I recently had an interesting discussion with a good friend and an avid ANC supporter.
It came as a great surprise to me that this great intellectual, who's well respected in his profession, admitted that he would continue to vote for the ANC until the 2014 elections. Thereafter, if things had not changed for the better, he would change his vote, he assured me.
So, what exactly has the ruling party been doing right to continue to enjoy such great power, I wondered.
In a bid to understand, I compiled a list of reasons why people may still be voting for the ruling party.
1. In 1993, only 36 percent of the South African population had access to electricity. That figure has since doubled to 75 percent.
2. The proportion of the population with access to a tap with clean water within 50 metres of their house doubled from 45 percent to 90 percent.
3. Around 30 percent of the country's underprivileged population has been moved from informal dwellings to government-built RDP houses.
4. At least 14.5 million people receive social grants.
5. The country's national debt as a percentage of GDP has reduced from 65 percent in 1994 to just over 33 percent in 2010.
6. By 2009, the country had democratically elected three presidents — two of whom stood down when or before their term was up, because they respected the world's most liberal constitution.
7. One of the country's provinces democratically elected a white woman to the position of mayor in a major metropolitan area, and was voted the world's best mayor in 2008.
8. The country hosted the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup, where a black president moved the support of whites from 20 percent to 55 percent in four weeks, before a Hollywood blockbuster was made of it.
9. France publically backed South Africa for a permanent seat on the US Security Council, with Veto Powers, ahead of India, Japan, Brazil, Italy and Spain.
10. South Africa joined the world's most powerful emerging markets when it was accepted into the BRICS nations earlier this year.
