Democracy and development in Nelson Mandela Bay: reflections on Mcebisi Ndletyana's Analysis of the ANC in Power

This review of Mcebisi Ndletyana's Analysis of the ANC in Power draws on previous research on elections, democracy and development in the township of Kwazakhele in Nelson Mandela Bay, as well as on current literature on the ANC and corruption in South Africa. It argues that a political economy analysis best enables us to understand the failure of the democratic project in Nelson Mandela Bay, while contesting the arguments around class formation (as argued by Von Holdt) and moral depravity (as argued by Ndletyana). It concludes that the solution to the current politics of patronage is a stronger democracy combined with a more inclusive, redistributive economy.