South Africa – 30 Years after Apartheid

A travel between worlds apart (part I)

The most prevalent impressions while travelling to South Africa in February/March 2024, were the extreme disparities between the super-rich and the very poor population. Not only are they a legacy of the oppressive system of Apartheid that ended 30 years ago, but are still reinforced by the unequal distribution of land and wealth among the different social classes, often reflected by their skin colours.

This photo is a vision of a peaceful society in South Africa with black and white people acting as friends and black people having access to decent housing or house ownership.

Everywhere we went, my husband and I met fabulous, friendly people from many different backgrounds and age groups, who were willing to share their different views on social, political or other developments of their country. We were invited to take part in a traditional healing ceremony in KwaZulu-Natal and with other friends in a very different surrounding my husband conducted a French cooking class.

At Nkanini, a traditional village in KwaZulu-Natal

Kids posing in front of a homestead with a traditional rondavel amidst rectangular houses in KwaZulu-Natal

Adolescents look at a map of southern Africa spread on the floor and compare it to Google Earth on a tablet, Uthando House, KZN.

The Sangoma, Mama Phillisiwe, chants and prays for the chickens that are going to be sacrificed, then boiled and eaten by the attendees of the traditional healing ceremony, Nkanini

After the ceremony the Sangomas accompany us up the hill to say good-bye, Nkanini.

In a gated community at the Indian Ocean in KZN

The Indian Ocean offers spectular beaches, here at the Umlalazi Nature Reserve, accessible for everybody for free.

The Fort Knox like entrance and an electric fence prevent men and animals from entering the premises of the gated community.In

Villas of different sizes are scattered in a gated community along a coastal dune of the Indian Ocean.

The electric fence of a gated community close to the ocean in KZN prevents any intrusion from men and animals.

Canard à l’Orange cooking class with Chef Patto at a friends’ house, Kwazulu-Natal.

In this article I give a brief geographical overview of our five-week trip through this rich and beautiful country. We were travelling roughly from Southeast to North through Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng (the agglomeration of Johannesburg) and Limpopo up to the border of Zimbabwe and Botswana, avoiding the favourite tourist destinations, like Cape Town, Garden Route and the Kruger Park.

Our itinerary from the Indian Ocean to the border of Zimbabwe.

Agribusiness in Kwazulu-Natal - at the expense of people and nature

Environmentally the country seems to be in the grip of industrialized agriculture producing cash-crops for the global market, like sugar cane, avocado, mango and macadamia on huge plantations. « 90% of coastal lowland forests (alongside the Indian Ocean) had been destroyed for cane cultivation. » says an article in the Daily Maverick from 2022. One white farmer we met there owned 5,000 hectares of arable land; the surrounding homesteads of the Zulu people were pocket-size in comparison.

The lush, incredibly rich diversity of indigenous forests and grasslands in KZN has long been replaced by even aged and mono-layered forest monocultures, mostly eucalyptus and pine trees, growing in huge mosaic plots as far as the eyes can see. In this type of forest, fauna and flora are at a complete loss.

Few realise that South Africa’s forests are some of the most species rich temperate forests worldwide. However, indigenous forest only covers 0.56% of South Africa’s landmass. (Botanical Survey)

Indigenous coastal forests, that are rich in biodiversity, have been largely decimated due to the expanion of plantations and forest monocultures, Hluhluwe.

The indigenous trees are getting rare and are sometimes conserved in private gardens, Hluhluwe.

Industrial forestry of even-aged eucalyptus monocultures are ecological deserts and dominate the landscapes in Kwa-Zulu Natal having replaced the indigenous coastal vegetation, Hluhluwe.

Just over 9% of South Africa’s mainland surface area is protected, mostly by nature reserves and national parks. And the pressure on these last remaining areas of wildlife and flora is increasing by the expansion of infrastructure, illegal logging and spontaneous intrusions of settlers.

Apartheid land use patterns remain unchanged

During the era of Apartheid from 1948 until 1994 the black population was compelled to live in so-called homelands in rural areas and townships in urban areas. The homelands (see photos from Nkanini above) were chosen in the most infertile and dry parts of the country, so that the white farms could prosper. This land-use pattern has persisted until now, with the majority of the black population deprived of access to land, not even to walk in, unless you pay your entry into a national park/reserve or into a private game reserve. The necessary land reform has not yet taken place and is a highly contested topic.

North of the Johannesburg/Pretoria metropolis, driving through Limpopo towards the Zimbabwean border, the landscapes are dominated by endless fences, encircling huge private cattle farms, game reserves for hunting or for observing wild animals. These are mostly owned by white farmers, whose ancestors expelled the indigenous populations forcibly from the land at the beginning of colonization in the 17th century.

Godswana Portia, the manager, animates the elderly of Phadzima Tshiokani Community Old Age to dance as a daily exercise, Tshipise (Limpopo).

An elderly woman dances during the daily exercises at Phadzima Tshiokani Community Old Age, Tshipise (Limpopo).

The Union of South Africa was created in 1910…and the white minority would institutionalise bigotry, implementing laws such as the Natives Land Act that gave the tiny proportion of white South Africans legal ownership of 87 per cent of the land, a discrepancy that effectively continues today. (Faloyin, p. 43)

The huge game reserves and farms in Limpopo are well guarded and no trespassing of local people is tolerated, Limpopo

This elephant shooting game reserve is secured by several fences, Limpopo.

Elephants spend the hottest time of the day in the shade of massive Baobab trees, Mapungubwe National Parc.

One obvious consequence of this unequal access to land is widespread poverty of the masses. South Africa is one of the world’s countries with the most extreme disparities between the super-rich and the very poor population. It is also one that has the highest crime rates, a topic that prevails many discussions, especially in white circles. It is dangerous to walk on the streets of urban agglomerations, in particular Johannesburg, instead of going by car. That's why I've enjoyed walking or cycling around the city even more since I returned to Europe.

Patrick feeds the lion and tiger cups that are raised at a private game reserve the for the local zoo, if the mothers reject them, Vaalwater.

Further reading:

The text is written by me without the help of AI. For the translations into English and French I use Deepl.

I would like to thank

Ed Kashi

for his tipps on visual pacing, Thandi, Britta, Monika, Lorna and Helene for helping me with the proofreading.

Dipo Faloyin “Africa is not a country. Breaking stereotypes of modern Africa.” 2023, Great Britain.

https://www.sanbi.org/news/protecting-south-africas-biodiversity-assets-and-ecological-infrastructure-tracking-change-in-the-protected-area-estate/

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-04-05-desperate-land-invasions-condemn-south-africas-wild-lands-to-death-by-a-thousand-cuts/

https://botanicalsociety.org.za/forests-of-south-africa/