Editorial: 'Born free' holds key to future

I had the privilege of returning to South Africa for my newspaper and the APN group last year, writes Andrew Austin.

They are calling it the "born free" general election. The election I am talking about took place in South Africa on Wednesday - a staggering 20 years after the first democratic elections there.

The reason it was dubbed the "born free" election is that for the first time there was a generation of voters (18 to 20-year-olds) who never lived under apartheid.

Late last year, I had the privilege of returning to South Africa to cover the funeral of anti-apartheid legend Nelson Mandela for my newspaper and the APN group.

It was a moving experience and it gave me an insight into where South Africa was post-Mandela. I found a vibrant country, full of youngsters determined to follow Mandela's vision for the future, but an ANC government that had lost its way under the leadership of President Jacob Zuma.

Although the election results are not in yet, there is no doubt that the ANC will win. This it not because the voting was rigged (South Africa is not Zimbabwe), but rather that for many black South Africans the ANC is the movement that saved them. The debt of gratitude runs deep - they will keep voting for the party until the day they die.

Predictions are that the ANC will still win big but that its majority will be down on last time. There is disquiet among the middle class across the colour bar about the way Zuma and his government have been running the country. One of the fiercest critics is Nobel Peace prize winner Desmond Tutu, who declared that he did not vote for the ANC this time.

He has watched as the ANC drifted from the ideals Mandela fought for. He, like many of us, will be hoping the democratic dream born 20 years ago will be allowed to flourish for the next 20.

That responsibility rests on the shoulders of the "born free" generation.