- South Africa remains divided between a prosperous white core and an impoverished black periphery, with enduring socio-economic disparities.
- Political parties distract from the real issues, failing to address structural inequality and the “abyssal line” between communities.
- Solutions require structural change, delinking from global economic dependency, and prioritising local needs and popular power.
In all my interactions, l always ask a very simple question: which South Africa are you talking about, Umhlanga or Alexandra? It is no joke...
As one Thabo Mbeki once alluded, there are two South Africas. Much like English author Charles Dickens' novel titled A Tale of Two Cities, South Africa's story is not about one unified nation but two fundamentally separate and unequal entities.
One is white, prosperous, and linked to the global politics and economics [CORE]. It commands the same standards of living as Switzerland and has a very low unemployment rate. It also owns the means of production, universities, and all the glitter.
Another is black, Third World, and ranks the same as Haiti and South Sudan (EXTREME PERIPHERY). It continues to be isolated, exploited, and has over 70% unemployment. Forever trapped on the other side of Boaventura de Sousa Santos' abyssal line, darker South Africa has no economy but violence, socio-economic ills, and poverty.
The fact that these two South Africas were artificially merged and you, Honourables, were given citizenship in 1994 hasn't created one place and one people. Three decades of cohabitation or "marriage of convenience" have not hardened the paper plaster that sealed endemic cracks. Instead, the realities of these divisions are increasingly visible each day.
The two South Africas run in parallel, like wealthier Pretoria East suburbs and the impoverished Mamelodi far-eastern settlements on either side of the Pretoria-Emalahlani (N4) highway. These are physical neighbours that never meet but only interact in many exploitative ways: cheap labour, consumption of goods, and empty smiles.
We have to face it: "we" are not in the in news because suddenly, darker South Africa has emerged from a deep hole. Also, the many foreigners who are in the streets weren't attracted by Alexandra...
Politics distracts from structural inequality
We can ignore these facts because no one wants to go deep into their fears and not-so-erotic zones in their body. The conversation should be less about the distractions on our TV screens, mislabelled as "politics". But we should be agitating about dismantling the abyssal line, the enduring absence of interlunking stairs that are supposed to connect the two South Africas.
The worry is that the reality points to a missing middle; the so-called black middle class is a myth and delusion. Thirty years later, educated and better-salaried blacks have superficially crossed the abyssal line as tenants and colonial clerks of white suburbia.
Obsession with political parties, unfortunately, weakens the argument: a serious re-think of how we can cross the bridge as black individuals and communities. The discussion about the ANC, EFF, MKP, IFP, PA, etc., is a diversion from the REAL politics. These are there to depoliticise politics, yes, I have said it.
We need to find a new public square to discuss issues. Samir Amin's theory of delinking may provide some clues. This is not just a political fix but a deep, structural transition that prioritises local needs and popular power over the existing arrangements.
Again, is there really a South Africa?
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