The Government of National Unity has created something new, although it would be an exaggeration to depict it as the basis for a rebirth of the dreams that some of us had of a 'New South Africa', freed from apartheid oppression, where all human beings would have their dignity respected.

Part One of a two-part series.

Can the new South Africa be reborn? By this I do not mean some romantic notion whereby we return to all that was good in 1994, minus Madiba.

I mean a return to a situation with possibilities to remedy what went wrong and rebuild the opportunities for a democracy where we all have the possibility to realise our aspirations as human beings, living together and inculcating values of care and concern for one another.

I used to write about the need for a broad alliance of South Africans to rebuild what had been broken (mainly in the Jacob Zuma era) and return us to a country with the opportunity for all to realise themselves within a social order where infrastructure is repaired, power works and clean water and healthcare is being supplied or in the process of being provided to all, along with a range of other necessities.

I wrote a lot about the type of relationship between popular organisation and representative government, a popular force which is not very strong now, but is important to have as a vehicle for participation...