Skip to Content

Xenophobia and violence in South Africa. Photo supplied

South Africa’s decline worst of nations not at war

A quarter of a century after South Africa's racial "liberation" the official unemployment rate is over 27 percent. Among people under 35 the rate is is an alarming 53 percent - one the highest in the world.

Published: April 19, 2019, 8:28 am

    Pretoria

    The black ANC government repeatedly vows, especially during election campaigns, to create jobs. But it has not been able to deliver. Only open borders, naked corruption and almost no accountability have thrived since 1994.

    For the first time the ANC’s new manifesto for the May 8 elections included the party’s commitment to getting tough on the flood of undocumented immigrants.

    The party says it will “take tough measures against undocumented immigrants involved in criminal activities in the country or in cross-border crimes, including those involved in illegal trading and selling adulterated food in townships and villages”.

    At his speech at Moses Mabhida Stadium in January, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about the need for “effective border management”.

    The International Monetary Fund in April lowered South Africa’s projected GDP growth rate for 2019 from 1,2 percent, citing policy uncertainty over land grabs, high levels of corruption and recurrent electricity blackouts, harming investor confidence.

    The government’s target is to cut unemployment by half, to about 14 percent by 2020, but this is “unlikely to occur”, says the World Bank in a 2018 report.

    The massive unemployment rate has fuelled apathy among voters, with the electoral commission noting a 47 percent drop in registered voters aged 18 and 19. Some two-thirds of the nine million eligible voters who did not bother to register are under 30 years old.

    With lower standards of admission, access to higher education has increased, with the number of graduates from public universities more than doubling from 92 874 in 2000 to 203 076 in 2016.

    Despite that, new research from think tank Eunomix Business & Economics showed that South Africa endured one of the worst declines over the past 12 years for a country not at war.

    On a range of social, economic, and governance measures, South Africa deteriorated more than any other nation not involved in an international or civil conflict, it pointed out. Only conflict-torn countries such as Mali, Ukraine, and Venezuela have performed worse in the past decade than South Africa, said Eunomix.

    An index of security, governance, prosperity, and welfare indicators showed South Africa slumped to 88th out of 178 nations last year from 31st in 2006. The think tank blamed the past nine years of worsening corruption and policy paralysis.

    Ramaphosa, who faces his first national election May 8, faces “the strongest likelihood of him being a one-term president,” said the head of Eunomix, Claude Baissac.

    Baissac told Bloomberg: “He is starting with a very weak economy, the weakest of any president since Mandela. He is also starting with a fairly weak hand from a political standpoint.” Ramaphosa has been promoting land grab while Mandela had inherited a thriving economy from the former Apartheid government.

    Agriculture in the country has suffered a shock after Ramaphosa threatened to confiscate white land.

    “The developmental state project has failed. South Africa is now a fragile state, expected to continue to weaken,” Eunomix said. “South Africa’s state performance peaked in 2007, that year its economy and governance were at their best. Since then the state has experienced continuous decline in all core indicators of performance.”

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    Africa

    South Africa’s infrastructure 30 years after the end of Apartheid

    LondonHating South Africa was part of growing up in North London in the 1980s. Pelle Taylor and Patrick Remington from Two Raven Films, recently interviewed South Africans about the decline of the country after Apartheid ended.

    Nigerian President: More weapons for Ukraine end up in Africa

    LagosSome time ago, FWM reported on arms deliveries to Ukraine, which shortly afterwards were resold on the Internet. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that "weapons used in the war in Ukraine are gradually leaking into the region" and called for strengthened border security.

    Namibia sees opportunity to attract German energy refugees

    Windhoek"The former German colony, Namibia wants to help Germany in its energy crisis". This is how an article in the online edition of a German newspaper recently began about Namibia's new "Digital Nomad" visa. The six-month visa is ideal for long-term holidaymakers. And for professionals who have their office on their laptop and can work from anywhere.

    Uneven global population growth reaches 8 billion

    According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), we celebrated the 8 billionth day* on November 15. The planet's population is still increasing dramatically, albeit at a decreasing pace.

    French fuel debacle spills over to Senegal

    DakarThe recent events at the French embassy in Burkina Faso were yet another demonstration against France on the African continent after France was ousted from Mali. All it took was a rumour to attract the sympathy of the population and demonstrators to head to the French Embassy.

    New South African drone to compete with Turkey’s Bayraktar

    PretoriaThe South African defense company Milkor unveiled its Milkor 380 reconnaissance and attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It is expected to become a competitor to Turkey's Bayraktar and Anka drones.

    Bucking the trend: Uganda bans work by LGBT group

    KampalaThe Ugandan government has banned the activities of a local non-governmental organization that campaigns for the rights of sexual minorities. According to a senior official, the organization worked illegally in the African country.

    South Africa: 82 suspects arrested after a mass rape

    KrugersdorpDozens of black men ambushed a film crew at an abandoned mine near Johannesburg on Friday. They raped eight models between the ages of 19 and 35. As they fled, the police shot dead two suspects and 82 other people were arrested.

    BRICS expansion on the cards

    More and more emerging countries are considering joining the BRICS group, which is seen as the major emerging countries' counterweight to the US-led West and the G7. Especially in times like these, this is also a clear signal to Washington.

    Poland opens border after South Africa complains about their treatment of blacks

    PretoriaThere is a very diverse crowd on the German-Polish border currently trying to take advantage of the war situation. Do they really all come from Ukraine?

    Go to archive