Successes and Challenges in South Africa

The transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa has taken place to a large extent in a peaceful manner. Nelson Mandela’s ideas of reconciliation and dialogue have to this day remained national goals. His vision of a “rainbow nation” - a peaceful coexistence of people of all skin colours - is still the foundation of South Africa’s economic and social development goals.

Even though South Africa’s economic power and political stability contribute to peace, safety and development in the entire region, many challenges remain:

Poverty and inequality. 17 years after the end of apartheid, a large proportion of the population still lives in poverty and economic prospects are unevenly distributed. South Africa’s Gini coefficient, a measure of inequality in a country with 100 being total inequality and 0 being complete equality, currently stands at 57.8 (Germany: 28.3) and highlights the country’s high income disparities: Despite a GDP of US$ 5,890 per capita in 2008, 42.9% of South Africans still lived on less than 2 US$ a day.

Unemployment. A key contributor to the rising inequality are the high rates of unemployment: Official figures show that 25% of South Africans are unemployed, but the unofficial unemployment rate may be as high as 40%.

Crime rate. The high rates of inequality and unemployment in South Africa translate into high crime rates. Population growth, complex restructuring of public administration after apartheid, as well as lack of the needed skills turn the delivery of comprehensive, nationwide basic services into a long-winded process. However, also due to the increase of police officers and the improved quality of education and training among police staff, the number of serious crimes was reduced by -2.4% from 2010 to 2011.

HIV&AIDS. The rates are among the highest worldwide. At a prevalence rate of 10.9% under 2 years and 18.2% of the 15-49 year old population, as well as, officially, 1,000 AIDS deaths per day, the improvement of medical care and education of people on this subject is of vital importance.

Climate change. Due to its large-scale utilisation of coal to generate electricity, South Africa ranks among the largest CO2-emitters worldwide (rank 11 absolute). The economy, which is based around highly energy-intensive industries, will continue to require large amounts of energy. South Africa has undertaken a series of initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint and dependence on fossil-fuels, such as the proposed introduction of a carbon tax, energy efficiency legislations and investments in renewable energies. However, the shift towards cleaner – and more expensive – sources of energy has to be balanced with the fact that a significant proportion of the South Africans do still not have access to electricity.