I have spent the majority of my life within Southern Africa, therefore as a result, I have always seen the influence South Africa has over many Southern African Nations. Due to the sheer size of the South African economy, it dominates the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Numerous South African companies and brands have subsidiaries that operate all across Southern Africa. South African media is also quite dominant, often their politics, celebrities, and culture is prevalent on television and social media.
I remember growing up and learning about the fight against Apartheid in South Africa, particularly about Nelson Mandela’s struggles and his rise to become the first black president of South Africa. I remember when the 2010 World Cup was hosted in South Africa, though I lived in Botswana at the time, the pride, and excitement was ever present. To think that an African country would hold a World Cup, moreover, that it would be South Africa hosting the World Cup. I couldn’t have thought of a more deserving county.
It felt almost like the closing of a chapter of a book. South Africa had gone through terrible times during Apartheid, however they managed to fight back and win back their country. Now after all the bad times, the county could close off its book with a bang, by hosting the greatest World Cup ever. I truly believed it when I sang along, “Tsamina mina Zangalewa, this time for Africa.”
Those were the thoughts of my young adolescent mind, however unbeknownst to me at the time, there were far greater problems bubbling underneath the surface that I had never taken into account.
The unfortunate truth about the headline of this article is that it can easily be replaced with almost every other African country. Like many African countries, South Africa is a nation that is blessed with an abundance of valuable natural resources like; Gold, Platinum, Diamonds, Coal, etc. If managed properly, that wealth could be used to propel South Africa into the developed world, the standard of living of every South African could be lifted.
However, as is the case in nearly all African countries, South Africa’s natural wealth has not been managed well. Rather than the wealth generated from the country’s resources, going towards bettering the lives of South African citizens, then wealth has been hoarded by the country’s elites. Making South Africa, today, the world’s most unequal country, according to the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), over 80% of South Africa’s wealth is owned by just around 10% of the country’s population.
In addition to inequality, the endemic corruption present within the South African government has meant that there has been a serious lack of investment in South Africa’s infrastructure. This is most evident in ESKOM, South Africa’s chief electricity provider. The mismanagement of the ESKOM has led to massive amounts of load shedding, which has really taken its toll on the lives of South African’s.
The electricity situation had gotten so bad, especially over the course of the last year, that many pundits began comparing South Africa to a failed state or claiming that it was on the brink of becoming a failed state. Though, I believe much of those assertions were a mischaracterization of the situation (If South Africa is a failed state, what does that say of other African countries in even worse scenarios?).
South Africa is indeed facing many major challenges, I am really only scratching the surface with this piece. I could go further into depth on crime, domestic violence, youth unemployment, xenophobia, etc. The point I am making is that, it did not have to be this way, South Africa had/has the potential to be so much more.
However, South Africa’s general election will be taking place this year on the 29th of May 2024 and for the first time since the fall of the Apartheid regime, it looks as if the ANC’s dominance over the government may come to an end. Perhaps, increased competition among governing parties may be the key to tackling corruption and putting South Africa back on the right track, only time will tell.
