Thursday, March 22, 2018
South Africa’s Labor Crisis Is Not Improving
Over a fifth of the people in South Africa don’t have a job and are actively seeking one. And it’s predicted that this problem will rise(Tradingeconomics). This rate of unemployment isn’t balanced. The affects of race and gender on employment and job opportunities are more than just 1-2%. The differences go up to 20%, spanning between all the different ethnic groups(Tradingeconomics, Google Books).
There isn’t just one reason why the unemployment rate in South Africa is so high. Disregarding racial and gender inequalities, and even long-standing rifts caused by apartheid, this can’t be the only reasons why the economy in South Africa is so dismal. Sure, conflicts between communities of blacks and whites might have some impact on the economy, but it’s more. It’s the government. The South African government, after the late Nelson Mandela became president, has maintained more of a black presence in the country. The president of South Africa has continued to be black, but racism has only grown. A lot of the industries in South Africa are private industries, and many of these industries take preference in hiring white people rather than blacks(Kanbur). Unfortunately, these industries are private, and have existed for a long time. Not only that, but due to the corruption that still exists in South Africa, things are unlikely to change. Thus, chances are, unemployment is likely to only rise.
In the past, the last president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, had been influenced by the business family, the Guptas(Chipkin). The Guptas had been using the apartheid past in South Africa to promote their battle against the so-called “white-monopoly capital”(Chipkin). They even started a newspaper and a television channel to advance the cause, which garnered support from president Zuma. The Guptas had also employed Zuma’s son into their business, and through this, gained a measure of control over South Africa and it’s economy(Chipkin). Now, even though Jacob Zuma is out of office, the Guptas still have a lot of control over the country. The current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been attempting to end this corruption. However, it hasn’t been going well. However, even though this may sound like the Guptas were utilizing their power to gain more power for the blacks, in reality, almost nothing has changed. The Guptas didn’t actually help the black population of South Africa gain more opportunities, but instead, used the support of these people to gain a more powerful hold over the country. For the past 20 years, the total unemployment rate has been over 20%,but it hasn’t been equal. White males are safely employed, with a 5-10% rate of unemployment, but blacks have been over 25%(Google Books). Women also are experiencing a huge disparity in empolyment, with white women having at least a 10% higher unemployment rate than white men, and black women experiencing the same in regards to black men(Google Books). This means, that while white men have been within a safe zone for employment, roughly a third of black women have been unemployed. And don’t forget, the definition of unemployment is to be actively seeking for a job.
The future looks grim for South Africa, at least in terms of employment and labor. However, although the unemployment rate is predicted to rise, the current attempts to weed out corruption and the gradual ending to racism - although there’s still a long way to go - allude to a strengthening economy, after all, once things get too bad, it can only get better.
Works Cited:
Books, Google. “The Oxford Companion to the Economics of South Africa."
Google Books, Google Books, 7 Mar. 2018,
books.google.com/bookshl=en&lr=&id=wykDBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT342&dq=unemployment+in+south+africa&ots=kxte5Wwl-M&sig=xMbwKxBJ6utf0sc9PcbeQ0K-gP4#v=onepage&q=unemployment%20in%20south%20africa&f=false.
Tradingeconomics. “South Africa Unemployment Rate | 2000-2018 | Data | Chart Calendar.”
Tradingeconomics.com, Tradingeconomics.com, 31 Oct. 2017, tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/unemployment-rate
Galegroup. “South Africa Economy.”
Galegroup.com, Galegroup.com, 7 July 2017,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A503465064/GIC?u=los42754&xid=d6395b0b.
"South Africa." Global Issues in Context Online Collection,
Gale, 2017.Global Issues in Context
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CP3208530154/GIC?u=los42754&xid=895ba190.
Kanbur, Ravi. “Notes Towards a ‘Grand Bargain.’”
Box, Pdf, 13 Mar. 2018,
1280568-12907c65-6117-4ccc-9dcb-775c4996fc3e.pdf.
Chipkin, Ivor. “Opinion | Jacob Zuma and the Theft of South Africa.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Dec. 2017,
www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/opinion/jacob-zuma-gupta-corruption.html.
I really enjoyed the way you incorporated how the different presidents of South Africa have affected the unemployment over the years. I never knew how one of the presidents of South Africa got involved in a corrupt family trying to end racism. What inspired you to write about the topic of unemployment in South Africa?
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you managed to provide a historical background with the difference aspects on how the unemployment rates became so high. I found it surprising how the Guptas used their power more for propaganda rather than real change for the black people. What specific things is the current president trying to do in order to weaken the Guptas power? Is his political power not enough to stop their economic power?
ReplyDeleteI found this very interesting. I have studied race relations in Africa and to me its interesting how this seems to includ eonly one side. The African Goverment now majority black openly speaks about the glory of a coming genocide agaisnt whites. Even the president. This does not justify the horrid actions commited by whites but theres more than one side. My question to you is how would you fix this economic problem?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the style of your writing and how it kept me interested as I read the article. My main take-away is that unemployment in Africa is still a serious issue today which has been caused to ongoing corruption in the government. My follow up question is: What measures do you think would be more effective to prevent the increase of unemployment and corruption of government officials?
ReplyDelete