Coronavirus Exposes ‘Brutal Inequality’ of South African Townships

THE CORONAVIRUS is hitting South Africa’s mainly black townships harder than areas that were once the exclusive preserve of white people, according to new data that highlights the lasting impact of apartheid-era housing policies.

More than two decades after the end of white minority rule, South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world, according to the World Bank, with urban areas starkly divided along racial lines.

Townships in the Western Cape province, South Africa’s main coronavirus hotspot, are suffering particularly high rates of infection, government tracking shows.

Nearly 12% of all infections in the Western Cape are in Khayelitsha, the largest township in Cape Town, even though it has just 6% of the province’s population.

By contrast Stellenbosch, known for its winelands and a university town, has just 1% of Western Cape’s cases and makes up about 4% of its population.

Other hotspots include Mitchells Plain