5 big things happening in South Africa right now
·27 Jan 2016
Need to catch up on the biggest news stories of the day? Here’s the BusinessTech wrap:
- In an impressive show of force, over 20,000 DA supporters took to the streets of Johannesburg today to march in support of jobs. Senior DA members, including party leader Mmusi Maimane, led the procession, saying that the party is pushing for legislation to make it easier for people to obtain employment.
- A number of reports have been published showing worrying trends in the country. A report by the Economist’s Intelligent Unit showed that South Africa’s democracy was weakening, largely due to corruption which has become endemic in government.
- Another report, this time from the OECD, showed that South Africa’s unemployment levels were at crisis levels, where the country ranked worst out of all OECD nations assessed – this is including Greece, which suffered a massive economic crash in 2015.
- Yet another report from the Mexican Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice showed that four of South Africa’s biggest cities are among the 50 most violent cities in the world – with Cape Town coming out worst of all, ranked as the 9th most violent city in the world.
- Amid ongoing drought conditions in much of the country, union Solidarity has published several images showing how bad things look in the regions hardest hit. The 2016-2017 season will be remembered as the driest recorded since 1904, and has placed tremendous pressure on South Africa’s economy.
In case you missed it – 24 pieces of art drawn by late former president Nelson Mandela will be put up for display in a London gallery before being sold for a “substantial” sum. You can look at some of the images here.