African National Congress

South Africa’s youth are a generation lost under democracy – study

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 25, 2024

But what is the real state of young South Africans – defined as people below the age of 34 – after 30 years of democracy?

Key Points:

But what is the real state of young South Africans – defined as people below the age of 34 – after 30 years of democracy?
My recent research paper tracing 30 years of analysing youth marginalisation has found that youth in South Africa, who make up 34.3% of the population, have not fared well under democracy.

Measuring marginalisation

The survey recorded indicators like unemployment and level of education, as well as subjective views like feelings of alienation (not belonging in society).
The results were arranged on a scale of how far some young people had been pushed to the margins of society.
Comparing data from the 1992 and 2018 indices of youth marginalisation, the same proportion (5%) is clearly “lost” – scoring off the chart on virtually every indicator.
In terms of how much potential South Africa has squandered, they represent an entire generation of opportunity lost to the country.

Marginalised but not lost

As ever, they demonstrated their instrumental value to the adults controlling violence on various sides.
Those same adults and the media spoke of a “lost generation” – specifically, black, male, urban youth.

Marginalisation over time

In 1993, after first presenting to assembled youth organisations in 1992, we released the first iteration of the marginalisation index, Growing up Tough.
Despite the belief of our church sponsors that no-one is ever truly “lost”, that became the central category of the index.
In all, 5% of respondents scored high on all, or most, of the indicators in the 12 dimensions.
Most of the items in the index were later used by the Gauteng City Region Observatory in its early Quality of Life survey, allowing analysis of marginalisation across the entire Gauteng province population.
Only 0.3% of white youth (and 0.5% of Indian youth) showed signs of high marginalisation.

David Everatt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Persisting inequality has made many young South Africans question the choices made by Nelson Mandela – podcast

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Some young South Africans have begun to question Nelson Mandela’s legacy, and the choices made in the transition to democracy after the end of apartheid in 1994.

Key Points:

Some young South Africans have begun to question Nelson Mandela’s legacy, and the choices made in the transition to democracy after the end of apartheid in 1994.
To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa?
Young people make up 34% of South Africa’s population.
At the end of 2023, the unemployment rate for young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 34 was 44%.

Elections looming

We’re coming to the end of that period of domination by the ANC now; we’re into the period of what I call the second transition.
Ramaphosa has had the very difficult task of rebuilding the state, rebuilding confidence in public ethics.
Ramaphosa has had the very difficult task of rebuilding the state, rebuilding confidence in public ethics.
And read more coverage of the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s democratic transition from The Conversation Africa.

Disclosure statement

Sithembile Mbete has received grant funding for research on South African foreign policy from the National Research Foundation, National Institute of Social Science and Social Science Research Council.
She’s received research support on South African democracy from the Open Society Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Credits

Special thanks for this series to Gary Oberholzer, Jabulani Sikhakhane, Caroline Southey and Moina Spooner at The Conversation Africa.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Mend Mariwany, with production assistance from Katie Flood.
Stephen Khan is our global executive editor, Alice Mason runs our social media and Soraya Nandy does our transcripts.

South Africans tasted the fruits of freedom and then corruption snatched them away – podcast

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Mbeki would lead the country for the next nine years, a period of relatively high economic growth which enabled South Africans to begin to taste the fruits of freedom.

Key Points:

Mbeki would lead the country for the next nine years, a period of relatively high economic growth which enabled South Africans to begin to taste the fruits of freedom.
To mark 30 years since South Africa’s post-apartheid transition began, The Conversation Weekly podcast is running a special three-part podcast series, What happened to Nelson Mandela’s South Africa?
When Mandela took over as president of South Africa in 1994, the country’s economy was emerging from a long recession.
It’s a no-brainer that you’re going to have to find ways of transferring ownership of that capital.

The Zuma years

In 2008, Mbeki’s presidency came to an end when the ANC recalled him, paving the way for the ascension of his successor, Jacob Zuma, after the 2009 national and provincial elections.
Zuma’s years in office unleashed what many see as a significant turning point in South Africa’s democratic history.
Allegations of state capture and corruption dogged the Zuma presidency, particularly centred around his relationship with three businessmen called the Gupta brothers.

Disclosure statement

Mashupye Maserumule has received funding from the National Research Foundation. He is a member of the National Planning Commission and the South African Association of Public Administration and Management. Michael Sachs coordinates the Public Economy Project, which receives funding from the Gates Foundation. He was a member and employee of the ANC in the 1990s and 2000s, and later on a government official.

Credits

Special thanks for this series to Gary Oberholzer, Jabulani Sikhakhane, Caroline Southey and Moina Spooner at The Conversation Africa.
This episode of The Conversation Weekly was written and produced by Mend Mariwany, with production assistance from Katie Flood.
Stephen Khan is our global executive editor, Alice Mason runs our social media and Soraya Nandy does our transcripts.

South Africa’s electricity crisis: a series of failures over 30 years have left a dim legacy

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Back then only 36% of all South Africans had electricity in their homes.

Key Points:

Back then only 36% of all South Africans had electricity in their homes.
The development programme promised to double that number by electrifying an additional 2.5 million homes by 2000.
This seemed achievable – during the 1980s, the state-owned power utility Eskom’s build programme was so aggressive it had surplus electricity.
By 1994, South Africa’s coal industry was generating high quality coal which was exported mainly to Europe.

What went wrong

Eskom tried to convince the government to allow it to build more power stations.
But under the macroeconomic policy, the government decided that new power stations must be built by Black empowered businesses.
For that to work, the prices of electricity needed to increase to make it financially viable for the businesses.
The White Paper was accurate in predicting when the country would run out of power.
If the Eskom CEOs had signed the power purchase agreements, it would have brought online 5GW of renewables.

The current dilemma

This provided for a very large increase in the number of renewables and the closure of several coal-fired power stations.
But Mantashe later delayed the procurement of renewables, deepening the crisis at Eskom.
Dividing the utility up was approved in 2019 but the National Transmission Company was only set up in 2024.
Ramaphosa appointed an electricity minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and released the Energy Action Plan to end power cuts.

Solutions

It dramatically increases the emphasis on gas – it is a gas infrastructure plan and South Africa doesn’t have much gas.
The country will have to import gas and pay in US dollars, thus increasing its dependence on the dollar.
Instead, South Africa needs to transition to renewable energy plus backup, which is batteries and a substantial gas reserve.

Mark Swilling is a Non-Executive Director of the Eskom National Transmission Company of South Africa. He writes in his academic capacity. He has received funding for his research from National Research Foundation, VW Foundation, Open Society Foundation and European Climate Fund.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa aims for upbeat tone in annual address, but fails to impress a jaundiced electorate

Retrieved on:

Saturday, February 10, 2024

The country goes to the polls any time between May and August and there was no doubt that Cyril Ramaphosa would use the occasion to burnish the governing African National Congress’s reputation.

Key Points:

The country goes to the polls any time between May and August and there was no doubt that Cyril Ramaphosa would use the occasion to burnish the governing African National Congress’s reputation.
Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.
A party needs to win 50% or more of the seats in parliament to form a government on its own.
In his 105-minute address Ramaphosa tried to remind his audience of the government’s achievements over the past three decades of democracy.

The contested record

Poverty: In 1994 71% of South Africa’s population lived in poverty; today 55% do, he said, citing World Bank figures.
Employment: The president devoted paragraphs of his speech to job opportunities created by various government programmes.
Real unemployment – the expanded definition – is around 42%, up from 15% in 1994.
Energy: On the continuing power cuts Ramaphosa pledged that
the worst is behind us and an end to load-shedding is in reach.
But evidence shows land reform has a mixed record of successes and failures.
Health: the president spoke of a new academic hospital under construction in Limpopo province.

What was left unsaid

In one ill-advised one in 2019, the president fantasised about bullet trains, when his audience were desperately waiting for the resumption of service on slow train commuting routes.
The 2024 speech offers fertile material for opposition parties to score points against the ANC.
It will be more of the same from both sides all the way to voting day.

Keith Gottschalk is a member of the African National Congress, but writes this piece in his professional capacity as a political scientist.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa’s aims for upbeat tone in annual address, but fails to impress a jaundiced electorate

Retrieved on:

Friday, February 9, 2024

Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.

Key Points:

Numerous opinion polls suggest the ANC will fall below 50% of the vote nationally for the first time, providing opportunities for opposition coalitions.
A party needs to win 50% or more of the seats in parliament to form a government on its own.
Adding to the moment was the fact that this was the last state of the nation address of Ramaphosa’s term.
In his 105-minute address Ramaphosa tried to remind his audience of the government’s achievements over the past three decades of democracy.

The contested record

Poverty: In 1994 71% of South Africa’s population lived in poverty; today 55% do, he said, citing World Bank figures.
Employment: The president devoted paragraphs of his speech to job opportunities created by various government programmes.
Real unemployment – the expanded definition – is around 42%, up from 15% in 1994.
Energy: On the continuing power cuts Ramaphosa pledged that
the worst is behind us and an end to load-shedding is in reach.
But evidence shows land reform has a mixed record of successes and failures.
Health: the president spoke of a new academic hospital under construction in Limpopo province.

What was left unsaid

In one ill-advised one in 2019, the president fantasised about bullet trains, when his audience were desperately waiting for the resumption of service on slow train commuting routes.
The 2024 speech offers fertile material for opposition parties to score points against the ANC.
It will be more of the same from both sides all the way to voting day.

Keith Gottschalk is a member of the African National Congress, but writes this piece in his professional capacity as a political scientist.

Surveillance and the state: South Africa’s proposed new spying law is open for comment – an expert points out its flaws

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Bulk interception involves the surveillance of electronic signals, including communication signals and internet traffic, on a very large scale, and often on an untargeted basis.

Key Points:

Bulk interception involves the surveillance of electronic signals, including communication signals and internet traffic, on a very large scale, and often on an untargeted basis.
If intelligence agents misuse this capability, it can have a massive, negative impact on the privacy of innocent people.
The court found that there was no law authorising the practice of bulk surveillance and limiting its potential abuse.

The dangers

This is regardless of whether they are suspected of serious crimes or threats to national security.
Their intention is to obtain strategic intelligence about longer term external threats to a country’s security, and that may be difficult to obtain by other means.
The court rejected this argument because the act failed to address the regulation of bulk interception directly.

What the Constitutional Court said

The 2021 Constitutional Court judgment did not address whether bulk interception should ever be acceptable as a surveillance practice.
The court indicated that it would want to see a law authorising bulk surveillance that sets out “the nuts and bolts of the Centre’s functions”.
The court would also be looking for detail on
how these various types of intelligence must be captured, copied, stored, or distributed.

What the amendment bill says

The amendment bill provides for the proper establishment of the National Communication Centre and its functions.
A parliamentary ad hoc committee has set a deadline of 15 February 2024 for public comment.
The fact that the judge would be an executive appointment also raises doubts about his or her independence.

Inadequate benchmarking

These require that a domestic legal framework provide what the European Court of Human Rights has referred to as “end-to-end” safeguards covering all stages of bulk interception.
How to restore its credibility
The European Court has stated that a domestic legal framework should define

the grounds on which bulk interception may be authorised
the circumstances
the procedures to be followed for granting authorisation
procedures for selecting, examining and using material obtained from intercepts
The framework should also set out
the precautions to be taken when communicating the material to other parties
limits on the duration of interception
procedures for the storage of intercepted material
the circumstances in which such material must be erased and destroyed
supervision procedures by an independent authority
compliance procedures for review of surveillance once it has been completed.

Incorporating these details in regulations would not be adequate on its own, as the bill gives the intelligence minister too much power to set the ground rules for bulk interception.
These rules are also unlikely to be subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as the bill.

Jane Duncan receives funding from the British Academy and is a director of the non-governmental organisation Intelwatch.

South Africa’s military is expected to do more than ever with tighter budgets: how the force has declined over 30 years

Retrieved on:

Monday, February 5, 2024

The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994.

Key Points:

The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994.
It’s as old as the country’s constitutional democracy, the result of a negotiated political settlement that ended apartheid.
The defence force consists of the army, air force, navy, and military health service.
It has been in decline for some time, especially since 2000, as its budgetary allocation from treasury has shrunk.

Figuring out its primary role

The purchasing of new military equipment was based on the South African Defence Review of 1998.
The equipment included nine Gripen fighter aircraft, 12 Hawk aircraft, 30 light utility helicopters, four patrol corvettes and three submarines.
It was eventually decided that the defence force should be designed primarily to protect the country from external enemies.
But it has received no additional armour and personnel for this additional role.
It also plays a pivotal role in the Southern African Development Community mission in conflict-ridden northern Mozambique.

Lesotho, 1998: restoring democracy and political stability, supported by the Botswana military
Burundi, 2003: peacekeeping alongside Mozambique and Ethiopia as part of the African Union Mission in Burundi
Sudan, 2005: as part of the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur.

Constraints

Budgetary constraints have posed a growing challenge.
In 2015, the defence force was 24% underfunded in terms of its size and shape.
Defence spending in 2022/23 was 8.4% lower than in 2021, and 21% lower than in 2013.
Because of the budgetary constraints, the serviceability and functionality of high-tech equipment – especially the Gripens, frigates and submarines – couldn’t be sustained.

Problems at home

These include internal or domestic operations such as helping the police in combating gang warfare, fighting illegal mining syndicates, preventing the torching of commercial trucks, guarding power plants, and combating cash-in-transit heists.
These responsibilities can now even be regarded as among the military’s primary functions.

Theo Neethling receives funding from the National Research Foundation.

South Africa’s ANC marks its 112th year with an eye on national elections, but its record is patchy and future uncertain

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

The annual January 8 statement, unsurprisingly, was a 30 year self-assessment and is self-congratulatory.

Key Points:

The annual January 8 statement, unsurprisingly, was a 30 year self-assessment and is self-congratulatory.
He pointed out that the ANC had, over its 30 years in power, put in place the building blocks of a social democratic state.

a constitution that guarantees human rights to all South Africans and is much admired around the world
protecting workers’ rights, promoting investment and economic development and providing a legal framework for black economic empowerment
an active role for South Africa on the international stage, and solidarity with people struggling for their rights and striving for a just world order.
Assuming the moral high ground by supporting the cause of Palestine was a reminder of the ANC that once won the hearts of many South Africans and international supporters: principled and standing up for justice, as it had done in the struggle against apartheid. Ramaphosa highlighted the oft-repeated statistics reflecting “delivery” by the ANC-led government since 1994:
4.7 million houses have been built and provided “mahala” (for free) to South Africans, including houses allocated to nearly 2 million women
89% of households now have access to water and 85% have access to electricity
more than 28 million people are beneficiaries of social grants aimed at alleviating poverty.

But the ANC stood resolute in addressing the stubborn legacy of colonialism, apartheid and patriarchy.
Read more:
Factionalism and corruption could kill the ANC -- unless it kills both first
Not much was said about these mistakes.

Despair and frustration

The perception that South Africa has been unsuccessful in the fight against corruption has dented the country’s image, and lessened its international leverage and stature.
Read more:
Book predicts ANC’s last decade of political dominance in South Africa
There is a mood of despair over high levels of crime and violence.
There is also widespread frustration over crumbling infrastructure and poor service delivery.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has struck a deal with like-minded parties in the hope of unseating the ANC.

Wooing young voters

The 2024 general election may become the battle for the soul of the young voter.
If that is the case, then the ANC needs a fresh image, one less reliant on its history as a liberation movement.
He acknowledged the positive role of the youth in society, and commended the ANC Youth League for their inputs in shaping the statement.

beneficiation of raw materials
reindustrialisation of the economy
the energy crisis
the climate crisis
the quality of public services.
These items are already on the ANC’s policy programme being implemented in government. So if the party had been more astute, the January 8 statement could have indicated, especially to its younger constituency, what would be done differently this time round. As it is, these items also feature high on the list of priorities of other political parties, including those formed in recent months.

Bravado amid disillusionment

The ANC, through its January 8 statement, put on a show of bravado.
However, it would be foolhardy of it to ignore the fact that the political terrain has shifted.
Even long-serving members within its ranks have become disillusioned with the party, as evidenced by the recent resignation of ANC veteran Mavuso Msimang, who later retracted his decision.

Sandy Africa does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Peter Magubane: courageous photographer who chronicled South Africa's struggle for freedom

Retrieved on:

Thursday, January 4, 2024

The photographer suffered great losses during apartheid.

Key Points:

The photographer suffered great losses during apartheid.
He miraculously survived being shot 17 times below the waist at the funeral of a student activist in Natalspruit in 1985.
Despite the pain and suffering he witnessed and experienced, Magubane’s photographs testify to the hope that is at the heart of the struggle for a just world.

Witness to momentous events

He not only witnessed, but also took part in, many of the most significant events in modern South African history.
Referred to as the “dompas”, the document was used to control and restrict the movement of black South Africans.
His images focusing on life in the township were later to form the subject of several of his books.
He soon began to work as a photographer under the tutelage of Drum’s chief photographer and picture editor, Jürgen Schadeberg.
the events of that day produced the picture of the funeral as one of the central iconographic emblems of the anti-apartheid struggle.
Her slender hands are beautiful, and their perfect smoothness accentuates the brutal rupture where her skin has been broken.

The archive

In 2018 his work was exhibited in a major retrospective, On Common Ground, alongside that of another renowned South African photographer, David Goldblatt.
He served as Nelson Mandela’s photographer from 1990 to 1994.
Magubane’s indomitable spirit and compassionate vision live on through his work.

Kylie Thomas ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.