South Africa (SA)- in need of Healing, Forgiveness, Repentance and Reconciliation By Professor Gertrude Fester

It is with concern that it has been noted that the excitement and optimism of South Africa in the 1990s have not been realised. References have been made in the media of ‘South Africa, the failed state’ (RSG, 8 August 2022). The Nelson Mandela, ‘Madiba magic’ has evaporated. After centuries of struggle against colonialism, racism and apartheid, South Africa 2022 is the most unequal society in the world. It is currently the country with the highest gini coefficient, with the gap between rich and poor, overtaking Brazil. Poverty, unemployment, crime and also xenophobia are rife. Ironically xenophobia is selective: it is not against the millions of Europeans languishing in luxurious beachfront and mountain mansions in SA but against poor refugees (both political and economic) from other African countries.