I've seen white supremacists parading this article about the Zulu king saying life was better under apartheid , I saw this guardian article from 2002 that survey saying sixty percent of South Africans thought life was better under apartheid(of course that was back in 2002 and life has improved since then).
The western media is infamous for only showing the bad side of SA, and the ANC became ridiculously corrupt after Mandela. What happened to the ANC, why did they become corrupt to the point of black comedy? They are largely to blame for the pains of SA society. What are the areas of SA life that improved?
I need help because I wish to combat the lies of white supremacists, who want people to think that Africans were better offer under colonialism, and that they can't govern themselves.
This requires discussion that breaks the no current events rule. The installation of a new government happened almost 22 years ago, the work towards having a functional civil society is ongoing.
With the end of the cold war and the international boycott against apartheid south africa (and the global recession after the stock market crash of 1897) it is arguable that the situation was going to get much worse for South Africa no matter what happened since they were reliant on political and fiduciary arrangements that completely vanished. With the Berlin Wall falling in November of 1989, Soviet politics when into turmoil. Mandela's release in early 1900 is in large part a reaction to the new status quo, and the global recession took its toll. The unemployment rate skyrocketed in the mid 80's and it would have been difficult for the old govenment to ride the increasing social political struggle and integration became the only option, with a plurality of the white population voting for democracy in early 1992 after the soviet collapse
The government that arose was understandably politically inexperienced, especially from a bureaucratic standpoint, and the fundamentally broken civil society had to be developed. While the situation got markedly worse economically and services wise post apartheid it's equally astounding that the nation didn't completely fall apart or break out in war. One can point at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as emblematic of both the good and the bad impulses after the end of apartheid. There was an inclination for peace but also one that muddied the water when it came to accountability and responsibility on all sides. The economy finally plateaued around the time of the survey you quote but this is all dangerously current events so I will leave it at that.
South Africa is barely a generation away from its independence and all its most powerful political actors were shaped by it. It will take generations for civil society and the economy to rebound and develop in new and better ways and that's frankly a good thing because the old way was failing on its own terms.
I used voice dictation for this response so please excuse the lack of editing.
tl/dr its easy for anyone to point the finger at current problems without examining the role of the past in the creation of the present.
What's some good books on post apartheid South Africa ? I'm already reading after Mandela.