How successful was the action to ensuring equality?
When Nelson Mandela was elected in 1994, the age of apartheid had officially ended in South Africa. While apartheid was still in place, South Africans were assorted into four different races: black, white, coloured and Indian/Asian. Whites held political power, and other races were barred from voting. The end of apartheid did in fact open the door for any race to have equal opportunity in South Africa. That being said, South Africa still struggle with the inequalities facing the country after decades of apartheid. Those inequalities include poverty, unemployment, income inequality, life expectancy and land ownership. This all being done with a rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP). All of these inequalities have worsened dramatically since the end of Apartheid and the concurrent election of the African National Congress. The apartheid system in South Africa left the country socioeconomically divided by race. Government policies have attempted to correct the imbalances faced by their country yet have had varying success mainly because of state intervention. With apartheid, there was no chance of equality, though now without it, the country still hasn't completely fixed the system that was tarnished by apartheid.
The two main reasons for the imbalances that South Africa face are: Unemployment and South African Economics.
The two main reasons for the imbalances that South Africa face are: Unemployment and South African Economics.
Unemployment
South Africa has extremely high unemployment rates. The unemployment rate was 26% as late as 2004. That was the overall unemployment rate and historically speaking, disadvantaged groups such as rural populations, women and blacks experience an even greater rate of unemployment. 90% of the unemployed are unskilled blacks. The Government has tried to cut unemployment but so far none of their efforts have been rewarded. The unemplyment rate increased from 23% in 1991 to 48% in 2002. The rate continues to rise today.
Economics
The Mandela government called for privatization, calling upon spending cuts, freer trade, and looser restrictions of money flows. The South Africa that this created relies on wealth and foreign investors to fuel its economy, resulting in policies that favor these groups. The South Africa that the Mandela government envisioned was rather unpopular with these groups, forcing the goal to change due to pressures from stock traders and international economic entities such as the World Bank.
Future
With all this said, the future can still be different to the past. South Africa can become a country of equal opportunity.