South Africa
South Africa: The Rainbow Nation Running Out of Power
South Africa is the Rainbow Nation — as Desmond Tutu christened it after the end of apartheid in 1994. This country of 60 million inhabitants, the most industrialised in Africa, carried all the continent's hopes. Thirty years later, the rainbow is fading: 30% unemployment, among the highest crime rates in the world, inequalities inherited from apartheid, and chronic power cuts (loadshedding).
Loadshedding and Decline
Eskom, the state-owned electricity company, is the symbol of South Africa's decline. Power cuts of up to 10 hours a day paralyse the economy. The ANC, in power since 1994, is plagued by corruption (the Zuma era). The townships remain ghettos. Xenophobic violence against African migrants tarnishes the Ubuntu ideal. The Black middle class is growing, but not fast enough.
The Ubuntu Strength: Mandela and Resilience
Ubuntu was born here — that philosophy which says I am because we are. Mandela embodied it by choosing reconciliation over revenge. South Africans, despite everything, keep fighting. Civil society is vibrant, the press is free, the judiciary is independent. The music (kwaito, amapiano) makes the world dance. Rugby and cricket momentarily unite the nation.
« Ubuntu ngumuntu ngabantu »
I am because we are
— Proverb zoulou
South Africa reminds us that the end of injustice is not the end of inequality, and that political miracles must be followed by economic ones.