1. The World Bank's rule of law indicator shows South Africa's rating declining from an all-time high in 2006.
2. Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index shows the country's corruption rating in permanent decline.
3. The World Bank's Government effectiveness indicator has also been declining since 1996.
4. According to the World Economic Forum, favoritism in decisions by government officials has worsened since a high point in 2009.
5. Similarly, the World Economic Forum has found that government spending has grown increasingly wasteful(though not as wasteful as that of Botswana).
6. Irregular (i.e., undocumented extra) payments and bribes have also been on the rise in South Africa.
7. Moreover, illegal diversion of public funds to private companies, individuals and groups has been increasing.
8. Transparency of government policy making has also suffered, though not as much as that in Botswana.
9. Reliability of policing has actually improved since its nadir in 2009, but still lags behind that of well-run Botswana.
10. Not surprisingly, perhaps, public trust in politicians declined to an all-time low in 2014 and has remained poor.
It is that mistrust in politicians that partly explains the ANC's poor performance at last week's polls. The next general election will be held in 2019. By that time, the ANC may be sufficiently weakened and relegated to the opposition benches. A birth of "normal" politics that see a regular turnover at the top will be good for South Africa's democracy as well as for the health of the country's institutions.