A question of leadership Nelson Mandela set a standard that his successors have struggled to match

The Economist - Dec 14th 2013

AS THE days passed and the news sunk in that Nelson Mandela, the countrys first black president, had died peacefully at his home in Houghton, a pleasant suburb of ohannesburg, South Africa reacted at first with sadness but !uickly shifted to celebrating an e"traordinary life# $eople congregated through the night outside Mr Mandelas home, as well as at his former residence in Soweto, an urban sprawl a half%hours dri&e away# Some came to sing songs' others to light hundreds of candles in remembrance# A &ery different form of memorialising could be heard during one of the many Sunday prayer ser&ices held in honour of (Madiba), Mr Mandelas clan name# Thabo Mbeki, who ser&ed as president after him, said a proper celebration should also include a reflection on whether the countrys current leadership was li&ing up to the standards set by Mr Mandela and his contemporaries# The theme of leadership was taken up by *arack +bama, the star turn at a rain%soaked memorial ser&ice held on ,ecember -.th in a football stadium in Soweto# Speaking in front of leaders from /- countries Mr +bama said Mr Mandela set a high bar# (0hile 1 will always fall short of Madibas e"ample, he makes me want to be a better man#) The crowd greeted Mr +bamas arri&al with cheers# *y contrast acob 2uma, South Africas president, was booed by sections of the stadium# 1t was the first discordant note since Mr Mandelas death on ,ecember 3th# 1t was also an audible gauge of how far the standing of the presidency has fallen since Mr Mandela held the office# The ruling African National 4ongress 5AN46, with Mr 2uma at its head, will ne"t year face its toughest election campaign since coming to power in -//7# 1n e&ery dream home a heartache 1n the week before Mr Mandelas death the news in South Africa was dominated by a furore o&er an official report leaked to the Mail & Guardian, a weekly newspaper, concerning the 8-3m rand 5988m6 of public money spent on Mr 2umas pri&ate home at Nkandla, in the pro&ince of :wa2ulu%Natal# An in&estigation led by Thuli Madonsela, the public protector, found that Mr 2uma had deri&ed (substantial) pri&ate benefits from publicly funded building works to make his home secure# A new swimming pool, amphitheatre and cattle enclosure were part of what was supposed to be a security upgrade# Mr 2uma told parliament in 8.-8 that his family had paid for all the building work on his Nkandla home, bar the security features# The report of Ms Madonselas pro&isional findings suggests otherwise# Mr 2umas allies had been trying to delay publication of the report, only for a &ersion of it to be leaked# The damage was compounded by an earlier go&ernment edict, on No&ember 8.th, forbidding the publication of photographs of Mr 2umas home# That was met with defiant front%page splashes of the Nkandla compound# As a conse!uence many more ta"payers are now aware of its grandeur# This is one of a number of scandals that ha&e dogged Mr 2uma# 1n April a pri&ate plane carrying 8.. wedding guests of the ;uptas, an 1ndian family with business interests in South Africa, was allowed to land at an air%force base near $retoria# A link was soon made in many peoples minds between this preferential treatment and the ;uptas close ties with Mr 2uma, though an in!uiry found that he did not personally appro&e the landing# And Mr 2uma has ne&er !uite shaken off the taint of his close association with another businessman, Schabir Shaik, who was con&icted of bribery in 8..3#

The poor state of the economy has not helped his popularity# <nemployment, at nearly 83= of the workforce, is higher than it was when Mr Mandela took office in -//7# 1f the 8m or so adults who ha&e gi&en up looking for work are included, the >obless rate rises to ?@=# The economy is growing too slowly to create many >obs, e&en as much of the rest of Africa is booming# Angry protests about a lack of basic amenities are common, although there has been a steady increase in the reach of municipal ser&ices# The ranks of the black middle class ha&e swollen in the years since Mr Mandelas presidency# *ut many others lower down the income scale feel they ha&e been left behind# +ne of Mr Mandelas strengths was his ability to get disparate groups to work together in a common interest# The AN4 fought against apartheid in tandem with the South African 4ommunist $arty and, from the mid%-/A.s, the 4ongress of South African Trade <nions, known as 4+SAT<# This tripartite alliance continued into go&ernment but has more recently shown signs of fracturing# The pressing need to fi" the economy puts the AN4 at odds with the unions# The bulk of the unemployed are young adults, many of them unskilled# E&en so it took more than three years for the go&ernment to bring to parliament a modest scheme to subsidise untried workers, because of union opposition# Education also needs urgent reform# +nly @.= of pupils who stay on to take the school% lea&ing certificate are able to pass it# Bet teaching unions ha&e stood firm against a no%strike rule and performance re&iews# Mr 2uma owes his position to support from the unions, and his party relies on them to get &oters out on election day# Celations ha&e been strained since 2welinDima Ea&i, a popular figure on the left and a &ocal critic of AN4 corruption, was suspended as general secretary of 4+SAT< earlier this year# His allies suspect a plot to silence an awkward figure and to turn 4+SAT< into a lapdog of the ruling party# Some unions, including the National <nion of Metalworkers 5N<MSA6, one of the largest, want Mr Ea&i reinstated# N<MSA will hold a conference later this month to decide whether to !uit the federation and withdraw its support from the ruling party# A split within 4+SAT< could e&entually lead to the formation of a breakaway labour party, an option said to be fa&oured by a ma>ority of union officials# The AN4 already faces a challenge to its left flank from the Economic Freedom Fighters, a new party launched in +ctober# 1t is led by ulius Malema, a populist left%winger who was boss of the AN4s youth wing until he was e"pelled# Mr Malema faces fraud charges that could land him in prison# He nonetheless has support from sections of the poor who feel they lack a political &oice# The &ote to come The AN4 won G3#/= of the &ote at the most recent general election in 8../# The ,emocratic Alliance 5,A6, a liberal party that is its nearest ri&al, took >ust -@= but is gaining in popularity# 1n 8.-7 the AN4 could also lose moderate &oters to Agang, another new party, led by Mamphele Camphela, a &eteran of the fight against apartheid# Hosing the election seems inconcei&able but the AN4 is unlikely to retain such a commanding lead# <ntil this week many political pundits had belie&ed that Mr Mandelas death would work in the AN4s fa&our by reminding &oters of the partys central role in attaining racial e!uality and political stability# Bet it could also free its erstwhile supporters from a debt of loyalty to the party# 4omparisons can be unflattering# Entreaties by the AN4 at election time to (remember Madiba) might not pro&e a &ery reliable way to win &otes#