Conversation on South Africa’s Political and Economic Climate

December 1, 2021

By Chenai Mangachena (College ’22 and Harvard Center for African Studies Intern) and Li-Ming Pan (Harvard Center for African Studies Communications)

On November 30, 2021, the Harvard Center for African Studies Africa Office hosted a webinar on South Africa: The Vision of a Prosperous Inclusive Society. The webinar discussion brought together experts across multiple disciplines. Sithembile Mbete, Programme Director, Apolitical Academy Southern Africa, moderated the discussion with Kathy Kahn, Personal Professor in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, and Principal Scientist in the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt); Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER); and Freeman Nomvalo, CEO, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

Screenshot of South Africa's Political and Economic Climate Event

Panelists began by giving their views on the biggest challenges South Africa is facing at the moment and what steps can be taken to address a myriad of socioeconomic and political concerns. Unemployment in South Africa has reached a high level of 34%, prices of commodities have increased, and crime rates have risen, resulting in concerns about the fragility of democracy and a general sense of social malaise. The emergence of the Omicron variant prompted western countries to unjustly impose travel restrictions on Southern Africa, risking a further exacerbation of these concerns.

Beginning with a discussion of social, political, and economic issues, it was noted that results of the recent South African elections predict a future of coalition governments. Among the more concerning political issues is the instability in the most dominant political party, the African National Congress (ANC). There are strong factions within the party, and, though diversity of perspectives is generally a good thing, current conflicts may prove to be irreconcilable. On the economic front, South Africa struggles with a significant lowering of the country's credit rating and persistently unreliable energy supply. Though there has been some growth in the second quarter of 2021, there has been net erosion of wealth. Major social inequalities and unemployment remain. Protests leading to looting and violence occurred in July 2021, sparked in part over imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.

The panel also discussed how the pandemic is exacerbating already existing inequalities and how some perceive a general loss of confidence in the government or a feeling of abandonment. Service delivery protests have occurred, mostly in rural areas. Specifically in the health sector, the impacts of the pandemic are undermining and reversing progress made on managing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. There is evidence showing escalation of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and mental health. Improving the healthcare system is, according to the panel, dependent on resolving issues in public administration. The panel also called for a vital partnership between scientists, government, and communities to design evidence and data-driven approaches to manage public health in South Africa.

 Mpofu-Walsh shared his thoughts regarding the “new apartheid” that the nation is currently operating under. Parallels drawn between apartheid past and the democratic present day show very little has changed. Tremendous apartheid legacies have not been uprooted and dealt a decisive blow.

 Mpofu-Walsh draws attention to the big crises and the failing economy, primarily due to failure to reroute economic pathways. Therefore, there is the ever-present issue of the duality of the nation's existential dread on one hand and its endowments of hope on the other end. The status quo is a bifurcated political landscape, with the formerly dominant party, the ANC, losing supporters to multiple smaller parties. Furthermore, the July unrests showed that ordinary South Africans do not feel they have ownership of the economy’s resources and attacks were indiscriminate, attacking informal businesses and black owned businesses as well.

Mbete focused the conversation on the way forward that included genuine and context-specific partnerships between sectors and Kahn emphasized that these approaches will need to be diversified and decentralized. The issues in administration need to be resolved urgently. Nomvalo highlighted the issues of the privatizing of law enforcement that undermines the government-provided services. He also highlighted the need for significant engagement with the rural communities so as to narrow socio-economic gaps and reduce inequalities overall.

You can find a recording of the panel discussion on our Vimeo page here: https://vimeo.com/653868033