Commentators and other opinion-formers have openly speculated whether we are on the same, seemingly inevitable path as Zimbabwe. As Mondli Makhanya, Editor of the Sunday Times, wrote following the Zimbabwean elections: "In South Africa some ask, could it happen here?"

Newspaper columnist Justice Malala has been more forthright, issuing the following warning: "When, one day, we open our eyes and our mouths, our children will not have a country to live in. This country will be a Zimbabwe because we allowed Mbeki and his cronies to rape it."

Part of Mbeki’s legacy will be the abuse of institutions of state to advance the interests of a faction of the ANC. This is not about to change under Zuma. On the contrary, there are indications that Jacob Zuma will take the ANCs assault on the values of our Constitution a considerable way further than his predecessor. He and his allies show increasing disdain for the rule of law. This is typified by the disbanding of the Scorpions to protect ANC leaders, promises of bloodshed should Zuma be convicted and the prospect that Judge Hlophe was deployed to influence Constitutional Court Judges to rule in favour of Zuma.

On the economic front, the ANC – under the influence of the SACP and Cosatu – is promoting policies that will increase the intervention of an incapacitated state, squeeze out the private sector and precipitate economic decline to the detriment of all, especially the poor. Even ANC Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe – a so-called moderate is on record saying that: "You must intensively hate capitalism and engage in a struggle against it."

Another factor weighing heavily on peoples minds is our governments inability to condemn Mugabes brutal suppression of the opposition and his blatant election rigging. Some have interpreted this as a signal that the ANC could respond to an electoral threat in a similar fashion. Indeed, when ANC members literally stab each other in the back over competition for places in their own party, one has to wonder what the ANC would do to the opposition in a closely contested election race. We had a small foretaste in the ANC’s response to electoral defeat in Cape Town in 2006.

But there are a number of factors that militate against South Africa following the same path as Zimbabwe.

The first is that, having observed the tragedy in Zimbabwe unfold from close quarters, we have an object lesson in the importance of preventing a country slide into tyranny. Liberation movements generally fail in democratic government because they fail to understand that democracy depends on limiting power, not centralising power. Mugabe and ZANU- PF have demonstrated what happens when centralisation, cronyism and corruption become endemic to the state. At least the ANC has now acknowledged that Zimbabwe is in crisis, although one has to wonder how it took the party eight years to reach this conclusion. It is essential that the ANC learns the right lessons from that crisis.

Secondly, we have a vocal and active civil society that will fight for South Africa to stay on the constitutional straight and narrow. Hugh Glenisters crusade against the disbanding of the Scorpions exemplifies this. In every area of South African life wherever a challenge arises there are individuals and organizations mobilising, independently of the state, to address it.

Chairperson of the Industrial Development Corporation, Wendy Luhabe, made an important point at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town recently. Speaking to business leaders, she said that Zimbabwe was in the situation it is in today because "people like ourselves who had voices, in leadership positions, who have the means and the resources, did not exercise our voices." Her comments underscore how important it is for business and civil society to continue playing their part to keep the ANC in check. Part of that role is to resist the temptation for business to become trapped in the web of patronage politics, where business opportunities are defined by political connections and affiliations. A strong, independent business sector in which opportunities are defined by entrepreneurship, skill, and hard work (not political connections) is essential for a successful transition to a sustainable democracy.

Thirdly, and I believe most importantly, we will not go the way of Zimbabwe because there is a strong opposition in South Africa to check and balance ANC excesses and offer workable policy alternatives. By contrast, in the 11 years between the formation of ZANU-PF in 1988 and the formation of the MDC in 1999, there was no opposition to speak of in Zimbabwe.

Having said this, it is increasingly clear that we need to move beyond the current political alignment of a dominant party and a fragmented opposition. The success of our democracy depends on people from all political parties coming together, on the basis of shared values and principles, to create a powerful new force to challenge the ANC at the polls. Voters increasingly want this, but political formations are still trapped in the past. We need to bring together all those who wish to defend and promote the values of the Constitution. South Africa’s future depends on this.

The political space is growing for an appropriate vehicle that places the ideals of the Constitution at its core and is committed to extending opportunity to all South Africans. This space is larger than the current support base of any opposition party, and indeed, the total support of all opposition parties added together. It is essential if we are to offer real hope to a generation of young people who are weighing up their options and wondering whether it is worth staying in our country. We need their capital and skills. Their contribution is essential if South Africa is to work.

In practice, this realignment project will involve forging strategic alliances with other opposition parties on the basis of shared values and principles. It involves creating a political home for all South Africans disaffected by the power abuse and decline that ANC rule is bringing to our country. It involves convincing talented people who are currently outside of politics to get involved in the project. Finally, it involves drawing into the fold those disillusioned ANC members who once believed that their party stood for a non-racial democracy based on the values of our Constitution.

Already, the naysayers are predicting that any attempts to realign politics will come to naught. They point to seemingly intractable differences between parties based on ideology and ego. They argue that race will be an insurmountable factor. They say that ANC voters are not ready to shift their allegiance, that they are inevitably bound by race and history.

If they are right, then democracy cannot succeed in South Africa. This is a conclusion I refuse to accept. I have faith that politicians of principle will, when the time is ripe, put aside any personal differences and short term expedience for the good of our country.

In the meantime, the DA will continue with its mission to mobilise growing support at the next election. As the ANCs grip on its traditional support base weakens because of poor delivery and discontent at centralised control, elite enrichment and corruption, the DA will grow and opportunities for realignment will open.

The direction that the ANC is taking South Africa may be a threat to the constitutional freedoms we cherish, but it creates opportunities for fundamental change. If South Africa fails, it will not be the fault of the ANC alone. Civil society, business and every political party will be equally culpable.

The old order is dying. The new is struggling to be born. To adapt William Butler Yeats: "The best cannot afford to lack conviction when the worst are full of passionate intensity."