South Africa: The Marikana Mine Massacre in the Post-Apartheid Era

   
The recent massacre at Lonmin’s Marikana mine highlights the corruption and democratic drift that still prevails in South Africa. 34 striking miners were shot at and killed by Marikana police in a protest concerning the labor dispute between unions and a mining tycoon over poor wages and working conditions. The event has been described as the most violent police operation since the end of apartheid. As highlighted by William Gumede, the police shooting marked a tipping point for South Africa’s governing African National Congress, as it is “hard to overestimate the impact that scenes once so associated with apartheid will have now that they are replayed under a black, democratic government” (Gumende 2012).
The Lonmin’s Marikana mine massacre is significant insofar as it reveals that a black life, 18 years after racism was supposed to have been abolished, still often counts for very little. Moreover, the inequality between the rich, who are mostly white, and the poor, who are mostly black, has remained unchanged, with the exception of a small black elite, from the ranks of senior ANC leaders, public servants and trade unions, who have become extremely rich. Nowhere is inequality more obvious than in the mining sector, the focal point of black slave-labour conditions (Gumende 2012). This dimension of South African society illuminates the fact that, despite much progress since the era of apartheid, racial divisions in South Africa remain prevalent and are directly impacting the working class in a negative manner. 
The effects of racial oppression within the mining industry, and also within the other industries of the economy, will likely exacerbate segregation and inequality in South Africa. In order to address this problem, it is necessary that both black and white business leaders, politicians and labor leaders convene to negotiate how to spread economic benefits more fairly across the nation. Gumende explains that African citizens resent the fact that so many whites can prosper based on the social capital, wealth and education obtained during the apartheid years. Combined with this, there appears to be a widespread feeling that political parties and democratic institutions are not responsive. Gumende argues that such frustrations can easily translate into violent protests. If South America is to remain a legitimate democracy, policy-makers must level the playing field so that racial identity does not factor into the distribution of wealth in South African society.
Gumende argues that the Marikana mine itself is symbolic of the wealth gap. Black politicians are on the board, and through the government's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) scheme there are also black shareholders. Many mainstream (white) companies have devoted resources to BEE – which benefits a handful of black businesspeople – rather than spend the money on adopting poor schools, training workers, or building houses for the surrounding communities where they operate, which could lift thousands out of poverty (Gumende 2012). If prosperous companies were to devote their resources to improving social welfare programs and projects, rather than donating money to the government’s Black Economic Empowerment program, it could potentially lift thousands out of poverty. If the issue is not addressed, there is a possibility that racial divides and animosity between groups will heighten, that inequality will widen, and events that were unique to the apartheid era could resurface again, thus causing the democratic quality of South Africa to regress.

-Taylor Meador

Sources
"Has the Post-Apartheid Bubble Burst? - Features - Al Jazeera English." Has the Post-Apartheid Bubble Burst? - Features - Al Jazeera English. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/2012818212940943734.html>.
Gumede, William. "South Africa: Marikana Is a Turning Point." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/29/marikana-turning-point-south-africa>.