South Africans 'mostly caring, peaceful'

South Africa ranks second in the world for the transparency and accountability of its budget processes, according to the latest Open Budget Index Survey by the Washington-based International Budget Partnership.

Media freedom and access to information had to be secured alongside the responsibility of the government to conduct its work transparently, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said during a meeting with South Africa's newspaper editors in Magaliesburg on Friday night.

South Africa has held onto fifth spot in the 2012 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, despite a one-point decline in its overall score, from 72 to 71 out of a possible 100, since the index was first launched in 2006.

The Marikana tragedy should serve as a challenge for South Africans to reassess how the country tackles poverty and inequality, and to find a common vision to ensure more inclusive growth going forward, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.