A SECTION C Read the below case study and answer the question that follows: The double-edged sword of privatization is poised to cut deep into the heart of a failing SA states. A comment by former president Thabo Mbeki has underscored how the private sector can be a salve for many problems South Africa faces while, at the same time, leading to many people simply not receiving services at all. However, the move towards privatisation seems unstoppable. It can be forgotten how much economic activity was controlled by the apartheid state. Whether it was the manufacture of iron through Iscor, the complete control of telecommunications through Telkom, or the fact that almost all television S and radio stations were under the thumb of the SABC (with M-Net and 702 being important exceptions), much more was run by the government than is the case now. As apartheid was coming to an end, it appeared the ANC would only increase the government's role in the economy. In Fin January 1990, the month before he was released, Nelson Mandela issued a statement in which he said, "The Tim nationalisation of the mines, banks and monopoly industries is the policy of the ANC, and a change or modification of our views in this regard is inconceivable." Except, the opposite happened. Over the next few years, the role of the state weakened as the relative power of the private sector grew. Some of this was because of technological changes. The introduction of cell phones made a state monopoly over landlines meaningless. Satellite television services made an almost complete monopoly by the SABC impossible. In 2000, the then President, Thabo Mbeki, confirmed in Parliament that the programme of privatisation would continue. This was despite intense opposition from unions. But the situation has changed dramatically in the past four years, as the fragility of the state has become apparent. One of the revelations of last year's ANC conference was how the weakness of the state had been revealed for all to see. Now, Mbeki, speaking as an elder statesman, has made an important comment on the matter. Speaking at a public administration event, and as reported by the SABC, Mbeki first quoted, with apparent approval, the CEO of the Institute for Race Relations, Dr John Endres saying "Here we have this receding power of the state, its loss of authority and credibility, its inability to translate plans into action, and the growing disconnect between the ruling elite and those they govern, and this is where South Africa's greatest opportunity for the future is to be found, in its innovative and resilient private sector and civil society, which are solving problems in the growing absence of the state and doing so successfully. In years to come, South Africa will become a case study of how private initiative succeeds