South Africa marks 30 years of freedom amid inequality, poverty and a tense election ahead

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.

But the celebration was set against a growing discontent with the current government.

President Cyril Ramaphosa presided over the gathering in a huge white tent in the gardens of the government buildings in Pretoria as head of state.

He also spoke as the leader of the African National Congress party, widely credited with liberating South Africa's Black majority from the racist system of oppression that made the country a pariah for nearly a half-century.

The ANC has been in power ever since the first democratic, all-race election of April 27, 1994, the vote that officially ended apartheid.

But this Freedom Day holiday marking that day fell amid a poignant backdrop: Analysts and polls predict that the waning popularity of the party once led by Nelson Mandela is likely to see it lose its parliamentary majority for the first time as a new generation of South Africans make their voices heard in what might be the most important election since 1994 next month.

The 1994 election changed South Africa from a country where Black and other nonwhite people were denied most basic freedoms, not just the right to vote. Laws controlled where they lived, where they were allowed to go, and what jobs they could have. After apartheid fell, a new constitution guaranteed the rights of all South Africans no matter their race, religion, gender or sexuality.

Leading up to the anniversary, countless South Africans were asked what 30 years of freedom from apartheid meant to them. The dominant response was that while 1994 was a landmark moment, it's now overshadowed by the joblessness, violent crime, corruption and near-collapse of basic services.

As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time.

It was at this school on April 27, 1994, that Kunene joined millions of South Africans to brave long queues and take part in the country's first democratic elections after decades of white minority rule denied Black people the right to vote.

Much of the enthusiasm and optimism of that period has subsided as Africa’s most developed economy faces a myriad of challenges.

“I somehow wish we could go back to that day, because of how excited I was and the things that happened thereafter,” said Kunene, referring to Mandela becoming the country's first Black president and the fall of apartheid.

For many who experienced apartheid, those years remain etched in their collective memory.

“I cannot forget how we suffered at the hands of whites. In the city at night, there were white bikers with hair like this (describing a mohawk-like hairstyle) who would brutally assault a Black person if they saw them walking on a pavement. Those white boys were cruel," said 87-year-old Lily Makhanya, whose late husband died while working in the anti-apartheid movement’s underground structures.

"If they saw you walking on the pavement," she said, "you would be assaulted so badly and left for dead."

For Makhanya and many others who stood in those queues to vote in 1994, it represented a turning point from a brutal past to the promise of a prosperous future.

But 30 years later, the country continues to face pressing challenges.

South Africa is still the most unequal country in the world in terms of wealth distribution, according to the World Bank, with race a key factor.

Its Black majority that makes up more than 80% of the population of 62 million is still overwhelmingly affected by severe poverty.

The official unemployment rate is 32% — the highest in the world — and more than 60% for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. More than 16 million South Africans — 25% of the country — rely on monthly welfare grants for survival.

Public demonstrations have become common as communities protest against the ruling African National Congress' failure to deliver job opportunities and basic services like water and electricity.

An energy crisis that resulted in power blackouts is devastating the country's economy and adding to the party's woes. Businesses and homes are sometimes forced to go without electricity for up to 12 hours a day.

Areas like the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, which hosts beautiful skyscrapers and luxurious homes, are an example of the economic success enjoyed by a minority of the country's populace.

The township of Alexandra, which lies a few miles from Sandton, is a stark reflection of the living conditions of the country's poor Black majority, where sewage from burst pipes flows on the streets and uncollected rubbish piles up on pavements.

Such contradictions are common across the major cities, including the capital Pretoria and the city of Cape Town, and remain at the center of what is expected to be a fiercely contested election in May.

For the first time since the ANC came to power in 1994, polls indicate the party might receive less than 50% of the national vote, which would see it lose power unless it manages to form a coalition with some smaller parties.

Outside the tent where Ramaphosa spoke in front of mostly dignitaries and politicians Saturday, a group of young Black South Africans who support a new political party called Rise Mzansi wore T-shirts with the words “2024 is our 1994” on them.

Donald Mkhwanazi, 24, will be voting for the first time in the May 29 election and is actively involved in campaigning for Rise Mzansi, which will be contesting a national election for the first time.

“We talk about freedom, but are we free from crime, are we free from poverty?" he said. "What freedom is this that we are talking about?"