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Discontent in South Africa the Past and the Present

The arrest of former South African President Jacob Zuma in July brought people on to roads once again even going further with riots and looting . These took place mainly around urban suburbs like Alexandra . But can we conclude that these riots and protests are against arrest of Zuma ? No . There must be strong reasons for people to face guns and bayonets . At one point the police and military , unable to do anything stood standstill . The fact that looting happened mainly in supermarkets and warehouses and that in most of the cases people grabbed grain and food products shows that there is a serious problem of food , of hunger , of unemployment and as a whole of economy . This is not the first time people have come on the roads and protested . In fact , the protest and struggle in South Africa has a long history .
During the early 1990s Mandela had to strike a devil ’ s bargain to end apartheid . Although some social and political changes related to segregation were made , there has been no continuation of struggles to radically transform the exploitative economic structure . There would be no mass takeover of white lands or businesses , as would happen later in Zimbabwe . So a desperately unequal country remained unequal , and only a few black elites moved into the spaces long ruled by whites . Thus South Africa is still the country with the highest inequality in the world .
Gupta Brothers-the Amdani ’ s of South Africa
During the same period ( 1993 ) the Gupta brothers set foot in South Africa for doing business while the Indians there felt that their business can no longer run . They have a lot in common with our Amdani and Adani ( Amdani ). The Gupta brothers were already successful in the grey markets of Delhi . Although they were the dominant caste in India , no less racial than the South African whites , they hijacked the clause that non-whites be
October - 2021 given a chance to prosper and earned contracts and businesses . They have turned into Benamis for international capital and agents for multinational companies . They sponsored Zuma ’ s activities and made his son a director in their companies and once Zumba became the president they gained full control of the government . Their influence is often termed as “ State Capture ” by the media hiding the real faces of Imperialism . From the appointment of the finance minister to deciding who gets the international contracts , they have a sway over almost all matters . International organizations have longed for agreements with them . McKinsey Company joined hands with them to win the largest contract in Africa with Eskom-South Africa ’ s power utility company . The Gupta brothers drained more than $ 38 million from Eskom and were responsible for its destruction . They employed a London PR firm to spread fake news against the integrity of the authorities inquiring their offences . They employed leading international firms like KPMG , McKinsey , and SAP and drained as much as $ 7 billion from the national treasury . Eventually people ’ s protests against the situation created by imperialist exploitation is completely turned against these Gupta brothers , the compradors . Thus they fled to Dubai and Zuma lost his post while the people ’ s situation remained the same . Socio-Economic Conditions
Thus even after the official removal of apartheid , the exploitation of political and capitalist classes continued unhindered and the problem of land , urban housing , unemployment further impoverished the majority . The poverty alleviation schemes and Slum Renewal Projects all ended to fill up the pockets of the rulers and the capitalists . As a result , 74 % of young people under the age of 25 do not have jobs . About 45 % of the work force has no work . Half of South Africans are chronically poor . The levels of asset and income inequality make this country one of the most economically unjust societies on Earth . The top 20 percent of the population holds about 70 percent of income ( compared to a median of 47 percent for similar emerging markets ), while the bottom 40 % of the people hold only 7 % income . As early as 2002 , the government discussed a basic income grant but kept it on hold . People continue to suffer from extreme poverty . Yet they are invisible to the state . Like the poor around the world they can be seen and heard only through protests . Thus they are coming out , protesting , demanding for their just needs . Situations Prior to Covid South Africa was in a technical recession ( negative growth in two consecutive quarters ) even before the arrival of Covid . With the lockdowns it has gone worse . The national debt has been threatening since 2017 . Govt Debt to GDP stood at 83 % in 2020 . These high debt levels , onerous debtservice costs are taking away the spending on ‘ service delivery ’ and social welfare . The collapse of ESKOM , the ‘ state capture ’ exacerbated the situation of the people . In addition , a serious multi-year drought has devastated parts of South Africa ’ s . A number of small towns are being threatened by total water supply failures and livestock farmers are facing financial ruin . In other parts of the country , heat wave conditions and late onset of rains have caused local supply failures . In fact , historic level droughts in 2019 resulted in at least 11 million people facing food shortages . Grain production is down by 30 percent across the region . People in certain areas ate only every 2-3 days , livestock farmers are forced to early culling of herds-forced by shortages of water and feed - leading to entire herds of livestock getting wiped out by drought and farmers losing their livelihoods . Also in January 2018 , officials in Cape Town announced that the city of 4 million
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