News
South Africa: Jacob Zuma and the ANC face tough test in the coming elections
The administration says it has built 3.7 million houses since the advent of democracy 20 years ago, giving millions of people their first modern homes, while some 15 million people receive government social grants.
Yet economic inequality persists – a recent survey showed 46 percent of the population of 50 million living in poverty while unemployment stands at around 25 percent, according to official statistics.
Racial divisions have proved hard to overcome. White South Africans – around 10 percent of the population, remain in the driving seat of the economy, often dominating the high-end job market.
A study released in 2012 showed that black South Africans hold 21 percent of shares in the top 100 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Africa’s biggest bourse.
According to Ashwin Desai, a sociologist at the University of Johannesburg says democracy has failed South Africans because the majority are still “mired in poverty in the face of burgeoning wealth on the other side”.
“Democracy should mean more than freedom, it needs to translate to the improvement of lives,” he said.
However, a new black middle class has emerged and people are free to express themselves.
