Where Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, and almost of all of Latin America failed, South Africa succeeded in going from a para-colonial regime to one of sustainable liberal democracy. Mr Zuma, a larger than life figure of the long struggle against apartheid, could not outwit the strong democratic institutions that had been laid at the foundation of South Africa’s democracy in the early 1990s. So, at the get-go, the new South Africa had independent public organs dealing with policing, prosecution, human rights, conduct of elections, dispensation of justice, legislation, and executive administration. Unfortunately for Jacob Zuma, this has meant that his position at the pinnacle of state power and his long association with the late Nelson Mandela was simply not enough to shield him from the workings of South Africa’s resilient democratic institutions. It very well could be that the individuals who were/are the founding fathers of the new South Africa were simply a “cut above” than their contemporaries in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Argentina, or South Korea.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 23, 2018 19:52 UTC