{"id":11998,"date":"2024-02-12T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=11998"},"modified":"2024-02-12T09:24:34","modified_gmt":"2024-02-12T08:24:34","slug":"the-republic-of-south-africa-the-worlds-most-unequal-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/the-republic-of-south-africa-the-worlds-most-unequal-country\/","title":{"rendered":"The Republic of South Africa: The World\u2019s Most Unequal Country?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wojciech Harpula: The vast majority of the South African population had high hopes when apartheid fell in 1994<\/strong>. The abolition of racial segregation was supposed to give the country a new impetus for growth. Meanwhile, today in South Africa, unemployment stands at 35%, and economic inequality is the same as it was under apartheid. What has happened?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prof. Andrzej Polus: <\/strong>Unemployment among the young is as high as 60%… Among South Africa\u2019s myriad problems, the disparities in terms of income and wealth seem to be the most pressing. Academic discussions on inequality tend to use the Gini coefficient, which is a measure intended to represent the degree of income inequality. A Gini coefficient of 0 reflects perfect equality \u2013 all members of the community in question have the same assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the coefficient is 1, then one person has all the wealth, while the rest have absolutely nothing. South Africa\u2019s Gini coefficient for wealth is 0.88. This is the highest value in the world. What\u2019s more, the country\u2019s wealth inequality is increasing, with the ratio standing at 0.8 in 2000. Income disparities are also incredibly substantial, with the Gini coefficient at 0.67. In South Africa, therefore, wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the fall of apartheid, Nelson Mandela\u2019s government began introducing a whole series of social programs, and the quality of life in the so-called black townships<\/em>, i.e. settlements inhabited by the black population, improved considerably. Schools were established, water intakes were installed, and water supply and sewerage systems were built. Between 1994 and 2000, a gradual leveling of inequalities became apparent. However, later years saw a renewed widening of wealth and income discrepancies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African National Congress (ANC<\/strong>) has ruled South Africa since 1994. In the days of the anti-apartheid struggle, this organization had a strongly leftist, even Marxist view of the economy. How is it possible that the ANC implemented neoliberal economic solutions on its assumption of power?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that Nelson Mandela, who chose socialist Cuba as his first foreign destination upon becoming president, implemented the neoliberal recommendations of the International Monetary Fund may seem fairly perplexing. Yes, the ANC wanted to implement socialism in South Africa, and many of its members also belonged to the Communist Party. However, having seized power from the whites, Congress leaders were left with little choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you mean exactly?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did the National Party, representing South Africa\u2019s white ruling minority, decide to abolish apartheid and hold democratic elections, de facto handing over power to the ANC?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phot.: Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because a large share of the black population consistently resisted the racist policies of the authorities?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is true, but above all, the National Party realized that with the fall of the Ian Smith regime in Southern Rhodesia (today\u2019s Zimbabwe) and the end of the Cold War, South Africa would be left to stand alone on the world stage and would be unable to play the card of a capitalist state resisting communism in the Southern African region. South Africa was a sanctioned pariah state on a global scale. Isolated in international politics, it had enormous economic problems and no prospects for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, South Africa was still considered an economic powerhouse of sub-Saharan Africa. The regime had the ability to considerably protract its \u2018demise\u2019 as the National Party had all the uniformed forces under its control and \u2013 as few remember today \u2013 it also had nuclear weapons at its disposal. In the 1970s and 1980s, several nuclear warheads were built in South Africa, most likely in collaboration with Israel[1]. When Nelson Mandela came to power, he gave full control of South Africa\u2019s nuclear arsenal to the International Atomic Energy Agency, surrendering all nuclear weapons. The National Party was aware that apartheid policies were unsustainable in a democratizing world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why it released Nelson Mandela from prison in 1990, with the turbulent Kempton Park negotiations, the South African Round Table Talks, beginning a year later. Incidentally, the formula for the deliberations was modeled on the Polish Round Table, and advisers from Poland were present during the negotiations in South Africa. While talks on how to conduct multi-racial elections and introduce a new constitution took place almost in the public sphere, discussions on the future of businessmen operating in South Africa were kept confidential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Party agreed to cede political power but did not agree to any ownership conversions. It was agreed that the so-called mine energy complex, <\/em>i.e. powerful mining and energy sectors, would remain in white hands, as would the property, insurance and banking. At the same time, both South Africa and the ANC were under pressure from international financial institutions, which sought to enhance a neoliberal approach to the economy. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank conditioned their approval of loans on the introduction of structural adjustment programs involving free-market reforms. As a result of negotiations and external pressures, South Africa could not choose an economic model other than capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Migration and Global Economy. How Countries Adapt to the New Challenge<\/a><\/blockquote>