EMPTY PROMISES AND HARSH REALITY

Many South Africans struggled hard to overcome the horrors of apartheid but tragically their sacrifices have proven largely in vain as capitalism has ensured that the majority still live in poverty and insecurity.
"Desmond Tutu says South Africa has lost its moral direction, and the bitter contest for the ANC leadership offers no hope for new direction or ideas. The African National Congress, the continent's oldest liberation movement, faces its moment of truth. South Africa's millions of poor blacks have gained little from the economic boom that has produced 5 per cent annual growth rates for the past two years. Apart from voting every five years, the country's celebrated turn to democracy in 1994 has not brought them much."
(New Statesman, 6 December) RD