Inequality in post-apartheid South Africa

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Negotiations to end apartheid began in 1990 and continued until President Nelson Mandela's electoral victory as South Africa's first Black president in the first democratic all-races general election of 1994. [1] This signified the legislative end of apartheid in South Africa, a system of widespread racially-based segregation to enforce almost complete separation of white and Black races in South Africa. [2] Before the legislative end of apartheid, whites had held almost complete control over all political and socioeconomic power in South Africa during apartheid, only allowing acquiescent Black traditional leaders to participate in facades of political power. [1] Repercussions from the decades of apartheid continue to resonate through every facet of South African life, despite copious amounts of legislation meant to alleviate inequalities. [3]

Contents

Post-apartheid South Africa struggles to correct the social inequalities created by decades of apartheid. [1] White nepotism remains a considerable obstacle to economic gain and political influence for Black South Africans. [4] [5] Despite a growing gross domestic product, indices for poverty, unemployment, income inequality, life expectancy and land ownership, have declined. [3] [6] No industry in the economy has over 50% ownership by Black individuals in terms of their share even though 81.4% of the South African population is Black. [4] [6] The end of the apartheid system in South Africa has largely not changed the socioeconomic stratification by race. [5] A small subset of the Black population have been able to create a Black middle class that did not exist during apartheid, but otherwise, the large majority of Black people in South Africa have yet to experience a difference in economic class since apartheid was abolished. [3] [4] International measures of inequality, such as the Gini coefficient, report that inequalities within races has greatly increased since the end of apartheid, even when overall inequalities are slightly improved. [3] [5] High levels of Black unemployment coupled with a rising Black population remains one of the biggest problems, particularly for women and the uneducated or unskilled. [5] [6]

South Africa's most recent census in 2022 highlighted areas of supposed improvement, such as greater access to electricity, piped water, education, and refuse collection services, but was criticized for missing 31% of the largely rural population, undoubtedly skewing the results more positively in the government's favor. [3] [6] The South African government has been denounced because it does not have an official poverty line, preventing accurate measures from being assessed. [4] [5] The most recent census did not include measures of income previously used to define poverty in prior censuses nor did it give an official population percentage, but international organizations have placed the percentage of South African people experiencing poverty to at least 50% and possibly even higher after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] [5] [6]

Factors contributing to post-apartheid inequality in South Africa

Key legislation shaping post-apartheid inequality

South Africa has extremely high unemployment rates. The official unemployment rate is 31.9%, as of Q3 in 2023. [7] Redistribution aims to transfer white-owned commercial farms to Black South Africans. [8] Restitution involves giving compensation to land lost to whites due to apartheid, racism, and discrimination. [8] Land tenure reform strives to provide more secure access to land. [8] Several laws have been enacted to facilitate redistribution, restitution, and land tenure reform. The Provision of Certain Land of Settlement Act of 1996 designates land for settlement purposes and ensures financial assistance to those seeking to acquire land. [8] The Restitution of Land Rights Act of 1994 guided the implementation of restitution and gave it a legal basis. [8] The Extension of Security of Tenure Act of 1996 helps rural communities obtain stronger rights to their land and regulates the relationships between owners of rural land and those living on it. [8] So far, these land reform measures have been semi-effective. By 1998, over 250,000 Black South Africans received land as a result of the Land Redistribution Programme. [8] Very few restitution claims have been resolved. [8] In the five years following the land reform programmes were instituted, only 1% of land changed hands, despite the African National Congress’s goal of 30%. [8] The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was a socio-economic programme aimed at addressing racial inequalities by creating business and education while only 4% of the wealthiest students are functionally illiterate, indicating a stark divide in literacy between income quartiles. [9]

Educational disparities

The spatial segregation of apartheid continues to affect educational opportunities. Black and low-income students face geographic barriers to good schools, which are usually located in affluent neighborhoods. [9] While South Africans enter higher education in increasing numbers, there is still a stark difference in the racial distribution of these students.

As of 2013, the global competitiveness survey [10] ranked South Africa last out of 148 for the quality of maths and science education and 146th out of 148 for the quality of general education, behind almost all African countries despite one of the largest budgets for education on the African continent. The same report lists the biggest obstacle to doing business as an "Inadequately educated workforce". Education, therefore, remains one of the poorest areas of performance in post-apartheid South Africa and one of the biggest causes of continued inequality and poverty.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has served to widen the gaps between existing levels of economic inequality in South Africa, and poor, Black communities have been given the greatest burden largely due to insufficient government support during the pandemic. [11] South Africa was criticized early for not enacting a travel ban on international travelers as COVID-19 began ravaging other countries. [11] However, South Africa was quick to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic on the arrival of its first reported case as compared to Western countries, implementing a 6-week lock down only 22 days after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in South Africa early in March. [12] [4] Restrictions included a ban on international travelers, school closures, and the prohibition of large group gatherings including 100 people or more. [11] School closures threatened food security for 9 million children who relied on school feeding programs to supplement daily nutrition with no back-up plan given by the government. [13] Two weeks into the lock down further rules were implemented, including the closure of non-essential businesses and a controversial sales ban on liquor, tobacco, and vaping products. [11] Close to 10 million low-income individuals lost their jobs during this time. [13]

As the 6-week lock down came to an end, South Africa began to reduce the severity of lock down rules, citing successful containment, but the South African government was criticized for inflating positive results of early containment procedures without evidence to support their claims. [12] Hospitals already lacked the resources to handle their pre-COVID case loads and were quickly overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases early on in the pandemic, necessitating other health problems to be sidelined. [11] Domestic violence cases against women and children in the lower economic classes skyrocketed. [13] An emergency food box program was eventually created to fight food insecurity, but most poor communities never received the help. [4] Less than 100,000 of the boxes were distributed across South Africa in the first year and a half of the program’s creation. [13] Economically disadvantaged communities found immense fault with the inequitable government efforts regarding food allocation, testing centers, and the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE). [11] Brewing public frustration over economic losses, lock down measures, the lack of available medical interventions, and the arrest of former South African president Jacob Zuma resulted in widely attended protests that devolved into destructive riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg in 2021. [4] The events now known as the 2021 South African unrest, the Zuma riots, or the July 2021 riots, escalated into the most severe violence South Africa has witnessed since the conclusion of apartheid, and resulted in the arrests of over 5,500 individuals and the deaths of 354. [11]

Wealth inequality

This section is an excerpt from Wealth inequality in South Africa.[ edit ]
According to the World Bank, South Africa is the most economically unequal country in the world. The difference between the wealthy and the poor in South Africa has been increasing steadily since the end of apartheid in 1994, and this inequality is closely linked to racial divisions in society.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of South Africa</span>

The economy of South Africa is a mixed economy, emerging market, and upper-middle-income economy, one of only eight such countries in Africa. The economy is the most industrialized, technologically advanced, and diversified economy in Africa. Following 1996, at the end of over twelve years of international sanctions, South Africa's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) almost tripled to a peak of US$416 billion in 2011. In the same period, foreign exchange reserves increased from US$3 billion to nearly US$50 billion, creating a diversified economy with a growing and sizable middle class, within two decades of ending apartheid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic inequality</span> Distribution of income or wealth between different groups

Economic inequality is an umbrella term for a) income inequality or distribution of income, b) wealth inequality or distribution of wealth, and c) consumption inequality. Each of these can be measured between two or more nations, within a single nation, or between and within sub-populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income distribution</span> How a countrys total GDP is distributed amongst its population

In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes economic inequality which is a concern in almost all countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child poverty</span> Children living in poverty

Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It is estimated that 1 billion children lack at least one essential necessity such as housing, regular food, or clean water. Children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as adults and the poorest children are twice as likely to die before the age of 5 compared to their wealthier peers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International inequality</span> Inequality between nations wealth

International inequality refers to inequality between countries, as compared to global inequality, which is inequality between people across countries. International inequality research has primarily been concentrated on the rise of international income inequality, but other aspects include educational and health inequality, as well as differences in medical access. Reducing inequality within and among countries is the 10th goal of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring that no one is left behind is central to achieving them. Inequality can be measured by metrics such as the Gini coefficient.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natives Land Act, 1913</span> 1913 South African law on land acquisition

The Natives Land Act, 1913 was an Act of the Parliament of South Africa that was aimed at regulating the acquisition of land. It largely prohibited the sale of land from whites to blacks and vice-versa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income inequality in the United States</span>

Income inequality has fluctuated considerably in the United States since measurements began around 1915, moving in an arc between peaks in the 1920s and 2000s, with a 30-year period of relatively lower inequality between 1950 and 1980.

Income segregation is the separation of various classes of people based on their income. For example, certain people cannot get into country clubs because of insufficient funds. Another example of income segregation in a neighborhood would be the schools, facilities and the characteristics of a population. Income segregation can be illustrated in countries such as the United States, where racial segregation is a major cause of income inequality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in China</span> Economic issues in China

In China today, poverty refers mainly to the rural poor. Decades of economic development has reduced urban extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, more than 850 million Chinese people have been lifted out of extreme poverty; China's poverty rate fell from 88 percent in 1981 to 0.7 percent in 2015, as measured by the percentage of people living on the equivalent of US$1.90 or less per day in 2011 purchasing price parity terms, which still stands in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in the United States</span>

In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty. Some of the many causes include income inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. The majority of adults living in poverty are employed and have at least a high school education. Although the US is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, it has a persistently high poverty rate compared to other developed countries due in part to a less generous welfare system.

Redistribution of income and wealth is the transfer of income and wealth from some individuals to others through a social mechanism such as taxation, welfare, public services, land reform, monetary policies, confiscation, divorce or tort law. The term typically refers to redistribution on an economy-wide basis rather than between selected individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causes of poverty</span>

The causes of poverty may vary with respect to nation, region, and in comparison with other countries at the global level. Yet, there is a commonality amongst these causes. Philosophical perspectives, and especially historical perspectives, including some factors at a micro and macro level can be considered in understanding these causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welfare's effect on poverty</span>

The effects of social welfare on poverty have been the subject of various studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic recovery</span> Phase of the business cycle following a recession

An economic recovery is the phase of the business cycle following a recession. The overall business outlook for an industry looks optimistic during the economic recovery phase.

Land reform in South Africa is the promise of "land restitution" to empower farm workers and reduce inequality. This also refers to aspects such as, property, possibly white-owned businesses. Proponents argue it will allow previously unemployed people to participate in the economy and better the country's economic growth. It also relates to restitution in the form of settling Land Claims of people who were forcefully removed from their homes in urban areas that were declared white, by the apartheid government's segregationist Group Areas Act: such areas include Sophiatown, Fietas, Cato Manor, District Six and Greyville; as well as restitution for people forcibly evicted from rural land because of apartheid policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth in South Africa</span>

Youth in South Africa constituted 37% of the population in 2010, numbering 19.1 million individuals. South Africa's National Youth Commission Act, 1996, defines youth as those from ages 15-34 years. Like many other developing countries, South Africa's population as a whole is quite young. The elevated level of youth population is expected to exist for the next 20–30 years; the large proportion of working-age population presents South Africa with a time period of opportunity for human capital and economic development.

Social mobility in South Africa refers to the movement of South Africans from one social class to another. it is the study of upward socio-economic change in status achievable by South Africans from generation to generation.

South Africa has one of the most extensive social welfare systems among developing countries in the world. In 2019, an estimated 18 million people received some form of social grant provided by the government.

According to the World Bank, South Africa is the most economically unequal country in the world. The difference between the wealthy and the poor in South Africa has been increasing steadily since the end of apartheid in 1994, and this inequality is closely linked to racial divisions in society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 1</span> First of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end global poverty

Sustainable Development Goal 1, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, calls for the end of poverty in all forms. The official wording is: "No Poverty". Member countries have pledged to "Leave No One Behind": underlying the goal is a "powerful commitment to leave no one behind and to reach those farthest behind first".

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nesbitt, Francis Njubi (2004). Race for sanctions: African Americans against apartheid, 1946-1994. Blacks in the diaspora. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN   978-0-253-34232-4.
  2. ↑ "Race in South Africa: Still an Issue" . The Economist. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Oqubay, Arkebe; Tregenna, Fiona; Valodia, Imraan, eds. (2021). The Oxford handbook of the South African economy (1st ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-289419-9.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Joseph, Juliet Eileen (30 November 2021). "Post-apartheid South Africa's exacerbated inequality and the Covid-19 pandemic: intersectionality and the politics of power: The Politics of Power". EUREKA: Social and Humanities (6): 68–78. doi:10.21303/2504-5571.2021.002099. ISSN   2504-5571.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McKeever, Matthew (4 December 2024). "Social stratification and inequality in South Africa". Sociology Compass. 18 (2). doi: 10.1111/soc4.13173 . ISSN   1751-9020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Statistics South Africa | Census Dissemination". census.statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "Statistics South Africa on Quarterly Labour Force Survey quarter three 2023". South African Government. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cliffe, Lionel (2000). "Land Reform in South Africa". Review of African Political Economy. 27 (84): 273–286. doi: 10.1080/03056240008704459 . hdl: 10.1080/03056240008704459 – via ScienceOpen.
  9. 1 2 Spaull, N (2013). "Poverty & privilege: Primary school inequality in South Africa". International Journal of Educational Development. 33 (5): 436–447. doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.09.009.
  10. ↑ "World competitiveness survey 2013" (PDF).
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fourie, Pieter; Lamb, Guy (16 March 2023). The South African Response to COVID-19: The Early Years (1 ed.). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003294931. ISBN   978-1-003-29493-1.
  12. 1 2 Muller, Seán M. (1 April 2021). "The dangers of performative scientism as the alternative to anti-scientific policymaking: A critical, preliminary assessment of South Africa's Covid-19 response and its consequences". World Development. 140: 105290. doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105290. ISSN   0305-750X. PMC   8457686 .
  13. 1 2 3 4 Casale, Daniela; Shepherd, Debra (3 September 2022). "The gendered effects of the Covid-19 crisis in South Africa: Evidence from NIDS-CRAM waves 1–5". Development Southern Africa. 39 (5): 644–663. doi:10.1080/0376835X.2022.2036105. ISSN   0376-835X.
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