section_path: History/Post-apartheid
section_name: Post-apartheid
paragraph_text: Post-apartheid
  
  The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith, signed by Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Harry Schwarz in 1974, enshrined the principles of peaceful transition of power and equality for all, the first of such agreements by black and white political leaders in South Africa. Ultimately, F.W. de Klerk opened bilateral discussions with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for a transition of policies and government.
  
  In 1990, the National Party government took the first step towards dismantling discrimination when it lifted the ban on the ANC and other political organisations. It released Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years of serving a sentence for sabotage. A negotiation process followed. With approval from the white electorate in a 1992 referendum, the government continued negotiations to end apartheid. South Africa held its first universal elections in 1994, which the ANC won by an overwhelming majority. It has been in power ever since. The country rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations and became a member of the Southern African Development Community.
  
  In post-apartheid ANC-governed South Africa, unemployment skyrocketed to over 30% and income inequality increased. While many black people have risen to middle or upper classes, the overall unemployment rate of black people worsened between 1994 and 2003 by official metrics but declined significantly using expanded definitions. Poverty among white South Africans, which was previously rare, increased. The government struggled to achieve the monetary and fiscal discipline to ensure both redistribution of wealth and economic growth. The United Nations Human Development Index rose steadily until the mid-1990s, then fell from 1995 to 2005 before recovering its 1995 peak in 2013. The fall is in large part attributable to the South African HIV/AIDS pandemic which saw South African life expectancy fall from a high point of 62 years in 1992 to a low of 53 in 2005, and the failure of the government to take steps to address the pandemic in its early years.
  
  In May 2008, riots left over 60 people dead. The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions estimated that over 100,000 people were driven from their homes. The targets were mainly legal and illegal migrants, and refugees seeking asylum, but a third of the victims were South African citizens. In a 2006 survey, the South African Migration Project concluded that South Africans are more opposed to immigration than any other national group. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2008 reported that over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, almost four times as many as the year before. These people were mainly from Zimbabwe, though many also come from Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Competition over jobs, business opportunities, public services and housing has led to tension between refugees and host communities. While xenophobia in South Africa is still a problem, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2011 reported that recent violence had not been as widespread as initially feared. Nevertheless, as South Africa continues to grapple with racial issues, one of the proposed solutions has been to pass legislation, such as the pending Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, to uphold South Africa's ban on racism and commitment to equality.
  
  On 14 February 2018, Jacob Zuma resigned the presidency. Since 15 February, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has been President of South Africa. On 16 March 2018, just over a month after President Jacob Zuma resigned from the presidency, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams announced that Zuma would again face prosecution on 16 criminal charges – 12 charges of fraud, two of corruption, and one each of racketeering and money laundering, just as in the 2006 indictment. A warrant was issued for his arrest in February 2020 after he failed to appear in court. In 2021 he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. In response, supporters of Zuma engaged in protests which led to riots, looting, vandalism and widespread violence, leaving 354 people dead.
  
  South Africa has been undergoing a period political and economic crisis since 2020 with some international institutions, businesses and political figures stating that the country could turn into a failed state due to high unemployment, low business investment, political corruption, and state capture. The country has been undergoing an energy crisis since 2007, resulting in routine rolling electricity blackouts due to loadshedding. According to the International Monetary Fund, South Africa is suffering from "massive corruption" and state capture. One of the main causes of instability in South Africa is land distribution, black South Africans own 4% of the land despite making up 80% of the population, while white South Africans control 75% of privately owned land. This is a remnant of the apartheid Bantustan system where black Africans were forced into reservations. Since 1998 the South African government has settled 80,000 land claims from people who had been evicted from land by the previous government. In 90% of the land claim cases people chose money instead of land.
  
  The Zondo Commission, established in 2018 in order to investigate allegations of corruption and state capture released its findings in 2022. It found rampant corruption at every level of government, including Transnet, Eskom, and Denel, as well as law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and the civil service. It documented evidence of systemic corruption, fraud, racketeering, bribery, money laundering, and state capture. It investigated the African National Congress party and Jacob Zuma, whom it concluded were complicit in state capture through their direct assistance to the Gupta family. "The Commission estimated the total amount of money spent by the state which was 'tainted' by state capture to be around R57 billion. More than 97% of the R57 billion came from Transnet and Eskom. Out of these funds, the Gupta enterprise received at least R15 billion. The total loss to the state is difficult to quantify, but would far exceed that R15 billion."
  
  South Africa has maintained a position of neutrality in regards to the Russia invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war. On 29 December 2023, South Africa formally submitted its case to the International Court of Justice regarding Israel 's conduct in the Gaza Strip as part of the Gaza war, alleging that Israel had committed and was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. South Africa has repeatedly hosted senior leaders of Hamas, the group responsible for the October 7th massacre in Israel.
  
  Following the 2024 general elections, the African National Congress saw its share of the national vote fall below 50% for the first time since the end of Apartheid, though it remained the single largest party in the South African Parliament. President Ramaphosa announced a national unity government, the first since the Cabinet of Nelson Mandela, and entered a deal with the Democratic Alliance, the previous main opposition party, and other minor parties. Ramaphosa was reelected for a second term in office by the National Assembly against the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema.