How South Africa has changed 30 years after apartheid
Poverty is rife and inequality still starkly racial
Nelson Mandela voted for the first time in his life on April 27th 1994 in Inanda, a poor area on the hills above the city of Durban. The choice of location showed that South Africa’s president-in-waiting had lost none of his knack for symbolism after his 27 years as the world’s most famous political prisoner. After casting his ballot Mandela walked to the nearby grave of John Dube, the first president of his party, the African National Congress (ANC). “I have come to report, Mr President,” he said in his resonant timbre, “that South Africa is now free.”
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The dividends of democracy”
From the May 4th 2024 edition
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