South Africa: Nightfall or Morning Rise in Soweto?

South Africa is witnessing the dawn of a new era with the formation of a new political party. The party surfaces at a time when Nelson Mandela is battling lung infection in hospital. Some analysts have postulated that South Africa after Nelson Mandela will not be same again. Are we already seeing the handwriting on the wall?

The penultimate party to be formed in South Africa before this new one was in 2008 when former ANC members launched the Congress of the People (COPE).

A leading apartheid-era activist launched South Africa's first new political party in five years, saying the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was destroying the continent's biggest economy. Although, despite widening schisms in the ANC and allegations of graft and poor leadership, it remains a formidable political machine, commanding a nearly two-thirds majority in parliament.

'Agang', Sesotho for "let us build", which is the new political 'baby' will contest 2014 elections, party leader Mamphela Ramphele said. An anti-apartheid campaigner and partner of Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, Ramphele said millions were still living like forgotten citizens and that the country had not come far enough, fast enough.

She referred to the optimism that prevailed at South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994, "We remember the outpouring of hope and joy at the release of Nelson Mandela, fist raised in defiance." Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu - a strong anti-apartheid voice and champion of the "Free Mandela" campaign globally - has backed Ramphele, 65, saying she is a principled leader ready to take costly stands for social justice.

"Nearly 20 years into our democracy the graciousness and magnanimity that characterised our political firmament have to a great extent been surrendered at the altar of power and wealth," Tutu said in a letter in support of Ramphele released. Archbishop Desmond Tutu had earlier stated categorically that he will never cast his ballot in support or favour of ANC again.

Ramphele is a medical doctor and was a former World Bank managing director. She was also placed under house arrest for seven years by the apartheid government because of her political work. She has regularly challenged authority and the ANC on its failings.

"Our country has reached a crossroads and I for one do not want to think about where we will be in five years time unless we change course," she said in her launch speech in Pretoria. 

Others are also looking to revive the dream of the "Rainbow Nation" 19 years after the end of white-minority rule. Even Julius Malema, the erstwhile youth leader, kicked out of ANC, is looking to build a future in politics by starting his own political party. This definitely could be a messy fragmentation for the African economic giant.