The Massive Challenge of Turning Around South Africa

When President Trump tweeted in August that South Africa was engaged in “the large scale killing” of white farmers to seize their land, the nation’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, didn’t respond personally. A fabricated accusation from the leader of the free world was the least of his problems. Ramaphosa probably felt his time was better spent doing his job. These days that includes confronting his top deputies, his fractured party, the powerful labor unions he helped found, an unemployment rate of 27 percent, deep-seated corruption, and a clutch of heavily indebted state companies that have been mismanaged for a decade. Oh, and the economy unexpectedly fell into recession in the first half of the year.

The scope of the task is exceeded only by its urgency. After Jacob Zuma’s ruinous, almost nine-year run as president, many inside and outside South Africa regard Ramaphosa as the last best hope to restore the country’s luster. The damage—billions of dollars looted from state coffers—has been on vivid display in judicial hearings set to extend beyond next year’s elections.