Assignment Task: Read the article below and answer the related questions below. South Africa faces decisive 2024 election Thirty years since its first post-apartheid election, many South African voters are fed up. The ruling ANC could lose its majority for the first time. "In 1994, I was 51 years old, and I voted for the first time," said John Kani, a prominent South African actor, as he told Deutsche Welle (DW) about his experience voting in the country's first postapartheid election. "I was angry because it had taken so long to do something so simple as to put an X against the name of the party that I thought would deliver my freedom." Thirty years later, ahead of elections scheduled for May 29, the South African theatre pioneer is angry again. While he applauds certain things that have been achieved by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), he's "sad about the corruption and political violence."... "We had political leaders in 1994 who had a vision and a dream to serve our people," Kani said in Johannesburg. The ANC, headed by Nelson Mandela who became president, swept to power in those elections. "In 2024, we have political opportunists that are looking for work for the next five years"... Many in the country of 62 million people face deep socio-economic problems. The most inequitable country on Earth, South Africa also has the world's highest unemployment rate. Nearly a third of the population is unemployed, and if you include those who are no longer seeking work, the rate goes up to 41%. Rolling power cuts, known as loadshedding, have become the new normal. Africa's most industrialized nation had only 35 days in 2023 where the state-run power utility Eskom did not have to cut power to some part of the country. The unpredictable power supply has a dramatic impact on everything from business to healthcare and schooling (Deutsche Welle In Focus, Kate Hairsine, 2024). With the imminent South African General Elections destined for the 29th of May 2024:-
1. Reflect on the impact of the political uncertainty; economic instability; and the general disillusionment of South African citizens in the build-up to the upcoming elections in relation to service delivery challenges in the country.
2. Discuss political corruption, election fraud, official violence, and institutional misconduct as manifestations of unethical conduct in South Africa, and its possible impact on the outcome of the elections.