Africa's last and only hope - an annus horribilus

I have been convicted by sentiment of negativity that seems to be gripping our miracle democracy! The one thing that I cannot forget, and that I wish many more of us would remember, is that the new South Africa was birthed in a miracle of grace! With the exception of a few extremist acts, our transition to the contemporary democracy was without incident! We were blessed with an incredible first President, in the person of Nelson Mandela, and we have seen relative peace, prosperity, and change, in our nation in the last 14 years.

I am not naive to the reality that the change is too slow, that it still benefits the elite (now a black elite instead of the white elite of the last dispensation), and that the poorest of the poor still suffer and struggle while many individuals enrich themselves. I can see that western capitalism, individualism and personal gain are eroding African values - yet, I recall that we were birthed in a miracle of grace!

Wouldn't it be sad if we turned out the be the obnoxious, rebellious, good for nothing teenager, that simply get ignored as he self destructs? Our common life surely has more worth than that!

God has a plan, a desire, a will, a dream even, for this nation and we (particular Southern African Christians) have a responsibility to see that we fight the cancer of pessimism that threatens to consume our blessed beginnings.

I have often heard white South Africans speak negatively of their loss of privelage! However, it is still quite a shock when I hear black South Africans express their utter dissapointment and disgust at the new government.

Today I read this blog post The annus horribilis of Africa's last and only hope by Felix Ngasama in which he writes:

The year 2008 is so far proving to be South Africa?s annus horribilis since its rebirth as a new democratic state in 1994. Things haven?t been worse since 1994.

This year has brought with it the aftermath of the ruling party?s most divisive national elections where Jacob Zuma, a man acquitted of rape charges and still likely to stand trial for corruption in the third quarter of this year, trounced President Thabo Mbeki and emerged as the new leader of the ANC, thus making him the likely next president of the country.

Zuma is rumoured to be a traditional and clueless man without formal education who cannot even diarise his day or manage his basic personal finances. This is just part of the doubts and fears of most South Africans ? mostly the middle class ? at the prospect of Jacob Zuma becoming the president of the country. Most South Africans, although they may not admit it publicly, are waiting with bated breath in anticipation of the political buffoonery Zuma might bring with him on the presidential stage, as indicated by his poor showing in a recent BBC documentary titled No More Mandelas where he was interviewed by Fergal Keane but dismally failed to impress.....

The article goes on to explicate the woes of load shedding, potholes in our roads, the poor economy and a variety of other ails. Yes, these things concern me - they are inconvenient and worrying. However, the question is how do we change things!?

Surely, we, as Christians, a people of HOPE, have a responsibility to keep that hope alive? Perhaps we could pray more earnestly, perhaps we need to take moral formation more seriously (a lot of our current struggles comes from poor moral formation), perhaps we can take greater responsibility for the needs that we can begin to address, perhaps we need to own that this is our country, we decide who runs it, and how it should be run... Perhaps, just perhaps, we could begin a conspiracy of hope to overthrow the doom and gloom that threatens to engulf us.

Easter teaches us this valuable lesson - the greatest acts of brutality, torture, and theft (killing God's only son), can be turned in the world's greatest act of grace, newness of life, and redemption! Jesus is still King!

Have a blessed Easter - may it be a season of hope!

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