There is still something rotten in the state of South Africa

There is, however, a huge downside to Mandela’s policy of forgiveness and reconciliation. Far too many white South Africans remain ignorant of what happened under Apartheid.

The government had a monopoly on news broadcasting and the country did not even have a television service until 1976. They can be condemned for asking too few questions, both before 1994 and after, but the government has also done too little to educate them since then.

I remember my grandfather telling me that he did not return from active service in the Second World War until 1947. He spent part of these two extra years working in cinemas in defeated Germany. All Germans were required to watch films about the Holocaust and concentration camps. If any came out smiling, they were forced back in to watch the film again.

I often think that this would have been a good ploy in South Africa in 1994, although it would have completely gone against the grain of reconciliation. Moreover, the government was fearful of white flight and such a strategy could have persuaded even more people to leave the country. Perhaps it is just as well that Nelson Mandela was in charge and not me!

Gaping chasm in wealth

There must be room for education now, however, 20 years on. I visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg in April. It promises to show visitors the horror of Apartheid but here too the spirit of reconciliation lives on. There are some displays about the actuality of Apartheid but the worst excesses of the regime are not mentioned, as the museum concentrates on the rise of the ANC and Mandela’s rise to power.

In the recent election, a couple of political parties sought to appeal to white voters by arguing that black empowerment policies and quotas were racist. This failure to grasp the nature of Apartheid is frustrating but it is probably too late to embark on Maoist-style re-education camps! Perhaps the best that the rest of the world can do is to show such ignorance up for the idiocy that it is.

Until there is a greater sense of social, historic and ethnic justice, South Africa’s history will continue to haunt its present. The recent mine strikes illustrated the gaping chasm in wealth between the rich and poor but there are better examples.

Until there is a greater sense of social, historic and ethnic justice, South Africa’s history will continue to haunt its present

I love to run and have run around all of South Africa’s main cities, as well as many beautiful coastal and rural areas. It is a good way to get a feel for a country but covering just a few miles on foot allows you to see the incongruous juxtaposition of informal settlements and luxurious mansions.

In some areas, street after street host thousands of fantastic mansions with elaborate gardens, perhaps just a couple of hundred metres distant from family homes made of corrugated iron and scrap pieces of wood. Perhaps most shockingly, the lawns of the rich are amply watered with sprinklers to keep the grass looking its best during the dry season, while the nearby poor families have no access to running water. Something is very wrong here.

This sense of injustice and social inequality also helps to fuel violent crime. It is no doubt much easier for criminals to hijack a car when they can convince themselves that they have no other choice and can blame the car’s occupants for their troubles.

I’ve even heard corrupt officials, who can be bribed over the allocation of social housing, water supplies or power connections, justify their actions on the grounds that they are just making up for lost time, despite the fact that those they are defrauding are also black.

In an ideal world, people would gain housing and vital services on the basis of need. They would also get jobs purely on the back of their ability and potential.

South Africa is a long way from being an ideal world but it is at least a better place than it was 20 years ago. The government must, however, redouble its efforts to promote social equality. The relative success of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters in the recent elections shows that it has not done enough on this front.