South African here, we also have proportional representation, along with free and fair elections. It is not a magic bullet, we have been dominated by a single party for the last 30 years (since the end of apartheid and the dawn of democracy), so unless your population is educated and doesn't blindly vote out of loyalty.
But I still agree that proportional representation, even in its worst outcomes, is for me the fairest government, I really feel like my vote will count, especially in the last election in May where the ANC finally fell below 50% and had to go into a coalition government.