The ANC has ruled South Africa for 30 years. The party once stood for the end of apartheid. But many voters want change before the 2024 elections.
Nolutahndo Hassamo has also become disillusioned with the ANC. Most of all, she holds the government responsible for the widespread poverty. In Johannesburg she’s been taking to the streets to demonstrate for safe and affordable housing. Social inequality is also one of the main points of criticism raised by the new social democratic party RISE Mzansi, together with the country’s rising crime rate. Other parties blame foreigners for all of the country’s problems and are calling for deportations. The ANC can still hope to win the upcoming election – but discontent is growing in South Africa. A report by Stefan Möhl.
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South Africa’s democracy is facing a trust crisis with the government that we are having I don’t think it’s going to change they just don’t care extreme poverty has dashed hopes of a better life with immigrants being blamed for many problems we saying no to foreigners everything we fought for it’s in vain we
Understand the this country was supposed to be owned by us Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress has ruled for 30 years but many feel let down by it for us the promise of 94 wasn’t delivered my generation who’s lived as a born free in South Africa has not tasted
Real Freedom so what is the current state of democracy in South Africa the country once seen as a role model for the whole Continent [Applause] a crowd looking for something to change and the new Social Democratic movement Rise um zanzi meaning rise South Africa promises to deliver just that at the Party Conference in Johannesburg its leader journalist and writer seso zbi speaks in front of supporters emphasizing his goal to build a coalition for Democratic
Change there are more unemployed young people today than 20 years ago there are more unemployed graduates today that at any point in South African history nearly half of all children will start school never finish because of poverty hunger stuning drug abuse and other problems next year’s presidential
Elections could Mark a turning point for South Africa for the past three decades thec has held an absolute majority in Parliament but the discontent is growing throughout the country and the party is losing support it’s been a few years since uran mangera left thec it was not
An easy decision he used to be the chairman of the ANC youth movement in his Province his parents were even members of the Freedom Movement and risked their lives during apide in times when thec was classified as a terrorist organization by the racist regime their son now belongs to a new generation the
So-called Born Free they see today’s ANC less as a Liber force and more as a bunch of corrupt leaders holding the country captive and yes we have different rights where we can vote and we have a constitution but the substance of it is missing and I think we need to get down
To the more difficult questions the more complex questions on how we solve for the socioeconomic Gap that exist the issues where crime is is riddling all communities where we’re not able to develop and build schools and inadequate infrastructure especially in Rural and Township communities just a few streets away in
Downtown Johannesburg while rise mzanzi is advocating for long-term political change these people are demanding that something is done immediately they’re not willing to wait until the next election or new [Applause] government the street is ours who Street our street who Street our street street street Nando hamo is out
Demonstrating for safe and affordable housing in Johannesburg she grew up on these streets and has seen the rapid expansion of slums in the city center in recent years the city’s infrastructure is decaying whether it’s the electricity and water Network sewage treatment plants police and fire departments or the waste management everything is in
Crisis Hama works for the inner city Resource Center an association that campaigns for the rights of the city’s poorest people are saying this disit buildings is not because by choice but it’s because of there’s nowhere to go and they want accessibility to come and work closer to Inner City of
Johannesburg almost half of johannesburg’s more than 5 A2 million inhabitants live on less than $100 a month extreme poverty forces many to move into abandoned and dilapidated buildings where living conditions are not just inadequate but also dangerous serious fires keep breaking out like most recently in Marshall Town a
District in the city center 77 people died but instead of improving conditions many in the city and government blame immigrants for the disasters in the wake of the fire they demanded that all unemployed foreigners be expelled from the city center but these demonstrators refuse to be turned into scapegoats
We can safely say the success of the demonstration itself is a demonstration of the overwhelming rejection of the politics of scap Golding of xenophobia so we cannot blame foreigners to be here in this country we should actually blame our government the city of Johannesburg is the one that is
Turning the buildings to be slums by cutting the Services of the water and electricity and so now we say we want the upgrading of the better inner city for all the people living in it thank you but that’s not how everyone sees it and frustration often turns into violence against
Foreigners thousands of people in Johannesburg have been arrested after riots and looting on Monday many of the targeted shops are reported to be owned by Foreign Nationals in recent years anti immigrant sentiments have even been deliberately stirred up by politicians and parties with xenophobic ideology dressed up as
Patriotism the farri operation dudula is doing just that dula means to expel or knock down the organization was founded in 2021 and officially became a political party in early 2023 in their distinctive camouflage uniforms the members make no secret of the fact that they want to enforce their
Demands on the streets with violence if necessary as here in the township of nedi in Soto people are in Shock after the death of two children although the police haven’t been able to determine the cause of death members of operation Dulla claim that Pakistani immigrants the owners of this shop killed the children
By selling them poisoned candy we don’t need anymore we don’t need them anymore let them go we are tired our kids are not working they are selling drugs all over we are tired the Secretary General of operation dudula zandile duula arrives and meets personally with the families of the victims before issuing a
Threat we’re going to be shutting down the spa shops that are owned by nons South Africans especially B my friends your Pakistanian your Bangladesh your ethopians that’s what we’ll be doing as of now how how do you do that how do you shut
Them down so so so we we we we we we we have a petition that was signed by the community of n that they no longer want these PA shops to operate we’ve taken it to the police station the station command has has signed it off so what’s
Going to happen is that the police will need will have to accompany us of course operation Dulla knows full well that the police can’t be going around closing stores on the basis of petitions they have to follow the law but their rhetoric immediately resonates with the Angry Crowd are
Tired come out finally the police arrive to disperse the mob following the populist textbook operation Dulla blames an idol State and claims to be on the side of the people and to many the slogans seem appealing noorder these people they must protect us but they protecting outside people we as
South African by this moment we are not United but we want the Pakistan to leave our country the party is still a long way from a majority and outside of Soo few people have even heard about operation Dulla but its support is steadily growing and with it the violence against foreigners yes
Some of the victims from the Marshall Town Fire have since been relocated to a piece of land on the outskirts of the City previously owned by the South African Football Association it’s doubtful that the conditions here are any safer than the place they’ve just been evacuated from hamo visits the camp
To check in on the Residents the suffer house got burnt I think it was last year in June it got burnt and then yeah so they couldn’t do anything more so now people are just staying here they’ve already make shs for themselves now the city has informed the people here that they will have to
Leave again they’ve been told to build their huts on an empty plot of land way outside of the city without access to electricity or running water them zuu is one of the survivors of the fire the unemployed mother lost everything in the blaze including her hope for
Change every human being has a right to wear shelter but what happened to us from the fire to the squatter Shelter From The satter Shelter to the streets you know anyway I started I stopped voting two years ago I’m not I’m not going to vote I’m not really going to
Vote and why because the government doesn’t care we don’t even know who to trust because they make promises that they can’t keep so what’s the use they just want to be up there and forget about the people according to a recent study half of South Africans no longer vote siril
Ramapa thec leader and president of South Africa is on the campaign Trail in the town of okoro Leni where he keeps repeating that his party’s successes outweigh any shortcomings on every issue from the mass construction of social housing to free education and healthare but on this day the president isn’t
Willing to answer any questions instead he sends the local ANC leader to Meet the Press thank you and I think we’ve done you know quite a lot on education the has done very well in the health system H generally the infrastructure you know is is is well developed including in the
Township in the poorest places like here there’s supply of electricity there’s FL water flowing s the roads attack but as thec celebrates its successes rise mzanzi denounces the rampant corruption and crime in the country and for the crowd at the rally it has everything to do with the ruling Party and so when people go and vote I think it will be a referendum on thec as the governing party but also a referendum on the politics that we’ve seen over the last 30 years which is this exchange of promises for votes nonetheless and just as it has
Done for the last 30 years thec will in all likelihood once more form the next government but whether it will also manage to regain the trust of South Africans remains to be Seen
Video “South Africa's challenging journey | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 12/24/2023 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.