Unlocking the genius in Africa

Dubai: Anthony Penderis, former Managing Editor of Magazines (Al Nisr Media), has left journalism to move into politics with the launch of a new party in South Africa, titled A-Party - www.aparty.org.za

A qualified civil engineer with experience in journalism, Penderis says its time to go home and break the ruling Africa National Congress's (ANC) dominance of politics, which he says has slid the country into crime and corruption.

He claims that the drastic change in South Africa's political situation in the past 10 years played a role in his decision since there was no room for a person like him in South African politics previously. That, he insists, has changed.

Gulf News: When you say there have been changes in the South African political scene in the past few years, and that there is room for other players, what are you referring to? Is there any room for new players when the ruling party gets close to 70 per cent of the votes?

Anthony Penderis: First, as powerful as the ANC is, there is sign of disagreement in the party. You are aware of the tensions between ANC leader Jacob Zuma and President Thabo Mbeki, where they removed Mbeki and made Zuma the president of the ANC. That's a first.

There are two factions now, and there is an indication that there is no agreement within the ANC. It is not logical that such a huge organisation can always be in harmony with each other.

Second, everything in the country is on a slide. It's going downhill. South Africa is not what it was when Nelson Mandela left it. Discontent is growing among people because the government is not delivering.

But here's where I have a chance: More than four million people have disappeared off the voting booths since the last three elections. That's because they believe their vote won't make a difference. I'll tell them that if you come back - if all of us come back, and a couple of smaller parties join us, then we can kick out this government.

Who are the four million that you will be targeting? What are their demographics and political leanings?

Those I am targeting for the general elections next year are mostly educated people and are fairly well to do. They are not grassroots people. To target grassroots people you need time, which I will devote in the 2011 municipal elections. They voted for the old National Party and some voted for the ANC too.

But all those who voted for the National Party couldn't have been white people, because there aren't so many white people that can vote.

The previous elections have shown them to be a broad spectrum of people, so this is not just a white voting block. We will partly be trying to get the base of the New National Party, which had disappeared completely, but also the dissatisfied people from all other parties.

The New National Party just recently announced that it is re-launching. Will that be a hurdle for you?

I think the New National Party is a lost case and I don't think it's going to succeed... with a name like that, and all the negative connotations. But I like competition.

The NNP is not my prime competition though because a very important target for me would be the Cape. The 7 or 8 million coloured people of the Cape who are also feeling sidelined. Among them are 250,000 Muslims, which are also my target, along with Indians, Lebanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Jews.

You speak of throwing out a ruling party that has a significant majority in parliament. Do you realise that if you want to make an impact you might eventually have to tap into the ANC's supporters?

Yes. You cannot do it without it. It's simple. If you don't have grassroots support you will be nowhere. In a democratic environment you have to have their vote.

See, I don't think South Africa needs a radical new political ideology to drive it. It's not necessary. All we need to do is apply the constitution and police it. We have a fine constitution. It's not perfect but it's okay. All South Africa needs is someone to manage it well.

There are danger signs hanging over the country. Namely crime, Aids and corruption. One thousand people die of Aids in South Africa every day. Crime is running rampant. The government claims that 50 people die per day violently, but Interpol claims it's closer to 150 a day. Bribery is widespread.

We have a rising black middle class. They grow at an immense rate. No one is thinking of looking after them. We'd like to build entire new cities.

We have to invest into mass transport systems. No new road systems have been planned by the current government and no power stations have been built. Now they are resorting to power shedding.

I think famine, too, is on its way to South Africa... If you start taking farms from people and giving them away as part of affirmative action, it will lead to a production drop.

I fully agree that the blacks should have more property. They must be strong in agriculture, but all we need is one crop failure to go into a crisis.

I reckon South Africa could have a famine in 3-5 years. Then you're going to have people standing in queues for bread, like we saw in the communist countries. And it's the poor in the backwater areas that will suffer.

How significant is the South African brain drain. Many South Africans, particularly whites, are moving out. How disgruntled do you think South Africans are with the situation in their country?

There's a huge brain drain. About a million white people have left South Africa in the last 15 years. There are 500,000 people waiting for their immigration papers to other countries.

We had the most incredible medical system at one point. Johannesburg once upon a time was the New York of Africa. It was the city of gold, where you went to get rich.

South Africa had one of the strongest stock exchanges in the world, and controlled the gold and diamond markets of the world right there in Africa. It's all gone.

If you take all the successful geniuses of mankind, regardless of their religion or which countries they come from, what they all had in common was that they came from stable and prosperous societies.

You can only unlock the genius of people if they live in a stable environment. If we had to go out and fight for our food or a roof over our head, we are nothing more than modern cavemen.

If we are slaves to instability and corruption, we are only fighting for survival every day of our lives. And that's the problem of Africa. They are slaves to conditions there.