Over fifty per cent of the world’s democracies plan to vote in a national election in the year 2024. This includes South Africa.
This year’s national election holds more weight than ever before. With apartheid ending thirty years ago on April 27 and the African National Congress being the sole party in power from that time, immense change could be imminent.
Current President, Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the election will take place on the 29th of May.
“These upcoming elections are also a celebration of our democratic journey and a determination of the future that we all desire.” According to the Presidency’s Twitter account.
Support for the ANC stands at 40 per cent. During the party’s decades-long majority, daily power outages, unemployment, government corruption and wealth inequality have hindered growth and development.
Political, Social and Economic Issues
South Africa has the highest income inequality and unemployment rate in the world. With the latter being thirty-two per cent. Experts say this is likely to be much higher. Many people and reports say the country is on track to becoming a failed state.
Weak infrastructure, power outages, lack of growth, and inequality are leading causes of unemployment in South Africa.
The World Bank discovered that ten per cent of the population holds eighty per cent of the wealth. The end of apartheid left a legacy of structural inequality that hindered South Africa’s black majority population from building wealth and climbing social ladders.
The apartheid regime barred black South Africans from having certain jobs and working in certain areas. The transition out of apartheid left the majority of the population at widespread socioeconomic disadvantage, which continues today.
Infrastructure across the country faces breakdowns, lack of maintenance and mismanagement. The 2022 Green Drop report (a report that measures the integrity and quality of water treatment infrastructure) found that 1/2 of the country’s wastewater treatment facilities are failing. The power grid, built in the 1950s, is also unstable owing to mismanagement and corruption. Power outages and unstable grids impact transportation, business and education.
In addition, South Africa is under great national debt as the government owed $282.3 billion in December 2023. As reported by the CEIC.
These issues don’t only impact the local economy, political stability and equality, but also discourages foreign investment – exacerbating these issues.
Corruption
Former ANC president, Jacob Zuma, resigned because of corruption scandals within his party and his own family. In 2014, he was accused of nepotism after giving his twenty-five-year-old daughter the Chief of Staff position in the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services.
He also spent 246 million Rand (£10.4 million) in taxpayer money on renovations for his home. He has since repaid this money.
Zuma also has two charges of corruption, one in racketeering and the other in money laundering, as well as twelve counts of fraud. He was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for failing to provide testimony in court but served three months due to health reasons.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also faced corruption scandals. In a scandal known as “farmgate” the president hid $585,000 (£466,700) to $5 million (£3.9 million) in foreign currency on his private farm; which he did not report to Parliament. When the money was stolen, Ramaphosa did not initially report the robbery to the police. An “anti-corruption watchdog” cleared Ramaphosa of these charges last year. Parliament held a vote on a motion to impeach him but did not vote in favour.
Load shedding
To reduce strain on the ageing energy grid, the government shuts off power multiple times during the day. This is known as load shedding.
Power across the country can be switched off from fix to thirteen hours a day in total. In some areas, it’s sixteen hours.
To track outages in their area, people use apps on their phones to tell them when loadshedding will happen in their area and to what level.
Businesses bear the brunt of this every day the power is off. For instance, unless they have a generator, restaurant freezers switch off, so do washing machines and laundrettes and pumps at petrol stations. Load shedding also affects traffic lights; leaving motorists delayed and vulnerable to accidents.
Not only does this cause lapses in productivity and inconsistent operating times, but also deters South Africans from starting their own businesses.
Eskom is a state-run power company that controls load shedding and provides eighty per cent of South Africa’s power. They are also corrupt from stealing coal, intentional damage to power plants and poisoning the former CEO’s (Andre de Ruyter) coffee with cyanide.
One small town sought to provide its people with their power. Frankfort, Free State built their solar farm so they would not face load shedding as often. They generated so much power that they were able to send some of it to nearby settlements.
However, Eskom prohibited this due to the belief that other Eskom customers may seek “similar relief” from load-shedding. This is on top of fossil fuels now being more expensive and less efficient than renewable energy. The power grid is mostly powered by coal.
Other Parties
While the ANC has been in power for three decades, with a strong majority, other political parties in South Africa have held support ahead of the election.
The Democratic Alliance Party (DA) is a liberal-leaning party that follows the ANC in support. The DA has policies linked to social, classical and conservative liberalism. They seek to reduce crime, introduce university tuition, improve education and social benefits, and restrict immigration.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have a low support rating due to their advocacy for white genocide and raiding of white-owned farms. Despite this, they still appear to have some support among voters, typically young people. The EFF also supports free university tuition and raising the minimum wage.
A Tense Election
Many people believe that the ANC may still keep their power after the 29th of May; but only in the form of a coalition.
Adding up corruption, inequality, unemployment, and a thirty-year one-party system, this national election has the potential to cause long-awaited change in South Africa.
Featured Image Credit: iStock
First year journalism student. From Aboyne, Aberdeenshire but lived in Doha for eight years.
