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Millennium Development Goals in South Africa

A symptom of the inhumanity of the apartheid era was the exclusion of the black majority from surveys of social and economic status. Measuring progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the new South Africa is therefore a challenge because no data exists for the baseline year of 1990. The starting point for poverty indicators has been shifted forward to 2000 at which point the measure of extreme poverty (less than $1 per day) was 11.3%, with a target of 5.7% by 2015.

By UN classification South Africa is a middle-income country with ample resources and by far the most developed country in Africa. In its “Vision 2014”, the government sets out a strategy for fighting poverty through high rates of economic growth in parallel with direct welfare payments to the poor and high investment in education. The Mid-Term MDG Progress Review published in 2007 offers no update of the extreme poverty indicator but claims that incomes of the poorest households have risen strongly in this period and that the Goal is likely to be achieved. However, the most recent UNDP Human Development Report presents a figure of 10.7% for extreme poverty in 2005, almost unchanged from the baseline position. Over 43% of the population remains under the poverty line which is assessed as R3,000 per annum at 2000 values.

Table Mountain primary school © Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

Nevertheless, the Goals for education are already close to being achieved and the country has made impressive strides in the area of gender equality with over 30% women’s representation in both parliament and in the cabinet. Considerable progress has also been made in the provision of safe water and sanitation and the government promises universal access to these services by 2008 and 2010 respectively, far beyond the MDG targets.

The extensive social security system is unique in Africa in the extent of its reach - about 11 million poor and vulnerable people, nearly 25% of the population, receive child support, benefits and pensions. However, the effectiveness of this strategy has been extensively debated because it has administrative shortcomings and it does not directly create jobs, leaving a nucleus of people dependent on the state. Unemployment remains between 27% and 40%, upwards of 5 million people, the majority from black communities. Given that the country ranks alongside Brazil in having with one of the highest rates of wealth inequality in the world, there is understandable frustration at the slow rate of progress in overcoming the legacy of apartheid.
Health and HIV/AIDS in South Africa

AIDS billboard, South Africa © Daily Mail & Guardian

South Africa has an estimated 5.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, the highest of any country in the world, almost 1 in every 5 adults. 29% of pregnant women in 2006 were HIV-positive and there are approximately 1.2 million AIDS orphans. A contributory factor may have been the South African national HIV/AIDS programme which has been marred by controversy, the government being accused of not taking the epidemic seriously. For example, supplies of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) only started after pressure by various civic groups and only 30% of the one million in need currently receive state-sponsored ART. It took a court order in 2002 to make nevirapine readily available to pregnant women, whose access to treatment and care continues to fall short of expectations.

Women's rights activists in Johannesburg © Jaspreet Kindra / Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

Heavy criticism at the Toronto AIDS conference in 2006 prompted South Africa to turn over a new leaf. Guided by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the country has launched a new HIV/AIDS and STI Strategic Plan for 2007-2011 backed by a substantial budget and promises to strengthen the National AIDS Council. The plan, which received input from civil society, encompasses interventions of prevention, treatment, care and support and the international community has welcomed this impressive turnaround in the national approach.

Effective implementation will be critical as the MDG to halt and reverse the prevalence of HIV is not being achieved and South Africa is one of very few countries where infant and child mortality rates are rising, largely as a result of transmission at birth. Key to the HIV/AIDS battle is the disparity in infection rates between young men and women. In the 15-49 years age group, women are 4 times as likely to have the HIV virus than their male counterparts. The main reasons are transactional sex, high incidences of rape and the traditional belief that sleeping with a virgin will cure AIDS.
The Legacy of Apartheid

South African history is unique in Africa in that its black majority experienced the most extreme and repugnant form of repression by white rulers. In 1948 the Afrikaner-led National Party instituted a racial segregation policy known as ”apartheid” which graded citizens by colour. The white minority had a very privileged life generously subsidised by the state; the Indian and Coloured community were allowed a lower middle class lifestyle whilst the black majority lived in abject poverty. Apart from prohibiting the right to vote or own land, the laws that marked apartheid included pass laws which compelled black people to show a passport to leave and enter certain areas. Discrimination extended to all spheres of life including job opportunities, education and health. Put simply, the non-white majority were not recognised as citizens of the Republic of South Africa.

Nelson Mandela © Geographical

In 1990 after many years of violent struggle, marches, protests and activism a process of abolishing apartheid began. The African National Congress (ANC) was the most influential political party in the anti-apartheid movement whose activists were killed and jailed in the name of freedom. Amongst them was Nelson Mandela who won the Nobel peace prize for his role in ending apartheid after spending 27 years in jail. In 1994 he became president after the first multi-racial elections held in South Africa.
The Constitution in South Africa

South Africa's Constitution was fashioned to correct the wrongs of the past and is regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. It is founded on a backbone of human rights, social justice and democracy, the clear separation of executive, judiciary and legislature symbolised by the dedication of a separate capital city for each, respectively Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town.

Progressive features of the Constitution include the right to access to water and the right to sexual orientation, which recently opened up the opportunities for homosexuals to marry under the civil unions act. It also has an equality clause and a strong bill of rights - if an individual or group believes that their human rights are being violated, they can approach the constitutional court for a verdict. To date, the court has ruled in favour of many otherwise poor and disenfranchised people thus forcing the state and other parties to conform to the values provided for in the constitution.

South Africa is unique in that has enshrined institutions in its constitution that are mandated to deal with human rights violations and support democracy. There are permanent and temporary commissions of which the best known was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) whose primary mandate was to document gross human rights violations in the period from 1960 to 1994 and to provide reparations. Perpetrators of crimes were encouraged to be accountable for their actions, seeking forgiveness from their victims and their families in the hope that the nation as a whole would eventually heal. The TRC was hailed as a template for reconciliation in post-conflict nations, its achievement all the more noteworthy given the subsequent reluctance of so many countries to follow the lead in transparent acknowledgement of past injustices.
Politics in South Africa

The country is a parliamentary democracy, ruled by a two chamber parliament made up of a 400 member National Assembly and a 90 member National Council of Provinces which represents the provincial interests in national legislation. Elections are held every 5 years and the leader of the majority political party becomes the president.

Thabo Mbeki © ANC

Since 1994, the ANC has dominated the political arena, winning over 60% of the votes in the 2004 elections, enabling a second and final term for the current president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who took over from Nelson Mandela in 1999. Traditional coalition partners include the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party although relations are not currently as cordial as in the past. Identifying with the middle class of South Africa and the english-speaking white minority, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is not yet strong enough to defeat the ANC, securing less than 15% of the vote in 2004.

Jacob Zuma, former Vice President of South Africa © allAfrica.com

The ANC is therefore more than likely to win the next elections due in 2009 but for the first time in the post-apartheid era the party is fractured. The turning point was the ANC internal election for president of the party held in the city of Polokwane in Limpopo province at the end of 2007. Mbeki opted to stand for re-election to that post from which he would have been able to heavily influence the choice of the ANC presidential candidate. However, by an overwhelming majority the party elected the former deputy president, Mr Jacob Zuma, who had been sacked by Mbeki for alleged corruption in 2006. A controversial populist politician, the new president of the ANC and most probably the South African president-in-waiting, has also been acquitted on rape charges.

These party elections have also radically shaken up the composition of the ANC’s “top six” that run the party. Mostly from Jacob Zuma’s camp, their profile is largely of Zulu tribal origin whereas Mandela and Mbeki are from the Xhosa tribe. However, Zuma’s victory was more by virtue of his association with pro-poverty socialist views of the ANC youth league and the workers movement (COSATU). Nevertheless Mr Zuma himself has taken pains to reassure the business community that his policies will keep the South African economy strong. In the meantime, Zuma remains under investigation for over seven counts of corruption and must clear his name if he is to become the country’s president.

South Africa enjoys a vibrant civil society with the most powerful movements being associated with people-driven HIV/AIDS organisations; most of those speaking out against government policies are themselves living with HIV/AIDS. The labour movement is also very vocal and has succeeded in tightening labour laws in favour of workers.
Human Rights in South Africa

Asylum-seekers in Tshwane, South Africa © Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

One human rights area in which the constitution has not been able to intervene is the issue of xenophobia towards migrants and refugees. It is estimated that the number of illegal immigrants is between 2.5 and 4 million people, mostly nationals of Mozambique, Nigeria and Zimbabwe, the latter especially escalating out of control with around 4,000 entering South Africa every week. These groups face much hostility and resentment from the local South Africans who perceive them as competing for scarce resources and jobs.

Official government policy is more sympathetic to foreign workers, especially those with skills, a stance that is unpopular. However there are procedural problems for refugee reception offices in coping with asylum-seekers (there are only 30,000 recognised refugees) to the extent that South Africa may be in breach of international obligations. Certainly migrants are vulnerable to crime, employment abuse and illegal treatment by police.

South Africa has one of the highest levels of violent crime in the world – there were 18,000 murders in 2006, every 26 seconds a woman is raped and every 6 days a woman is killed by her intimate male partner. In response to advocacy group criticisism of the criminal justice system for its failure to deliver rights to victims of rape, the government has introduced a number of courts specialising in sexual offences. Although crimes against women get much media attention, sexist attitudes remain entrenched, typified by the early 2008 assault on a woman for wearing a miniskirt at a taxi rank in Johannesburg.
The Economy in South Africa

South Africa has two economies, the formal economy, dominated by big corporates attracting the largest volume of foreign direct investment in Africa, and the informal cash economy which is dominated by small business traders. The government is trying to merge the two in part by affirmative action laid down in the Employment Equity Act and Black Economic Empowerment Act. These Acts compel employers to favour job applicants from previously disadvantaged groups, with black women and men as the top priority. These laws have been met with much resistance from companies and the white minority who argue that they are “reverse apartheid” and that they enrich only a tiny black elite. However, strict enforcement is giving a chance for affirmative action to work.

Land reform in South Africa is another important tool for redressing historic economic inequality. The government has a target of 30% redistribution to black ownership by 2014 but has achieved less than 5% so far. Wary of the failure of agriculture that has followed expropriation of land in Zimbabwe, South Africa has been more cautious in respecting legal rights of white farmers but the process is not moving at a satisfactory pace. Climate Change in South Africa

Are biofuels a panacea or curse for the poor? © Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

South Africa is both a major contributor to climate change and a potential victim of its impact. The country is 11th on the list of carbon dioxide emitters, ahead of France and Spain, but has no commitments to targeted reductions under the current Kyoto protocol. Yet its agriculture and freshwater supplies are very sensitive to rainfall patterns. A further complication is the country’s enthusiasm for ethanol production, based on inefficient maize crops. As in other countries, the complex interaction between climate change, potential economic benefits for farming communities, and higher food prices is uncertain.



Anesu Makina has a degree in International Relations and Political Studies from the University of Witwatersrand and is actively involved with civil society in South Africa.

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