The sense of anticipation was enormous. Outside the prison near Cape TownA port city on South Africa's southwest coast, with a population of 4.6 million., the world's press waited. Finally Nelson Mandela emerged. On that day, 11 February 1990, he became a free man for the first time in 27 years.

Mandela was a leader of the African National Congress (ANC), which led the resistance to South Africa's apartheidA system of legally-enshrined racial discrimination and oppression which existed in South Africa from 1948 until the 1990s. It denied non-white South Africans basic human rights. regime. He had been accused of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.

But in 1989 South Africa got a new president, FW de Klerk. He believed the country could slide into civil warA war between people from the same country. unless apartheid ended. He decided that Mandela must be freed.

De Klerk's government and the ANC worked to end apartheid. In 1994, Mandela was elected as president of South Africa.

Many people feared that a bloodbath would follow, with Black people taking revenge on their White oppressorsPeople who treat another group of people in a cruel or inhumane way. . But Mandela had a message of reconciliation.

South Africa became known as "the Rainbow Nation" where people of every kind were welcome. Its example revived hope for the whole continent.

Thirty years later, the picture is very different. In the words of The Observer's Steve Bloomfield, it is "the most unequal country in the world and among the most dangerous...

"Basic public services are falling apart. In many parts of the country there is no clean water, while rolling power cuts have become a regular feature of daily life."

For many, the ANC is a byword for corruptionWhen someone abuses their power for personal gain. It often involves bribery. . This became endemicCommon to a particular place or community. after Jacob Zuma's election as president in 2009. By the time he was forced out in 2018, huge amounts of the government's money had been embezzledStealing or misappropriating money that you are in charge of, for example from where you work. .

Zuma's successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, has struggled to cope with the chaotic situation he inherited.

He hopes to lead the ANC to victory in this election. But opinion polls say the party could receive less than 50% of the vote and have to share power.¹

Is the country on the brink of collapse?

Yes: It has a huge budget deficit and 10% of GDPShort for Gross Domestic Product, the measure of all the goods and services produced inside a country. is being lost to crime; 45% of South Africans are on benefits. Industry is crippled by power strikes. Many companies pay almost no tax.

No: It is still a vibrant nation full of enterprising people. It has a strong independent judiciary and a free press. There is no likelihood of a military coupWhen an individual or group takes control of government by illegal means, including by violence. such as other African countries have seen.

Or... It has already collapsed. Nobody in another developed country could imagine having to deal with the chaos that is part of South Africans' daily life. This election will simply bring more of the same.