I'm no expert on social issues, but to understand some of the challenges in South Africa as well as the rest of Africa it's important to understand the complexity of historical events as well as cultural differences. So here is my opinion about what has happened from my observations:
Basically, in the mid 90's the native African people declared their independence from the European Africans and tried to get rid of as many things from the old system as possible to start a new era for South Africa. This movement changed and challenged the quality of life for everyone, black and white. In the zealous effort to give equal opportunities to the black Africans, many farms and jobs were re-distributed, and a huge chaos ensued as inexperienced or uneducated people were put into positions that they were not prepared for. Things are getting better now, but there is still an issue with poorly implemented government programs, corruption, and poverty.
For example, my aunty had a farm that was given back to the people of that area:
Can you believe that 30 years ago this was alfalfa fields with a thousand peach trees and a river?
It was flabbergasting to see how much work went into making a barren place beautiful and fruitful, and how quickly it went back to nature.
Another thing that gets used up quickly with neglect is money.
This is the South African president's house: Nkandla
He used 28 million rand (about 2.5 million dollars) of state funds to build a fancy hut. Taxpayers are not amused, and we were not impressed with his choice of habitation. If I had embezzled 2 million dollars, my house would be a lot cooler.
So many people are on social welfare programs and very few people are paying taxes, so the way things are going is not at all sustainable. Pot holes and power outages are common and the need for some bright, creative people will be important to be able to help the social progress become real growth for the most beautiful country ever.
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