(NewsHill.org)- Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa, warned at a recent seminar in Johannesburg that the nation might face “mass action” akin to the “Arab Spring” rallies that overthrew governments in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011.
She expressed concern about the future unless the government took action to provide adequate services, fix outdated infrastructure, eliminate corruption, boost the economy, and reduce crime.
In light of recent military exercises between South Africa and Russia, and China, a measure is presently pending in the House of Representatives that would have the Biden administration reconsider its ties with South Africa.
But, according to South African political experts and diplomats, ties between the ANC administration and the United States are rapidly worsening.
After already angering President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, the United States has now issued a warning about the potential for “civil disturbance” in South Africa. Mondli Gungubele, a minister in the Presidency, has said that Pretoria is communicating with the United States government regarding the alarm.
South Africa doesn’t need Washington to “create severe difficulties” in the nation, experts, civil society organizations, opposition parties, and business executives argue; the government is doing it independently.
Southern African Federation of Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi remarked, “The ANC has placed us in enormous difficulties.” The federation represents millions of workers.
A former ANC supporter, Vavi declared himself “fed-up” with the governing party due to decades of corruption, mismanagement, and ineptitude.
Vavi pointed out that crime rates in South Africa are pretty high. Gangs govern several neighborhoods.
The government continues to raise rates for services it often cannot provide, while at the same time, its officials are accused of corruption and other crimes, driving up the cost of living. Power outages and water shortages can last for hours on end every day.
With one of the highest official unemployment rates in the world at 35%, the state government has recognized that about 11 million young people of working age are unable to find employment.
According to Vavi, these factors—not foreign countries or so-called “Third Forces,” as the ANC often claims—are to blame for the “severe tension” in the nation.
The ultra-leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), headed by Julius Malema and the country’s third-largest political party, is organizing a nationwide shutdown on March 20.
Bheki Cele, the minister of police, has urged the demonstrators to “remain within the confines of the law” or face “the force of the state.”
