Intensifying economic insecurity may threaten South Africa’s social cohesion
16 Feb 2021
The country’s social fibre is under strain and one cannot help but feel that something will have to give. (David Harrison/M&G)
A brutal pandemic, anaemic growth, huge job losses and an increasingly austere state have converged to create a sense of perpetual anxiety among millions of South Africans.
When it struck, the country was ill-prepared to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. Poor service delivery, weak oversight institutions and a depleted fiscus ensured that the state’s social capital was at an all-time low. Testimony being led before the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture suggests that for some in power, the notion of a better life for all was the least of their concerns in the run-up to the first lockdowns. Against this backdrop of economic desperation and the growing perception of declining political agency, it should not be surprising if citizens start to respond out