In the surging national angst as precipitated by the paradox of poverty in the plenty is
the question: Is South Africa teetering on the edge of the precipice? This question is as
inevitable as it is writ large in this compendium ingeniously chronicling the contradictions
of the post-apartheid South Africa and their implications on the democratic project. The
book compels us to evoke Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov's great question: "what is to be done?"
This requires urgently imaginative ingenuity to remap the future of this country. The
book invites ideation into this question. Kudos Professor Gumede! This book is a brilliant
intervention. I strongly recommend it to anybody who is interested in untangling the
conundrum of the post-apartheid state.
Mashupye H Maserumule
Professor of Public Affairs and Executive Dean at the Tshwane University of Technology,
and the Chief Editor of the Journal of Public Administration.