In spite of a dismal record, Jacob Zuma and the ruling African National Congress will win today's elections, voted in by most of the poor black South Africans for whom little has changed since the country first became democratic in 1994. These failures in government have left most black South Africans still living in appalling poverty, joblessness and homelessness. So how did it come to this?
Until 2005 Zuma (and most of the current ANC leadership) were closely aligned to the failing administration of former President Thabo Mbeki. Then Zuma was fired as deputy president of the country for corruption. Yet the brilliance of his campaign is that he has, in the perception of many poorer black South Africans, managed to successfully disassociate himself from the failures of the Mbeki government.
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