South Africans are upbeat

Be Happy, Don’t Worry
People are Proudly South African in the Old Home Town
By Marlan Padayachee


WORRIED about the old country or home town? Don’t worry, be happy because 95% of South Africans are upbeat about how democracy is reshaping their lifestyle and the landscape.

A recent survey conducted reveals that the overwhelming majority of citizens are proud to be South African. The nation prefers democracy as a governing system, saying it will ultimately develop a positive future for the world’s youngest democracy.

Thirteen years later after founding president Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela cast the first all-race vote on April 27, 1994, heralding the birth of the new South Africa with its rainbow flag, South Africans, according to the latest sample of 3 000 randomly selected interviewees, 19 out of every 20 said they “very” or “quite proud” of their country.

This show of optimism in a country battling the post-apartheid pangs of crime, domestic violence, poverty, unemployment, illegal immigrants, HIV-AIDS, racism, nepotism, cronyism and the high cost of building materials and telecommunications ahead of the 2010 World Cup Soccer, reached the public domain on the eve of Freedom Day.

According to Mari Harris of Markinor, these results were extrapolated from the World Values Survey, conducted every five years, for the Centre for International and Comparative Politics at the University of Stellenbosch.

Apart from the proudly South African feedback, more than nine in every ten respondents across all population groups were also strongly committed to the country: (Blacks 96%, Whites 92%, Coloureds 98%, Indians 92%).

Harris said: “The overall result (95%) is on the same level as that measured in the 2001 World Values Survey, although the proportion who are “very proud” increased from 72% in 2001 to 78%.”

However, the proudest people came from the Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State.

In an overall sample of 95%, the ANC (98%) eclipsed the Democratic Alliance (94%) and Inkatha Freedom Party (94%) were among the three biggest political parties’ supporters who revealed that they were “very and quite proud” to be South African. South Africans gave apartheid a rating of one (very bad) and ten (very good) for democracy as the system of governing the country and a future political system on a 10-point scale.

Black South Africans, who form the bedrock of support base for the ANC, appear to be the “most positive” about the current and future political systems, while their White counterparts were the “most negative”. The three minority population groups were more positive than negative, averaging more than 5 out of 10.

Black South Africans who form the bedrock of support for the ANC appear to be the “most positive” about the current and future political systems, while their White counterparts were the “most negative”. The three minority population groups are, however, more positive than negative, averaging more than 5 out of 10.

When it comes to trusting each, South Africans need to work on their interpersonal relations. On a 10-point scale, 1 meaning “most people can be trusted” and 10 meaning that you “need to be very careful”, the total score was 7.7 out of 10 and with results revealing that older people were likely to be slightly more trusting than others.

With foreign investments flowing, South Africa is on a roll ahead of the happy days as police collar the criminals and the brain drain reverses its ugly head.

Marlan Padayachee is a freelance journalist and independent political and social commenator who heads GreenGold Africa Communications in Durban, South Africa.