South Africa: A Fractured Rainbow?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

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Synopsis: Twenty years after the end of Apartheid, South Africa's democracy persists, albeit with problems. A tripartite coalition-the African National Congress, the labor unions, and the Communist Party-still controls the political system but with diminishing economic results and authority. Since 2010, the economy has grown at 1.4% annually, with unemployment at 25%. Several national plans have been initiated but none with success. Most recently, the National Development Plan is the Zuma administration's approach. And then, at the end of 2015, cronyism sunk the stock market and the currency, causing a political crisis. Pravin Gordhan, an experienced bureaucrat, is once again Finance Minister but faces the tradeoff between growth and debt reduction. With the recent resignation of Zuma and the instatement of former deputy president and wealthy businessman Cyril Ramaphosa as President, it was still to be determined if a change in leadership would be enough to improve the country's economic and social situation.