South Africa has been labeled the protest capital of the world and rightfully so as its history has been filled with racism, inequality and political unrest.
On July 9th, 2021, after a call was placed to arrest the former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma on corruption charges, his supporters took to the streets and began protesting. It soon turned into a riot. The riots were not about Jacob Zuma they were about wealth inequality. South Africa is the most unequal nation on the planet. This inequality stems from a long history of a country that ruled with a system of racial segregation called Apartheid.
This episode introduces a series on modern South Africa and what has led to the chaos seen there today.
South Africa has been labeled the protest capital of the world and rightfully so as its history has been filled with racism, inequality and political unrest.
On July 9th, 2021, after a call was placed to arrest the former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma on corruption charges, his supporters took to the streets and began protesting. It soon turned into a riot. The riots were not about Jacob Zuma they were about wealth inequality. South Africa is the most unequal nation on the planet. This inequality stems from a long history of a country that ruled with a system of racial segregation called Apartheid.
This episode introduces a series on modern South Africa and what has led to the chaos seen there today.
Apartheid, Inequality, and political unrest in South Africa
Last month former South African President Jacob Zuma was arrested, his supporters took to the streets and looted the district of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. These riots were the worst south Africa has seen since the end of Apartheid. Resulting in 337 deaths and over 3,400 people arrested.
-INERT Riots---
When comparing to the recent George Floyd riots that happened for over a year consistently and resulted in only 25 deaths 337 deaths in just 2 provinces seems extreme.
This is because South Africa is and has always been an extreme country. A country steeped in Racism, Inequality and Political Unrest.
South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world",[1] with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world. in addition to this it the most unequal nation in terms of wealth distribution in the world
South Africa also has been called The Rainbow Nation,
The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of office, when he proclaimed: "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
This was hopeful thinking from the late Philanthropist Nelson Mandela. Whose name has become synonymous with freedom fighters and pushing for civil liberties. Mandela was the first Black African elected President of South Africa. After 56 years of rule under the National Party’s Apartheid system.
“The Genius of Apartheid was convincing people that were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other” – Trevor Noah Born a crime
Jacob Zuma
Since the end of Apartheid in 1994 the ANC (African Natonal Congress) the party of Anti-Apartheid policies which was banned before 1994 and the Party of Nelson Mandela which has held over 55% of the parliament has remained in power, It has however been losing ground steadily since the bright days of Mandela, this is mainly due to corruption and mismanagement from its leadership.
From 2009-2018 Jacob Zuma was the President of the ANC and of South Africa.
Zuma’s reign was also plagued with corruption and mismanagement (including rape allegations)
During his tenure wages stagnated, GDP ballooned, unemployment rose, inequality also didn’t improve In Zuma’s defence since all of these can apply since the end of the Apartheeid Government in 1994, The ANC has largely failed to keep their socialistic promises of land and wealth redistribution
Zuma is currently charged with 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud, and money laundering
Zuma’s family has been tied to the oligarchic Gupta family, a billionaire family who own a business empire in South Africa.
The Gupta family has been accused of, Influencing political policy, Interfering with minister appointments and received millions of dollars of public money that was supposed to support poor farmers.
At least 3 of Zuma’s immediate family members (Bongi Ngema-Zuma, Duduzile Zima, and Duduzane Zuma) have business connections with the Guptas
Zuma’s allegations of corruption caused him to lose power to the current president Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018
Zuma refused to acknowledge the accusations of corruption against him claiming they were foreign conspiracies meant to destroy his legacy and refused to enter court for 16 months. The court finally demanded the stubborn Zuma appear by February 2021 which he ignored.
And in March 2021 Zuma was issued a 15 month prison sentence for contempt of court
Zuma after initially refusing and having supporters gather at his house with weapons finally handed himself over to the South African Police.
Zuma loyalists took to the streets and began violently looting the country.
Similar to the George Floyd protests in the USA the Jacob Zuma arrest was the straw that broke the camels back. Jacob Zuma was not the real reason the country broke out in the worst violence since the end of Apartheid 27 years ago.
More than half of South Africa's population lives in poverty on less than 5.50$ a day, the world banks line for poverty. South Africa has an unemployment rate of 32%, with 63% of its youth unemployed. According to the World Bank, income inequality has increased since the ANC took power in 1994 and Apartheid ended. Many South Africans, Black ones included feel times were better under the Apartheid Government
-Julius Malema- INSERT THINGS WERE BETTER UNDER APARTHEID
That was Julius Malema speaking president of the EEF party or Economic Freedom fighters, The 3rd largest political party in South Africa that has garnered a reputation for their far-left pan-Africanist ideology, with attempts at wealth redistribution. As well as their anti-white rhetoric.
2nd part of BETTER
BEE- or Blcak Economic Empowerment, was the ANC’s program that attempted to fix the evils of Apartheid. Think about it like Affirmative Action in the USA but flip the numbers, where in the USA, minority groups like African Americans makeup 13% of the population, a minority. In South Africa Whites makeup almost 10% of the population.
BEE encourages businesses to integrate black people in the workspace, upskill and mentor and support black businesses .
Businesses with a good level BBBEE rating, stand a better chance of being awarded government contracts.
Like many places the Covid 19 pandemic has only made things worse
65,000 South Africans have been killed by Covid making it the worst hit African nation. Currently a 3rd wave of Covid is affecting the country
The Split in the ANC between the current president Ramaphosa and Zuma has created a civil war within Sotuh Africas largest political party. It is up to Ramaphosa to either make peace and pardon the Zuma faction or to attempt to subdue the Zuma supporters.
Riots were located in Durban, Zuma’s home province
Economy of South Africa
South Africa Has a Service economy, (meaning it is developed)
Blessed with abundance of natural resources like platinum gold and diamond (not dependent on any)
The Human Development Index or HDI in South Africa is good at .705 HDI measures how a society stacks up in terms of education, life expectancy etc… South Africa is the 7th highest in terms of HDI in Africa.
South Africa is the 2nd largest economy of Africa (behind the giant Nigeria) however it is considered the most industrialized and advanced country in Africa.
Now all of these economic factors sound good, however. South Africa is by far the most unequal nation on the planet
With a GINI coefficient of .643
The GINI coefficient is a measurement that ranges from 0-1 and it measures wealth distribution in a country.
A coefficient of 0 represents perfect wealth equality and 1 means that 1 person holds all the wealth in a country
Basically the lower the number the better, to compare with some countries
The USA and China both hold a number of .48, it should be noted that the USA and China are the two richest countries in the world with a total of 1,754 of the worlds 2,755 billionaires.
Norway a socialized workers paradise sits at .25 and 12 of the worlds billionaires
With The UK at .35 and 171 of the worlds billionaires billionaires
The poor in south Africa live in Slums, or townships as they are called. Think of them like the Favelas In Brazil
The middle class of South Africa expect to live like they do in western Europe or America
This has led to massive unrest, especially based around Race. Due to Apartheid White south Africans have a far higher standard of living and wealth opportunities. This is changing however since Apartheid ended many whites in the country feel discriminated against because of BEE black economic empowerment.
Income inequality isn’t always a bad thing for a market, it incentives people to do better, to learn a skill to improve their life. However in an extreme country like South Africa it can be dangerous.
South Africa has only about 6 billionaires (including Elon Musk who wouldn’t really call South Africa his home anymore) but about 2% of the population lives about how well an upper middle class person in the USA would, with the remaining population living in Slums
The reason for this massive inequality comes from the hangover of Apartheid. Think about it like the ending of slavery in the uSA. Sure the newly freed men had freedom now but they didn’t have skills.
After Apartheid ended in 1994, a large percentage of the 75% Black population of South Africa lacked skills, and education to succeed in society. Even Linguistics caused a problem for many South Africans, although English is widely spoken for someone coming from an impoverished Bantustan (or Tribal homeland) where they only grew up speaking Xhosa or Zulu they might not even be able to communicate to other parts of society to get a job.
South Africa has 11 official languages among many others.
Just like the black Americans who found themselves liberated after slavery ended but without the ability to do anything besides the trade they learned as a slave. The ex Apartheid state finds itself without skilled labor.
This led to a massive portion of the population to continue doing the same menial labor jobs that they had under the Apartheid system Such as farm work or resource extraction.
Now a common arguing pont is that slavery ended so long ago in the USA, and its time to move past it. Well Apartheid ended in the 1990s… it cuts the millennial generation in half. Such a large portion of these people came from the Era where Racism was made a government policy.
The cycle of poverty is hard to break .
As of 2018 more than half the nation of south Africa lives on less than 5.50$ a day. Absolute poverty
This figure is rising
When a nation such as South Africa experiences such wealth inequality and Absolute poverty it creates a system that slides backwards not forwards. With Conditions such as absolute poverty people are unable to get a decent education to better themselves, they don’t have the nutrition value or mindset to better their lives. Absolute poverty is destroying South Africa not incentivizing it.
South Africa is an extremely unstable economy due to this wealth inequality.
Another issue South Africa is facing is Capital Flight, This is a thing known all too well to this region of Africa.
Capital flight is the large-scale exodus of financial assets and capital from a nation due to events such as political or economic instability, currency devaluation or the imposition of capital controls.
South Africa’s economy is not growing its shrinking worsening the inequality and impoverishment.
“The wind of change is blowing through this continent. Whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact.”
-Harold Macmillan on Decolonization, A speech given to the South African Parliament in Cape Town, 1960- INSERT
North of South Africa is a country called Zimbabwe that knows the horrors of racism and capital flight all too well.
When Decolonization took Africa by storm in the 1950s and 60s, Zimbabwe, which at the time was called the colony of Rhodesia, took notice.
Rhodesia was an Apartheid state run by the British White majority. IN a parallel to South Africa the 10% Minority white ruled over the 90% Majority Native Black population.
Rhodesia was called the Jewel of Africa, and it experienced a massive inflow of skilled European labor and investment which built the economy to an unmatched level of economic growth unseen anywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa
Rhodesia fearing decolonization, which by this point in the late 50s early 60s was taking Africa by storm. Many countries outright declared independence and the British government, includeing the conservative faction was no longer seeking to keep these colonies apart of the United Kingdom. Rhodesia decided to declare independence from Great Britain in 1965, Independence was declared Unilaterally like in the USA, it was not given like in Canada or South Africa.
Around this time The Rhodesian Bush war began, between the white nationalist government and the black rebels who wanted blacks to have equal say in government.
The Bush war was brutal and lasted almost 16 years. It became a cold war proxy war however this nation state due to its highly racist nature was disowned by the West. Rhodesia was alone against 2 factions of African-Communist-nationalists, one led by the Chinese and the other led by the soviets. Think of it like a proxy war between the 2 communist blocs.
The only Support Rhodesia received was from Apartheid South Africa to the south who also had a similar Isolationist nature.
The Bush war turned against the White Rhodesians and in 1980 the British mediated and allowed for free and fair elections for all the citizens, blacks included of the reintegrated British colony.
-insert Mugabe speech- 3:10
Robert Mugabe one of the black Generals of the Bush war was elected Prime Minister in 1980
His first act was to rename Rhodesia to the name it currently holds today, Zimbabwe
In the beginning Mugabe attempted to keep peace with the White population in order to avoid Capital Flight he needed to keep skilled labor and wealth in the country.
Zimbabwe in the 1980s was prospering as it received generous financial support from outside players.
The Apartheid South Africa to the south began fermenting chaos in the racially amicable state. The South African government funded White Separatist rebels and after a terrorist attack Mugabe turned on the Whites of his country.
The two began embargoing trade with each other and tensions became a fever pitch.
Mugabe began blaming whites for Zimbabwe’s misfortunes, in the 1980s his rhetoric changed sharply from racial harmony to accusations. The Economy ground to a halt in the 80s and in the 90s he began seizing white owned farms and redistributing them socialistically to the native black population.
Many of the farms went into default due to the native black farmers not knowing how to run them properly. The skilled British farmers had centuries of practice to make them the best.
A mass exodus of Zimbabwe’s whites began, most migrated to the UK and Apartheid South Africa where the bitter whites racial rhetoric only exacerbated racial animosity .
Of the almost 300,000 White Rhodesians, today less than 30,000 still live in Zimbabwe
Today Zimambwe has Hyperinflation, and is one of the poorest countries in the world. It has come a long way from Rhodesia once called the Jewel of Africa.
The Jacob Zuma riots have once again destabilized and brought more poverty to South Africa, Inititial estimates put the loss in Durban at about 20 Billion Rand (1 billion 400 million dollars) and a total of 50 billion Rand (3.4 Billion dollars) to South Africa’s national economy.
Jacob Zuma is a populist and remains popular among some of South Africa, His daughter is allegedly among those to have encouraged the looting and violence in order to secure the release of her father. as an unverified Twitter account under her name encouraged people to protest.
Although some believe Zuma is using his name to hold South Africa hostage, in order to have more bargaining power against the courts and his enemy Cyril Ramaphosa the current president of South Africa the real reason behind the rioting is deeper than Jacob Zuma.
The real reason for this anger and rioting is a lack of trust in the South African state by both sides the wealthy and the poor. The wealthy, those who own shops banned together during the rioting and formed vigilante groups to defend what they had And The rioters banned together to steal back what they feel was stolen under the apartheid state from the generation before them.
Apartheid was an evil state, where the vast majority of South Africa found themselves as 3rd class citizens based on race, in their native homeland. Similar to Zimbabwe many South African political leaders have been calling for BEE or Black Economic Empowerment, A redistribution of wealth from Whites to Blacks. One of the main complaints about the ANC is that since taking power in 1994 they haven’t done this.
Perhaps when Nelson Mandela was elected the first Black South African president in 1994 he understood Zimbabwe and understood what consequences could await South Africa had he gone down a similar path as Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe.
A better way to understand the mind of Nelson Mandela is to examine the Apartheid state that he fought against and was imprisoned by for 27 years of his life…