Follow me on Twitter @CharlieGille... For the past 41 days Nelson Mandela has been in the hospital according to the South African government. Reports continually surface saying that his health has substantially improved, or that he is positively responding to treatment. With an election year coming up in 2014, it is no surprise that the current government would want to keep the waters calm and avoid dealing with Mandela’s death as long as possible. When we initially broke the story here at the Guardian Express, we received a great deal of criticism for doing so. Because the government has continually given statements contrary to what our sources informed us, people were at first reluctant to believe the truth. Nelson Mandela would have been 95 today, however as more and more people are beginning to realize, the Nobel Peace Prize winner will not be able to celebrate. Evidence already suggests that the government has been holding information back from the public throughout the ordeal. It took nearly two weeks for information regarding Mandela’s ambulance ride to the hospital to surface. Fellow Guardian Express author Laura O’Neale also pointed out “the conflicting description of how seriously his health deteriorated, and the miraculous recovery within a period of hours does raise the issue of whether the truth has been told.” Over the course of the past month, many people have switched their belief. Initially those that reported the beloved world leader was dead received harsh criticism, some even having to pull down their stories as a result of the backlash. However now many people have come to terms with the fact that Nelson Mandela has in fact died. The reason for the South African government to cover up Nelson Mandela’s death are relatively easy to see. Political gain dominates the reasons for doing so. First with the Obama visiting South Africa, it would have created a security nightmare for the nation to deal with. Others feared that announcing Mandela’s death near a visit from the United States president would have stolen his thunder. Now with an election coming up in 2014, the ANC is legitimately scared as they attempt to once again hold onto their power. The ANC is at a crossroads heading into this election. After holding power for nearly 20 years, the African National Congress will face challenges from several new parties which have sprang up. “My proposal … is that South Africa is not at a crossroad. It is the ANC that is at a crossroads. The ANC is at a crossroads because these past few weeks have seen a series of new parties. The ANC is peeling off because it has been in power for 20 years,” political economist Moeletsi Mbeki said. Mbeki also questioned what the ANC has actually accomplished during its 20 years in power. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe supports Mbeki’s position, believing that “vested personal interests” that dominate the actions of the ANC as a reason that they may not be reelected. ”If it does not pay attention to the importance of being relevant to the people of South Africa, it will run the risk of losing power,” he followed. On the day that would have been his 95 birthday, Nelson Mandela is still ‘recovering’ in the hospital according to the government. With new challengers emerging in the upcoming election year, his hospital stay might wind up lasting a few more months before any new announcements are made by the South African government.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:50:31 +0000
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