SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES
Section 4: Social and economic issues
What you will learn about:
 The extent of the social and economic inequality facing the new
Government in 1994.
 The policies introduced by Mandela and Mbeki to improve economic and
social conditions.
 Social and economic progress made under Mandela and Mbeki.
Finally, in 1994, the Black African majority gained political control of their
country. Much more difficult to achieve would be the elimination of social
and economic inequalities created by the Apartheid system. Nelson Mandela
was aware of the expectations of the people. He stated in 1994 that ‘a roof
over one’s head and reasonable living conditions are not a privilege. They
are a basic right for every human being.’
The legacy of Apartheid
The stark comments made by Desmond Tutu (see below) and the statistics of
inequalities that follow highlight the massive challenge which faced the new
Government in 1994.
Apartheid has left a ghastly legacy. There is a horrendous housing shortage
and high unemployment; health care is inaccessible and not easily affordable
by the majority; Bantu education has left us with a massive educational
crisis; there is a gross maldistribution of wealth and an inequitable sharing of
the resources with which South Africa is so richly endowed. Some 20% of
the population owns 87% of the land. Then there is the hurt and anguish of
those who have been victims of this vicious system, those who were forcibly
removed from their homes, nearly 4 million people.
(Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1994)
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1994: A profile of inequalities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
For every hundred Black Africans of working age, 46 had no
employment.
Some 7 million Black Africans lived in the squatter camps (informal
settlements).
12 million had no clean water.
14 million could not read.
There was a culture of violence in the townships.
Only 35 per cent of young Black Africans in schools passed the
equivalent of the Scottish Highers, in cont rast to 90 per cent of Whites
and Asians, and 80 per cent of Coloureds.
Massive poverty, hunger and malnutrition were present in the rural
homelands.
Only 14 per cent of rural dwellers had access to adequate sanitation.
Between 1960 and 1990 the Apartheid Government forced 2.5 million
people from their homes.
Figure 4.1: Inequality: from cradle to grave
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Figure 4.2: Average income in Rands (1990)
Figure 4.3: Infant deaths per 1,000 births
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Figure 4.4: Life expectancy at birth
Figure 4.5: Literacy rates, 1984
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Government action under Mandela and Mbeki 1994–2005
Nelson Mandela (President 1994–99) and Thabo Mbeki (President 1999–
2009) have worked to create economic and social policies which would end
the poverty of many non-Whites and help to create a rich, confident Black
African middle class. This was to be achieved through the Reconstruction
and Development Programme (RDP) and GEAR (Growth, Employment and
Redistribution).
Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994 –96)
This was an imaginative but over-ambitious attempt to bring about a rapid
improvement in living standards for Blacks. The strategy of setting up a
separate agency with its own Minister, Jay Naidoo, was seen as an innovative
attempt to sidestep bureaucratic inertia and inter -departmental competition.
The Finance Minister withheld roughly 5 per cent from the budgets of each
of the spending departments and placed the money into a Reconstruction and
Development Fund. However, the new Government underestimated the
timescale involved in setting up a new national ministry alongside the nine
new provinces and local government structur es. The result was patchy. By
the end of 1995 only 12,000 RDP houses had been built, 6 per cent of the
number the ANC had promised each year!
GEAR
The new policy of Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)
introduced economic policies similar to those of New Labour in Britain
under Prime Minister Tony Blair. GEAR encouraged growth and employment
by providing economic stability which encouraged foreign investment.
Inflation and the budget deficit were reduced from 9 per cent in 1994 to 1.5
per cent in 2004. The controversial policy of privatisation (selling off state
assets to the private sector) was criticised by the trade unions as an attack on
the poor. Selling off state owned enterprise s such as electricity and gas
provided the Government with income to improve services. However, this
led to the privately owned utilities increasing their charges for electricity and
water, and this became a very unpopular policy in the townships.
The redistribution element of GEAR would create a black enterprise cul ture
through direct government interference in the running of the economy.
Legislation was passed which discriminated against Whites. ‘Wealthy, black
and proud of it’ is the slogan of the Government.
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Education
Under the leadership of Mandela and Mbeki , education provision has
improved. Education takes 21 per cent of government spending (6 per cent of
GDP). The Government accepts that more money is always needed to address
the horrendous backlogs left by 40 years of Apartheid education, where
money flowed into White education at the expense of Black schools in the
townships and rural areas. The learning section of the BBC Scotland
Education website on South Africa highlight s the challenges facing
education nationally and in the Eastern Cape and Transkei (s ee below).
Learning the hard way in Transkei
Ngwenya Senior Secondary School in Transkei sits on a hill with views
across a landscape of green hills speckled with cattle and the white dots of
rondavels to the kraals on the distant slopes. Not far away i s Qunu, the
village where Nelson Mandela grew up, and which he describes in his
autobiography as a land of fertile valleys and a thousand streams.
The school has 350 pupils mostly aged between 15 and 16, though some
older learners are in their mid-twenties. The local community grew tired of
waiting for the new school promised by the provincial leaders, and built it
themselves; the work was mainly carried out by pensioners and youngsters,
as most of the adults in the community have gone to Johannesburg and
Durban in search of work.
There are eight classrooms. Four of them are on the east wing, along with a
staff room, and have electricity; the other four, on the west wing, are without
electricity and are poorly finished. The school has no running water. The
building is constructed largely of breeze blocks with corrugated aluminium
roofs and the rooms are without ceilings or plastered walls. There is no glass
in the windows and half the classrooms are without doors.
Hard conditions for Learners
On winter days the wind blows from the Drakensburg and funnels and
whistles through every crack and space in the leaky old building. On days
like these the students wrap themselves in blankets and huddle in the corners
of classrooms to flee the biting cold. On summer days the sun beats
relentlessly on the aluminium roofs draining learners and teachers alike of
strength and energy. A thick film of dust coats everything. Goats and pigs
wander in and out of classrooms scavenging for scraps. The toilets are dry
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latrines, three smelly corrugated iron cubicles perched on the veld, which
stretches for miles around the school.
The students are poor. Most of them come from households headed by
grandparents many of whom cannot read or write. Despite the fact that many
of them don't know if they will be going home to a meal that night, they are
all dressed smartly in school uniform. Fees are 150 rand (£15) a year, a lot of
money for families with virtually no cash income. Classes for subjects such
as English are as large as 70, and teachers have few resources. Computers,
videos and DVDs are unknown here.
Building success in the community
Yet despite all these disadvantages Ngwenya SSS is moving forward. An
energetic Principal, Mr Ndalala, supported by an active and committed
community, is turning the school round. In the last three years the school
matriculation (high school diploma) pass rate has risen from 25% to 54%.
The English pass rate is 76%. The school also has an award winning choir
and a successful football team.
When I asked Mr Ngwenya for the reasons behind this success he highlighted
the quality of his teachers and an investment in new textbooks. Despite the
poor state of the building and the dreadful physical environment in which
students work, each of them is supplied with a textbook for each course. But
most of all he cited the importance of doing things for themselves. ‘That is
why we built the school’, he said. ‘We were not prepared to sit around and
wait until the authorities were ready. We did it ourselves. ’
The legacy of apartheid
But Mr Ndalala is still not happy. ‘Most of the former white schools are
getting close to 100% pass rate’ he said. ‘That is our objective’. The reason
for black people failing is not to do with poor resources and dilapidated
buildings. The real legacy of apartheid, according to Mr Ndalala, is the
attitude to learning; the belief that education is only a path to low status
jobs. ‘That is what we have to overcome’ he said, ‘a lack of drive and an
unwillingness to transcend poor environment and poverty.’
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education, 26 May 2005
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The following extract describes Gavin Clark’s visit to South African schools
under the League for the Exchange of Commonwea lth Teachers
(www.lect.org.uk).
The purpose of my visit was to try to understand the role of citizenship and
heritage education in the new South Africa. Along with 10 other UK
teachers, I visited four secondary schools and four primary schools in
KwaZulu-Natal, thanks to funding from the League for the Exchange of
Commonwealth Teachers.
The state schools are given a certain level of funding from central and
provincial government and are then left to charge the fees that they feel are
appropriate. Of the eight schools we visited, fees ranged from £1 .75 to £75 a
year. All the schools talked of a significant number of learners (the generic
word used for all schools students) being unable to pay the required amount
and most schools go to great lengths to help cashless families sustain the
education of their children.
This funding arrangement leaves many schools in a desperate state. Schools
that receive piped water and electricity are officially labelled ‘advantaged ’.
One rural primary we visited still showed fire damage from the apartheid
violence that hit it some 11 years ago.
There is not enough money within the system to pay for teachers and
resources. Accordingly, many educators (teachers and education officials)
voiced disappointment in the lack of progress since 1994. However, those
same people were optimistic about many other aspects of the educational
system. One teacher put it bluntly: ‘Where there is nothing, then all you have
is hope.’
There is a big age range in many secondary classes. In one group of mostly
15-year-olds was a 21-year-old man who had repeatedly failed his exams but
was still trying.
Class sizes are considerably bigger than in the UK; most classes we saw had
40–45 students. Students in ‘matric’ classes, looking to gain the
qualifications required for university, have to provide their own textbooks,
and even in the most impoverished schools there is strong evidence of
parental support for uniform.
Perhaps the biggest difference was apparent in the attitude of students. We
were not taken to any of the very worst township schools that hit the
headlines as being ‘ungovernable’ but we did encounter severely
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disadvantaged learners. They all had in common a respect for education and
a hunger for learning.
KwaZulu-Natal takes heritage very seriously and this seems typical of most
South African provinces. Students are now taught from the first year to year
12 about their heritage, including the arts and crafts of their people.
They showed incredible pride and passion when demonstrating traditional
dances and songs, often on an impromptu basis. It made for unsettling
comparisons with the lack of focus Scottish education give s to this area.
Under social development, for example, a grade 1 learner shou ld be able to
identify, draw and colour the national flag. By grade 6 they are reflecting on
children’s rights and by grade 9, the final year citizenship is taught, students
are critically investigating issues of diversity in South Africa.
Poverty is one constant in much of the education system. Facilities and
resources are often desperately inadequate. Three of the schools we visited
had no computer access. Teachers are underpaid and I did not meet a single
student who wanted to become one. Most schools had poor sanitation and
very basic infrastructure and we also saw clear evidence of undernutrition
and malnutrition. In one rural community we visited, official unemployment
was 62 per cent.
The major health issue in South Africa is, of course, the HIV and Aids crisis.
Throughout the visit we saw clear evidence of the dramatic impact that this
is having.
An incredible 50,000 South African teachers have died from the Aids virus
in the past five years. An already struggling education system cannot cope
with this loss. In most of the schools we visited, some classes simply had no
teacher for long periods of time. In such cases the students were expected to
sit and read, perhaps for the whole day. In many of the schools, up to a third
of the students are HIV positive.
Many of those we encountered still live in ‘informal’ housing. During a tour
of Umlazi, Durban’s biggest township, we saw the conditions that many
students live in. It was hard to equate the immaculate school uniforms and
shining faces with the poverty of their homes. That many students attend
school at all is a testament to the resilience that many South Africans have.
Source: Adapted from an article by Gavin Clark in the Modern Studies Association
News TES Scotland Plus, March 2004
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The educational system in South Africa
South Africa has a single national Education Department and framework for
school policy but administrative responsibility lies with the nine provinces ,
which must decide how to spend their education budgets. Power is further
devolved to grassroots level via elected school governing bodies.
South Africa has 12 million learners, 366,000 teachers and around 28,000
schools – including 390 special needs schools and 1,000 registered private
schools. Of all the schools, 6,000 are high schools (grade 7 to grade 12) and
the rest are primary (grade 1 to grade 6).
School life spans 13 years – or grades – although the first year of education,
grade 0 or ‘reception year’, and the last three years, grade 10, 11 and grade
12 or ‘matric’ are not compulsory. Many primary schools offer grade 0,
although this pre-school year may also be completed at nursery school.
For university entrance, a matric ‘endorsement’ is required (a minimum of
three subjects passed at the higher, rather than standard, g rade), although
some universities do set their own additional academic requirements. A
standard school-leaving South African senior certificate is sufficient for
technikon or technical college study.
South Africa has a vibrant higher education sector, wit h more than a million
students enrolled in the country’s 21 public universities, 15 technikons and
many colleges. All the universities and technikons are autonomous, reporting
to their own councils rather than government.
Education is not free in South Africa and school fees are paid by parents.
This explains why many pupils from the poorest communities do not stay on
in school until the age of 15 and, in fact, many do not go beyond the primary
school. It is estimated that only 40% of learners who enter gr ade 1
matriculate at age 18.
A new formula for school funding has been introduced to address the
inequalities between the races. Schools are divided into five categories based
on needs. The poorest 20 per cent receives 35 per cent of resources and the
wealthiest 20 per cent receive 5 per cent of resources. The Department of
Education is considering exempting the poorest 30 per cent of schools (all
Black African) from fees.
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Examination results
One success story has been the improvement in educational att ainment across
the country. The matriculation results (similar to our Standard Grades and
Highers) have witnessed an increase in the pass rate from 49 per cent in 1999
to 70 per cent in 2004 (see Figure 4.6)
Figure 4.6: Grade 12 matriculation (senior certificate results percentage
pass rate)
There are also significant provincial differences reflecting wealth
inequalities and urban/rural divisions. Significantly, the province with the
poorest results in 2003, Mpumalanga, was engulfed in controversy as it
became clear that systematic cheating had taken place in several schools.
Students affected by the scandal were allowed to resit the exam in late 2005.
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Table 4.1: Provincial results (percentage pass rate, 2004)
Gauteng
Free State
Western Cape
Northern Cape
KwaZulu Natal
North West
Limpopo
Eastern Cape
76.8
78.7
85.0
83.4
74.0
64.9
70.6
53.5
While examination results have improved, performances in mathematics and
science are still unsatisfactory as highlighted in the extract on p. 68.
Although Black Africans constitute 71 per cent of all matriculations that
passed in 2003, only 5.2 per cent Black Africans achieved qualifications that
would result in university entry. White students achieved 97 per cent of the
A+ (90 per cent at Higher) results of the 2003 examination (they represent 13
per cent of total candidates) and Africans received 88 per cent of the F
grades and comprised 95 per cent of candidates who failed.
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Below is a short extract from a speech made by Mr Cameron Sugmore,
Provincial Minister of Education in March 2005.
Western Cape education
We now have one single education department, with a uniformed curriculum
and examination standards. There has been a shift away from apartheid
allocation of resources, to a more equitable and just regim e.
Learner enrolment numbers across all grades have increased, there are now
slightly more girls enrolled than boys. Learner -to-class ratios are down; and
literacy rates have increased. And there has been an increase in the
matriculation pass rate.
There have been slight increases in the number of people completing grade
12 and in completing tertiary education, suggesting that the skills profile of
the country is improving.
It is clear however that we are not producing sufficient learners for higher
education and also not providing the knowledge and skills in sufficient
numbers required by our economy. Thus the critical need for a very targeted
and directed strategy to develop our human resources.
One of the most serious challenges facing education, is t he drop-out rate. At
the moment only half of the 80,000 learners who enter Grade 1, complete
matric.
According to UNESCO, we have a functionally illiterate population of about
1.13 million people in the Western Cape. In other words, all those with less
than seven year’s schooling, or none at all, constitute 36 per cent of the
population of the province!
Last year, in the whole of the country only five per cent of almost 500,000
candidates passed maths on the higher grade. In the Western Cape alone, of
the 4,268 Maths Higher Grade candidates, only 1,478 were black. Even
worse, only 305 African learners passed Maths Higher Grade.
The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),
released a report conducted in 1998/9 on numeracy, literacy, l ife skills
levels, mathematics and science.
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The report shows that South Africa performed worst of all 38 participating
countries in all areas, including against our African counterparts in Tunisia,
Mauritius, Morocco, Botswana, Uganda, Madagascar, Mali, Malawi, Senegal,
Nigeria and Zambia!
This report makes one begin to understand why a company like Sasol cannot
find about 2,000 qualified mechanics, welders and riggers among South
Africa’s 4.6 million unemployed workers.
RDP and GEAR: Education Targets and Verdict, 1994-2004
TARGET
To create a culture of learning
VERDICT
Education targets were too ambitious.
Phased in over a longer period
through Curriculum 2005
The phasing in of ten years of
compulsory education
Many pupils leave or do not complete
school because of the fees charged
To improve examination
performance of Black Africans
Pass rate has gone up but still poor
performance in mathematics and
science
No class to exceed 40 by the year
2000
A reduction in class size has been
achieved – the average size is now 35
To modernise schools and
classrooms and to reduce provincial
inequalities
Significant progress has been made in
Western Cape and Gauteng to provide
electricity to all schools. Many
schools in the poorer provinces, such
as Mpumalanga, still have primative
resources.
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Health
Over the last ten years significant progress has been made in improving
primary healthcare in both rural and urban areas. The extract below from the
BBC Scotland Education South Africa website highlight s the extent of the
progress.
Ten years after – the fight to build a healthy society in the new
South Africa
When South Africa's first democratic Government took over in 1994 perhaps
the greatest of many challenges was health. There was immense dispari ty
between the black African and white population. White South Africans could
expect to live ten years longer than blacks. For every thousand white infants
born, seven would die, whereas for every thousand black infants, fifty two
died.
Malnutrition was commonplace in rural areas. Tuberculosis, traditionally a
disease of poverty and overcrowding, was rising dramatically. And although
the standard of health care in the cities was high for the white population,
black South Africans still had to queue for to o few resources in too few
hospitals. The shortage was even more severe in rural villages.
In addition 16 million people lacked clean water and 21 million had no
access to toilets, two key elements in the fight against diseases like diarrhoea
and cholera. Child mortality rates double when there is no access to clean
water.
Programme of improvements
The new Government hit the ground running. Ten years on, a whole range of
programmes had been launched.
By 2003:


70
Free primary health care was introduced, mainly for children and
expectant mothers. This included immunisation against diseases like
polio, measles, whooping cough and diphtheria, free maternity care and
family planning. 72% of all under-fives were vaccinated against the
major child killers.
3,500 Primary Health Care clinics had been built, bringing basic health
provision to formerly neglected rural areas.
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




More than 700 mobile clinics were set up, providing basic health care in
the most remote and inaccessible areas.
An attack on malaria in the affected areas of KwaZulu-Natal,
Mpumalanga and Limpopo led to a 72% reduction in infection rates
between 2000 and 2002.
Free vitamin supplements are distributed to all children between 6 and 60
months in an effort to defeat under-nutrition, diarrhoea and eye
infections. This is accompanied by a Food Fortification Programme
which requires manufacturers to add vitamins to basic foods like maize
and flour.
Under the Primary School Nutrition Programme five million children in
15,000 schools benefit each year from a basic lunch of bread, milk and
peanut butter.
Since 1994 more than one million people each year have been provided
with a clean water supply, leaving five million still to be connected.
Real progress
The Aids crisis has been a focus of attenti on for the international press, but
the new South African Government has made real progress in improving the
nation’s health, notably in the struggle against child diseases, malnutrition,
TB and malaria.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education, 15 December 2005
Healthcare in South Africa
South Africa’s health system consists of a large publi c sector and a smaller
but fast-growing private sector. Healthcare varies from from the most basic
primary healthcare, offered free by the state, to highly special ised hi-tech
health services available in the private sector for those who can afford it.
The public sector is under-resourced and over-used, while the mushrooming
private sector, run largely on commercial lines, caters to middle and high
income earners who tend to be members of medical schemes (18 per cent of
the population), and to foreigners looking for top-quality surgical procedures
at relatively affordable prices. The private sector also attracts most of the
country’s health professionals. With the public sector’s shift in emphasis
from acute to primary health care in recent years, private hospitals have
begun to take over many specialist health services.
Although the state contributes about 40 per cent of all expenditure on health,
the public health sector is under pressure to deliver services to about 80 per
cent of the population. Despite this, most resources are concentrated in the
private health sector, which sees to the health needs of the r emaining 20 per
cent of the population.
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Public health consumes around 11 per cent of the Government’s total budget,
which is allocated and spent by the nine provinces. How these resources are
allocated, and the standard of health care delivered varies fr om province to
province. With fewer resources and more poor people, cash-strapped
provinces like the Eastern Cape face greater health challenges than wealthier
provinces like Gauteng and the Western Cape.
The Limpopo province has the lowest concentration of doctors in South
Africa, with just 9.5 for every 100,000 of the population. In contrast the
figure is 36.8 per 100,000 in the Western Cape (see Table 4.2)
Table 4.2: Number of doctors per 100,000 of the population, by province
Limpopo
North West
Eastern Cape
Mpumalonga
KwaZulu-Natal
Free State
Northern Cape
Gauteng
Western Cape
9.5
12.1
12.2
17.2
23.5
24.5
28.3
34.5
36.8
HIV/Aids
HIV/Aids, as expected, is the biggest health issue facing Thabo Mbeki and
one where his lack of action has been severely criticised. Mbeki is not
convinced that Aids is caused by HIV. When, in advance of an International
Aids conference in Durban, South Africa, 5 ,000 doctors and scientists from
Aids research centres around the world signed a declaration that HIV as the
cause of Aids is ‘clear cut, exhaustive and unambiguous’, President Mbeki
described the doctors’ declaration as rubbish. While the debate rages within
South Africa over what action to take, its impact devastates South Africa.
The effect on the economy will be disastrous. Productivity will fall, skill
shortages will appear in hospitals and schools, for example, and the
Government will have to spend more of its scarce resources on health.
A breakthrough in the use of anti-Aids drugs occurred in April 2001 when 39
major pharmaceutical manufacturers withdrew a court bid to stop South
Africa from importing and producing cheap versions of patented Aids drugs.
This verdict made it possible for the Government to make Nevirapine
available to all state hospitals and clinics, which could then offer it to HIV
positive, pregnant women, at a cost of ten rand (about $1) a treatment.
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To the dismay of the medical world, Mbeki stated that these powerful antiretroviral drugs were too toxic and not yet been proven to be effecti ve. For
this reason, the Government would not waste money by providing these
drugs free. In November 2001, the Pressure Group Treatment Actions
Campaign (TAC) took the Government to court to force it to provide the
drugs to pregnant women.
The Constitutional Court ruled in favour of TAC (see ‘Patients to get Aids
drugs at last’).
My daughter died of Aids, reveals Buthelezi
InKatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi has spoken of his great
regret at having spent so little time with his children, tw o of whom he lost to
HIV and Aids this year.
Sharing his pain with the rest of the country, Buthelezi said at the weekend
that he wished he had spent more time with his daughter Mandisi, 48.
Speaking at her funeral on Saturday he said:
‘I cannot stop thinking about Mandisi, thinking about the few precious
moments we spent together – and the many others we spent apart because of
commitment in politics and the public service. ’
Earlier this year he also lost his son Nelisuzulu Buthelezi to Aids. The public
acknowledgement of the disease that killed his children has earned Buthelezi
praise from HIV and Aids organisations.
The Treatment Action Campaign on Sunday sent its condolences to the
family. TAC spokesperson Sipho Mthati said ‘we hope that South Africans
have now learned that HIV/Aids is not a disease that affects only the poor,
but affects everyone. We hope the government wi ll speed up the rollout of
anti-retroviral drugs.’
Source: Thobani Ngqulunga, The Star
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Patients to get Aids drugs at last
After years of bitter struggle between the South African Government and its
critics, many HIV/Aids sufferers are now going to get the drugs they so
desperately need. The decision by Government ministers, in November 2003,
to allocate 3.4 billion rand (£350 mill ion) for the battle against HIV and Aids
has been widely welcomed by the medical world and by Aids activists. The
money is being used for condom distribution, education programmes and,
most controversially, for the “rolling out” of antiretrovirals (ARVs) t o the
most vulnerable HIV/Aids victims.
ARVs are drugs that can prevent HIV sufferers from developing full -blown
Aids. They’re being targeted at two especially vulnerable groups; pregnant
mothers who are infected with HIV, and rape victims. The ARV nevir apine
has been shown to be particularly effective in preventing mother -to-child
transmission (PMTCT) and, in the case of rape, protecting the victim from
becoming HIV positive. By early 2004, 658 hospitals were issuing ARVs
through the PMTCT programme.
However, pressure groups like the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) have
criticised the Government’s roll-out programme. The TAC argued that after
eight months only 10,000 people were benefiting from ARVs. Although rich
provinces like Gauteng and Western Cape are making good progress some of
the poorest, such as KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, have issued ARVs
to only a handful of patients. In November 2004, the TAC took the Minister
of Health to court to demand a timetable for the rollout of treatment and
care.
Controversial views
Most critics of the Government are saying better late than never. However,
many people are bitter at the time it’s taken the Government to take effective
action against HIV/Aids in a country which has the highest number of
HIV/Aids sufferers in the world. Their anger is especially directed at Health
Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang who, they say, has continually dragged
her feet. She has refused to accept that ARVs work and has on numerous
occasions argued that nevirapine is toxic, recommending that sufferers eat
more garlic instead.
Tshabalala-Msimang isn’t alone in holding controversial views. At an
important Aids conference in Durban in 2000, President Thabo Mbeki made
a keynote speech in which he blamed poverty and the comp licating factors of
TB and malaria as the cause of the HIV/Aids epidemic. This followed a two -
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year period in which Mbeki invited widespread discussion on the view that
there is no connection between HIV and Aids. He even set up a committee
which included a number of Aids “dissidents” who argued that Aids didn’t
exist and who scoffed at the effectiveness of condom distribution, Aids
education, blood screening and ARVs.
Time to act
The Government and Tshabalala-Msimang reply that the criticism is unfair.
The time for debate is over and they’re now committed to getting cheap anti Aids drugs to targeted groups. They say there is a serious shortage of health
professionals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and counsellors, particularly in
rural areas and that they are working hard to remedy this. Building clinics,
training health care workers and awarding long -term tenders for the supply
of ARVs is taking time. Despite their criticism in the past, the TAC
acknowledges the steps the Government is taking in providing treatment for
Aids sufferers, and continues to campaign on behalf of all HIV/Aids
sufferers for affordable treatment, greater public awareness and
understanding.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education, 15 December 2005
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The Impact of AIDS
 According to Government figures, 4.5 million South Africans suffer from
HIV/Aids. The South Africa Medical Research Council estimate that the
real figure is 6.2 million.
 The life expectancy of an average South African is estimated to drop from
61 in 1995 to 41 by 2010.
 In January 2005 Nelson Mandela’s son died of Aids and in 2004 Chief
Buthelezi, leader of the IFP, buried both a son and a daughter.
 Nearly 40 per cent of all women between 25 and 29 years are HIV
positive.
 Nearly 5 million children will be orphaned by 2016.
RDP and GEAR: Health Targets and Verdict, 1994–2004
TARGET
One nutritional meal per day to be
provided for poor children
VERDICT
achieved
Free healthcare for children under six
years and pregnant women
achieved
Expansion of primary healthcare
through construction of health clinics
achieved
HIV/Aids education campaign and
control of illness
Government criticised for its limited
action in dealing with the Aids crisis
Reduction in provincial health
inequalities
This has not been achieved
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Nkosi Johnston
In June 2001, the whole world mourned the death of 12-year-old Nkosi
Johnston. He died in his sleep, weighing just 22lb, of Aids. He came to the
world’s attention when he spoke in July 2000 at the International Aids
Conference held in Durban in South Africa.
He took to the stage and held scientists, ministers and delegates spellbound,
reducing many to tears as he made a plea for help and understanding. ‘I want
people to understand Aids - to be careful and respect Aids. You can’t get
Aids if you touch, hug, kiss, hold hands with someone who is infected. Care
for us and accept us, we are all human beings, we are normal. We have
hands, we have feet, we can walk, we can talk and we hav e needs just like
everyone else, don’t be afraid of us.’
Nkosi had been born HIV-positive and abandoned by his mother because of
the shame. Nkosi was sent to a hospice to die. He outlived both his parents
(who died of Aids) for, at the hospice, Nkosi was adopted by a white woman,
Gail Johnson, who nursed her foster son. He came to national prominence
when he was refused entry to a school in Johannesburg because of his illness.
Gail Johnson forced the school to change its policy and a new national
directive forbade schools from discriminating against HIV-positive children.
At the Durban conference, Nkosi attacked the Government’s failure to supply
the anti-Aids drugs. He stated, ‘I just wish the Government can start giving
AZT to pregnant HIV-positive mothers to help stop the virus being passed on
to their babies.’ During his speech, Thabo Mbeki walked out of the
conference to attend ‘a press meeting’.
Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General, echoed the th oughts of
millions when he said ‘He [Nkosi] was a very courageous child. And I think
he became a wonderful advocate, able to reach many people beyond South
Africa. We have lost a voice.’
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Housing and Land
Housing
The Government’s 1994 promise to deliver 1 million new homes over a fiveyear period was never achievable. This figure was retained but was extended
over a ten-year period. This target was achieved but it still left a housing
backlog of 3 million homes.
The success story has been in providing basic amenities such as running
water and electricity. The Community Water Supply Programme has enabled
7 million, mainly rural, homes to receive clean water.
Unfortunately, many residents are unable or unwilling to pay utility fees. The
Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee has launched a campaign again st
privatisation and pre-paid water meters. The Group’s pamphlet demanded
‘free, basic services for all (water, sanitation, electricity, houses, health care,
education, public transport)’.
The government argues that the housing subsidy for the poorest of the poor
was raised from 28,279 rand to 31,900 rand in April 2005. Moreover, those
on low incomes will receive a reduced subsidy. Again, the Government
argues that more than three-quarters of South African householders receive
free water and more than half receive free electricity. The influx of people
from the countryside to the cities ensures that many South Africans live in
informal settlements without access to basic amenities. This leads to
confrontation with the police as their frustration leads to vi olence (see ‘Riots
over Cape Town’s housing shortage’).
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Riots over Cape Town’s housing shortage
Shack dwellers on the outskirts of Cape Town shot at the police, barricaded roads
and stoned cars in the second clashes in a week as anger at the housing sho rtage
in South Africa spilled over into the streets. The trouble began at about 7.00am
when some 200 people blockaded a busy intersection with burning tyres and
chicken transport cages next to the Sweet Valley Home squatter camp in Philippi
township, some shouting: ‘We want houses’.
‘They were burning tyres and throwing stones at the cars ’, Superintendent Jimmy
Lucas said.
Police spokesman, Jacques Wiese, said some of the protesters also shot at the
police, who fired stun grenades and rubber bullets at th e protesters, forcing them
back to their shacks.
Resident, Patricia Bodwane, said ‘We have no electricity, we have no water, we
have no toilets. People cannot live like this. ’ Others echoed her complaints,
saying their children were persistently ill, many with tuberculosis.
Impatience over the lack of proper housing has been mounting in Cape Town’s
impoverished townships in recent weeks. Groups of squatters have, since early
July, repeatedly occupied state and private land in the wake of a large -scale,
widely publicised land occupation outside Johannesburg by some 5,000 squatters.
Worst affected was Khayelitsha, a rapidly growing township, where residents left
homeless by the flooding moved onto land belonging to the government and the
London-based insurance giant Old Mutual. According to the government,
councillors estimate that half of Khayelitsha’s 500,000 mostly dirt -poor residents
live in shacks.
The squatters defied an eviction notice, rebuilt their shacks within hours after
police tore them down and were finally driven off the land by police using tear
gas.
The city council’s acting housing manager, Hans Smith, said on Monday that the
city had 220,000 families in dire need of housing – a figure growing by 20,000
every year.
‘With that backlog, to make any inroads we have to build more than 30,000
houses a year. But we have funding only to build about 11,000. ’ He said. ‘We are
facing one of the biggest housing challenges in the world. Our demand is massive
and our population is growing rapidly.’
Source: Adapted from the South African Newspaper, Mail and Guardian, 7 August 2001
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Land distribution
Land distribution is one area where the legacy of Apartheid through the
creation of homelands and townships still haunts South Africa. The
Government admits that it has failed to meet its land reform targets but urges
the people to be patient.
The Department of Land Affairs has achieved most of the following targets:
 compensation for those who lost their land because of Apartheid laws
 compensation to be paid to those whose land was redistributed
 the right for tenants to buy the land on which they farm, and protection
from eviction (see ‘Willing buyer, willing seller’, p. 00).
The one, major, target which it has not achieved is the promise of
redistribution of agricultural land within five years. The Government
amended the date to 2014 and admits that at the present rate of progress it
will not be achieved. Black African ownership of land increased from 13% in
1994 to only 16% by 2004. The extreme Pan African ist Congress (PAC) has
sought to exploit black African frustration by mobilising land raids to occupy
land. Events in Zimbabwe, where President Mugabe seized land from the
White farmers, is of concern to the South African Government.
Progress
The Government would argue that much has been achieved by the Land
Claims Commission and the Land Claim Courts to verify, and approve, land
claims for the dispossessed. Land transfers take place on the principle of
‘willing buyer, willing seller’. Farmers will be encouraged to sell by
receiving the ‘market price’ for their land.
Achievements
1.
By July 2005, 62,000 land cases, mostly in the cities, had been
resolved. Most claimants in urban areas prefer cash compensation to
land redistribution.
2.
Land redistribution uses up 79% of the Department of Land Affairs’
budget.
3.
Since 1994, more than 3 billion hectares of land has been redistributed.
4.
Several provinces have set up training programmes for new Black
African farmers to enable them to cope with the demands of
commercial farming.
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August 2005 Land Summit
Delegates at the Land Summit called on the Government to speed up the
return of land and for the rejection of the ‘willing buyer, willing seller’
principle. The Government stated that it would use its powers t o force White
farmers to sell their land if negotiations broke down over a ‘fair price’.
Significantly, in September 2005, the Commission on Restitution of Land
Rights announced that the first forced sale of the land of a White commercial
farmer would take place. The farmer, Hannes Visser, owns a 500 hectares
farm in North West Province and had been in negotiation over the sale of his
land for two years. Visser wanted 3 million rand, while the Government
offered 1.75 million rand. The Constitutional Court, in a landmark
judgement of May 2005, upheld farmers’ property rights and stated that
squatters must be evicted by the Government from the land of a White
farmer, Braam Duvenhage. While land invasions have been declared illegal,
the Government regards itself entitled to force farmers to sell if they hold ou t
for too high a price.
The Afrikaner farming community is concerned that land invasion
campaigns, organised by PAC and other groups, will lead to further attacks
on their farms and families. Since 1994 more than 1,500 White farmers and
their families have been murdered. There is also concern that the
Government’s attitude to pushing compulsory sales will lead to greater
tension and attacks. The Government denies this claim and argues that the
high murder rate reflects South Africa’s overall high murder rate.
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Housing Targets and Verdict, 1994–2004
TARGET
Building 1 million low-cost homes
by 1999
VERDICT
Achieved in 2003
Piped water for over 1 million people
Achieved
Electricity for 2.5 million people
Achieved
Clean water for all
Clean water has been brought to 7
million, mainly rural, houses.
Problem of informal settlements
remains and culture of non-payment
for utility services.
Land distribution Targets and Verdict, 1994–2004
TARGET
Redistribution of 30% of agricultural
land within five years
VERDICT
Only 10% redistributed. New date of
2014 still unrealistic
compensation to be given to those
who lost their land during the
Apartheid years
62,000 land claims have been settled
and steady progress being made
Compensation to be given to White
farmers to encourage transfer of land
Negotiations over a fair price can
delay progress
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‘Willing buyer, willing seller’ allows labourers to become farmers
The sun is only just rising as Ahkona Qaba steps out of his house and
surveys the fields, dotted with sheep that make up his farm. Already his son,
Sibabalo, is driving the cattle to pasture. There is a long day ahead, and a lot
of work, but Ahkona is a happy man.
Everything his family needs
Ahkona is a fit, wiry, 72-year-old. Just over a year ago he took possession of
his own farm. For the previous fifty years he worked as a labourer on the
very land he now owns. His new farm has 50 cattle and 120 sheep. He also
keeps pigs, chickens and geese and grows mealies (maize), peas, spinach,
pumpkin and cabbage. His farm provides him with everything his large
extended family of four adult children and ten grandchildren need.
The milk they drink, the meat and vegetables they eat; all come from his
farm. He sells surplus produce to the local store and is now gradually
extending his range of customers.
Ahkona’s old employer, Frikky van Rooyen, had owned the farm for thirty
years before deciding to sell up and retire. He chose to sell only to his farm
workers. After discussions with the Land Claims Commission he divided his
farm into lots and rented it to his workers for three years.
Each year he spent a month visiting the farm, advising and supporting the
workers. Then he sold his farm for two million rand (£200,000) and retired
to Pretoria, where his grandchildren live. The sale price included a donation
of all the equipment, his tractors and a pump and dam.
Financing the purchase
Ahkona’s farm cost 100,000 (£10,000). Although poor, Ahkona had saved
5,000 rand. As a result, he qualified for a grant of 50,000 rand from the
Department of Land Affairs, which he doesn’t have to pay back.
The other 45,000 rand came from a land reform credit company, financed by
the Department of Land Affairs, a private finance company and the European
Union. This loan will be repaid from the profits he makes selling his
produce.
He was given free training in business management by advisers from the
provincial Government of the Eastern Cape. This included helping him draw
up a business plan for his new farm.
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Dreams can come true
‘My life is better now’ Ahkona tells me as he saddles his horse for another
day’s work on his land. ‘It has always been my dream to own my own farm.
When I was a boy we grew everything. There was no such thing as money.
It’s different now but once more I am growing my own sweet potatoes and
beans, grazing my own sheep and cattle. If we are diligent we will not grow
hungry. I love farming,’ he says, ‘It is a good life.’
Source: www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/ms/southafrica/socialeconomic/land/
Crime
Crime is an issue that unites and impacts on all races. While the Whites can
hire security guards for their protected dwellings, ordinary Blacks and
Coloureds must protect themselves as best they can (see ‘Separate Lives’,
p. 86).
Figures 4.7 and 4.8 highlight why South Africans are concerned.
A crime explosion
As the articles from the Observer and the Economist suggest, there are
several reasons for the increase in crime since 1994.
1.
The Apartheid system imposed strict control over the movement of
non-Whites. Its ending brought crime into the former White suburbs.
2.
The massive inequalities in wealth in South Africa, and the influx of
rural dwellers and illegal immigrants to the cities , have created a group
in society who ignores its laws.
3.
The availability of firearms reinforces the culture of violence created
during the Apartheid years.
4.
The corruption and inefficiency within the police force ha ve enabled
crime to flourish.
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Figure 4.7: ‘South Africa: Murder champion of the world’ *
Figure 4.8: Murder rates in South African provinces
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Separate Lives
Andy Malone, a former Africa correspondent based in Johannesburg, gives
his views of a city divided.
Before crime was confined to black areas; the notorious pass laws, banning
blacks from white areas after dusk, ensured that the black population never
impinged on their lives. Yet the system in some areas has never died: private
security firms have been hired to patrol white areas, challenging black
intruders. Many whites carry a gun; others walk around their estates carrying
sjamboks - whips used by the authorities to keep down the blacks under
apartheid - and accompanied by Rottweilers trained to attack blacks.
Life could not be more different in Soweto, a 30 -minute drive away from the
northern suburbs. Murders are commonplace in Soweto; they rarely merit a
paragraph in the Johannesburg newspapers, which prefer to focus on stories
about whites being shot in their drives by black gangs. Or gun battles
between former African National Congress cadres, who have kept their AK47s since the war against the white rule, and stage weekly heists on armou red
trucks carrying cash from the white owned multinationals dotted around the
suburbs.
Blacks suffer just as much from crime. With unemployment at up to 90 per
cent in many of the townships, people such as Xholisa Njoya, 63, live in fear
of the totsis – gangsters who roam the streets at night, shooting guns in the
air and looking for anything to steal. Many are hooked on crack cocaine. ‘All
I want is a place to live in peace,’ said Njoya, standing beside the neatly
tended plot of land next to her tiny house. ‘There are rapists and criminals all
over this place. The police do nothing. They never come here. We do not
have private security guards to protect us.’
Instead, vigilante gangs of blacks have sprung up across the township.
Rapists are usually beaten. Traditional leaders also hold court at impromptu
trials among the dilapidated shacks. Punishments include a sound
sjambokking.
While whites are are still sleeping fitful ly in their beds, the black lawabiding majority rise long before the sun comes up o ver the veldt. They
travel by combi – battered old minibuses – for up to an hour to work as
gardeners and nannies and maids for the whites. Most earn on average £20 a
month.
Source: Adapted from the Observer magazine, 30 May 1999
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Government response
The Government accepts that crime is of concern to the South African
public. However, it argues that the reforms and action taken ha ve
significantly reduced crime and there is no crime explosion in South Africa
today.
The latest crime statistics produced by the South African police services
recorded a decrease in most types of violent and property related crime,
while rape remains a serious problem.
The following is an extract from the 2004 Report by Mr Selebi, National
Police Commissioner:
Murder dropped by 9.9% compared to the 2002–03 financial year, attempted
murder by 17.8%, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm by 4.3%,
common assault by 2.6%.
This was the first time in 10 years that the number of murders in a year in
South Africa dropped to below 20,000. There were 19,824 cases reported in
2003–04, translating to 42.7 per 100,000 of the population. This compares to
21,553 cases (47.4 per 100,000) in 2002–03, and 25,965 (66.9 per 100,000)
in 1993–95, the year South Africa became a democracy.
However robbery with aggravating circumstances – i.e. with the use of a
weapon - showed a 3.2% increase in 2003-04. According to ThisDay, Selebi
attributed this trend largely to street robberies and muggings, while the
Institute for Security Studies blamed it on the proliferation of cellphones –
by far South Africa’s most stolen personal item.
Not all types of aggravated robbery were up in 2003 –04 – car jacking
dropped by 8% and hijacking of trucks by 10.5%, while robbery of cash in
transit decreased by 49.7% and bank robbery by 58.3%.
Reported rape cases decreased by 1.4% compared to 2002 –03, a figure
described by Selebi as too marginal to indicate a success.
The 2005 provisional statistics showed a further reduction in the homicide
rate: the Western Cape, with the highest murder rate in the country, recorded
a 20 per cent decline. However, reported rape cases increased.
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Government reform and action
The police budget has been significantly increased. National Police
Commissioner Jackie Selebi stated in December 2004 that the increase would
go to improve police salary. He stated that 950 million rand would be
provided in 2005, followed by 1.2 billion rand in 2006 and 1.9 billion rand in
2007. This performance based on salary improvement , would be over and
above the normal annual increases offered to all public services. He stated
that ‘the funds will assist in the recruitment and retention of their best
officers, in the motivation of members and to improve productivity and will
serve to eliminate the temptation of bribery and corruption.’
The police budget is now five times greater in real terms than it was in 1994.
The new elite force, known as the Scorpion, has been successful in tackling
organised crime and corruption among the leading public figures (it was
involved in preparing charges against Jacab Zuma, the deputy president) .
Critics of the Government argue that the official crime statistics
underestimate the crimes committed. They are also concerned that President
Mbeki is considering disbanding the Scorpion in response to pressure from
ANC members.
Affirmative action
The ANC has transformed the political map of South Africa ( see Section 5)
and is determined that political dominance will be reflected in the economic
and social transformation of South Africa. The goal is to ensure that the
wealth and employment indicators reflect the balance of the racial
populations.
The Government argues that the only way to narrow the huge gap between
Black and White is to introduce legislation which discriminates against
Whites. As Thako Mbeki, President of South Africa , argues ‘to avoid the
anger that would be boiling among the black people, you’ve got to transform
the society. Affirmative action…is an investment to get to a more equal
society, broadly representative of South African population groups. ’
There are two major sets of affirmative action legislation: the Employment
Equality Act and the Black Economic Empowerment Act (BEE).
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The Employment Equality Act (1999)
Under this law, private and public companies and institutions must
discriminate in favour of Black South Africans. Any company with more
than 50 employees has to ensure that the workforce reflects the population
profile of 75% Black, 50% female and 5% disabled.
The Act is monitored by the Equal Opportunities Directorate, and companies
which are deemed as failing the Act can be fined up to £100,000.
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Act (2004)
The purpose of BEE is to transform economic power from the Whites to the
Black African population. The wheels of industry, banking and public sector
will be placed in the hands of the majority population. The key objectives of
BEE are:
 Companies to provide appropriate training to ensure promoted Blacks
have the skills to carry out their responsibilities.
 At least 40 per cent of the companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock
Exchange (JSE) should be Black.
 Black shareholders to control 25 per cent of the shares held on the JSE.
Arguments in favour of affirmative action
It is the only way to tackle the vast inequalities between the races. The
average White person earns nine times as much as the average non -White.
It is more than ten years since White rule ended yet, while the Black
Africans have political control, they do not have control of th e economy and
wealth of South Africa.
It is only fair that Black Africans should be awarded government contracts to
build schools and hospitals which ‘our people’ were denied for so long.
Mbeki is well aware that the progress to create greater equality h as been
slow and that many Blacks are becoming frustrated and disillusioned by the
lack of progress.
The Constitution clearly states that, while all citizens have equal rights, laws
which reduce inequalities between the races are perfectly legal.
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Arguments against affirmative action
It is blatant discrimination against the Whites. Young Whites who have no
involvement in, or responsibility for, the White domination during the
Apartheid years are being punished.
Many Whites are leaving the country to go to Australia or Britain where they
will not be discriminated against.
The expertise and experience of the White professionals are not being used
to bring economic prosperity to South Africa. Moreover, many of the Blacks
who are replacing them do not have equivalent qualifications or experience.
It is only the Black middle class elite who are becoming rich , and therefore
inequalities within the Black community are widening. In fact the poor
Blacks are suffering under BEE. Black firms will be giv en government
contracts even if their prices are far higher than their White rivals.
Taxpayers’ money which could be spent on frontline services in health and
education are used to make a small Black elite millionaires. Individuals such
as Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale hold directorships and shares in
many former ‘White-controlled institutions’.
Below is an extract from the F W de Klerk Foundation paper which considers
the progress made since 1994.
What progress has been made with transformation since 1994?
To what extent has South Africa succeeded in promoting the goals of BEE
and in creating a more equal society since its first democratic elections in
1994?
3.1
Distribution of income
The gap between rich and poor has grown since 1994. This has been
mirrored by a substantial increase in the income gap within the black
community.
South Africa has failed quite markedly to realise one of the central goals of
the constitution – the promotion of greater equality between all South
Africans.
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The HSRC reports that South Africa’s Gini coefficient rose from 0.69 in
1996 to 0.77 in 2001. In 2004 57% of South Africans were li ving below the
poverty line of 1,290 rand a month for a family of Coloureds and 40% of
Indians have this real monthly income or more, whils t the equivalent
proportion of whites is just under 80%.
The Eastern Cape and Limpopo have the highest proportion of poor people,
with 77% and 72% of their population respectively living just below the
poverty line. The Western Cape has the lowest propor tion of people living in
poverty (32%), followed by Gauteng (42%). In 2001, 25% of South Africa’s
poor lived in KwaZulu-Natal and 20% in the Eastern Cape.
The growth in inequality can probably be ascribed to the higher incomes
earned by black unionised workers and more latterly by the emergent black
middle class on the one hand, and growing unemployment among the lower
deciles of the black population on the other.
The main cause of black poverty is unemployment, which increased for the
black population from 36.2% in 1995 to 46.6% in 2002. Less than 10% of
the total number of people in the poorest decile of the population is
employed compared with more than half of the total number of people in the
top income decile.
South Africans who belong to unions are much less likely to be poor than
those who do not: only 2% of trade union members were classified as poor in
2000. Another cause of poverty is evidently family size. More than 40% of
the people in the poorest decile are below the age of 15 compared wi th less
than 0% of the top income decile.
The emergent black middle class is the largest component in an increasingly
multiracial national middle class.
Transformation is succeeding with its goal of establishing a black middle
class.
Extrapolating from data provided by van der Berg and Louw, the top decile
of the black population had a per capita income of R35 ,000 in 2000 – which
is more than the per capita incomes of the bottom four deciles in the white
population.
Using the same data is would appear that there are about 7.5 million South
Africans who have per capita incomes over R35,000 per annum. This
number includes 3.5 million Black South Africans (10% of the black
population); 3.25 million Whites (60% of the white population); half a
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million Coloureds (15% of the population); and a quarter million Indians
(25% of the Indian population).
The percentage of the total population in the middle class increased form
8.8% in 1994 to 11.9% in 2000. Most of the increase was due to the rapid
growth of the black middle class which more than doubled from 3.3% of the
total black population in 1994 to 7.8% i n 2000. This meant that Blacks
comprised 49% of the middle class in 2000, compared with 34% for Whites;
5% Indians and 12% Coloureds. In 1994 Blacks comp rised 29% of the
middle class, Coloureds 11%, Indians 7% and Whites 53%.
Source: F W de Klerk Foundation, www.fwdklerk.org.za
Figure 4.9: Distribution of income in the Black community: 1975 –2000
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Figure 4.10: South African middle class by race, 1994 and 2000
Percentage
Figure 4.11: Distribution of income in South Africa: 1980 –2000
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Employment
Employment equity
Black South Africans are still seriously under -represented in top senior
management posts.
Although Blacks, Coloureds and Indians make up 77 per cent of the
workforce, they:
 hold only 25 per cent of all top management positions (Blacks 8 per cent,
Coloureds 13 per cent, Indians 4 per cent);
 hold only 20 per cent of all senior management positions (Blacks 10 per
cent, Coloureds 5 per cent, Indians 5 per cent);
 are only 28 per cent of all legislators, senior officials and managers
(Blacks 15 per cent, Coloureds 7 per cent, Indians 6 per cent).
Black South Africans are increasingly well represented in p rofessional,
technical and middle management posts.
Blacks, Coloureds and Indians comprise:
 65 per cent of employees in the professions (Blacks 50 per cent,
Coloureds 11 per cent, Indians 4 per cent)
 50 per cent of professionally qualified and middle management posts
(Blacks 40 per cent, Coloureds 6 per cent, Indians 4 per cent)
 59 per cent of the positions in the technical and associated professions
(Blacks 41 per cent, Coloureds 10 per cent, Indians 8 per cent).
The Public Service has experienced some management and delivery
problems:
 a quarter of the Government’s procurement budget is spent on consultants
(who are often retrenched former public servants)
 a third of the state’s 163 agencies were not in a position to present their
accounts to the Auditor-General
 the welfare department has lost more than 15 billion rand through fraud
and corruption.
Thus far, the main beneficiaries of empowerment transactions have been a
small number of black businessmen.
60 per cent of empowerment deals during 2003 (25.3 billion rand) accrued to
the companies of two men, Tokyo Sexwale and Patrice Motsepe. Tokyo
Sexwale’s Bathos Bonke company derived 10 per cent of the value of the
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ABSA empowerment deal, which was valued at between 3.5 and 5 billion
rand, compared with only 1 per cent that was set aside for workers as part of
an employee shareholder initiative.
Eight individuals (one of them White) will, between them, benefit by 1
billion rand from the recently announced Standard Bank BEE deal. Cyril
Ramaphosa and Saki Macozoma will each make 192 million rand from the
transaction.
Control of the economy
Black South Africans have made very substantial progress in achieving
control over the economy.
Black South Africans control virtually all levels of government and of public
administration representing 28 per cent of GDP. Black South Africans
control and direct state economic, fiscal, commercial, labour and industrial
policy.
Human resource development
There is a significant skills shortage in South Africa.
Despite the high general unemployment level in South Africa there is a
significant shortage of skilled workers.
According to an analysis by the Standard Bank there are at least 300,000
vacancies for skilled employees in the private and public sectors.
Two-thirds of the total value of all goods and services produced in South
Africa is produced by the most highly skilled sector of the economy.
The occupations suffering the greatest shortages in 2000 were technicians,
craft workers, managers, service and sales staff, professionals and operators.
South Africa has an over-supply of unskilled labour whilst it is experiencing
a serious shortage of skilled workers. The increase in the unemployment rate
for students with tertiary education indicates that the shortage is skillsspecific.
Only 50 per cent and 42 per cent of all teachers teaching mathematics and
science have studied these subjects beyond secondary-school level.
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South Africa is experiencing a disturbing loss of skilled manpower through
emigration.
South Africa has been experiencing a brain drain since the 1990s. At the
same time, the flow of skilled immigrants into the country has slowed down.
According to a study in 2001 by the SANSA project at UCT over 233,000
South Africans emigrated permanently to five countries – the United
Kingdom, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – between 1989 and
1997. This represents a rate during this period of almost 30,000 emigrants
per annum.
Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa,
February 2005
Perceptions of Black economic empowerment and of affirmative action
An analysis of recent opinion surveys reveals that race remains one of the
most significant variables in determining attitudes on most political,
economic and social questions. Questions relating to black economic
empowerment and affirmative actions are no exception:
A survey conducted by Research Surveys (RS) at the end of October 2004
among 500 SA adults in metropolitan areas found that:
 70% felt that BEE had enriched a select few. (Whites 77 %, Blacks 65%)
 two thirds felt BEE was necessary in order to address the wrongs of the
past. (Coloureds and Indians 75%; Blacks 70%; Whites 64%).
 65% believed that BEE had had a positive impact (Coloureds 75%; Blacks
and Indians 65%; Whites 58%).
 44% felt BEE was stifling the country’s growth, 48% felt that this was not
the case; and 43% felt BEE created an environment which fostered
corruption (whites 52%); 48% disagreed.
Black and white South Africans differ fundamentally on the question of
whether affirmative action is necessary to make up for the wrongs of the
past.
 In 1997 72.3% of blacks agreed that there was a necessity for affirmative
action contrasted with only 19.6% of whites who agreed with this
proposition. The two races also appeared, if anything, to be moving
further apart on this question: the previous year the figures had been
71.8% and 24.6% respectively. The white attitudes did not reflect a
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general unwillingness to work with black South Africans since
approximately 60% of whites who disagreed with affirmative action also
supported integrated schools and communities.
 77% of whites also opposed the idea that people from previously
disadvantaged groups should be given preferential treatment in the
allocation of employment opportunities. More than 60% of blacks, 43% of
Coloureds and 47% of Indians agreed that such treatment was necessary.
 Interestingly, most South Africans agreed that people who had suffered
under apartheid had received sufficient financial compensation. 34% of
blacks agreed and 29% disagreed while 69% of whites agreed with the
proposition while only 8% opposed it.
 In a 2003 survey 47.4% of blacks agreed that it was fair that the people
who discriminated against others during apartheid should feel what it was
like to be discriminated against – compared with 14.8% of whites.
Black and white South Africans differ strongly on questions relating to
land ownership
According to a survey conducted by Markinor for Prof Pierre du Toit in
February and March 2004, 72.1% of black South Africans agreed, or strongly
agreed, with the statement that ‘all the land whites own, they stole from the
blacks’, while only 3.4% of whites agreed. 88.7% of whites disagreed with
the statement, while only 7.7% of blacks did so. 47.6% of Coloureds and
61.3% of Indians also disagreed with the statement.
Blacks and Whites disagree on the right of landowners to protect their
property rights by approaching the constitutional courts
In response to a question in the same survey 46.9% of black South Africans
agreed with the statement that ‘Landowners who dispute land claims by
going to court are misusing the constitution’ while only 22.9% disagreed
with the statement. 66.6% of whites disagreed or strongly disagreed with the
statement while only 10.8% agreed with it.
White companies and commentators have serious concerns regarding
aspects of BEE
Although they agree with many of the broad goals of BEE, companies
complain that it
 creates additional onerous and costly administrative burdens – particularly
for small and medium size enterprises;
 discourages entrepreneurship by increasing costs, diluting equity and
management autonomy;
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 undermines efficient government by removing cost -effectiveness, proven
quality and service and success in open competition as the main
determinants for government tenders;
 undermines property rights and accordingly discourages both foreign and
local investment;
 creates enormous demand for the small pool of suitably trained and
experienced black South Africans who command astronomical salaries and
who are soon head-hunted by competitors;
 leads to the loss of irreplaceable skills and experience as whites are forced
out of companies or emigrate because of affirmative action policies.
Source: F W de Klerk Foundation, www.fwdklerk.org.za
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Section 4: Activities
This is a very important section as it covers a range of issues – health,
education, land and housing, crime, employment and affirmative action. It
considers the progress made in reducing ine qualities between the races and
the issue of regional inequalities.
4.1
Legacy of Apartheid
‘Apartheid has left a ghastly legacy.’ (Archbishop Desmond Tutu)
Outline the evidence to support this viewpoint.
4.2
4.3
RDP and GEAR
(a)
Why was RDP replaced by GEAR?
(b)
Describe the policies introduced by GEAR.
Education
(a)
(b)
4.4
Read the article by Gavin Clark.
(i)
Why is funding an issue for parents and schools?
(ii)
Describe the facilities of the schools visited and why
HIV/Aids is an issue for schools.
Why do schools receive different sources of funding?
Government action on education
(a)
Outline the challenges facing the Government.
(b)
Refer to the Government’s record and targets and verdict.
What progress has been made and what challenges remain?
(c)
Refer to the challenge of Transformation in Eastern Cape and
Transkei.
(i)
Why is the Eastern Cape one of the poorest provinces in
South Africa?
(ii)
What impact does this have on education?
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4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
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Health
(a)
Refer to the article ‘Ten Years After’ and RDP and GEAR
Targets. Outline the improvements made in health provision.
(b)
Why do provinces like the Eastern Cape face greater health
challenges than wealthier provinces like Gauteng?
HIV/Aids
(a)
Why is it correct to say that South Africa faces an Aids crisis?
(b)
What criticism has been made of the Government’s handling of
the Aids crisis?
Housing
(a)
Outline the progress made in meeting South Africa’s housing
needs.
(b)
Why do many homes still lack basic amenities such as running
water and sewage?
Land distribution
(a)
Why is this a major issue for the South African government?
(b)
Outline the progress made in resolving the land issue.
(c)
Refer to the the article ‘Willing Buyer, Willing Seller’.
(i)
Explain why Ahkona is a happy man.
(ii)
What help did Ahkona receive to buy his farm?
Crime
(a)
Refer to the article ‘Separate Lives’ by Andy Malone. Why does
he argue that ‘Blacks suffer just as much from crime’ as Whites?
(b)
(i)
Why has there been a crime explosion in South Africa?
(ii)
What evidence supports this viewpoint?
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(c)
What action has the Government taken to reduce crime and with
what success?
4.10 Affirmative action and employment
(a)
Briefly outline the goals of the Employment Equity Act and Black
Economic Empowerment Act.
(b)
Outline the arguments for and against Affirmative Action
legislation.
(c)
Refer to the F W de Klerk Foundation Paper ‘What progress has
been made with transformation since 1994? ’
Provide evidence to support the following:
 the gap between rich and poor has grown since 1994
 a substantial increase in the income gap within the black
community
 a significant growth in a black middle class
 Black South Africans are underrepresented in top sen ior
management posts, but well represented in professional,
technical and middle management posts
 the main beneficiaries have been a small number of black
businessmen.
(d)
Refer to the F W de Klerk Foundation paper on ‘Black Economic
Empowerment’.
(i)
Outline the main findings.
(ii)
Compare the views of the different population groups on the
necessity of affirmative action to make up for the wrongs of
the past and the issue of land ownership.
(iii) Outline the criticisms of Black economic empowerment
made by White companies and commentators.
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