The book revisits a study conducted in 1994 on subjects defined as historically disadvantaged by the apartheid regime. However, despite the ravages of that regime, these individuals had succeeded and gotten extraordinary opportunities to pursue higher education in colleges and universities in the U.S. In the study, the subjects discussed and shared their visions of South Africa as a new democracy while coming to terms with the impact of apartheid. A sample of the 1994 subjects are surveyed for this book. The author concludes that, in short, while South Africa has possibilities, several challenges remain, in particular economic challenges.

"Like Trotsky, I did not leave home with the proverbial one-and-six in my pocket. I come from a family of landed gentry . . . [and] could have chosen the path of comfort and safety, for even in apartheid South Africa, there is still that path for those who will collaborate. But I chose the path of struggle and uncertainty."--from the Preface Born into the small social elite of black South Africa, Phyllis Ntantala did not face the grinding poverty so familiar to other South African blacks. Instead, her struggle was that of a creative, articulate woman seeking fulfillment and justice in a land that tried to deny her both. The widow of Xhosa writer and historian A.C. Jordan and mother of African National Congress leader Z. Pallo Jordan, she and her family experienced a period of tremendous change in South Africa and also in the United States, where they moved during the 1960s. She discovers similarities in the two countries, including the arrogance of power. Anchored in history and culture, A Life's Mosaic sharply reveals the world and the people of South Africa. As the story of a political exile, it represents the dislocations that have caused universal suffering in the second half of the twentieth century. Phyllis Ntantala discusses the cruelty of racism, the cynicism of political solutions, and the hopes of those who live in both a world of exile and a world of dreams.

African Mosaic is essential reading for all students of Africa, its people, society and future. Zack-Williams and Udogu bring together an invaluable collection of essays by both Africans and non-Africans dealing with some of the most pressing issues facing Africa in the new millennium. These include: • Development and the Democratisation Process • Human Rights and Ethnicity • Corruption • Education Policy • Health Systems • Gender and Migration • Information Communication and Technology The volume is equally suitable for undergraduates and postgraduates, as well as policy makers and NGO workers specialising in political science, development, sociology, history, anthropology, education and technology.

Has the new South Africa – once an inspiring "rainbow nation" – failed the expectations it had generated? Is the country now in a crisis? Two decades after the end of the apartheid regime, Africa's southernmost state faces multiple political, economic and social challenges. A lackluster growth performance is compounded by mounting corruption and political turbulence, as well as by the frustration of many ordinary citizens who expected much more rapid social and economic improvement. Labour strikes, student protests and anti-immigrant riots have all been on the rise. As a clear sign of increasing dissatisfaction, uncertainty and decline, the ruling African National Congress recently ran into its worst electoral result ever – if still only at local levels. Meanwhile, Jacob Zuma's embattled presidency, marred by allegations of corruption and political cronyism, sent South Africa's international image plummeting alongside the Rand, the national currency. This volume sheds light on the current difficulties and discusses future prospects. The "new" South Africa is a country in dire need for change.