Having recently returned from a holiday in South Africa with family who have lived there for 20 years it has been interesting to observe the state of democracy in the country.

The African National Congress (ANC) as a party do exhibit many of the traits of a mature political party: they argue amongst themselves, ban members from meetings and, as people will have observed, dumped President Mbeki for Jacob Zuma as their presidential candidate earlier this year. There is also growing expectation that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) will split from the ANC, which could lead to an interesting realignment on the left.

There is (a slight but perceptible) growing support for the centre right opposition party - after all democracy needs to offer a choice to people - called the Democratic Alliance (DA). The DA's biggest problem is that they don't really run anything of significance outside party leader Helen Zille's mayor of Cape Town fiefdom and still cannot attract support from black South Africans.

The issues of concern in SA are surprisingly familiar: crime is perceived as the biggest issue followed by the economy, electricity provision and endemic corruption.

An interesting facet of SA political life is the 'public meeting'. They seem to be held on every conceivable issue either very local or national. It would appear that a consequence of the ANC stranglehold on government has been the need to ensure that ordinary South Africans have a say on issues and so every issue of importance to a community is subjected to a local meeting. Of course the government ensures its supporters pack meetings but it would be churlish to suggest that the concept is bad because of that.

What next? Pessimism amongst the middle to upper classes is palpable (no matter what colour you are). After all the country is a mix of the first and third world, with massive potential but a large poor population who need public services. The private sector is dynamic and imaginative but ground down by corruption and bureaucracy.

Politically, there are green shoots of a real democracy which (apart from Ghana and Kenya) would be unique in Africa. As time passes and lesser people than Mandela run the country an alternative to the ANC will become more attractive.