by Ian Vorster
Lead Photo: Imizamo Yethu Township, Cape Town by Diriye Amey, CC
A summary of the state of South African society and an answer to the question: Should I visit?
Eastern Cape Province, 2004
In Kleinskool Township, Port Elizabeth, Frances throws her head back and cackles in raucous laughter. Seated on a five-gallon paint drum she was reading a newspaper beside the tumbledown tin shanty she calls home. When asked what she found funny, she replied, “The rich people are complaining because they must pay more taxes.”
It was a significant comment. Ten years before, the reply might have been, “The white people are complaining because they must pay more taxes.” Frances’ life hasn’t changed meaningfully in economic terms, but it has in human terms — she is now considered a legal being with certain inalienable rights. This, for a time, changed her entire outlook on life. Despite acute poverty, Francis no longer differentiates between black and white. She now differentiates between rich and poor.
About a 20 minute driver from Frances, Xoliswa was working at Tregaron Estates in the Sunday’s River Valley as a citrus picker. “I am proud of my work. I am good at what I do – you can take my photograph.” In American terms she lives the life of a migrant farm laborer.
About 20 miles from her, in Addo Elephant National Park, Gail smiled shyly while straightening her headdress. “I have been on the housecleaning staff for eight months now, and I love my job,” she said. A subtle difference marked the tone of the conversation compared to what it might have been ten years previously. This was a National Parks Board employee with a career, as opposed to a mere servant with a job. Gail was then a stakeholder in the nation’s future.
The Eastern Cape is South Africa’s poorest province in economic terms, but the richest in natural diversity and beauty. Tourism consequently generates its greatest source of income. Close to five million acres of land were under safari operations in the province in 2004 – nine times the figure of 1990! Farming provided an average of two and a half jobs per 300 acres of land. Tourism and conservation provided six jobs for the same acreage. Trained to host overseas guests at 4 to 5 Star establishments, former peasants rose to the task with acumen and dignity.
Xoliswa the citrus picker, Frances an unemployed mother, and Gail the service assistant for the National Parks Board.
On the surface much may seem the same for her, but there is one significant change. The management of the local Citrus Co-Operative then placed equal emphasis on the interests of both growers and pickers. They negotiated salaries and benefits for the pickers whereas ten or more years before, the Co-Op only represented the grower’s interests, sourcing the best markets and the cheapest labor.
These ladies all fought for political freedom and rejoiced in the demise of apartheid, but one is left with the sense that they all shared a similar thought back in 2004, “What now?” Despite the realization of that remarkable dream of free democratic elections in 1994, much has remained the same, and the rest is far worse.
State of the Nation
Pretoria, South Africa, February 2024: President, Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his state of the nation address. AP reported that it touted the history of the ruling party, the ANC, but provided no solutions to the current situation. What is the current situation? Humans Rights Watch summarizes it with the following two paragraphs:
South Africa failed to take meaningful measures to improve protection of social and economic rights, which have been undermined by widespread unemployment, inequality, poverty, the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and corruption. The authorities struggled to ensure law enforcement responded effectively to some of the worst riots and looting in the country since the end of apartheid. The violent riots triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma for contempt of court claimed more than 330 lives and caused an estimated 50.4 billion rands (US$3.4 billion) in damage. Other human rights concerns include violence against women, failure to ensure justice and accountability for past xenophobic violence, and violence against environmental activists.
The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs reported in 2019 that no one can really be in any doubt that South Africa is in a deepening crisis. In an article titled South Africa: Stumbling from Crisis to Crisis, writer Martin Plaut noted that a quarter of a century of government by the African National Congress has left the country drowning in corruption, with declining living standards and stagnating job prospects. A recent World Bank report [see page 19] shows that its people – many already impoverished – have seen their incomes fall still further, with declining per capital GDP.
What does that mean for Frances, Xoliswa and Gail?
President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted at a Financial Times African Summit in London, that the cost of corruption is “much bigger than I think most people could ever have imagined.” He pegged it at more than a tenth of South Africa’s entire gross domestic product – between R500bn ($34bn) and a trillion Rand. Drug gangs are so rampant in the Cape that the army has been called onto the streets in a last ditch attempt to contain them.
The ANC’s attempt to redress the balance left by generations of racism and apartheid have failed. Policies apparently designed to uplift the black majority have been skewed by the party’s determination to allocate key jobs to party members – the so-called ‘cadre deployment policy.’ This pushed ANC members into positions for which they have few, if any, qualifications. Those appointed answer to the party, not the public.
Combined with racially-based attempts to redress the legacy of apartheid, this has deprived the country of its best and its brightest. Many – of all ethnicities – have simply left to pursue jobs abroad. Little surprise then that key state-owned enterprises, from the airlines to the electricity supply corporation, are deeply indebted and poorly managed.
World Population Review now ranks SA third highest in terms of crime in the world. Venezuela and Papua New Guinea beat it, but the country trumps Afghanistan. Its Crime Index is 75.50. By way of comparison, the US Crime Index is 49.20. Liechtenstein, the country with the 6th lowest crime rate in the world, does not have a Crime Index.
The term “state capture” was coined by a group of academics convened by Mark Swilling when they published the “Betrayal of the Promise” report. It was the first major study of state capture in South Africa, and it helped galvanize opposition to the unconstitutional developments in South African civil-society. In 2017, the book How to Steal a City, detailed state capture within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa.
Tourism
What does all of this have to do with a travel journalism publication, you might ask? Tourism dollars spent by inbound travelers are critical for the wellbeing of Frances, Gail and Xoliswa. The global data and business intelligence platform, Statista, reported in February 2024 that travel and tourism added nearly 13.2 billion U.S. dollars to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of South Africa in 2021. The sector’s contribution to the country’s economy declined almost by half compared to 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, the value added by tourism to the South African GDP reached around 27.4 billion U.S. dollars or 3.2% of the nation’s GDP. Down from the 2005-2006 high of 8.48%, lodging, safari and other travel highlights to the country are safe and secure within the following protocols listed on the US South African Travel Advisory page. These are accurate. Do not be dissuaded. Be a smart traveller.
If you decide to travel to South Africa
- Research your route in advance, stay on major highways, avoid shortcuts through townships, and avoid reliance on GPS navigation apps.
- Avoid walking alone, especially after dark.
- Avoid visiting informal settlement areas unless you are with someone familiar with the area.
- Do not display cash or valuables.
- Drive with doors locked and windows closed.
- Always carry a copy of your U.S. passport and visa (if applicable). Keep original documents in a secure location.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
- Review the Country Security Report for South Africa.
- Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.
V&A Waterfront in Table Bay Harbor, Cape Town. The contrast between high end life and everyday shanty life is starkly disconcerting. The Economic Freedom Front led by founder Julius Malema, has capitalized on the differences for his populist far-left political party. Photo: Daniel Case, CC
