Freedom Day

Last Sunday was Freedom Day here in South Africa. Twenty years ago, the first democratic elections were held and every South African had for the first time a chance to vote. Nelson Mandela was then elected President and the Rainbow Nation was born.  

A lot has happened since and the country moved forward, but listening to local people and following the news, it seems to me that there are still many things to do. Some people have become very wealthy while there is a massive poor population living in shanty villages, many without work. Unemployment rate is 25% I read today. Next week elections will take place but everyone believes ANC (the governing party) will win again. 

Workers on William Nicoll upgrade

The Black Economic Empowerment system gives companies points when they employ a black person. These points are necessary if the company wants to do business with State owned enterprises. So when having to choose between a similarly skilled white, coloured or black person, the latter one will get the job. This has led to white people with low education having difficulties finding work and some are out on the street begging for help. 

Road works seem to take forever. Next to us, William Nicoll, has been a working site for the past years and there is no end in sight. When part of a road looks ready for paving, suddenly it is dug open again. Manual labour is used, which evidently increases working time. Some even say the reason for slow progress is to give people work! We just hope it would be ready soon to avoid the queues during rush hours.

At every traffic light there is a person selling something

Traffic police guiding traffic

Outskirts of Diepsloot shanty town