South Africa eight years after Mandela, stakes and challenges for the Rainbow nation

Located in the southern part of Africa and with a population of approximately 59.31 million, South Africa has the third-largest economy in Africa behind Egypt. It also boasts a large multi-culturalism population with 11 different tribes and is a host to many different nationalities. All these are due to Nelson Mandela, its first black president and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election in 1994-1999 after the apartheid era. However, eight years after Mandela’s death in 2013, South Africa is now faced with a series of challenges that are threatening stability within the country and relations with its neighbours. Leadership is one of the key areas where south Africa is currently being challenged at. Therefore, the two most recent events the July 2021 looting and the series of xenophobic attacks are used to highlight South Africa’s challenges in leadership and its impact after Nelson Mandela.
The lack of leadership in South Africa has led to a series of xenophobic attacks against foreigners (refugees and asylum seekers). According to The Atlantic, the lack of action from the South African leaders towards Robert Mugabe and the collapse of Zimbabwe has resulted in tremendous refugee flows into South Africa and subsequent outbreaks of violent xenophobia prompted by intense competition for jobs.
Furthermore, the United Nation’s Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported that even the government and law enforcement officials committed xenophobic attacks on foreigners by operating in “discriminatory and abusive ways against non-nationals”, exacerbating xenophobia through “inciteful rhetoric” and counterfeiting goods raids as a disguise to target foreign-owned shops and businesses. In most of these raids, foreigners were ill-treated and beaten by the officials. In other words, government and law enforcement officials failed to ensure justice for xenophobic violence, and the 2019 national plan to combat xenophobia, racism and discrimination failed to ensure accountability for xenophobic crimes.
The recent looting and unrest that plagued the country in July 2021 are undoubtedly one of the biggest security challenges since Mandela if not the biggest. The looting and unrest destroyed many private properties and claimed the lives of many civilians. The reasons behind the looting and the unrest are many. Ranging from the country’s low-income levels and a record high unemployment rate of 32.6%. However, the catalyst was the arrest of the former president Jacob Zuma, who was convicted of contempt of court after failing to attend an inquiry into corruption during his presidency and was given a 15-month prison sentence which he voluntarily surrendered minutes before the deadline. His supporters, however, who see him as a political hero demanded the release of their political hero by leading the riots and blocking major roads. Unfortunately, the looting and the unrest claimed the lives of more than 300 civilians and caused damages worth 1.7 billion dollars according to the state insurance company.
Based on the report by BBC News, the civilians believed that these casualties could have been avoided. Many civilians believed that the current president Cyril Ramaphosa should have demonstrated decisive leadership to contain anger over Zuma’s imprisonment or to reassure South Africans that they will be safe.
South Africa’s challenges eight years after Nelson Mandela has been a lack of leadership within the government. This had a massive impact in the country with the recent looting and unrest and a series of xenophobic attacks on non-nationals. The current government should consider improving its leadership by analysing its past and current decisions on similar events to better its performance in future challenges and improve leadership in the government.