South Africa has come long way in 25 years: president

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - South Africa has made remarkable progress in the past 25 years of its democracy by providing basic services and assets such as housing to the poor, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday.

‘‘There is very little contestation of the assertion that South Africa is a vastly different place to what it was in 1994,” Ramaphosa said in his address at a conference held at the University of Johannesburg analyzing 25 years of South Africa’s democracy after apartheid.

Ramaphosa said his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party has improved the lives of millions of South Africans by heavily investing in providing housing, water and electricity to the poor.

He said his government has expanded access to education and healthcare, which has undoubtedly improved people’s lives.

‘‘There are several indicators of social progress, from the growth in the size of the black middle class to an improvement in educational attainment, from a massive improvement in access to basic services to a decline in levels of poverty,” he said.

During white minority rule in South Africa, blacks faced subjugation, and only a few participated in their country’s economy. The apartheid regime also did not plan for a growing black population.

Ramaphosa said despite the progress, he was worried that it could be eroded due to several factors, including corruption, crime and violence, which have created dissatisfaction and disillusionment among some citizens.

He warned that violence and crime continue to undermine the rights of citizens and their sense of personal security while corruption is steadily eroding the state’s capacity to meet people’s needs and is worsening a trust deficit between the government and the citizenry.