It has loads of sunshine, endless beaches, and stunning scenery. No wonder
some politicians say Northern Ireland should become more like South Africa.
Paul Murphy, who is on a fact-finding mission there, said we could learn
much from the South African reconciliation process. Gerry Adams agreed but
claimed the British government had a cheek to use that example. While South
Africa enjoyed democracy, we certainly didn't, he declared.
South Africa's admirers would have us believe it has undergone a fairytale
transformation. President De Klerk (unlike all those obstreperous
unionists) displayed courageous leadership. He embraced change.
Nelson Mandela was freed from jail. He forgave his enemies. An election was
held, the old order collapsed, and - apart from minor teething problems and
a high crime rate - everything is hunky dory.
South Africa has moved from pariah state to rainbow nation. Bitter
divisions and prejudices have collapsed. Heck, everybody votes ANC these
days. Yet Northern Ireland remains wedded to the past.
Some of our politicians still refuse to even shake hands. Ten years into the
peace process, agreement on government, policing, and human rights remains
elusive.
South Africa's problems once appeared as intractable as ours. If they can
sort themselves out, why can't we? But look a little closer and South
Africa isn't quite the shining beacon. Its 'transformation' has been only
skin deep.
There has actually been greater change in Northern Ireland. On taking
power, the ANC promised a fairer distribution of wealth. Everyone had the
right to work, a home, and security, it declared.
That hasn't happened. The new government fell into bed with the pillars of
apartheid - the foreign multinationals and wealthy whites. A band of
nouveau riche blacks have done well. But most of their brothers and sisters
remain in the gutter.
The powerful whites have given up nothing. They still live in their luxury
mansions, though with bigger dogs and more extensive security systems these
days.
Apartheid's end has actually been good for them. No longer the outcasts of
the world, they can now travel, play sport, and do business wherever they
want.
Around 10 million blacks still have no reliable water supply. Whites fill
their swimming pools and lawn sprinkler systems, while black women in rural
areas walk miles to draw water from wells.
South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The
multinationals which did business with the old regime - like Shell,
Coca-Cola and BMW - have enjoyed huge profit increases.
Eighty-five per cent of the country's wealth is in the hands of a new
middle-class white and black elite, with only five per cent for the 15
million in the largely black under-class. Unemployment at 40% is
substantially higher than under apartheid.
One in ten people are infected with HIV. The ANC completely bungled the Aids
epidemic. Fifty per cent of the budget allocated to the problem was spent on
a stage musical to increase awareness of the disease.
Houses are springing up in a transformed Soweta but new shanty towns, just
as squalid as Soweta ever was, are going up even faster on the edge of
cities.
Corruption in government is rife. President Thabo Mbeki recently acquired a
Boeing jet which cost seven per cent of the entire national health budget.
Nelson Mandela, universally hailed as a secular saint, approved £4 billion
on a foreign arms deal, acquiring huge quantities of weapons South Africa
didn't need. The debt will take 50 years to pay off.
The top ANC brass have been kind to themselves. Many have become
millionaires. They wear suits that make the Sinn Féin leadership look like
they were dressed by Oxfam.
South Africa shouldn't be cited as an example of liberty and justice. There
is little about it that is inspirational. Apartheid survives today, through
money rather than rigid laws. Northern Ireland, for all its faults, is
actually a more equal society.
