Jan 9 (Reuters) – South Africa has seen huge social
change under 18 years of rule by the African National Congress
(ANC), which is celebrating its centenary.
In many areas of people’s lives, though, the legacy of
decades of white-minority government is still painfully evident
in the self-styled “Rainbow nation”.
Following are some comparisons between the present day and
the situation before the ANC won the first all-race elections in
1994:
HOUSING
– Under apartheid, segregation was mandated by law. Barred
from “white” areas, blacks had to live in townships or
impoverished rural areas know as Bantustans.
– The apartheid government built few houses for blacks. When
Nelson Mandela’s ANC came to power, there was one formal brick
house for every 43 blacks compared with one for every 3.5
whites.
– A 1996 census showed that 3.1 million urban and rural
families lived in “informal” houses – the government euphemism
for shanty-towns or squatter camps.
– From 1994 to 2010 the housing backlog has grown from 1.5
million families to more than 2.1 million, according to the
Housing Department. This means 12 million South Africans, or one
in four of the population, are still without a proper roof over
their heads.
Continued…
