutionally and financially challenged. The major source of funding to administer its activities comes from sponsors rather than members.

The enthusiasm that accompanied the 2009 elections had less to do with hope and change than to do with a rejection of President Mbeki's elitist and divisive approach to politics. The manner in which President-elect was treated by his fellow comrades and the negative campaign of the DA energized many people to take their civic responsibilities more seriously than would be the case in a normal election.

The relationship between politics and business remains a challenge with many of the affluent South Africans preferring to support the opposition parties fully knowing that such support adds little or no value to the deepening and broadening of the national democratic revolution.

The 2009 election results have exposed the fact that the business community who benefit from democracy, rule of law and respect of property and human rights are less inclined to be the change they want to see.

They remain convinced that identifying with the ruling party both as members and financial backers is not in the national interest leaving the ruling party with no choice but to be the party of the excluded and marginalized poor.

In a divided society like South Africa, the need for political and economic transformation cannot be overstated. The very people who benefit from government contracts show little or no interest in supporting the national democratic revolution.

The manner in which the election campaigns were conducted and the tone and message from the opposition parties compels all who have an interest in building a progressive and inclusive South Africa to pause and reflect on the nature and context of the national democratic revolution.

The face of ANC remains largely black and yet the face of the private counter parties to the state and its organs is largely white.

South Africa has about 8,313,000 employed persons of which about 2 million are government employees paid from the income generated by about 6 million people.

Although the nation of South Africa is large, the number of employed persons only accounts for 17%, 36%, and 47% of the total population of the country, registered voters, and valid voters in the 2009 elections, respectively.

About 6,029,981 people did not vote for the ANC and if one assumes that all the people who voted for COPE and the DA at 4,261,055 are all working people then it means that the majority of the people who voted for the ANC are not working people.

Part of any social contract required for a progressive state is the alignment of the state with the values of the interests that underpin it. The state can only be a viable construct if it has income earners to help finance it. However, in the case of post-apartheid South Africa like many developing nations, people who have no financial link to the state largely select the state actors.

The demands on the few employed people are higher exposing the model to obvious and natural risks.

To what extent should state actors elected by people with no financial interest in the state's growth and viability be accountable to the few from whom the revenues required for uplifting the entire nation?

After 15 years of post-apartheid experience, it is instructive that the relatively rich have chosen to align themselves with political institutions that are not forward looking leaving the political institutions that were created in response to exclusionary policies of the past to defend the status quo ante.

This is a recipe for disaster and the very people who benefit from a functional and dynamic state heavily compromise the future of South Africa.

As one would expect, the Fourth Republic to be headed by President Zuma will have little room for flexibility and will have to follow the bad examples of many African states by pursuing populist policies and programs.

ANC cannot afford to continue to upset its massive support base that has little to show for the last 15 years of freedom.

An agenda for transformation will have to be pursued so will the reliance on the state to be the engine for such change. The choices are limited and the consequences are dire.

We have seen xenophobic tendencies manifesting themselves with disastrous consequences.

The trend will likely continue unless those who value a social contract based on values and principles begin to rethink about the approach to political engagement so that together we can work within the confines of the political institutions that are relevant to the majority with a view to being catalysts for change.

Africa has many educated but financially illiterate people making the challenge of investing in financial literacy more urgent than pursuing vacuous empowerment programs.

We need to bridge the knowledge, capital and execution gaps that exist so that the poor majority who are continue to be condemned in the valley of poverty have something to look up to and can appreciate the need to lift themselves out of poverty with their own effort.

It is obvious that the new republic like its three predecessors will not solve all the challenges of South Africa but it is important that citizens take ownership of their future by being the change they want to see.

The powerful theme that the ANC used during the elections i.e.: "Together we can do more" is what Africa needs. The mutuality and the common future that we share enjoin us to work together to make Africa the kind of society we want to see. I have no doubt that if South Africa as a person had a voice it would not be satisfied at the current state of class, ethnic and race relations.

The first stage was to win the election and the second stage is to deliver on the promise. On this we have no choice but to do more together by investing in an ideology that works for all.