SOUTH Africa’s ruling party is being forced to confront a problem that has bedevilled the country since apartheid ended 28 years ago: how to reduce record gross inequality and poverty that hurts the Black majority more than the white minority.
While the issue has never gone away, it has come to a head after the Covid-19 pandemic destroyed jobs and livelihoods.
Unemployment hit a record of nearly 35% last year and anger at the worsening economy has spilled into violent protests and rioting, including last summer when more than 300 people were killed and hundreds of businesses destroyed in the unrest.
The African National Congress (ANC) party is increasingly alarmed at its waning popularity among voters, and a leadership contest is only months away, adding to pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans.
His preference is to give more free money to the poor.
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