The unlit but smoldering poweder keg in South Africa is the poor. The end of the Apartheid years represented a nearly incomprehensible transition in South African history and was surely one of the high points in the often grim history of the 20th century. But while the African National Congress has done much for many, it has not been successful at nudging poverty numbers down or employment numbers up.
Granted, the ANC inherited a nightmare economic circumstance made worse by the malign neglect of South Africa’s black masses who were corralled into Bantustans and Townships and battered and abused by a system that saw the black masses as an exploitable labor pool or else as a dangerous enemy. The National Party created the current situation. Worse, the National party exacerbated it. But the ANC inherited this state of affairs, and the bulk of the population feels as if it has not reaped the fruits of democratic transition.
And there are increasing signs that loyalty to the ANC will no longer suffice for South Africa’s poor. South Africans are reaching back into a tradition of protest and are demanding services, jobs, and fundamental material improvement in their lives.
And to his credit, Jacob Zuma, who has never lacked the populist touch, is reacting. He has been meeting with community leaders, saying the right things, promising his and his government’s support. But talk is cheap. And change will be expensive. How Zuma deals with these lingering and seemingly intractable issues will go a long way in determining the success of his presidency and his legacy in the country’s history.
