As a result of the pandemic, unemployment continues to hit new highs and, according to the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics, it does not hit everyone the same. If 39%...

Africa economy

In South Africa, inequalities accentuated by the lack of transport [2/3]

Audio 02:40

According to South Africa's Department of Transport, less than 20% of the region's rail network has so far been restored.

(Illustration) © CC0 Pixabay/Analogicus

By: Claire Bargelès Follow

3 mins

As a result of the pandemic, unemployment continues to hit new highs and, according to the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics, it does not hit everyone the same.

If 39% of black populations are concerned, only 8% of white populations cannot find jobs.

An imbalance that can be explained by many factors and because of the configuration of large cities, designed under apartheid, these inequalities are reinforced by the lack of mobility and access to transport in certain districts.

For example, in Johannesburg, where the car is king, the poorest areas are often isolated from centers of activity.

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From our correspondent in Johannesburg,

Six o'clock in the morning, at this station in Soweto.

A group of worshipers sings prayers in the only train that will serve the city center.

Above us, no more cables, they were all stolen during the confinements... only a locomotive that runs on diesel makes it possible to organize a few shuttles.

Cleopatra, 43, will work in a call center at the other end of town: “

It's difficult!
Now you have to get up even earlier than before.
But hey, when you don't have any money, you still turn to the train.
It's more reasonable, but not always reliable!

"The system is unfair..."

These workers do not earn enough to buy a car, and even shared taxis are too expensive for their budget.

Thabang has joined the smoking car.

“

It's inconvenient to go to work, especially when it comes to punctuality.
Sometimes my employers say that I am in charge, that I make my problem theirs.
The system is unfair, because there is no cheap and accessible alternative.
For example, a taxi can cost 650 rands compared to less than 300 for the train.

And as John observes around him, this poses even more problems for the 35% of the population looking for work, who do not always have the means to go to the centers of activity

: there is more work here, you have to travel far enough to find it.
Jobs are becoming scarce.
So we see our brothers and our sisters hanging out in the townships, having nothing to do...

”

"These works do not meet the needs of users"

This spatial imbalance is inherited from the apartheid system, which consisted in isolating the black, mestizo and Indian populations outside the cities, in the townships.

Researcher Ngaka Mosiane (from the Gauteng Observatory City-Region) has seen over time different projects fail to reverse the situation.

There have been attempts, not only to introduce new transport, but also to use transport to stimulate activities along these axes.

Today, all this remains unfinished, when it could have been developed much better.

And these works do not meet the needs of users.

According to the Ministry of Transport, less than 20% of the region's rail network has so far been restored.

This story is supported by a grant from the International Women's Media Foundation.

Africa economy - In South Africa, inequalities accentuated by the lack of transport [2/3]

In South Africa, inequalities accentuated by the lack of transport [2/3]

"The system is unfair..."

"These works do not meet the needs of users"

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