Hugh Masekela sets the record straight

Anti-apartheid activist and singer Hugh Masekela outlines that you cannot truly be a free and independent nation unless you autonomously retain full sovereignty over “money, peace, security, recreation, entertainment, education and comfort”. He calls out rulers across the continent, stating that “until African leaders can get into that kind of thought, we’ll always be in the miserable condition we are in.”

Thirty years after apartheid ended, South Africa is still one of the most unequal countries on earth. Many Black South Africans remain landless and poor, while wealth and land are still heavily concentrated. In many places, the gap between rich and poor still follows racial lines.

The post-apartheid system kept the economic structure of the old settler order intact. Property ownership and economic power largely stayed where they were, while gentrification and rising living costs pushed inequality even deeper.