logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
12m 13s

Why is unemployment so high in South Afr...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

South Africa’s unemployment rate has hit a record high: it’s now 34.4%, which means about 7.8 million people are currently without a job. Young South Africans - especially young graduates - have been hit the hardest. So, how did things get so out of hand? And is the pandemic solely to blame for this?

Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter) Guests: Mpho, young unemployed South African; Phumlani Majozi, columnist on economics and politics.

#AfricaDaily

Up next
Aug 22
Focus on Africa: Exploring Africa-Japan trade ties
Japan has pledged to work more closely with African countries at global summit on economic development. How can Africa benefit from stronger ties with Japan?The former prime minister of Chad is facing a 20-year prison term after being convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and havi ... Show More
32m 3s
Aug 20
Focus on Africa: Increased concerns over missing Ethiopia journalists
Two prominent journalists in Ethiopia, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, have been missing for more than a week after being abducted by what reports say, were men wearing masks and military uniforms. There has been no news about their whereabouts but their disappearances have ... Show More
27m 44s
Aug 15
Focus on Africa: Nigeria negotiates $346m arms deal with US
The US government has approved a $346m arms deal with Nigeria which would include munitions, precision bombs and precision rockets. What is behind the change in a decade-long US policy about selling certain kinds of weapons to Nigeria?The mining of gold has been a key driver of S ... Show More
33m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Why can't young people in South Africa find work?
South Africa has the most industrialised and diverse economy in Africa. Yet it faces a major youth unemployment crisis with around four in ten young people jobless. Young people are becoming disenchanted and disenfranchised, which could impact elections later this year. Polls sho ... Show More
11m 2s
Jul 2021
Jobless, hungry, fed-up: Why South Africans rioted
As many as 75% of young South Africans are unemployed. In any other country that would be cause for a revolution according to one South African economist. Why did rioting and looting sweep the country last week? And could violence erupt again? This week The Take explores the vast ... Show More
20m 15s
Aug 2023
Why is South Africa collapsing?
South Africa once had the most abundant and cheap electricity on the continent. Now, it is experiencing power blackouts. It’s called loadshedding, the process by which the power company Eskom occasionally reduces the demand for electricity on the national grid.For many South Afri ... Show More
23m 45s
Sep 2023
France-Afrique : les raisons d'une crise. Avec Niagalé Bagayoko | Entretiens géopo
L’Afrique a connu, au cours des dix-huit derniers mois, une vague de coups d’État : au Mali, au Burkina Faso, en Guinée, au Soudan et plus récemment au Niger et au Gabon. Une vague que le président français Emmanuel Macron a qualifié « d’épidémie » à l’occasion de son discours de ... Show More
27m 8s
May 2024
The Economy of South Africa
South Africa is an economy that is really important to understand as a kind of potential outcome case study of inequality gone bad. The nation itself, on paper at least is not so terrible, it is actually one of if not the wealthiest nation in all of Africa, trading back and forth ... Show More
16m 17s
Apr 2024
Does Africa need a rethink on tackling violent extremisim?
African leaders meeting at a security summit in Nigeria says the continent needs a new plan to tackle violent extremism. The two-day counter-terrorism summit, supported by the United Nations, was also attended by African Union Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat What are the challenges ... Show More
34m 12s
May 2024
South African elections: Why Nelson Mandela's party could lose its dominance
It's been 30 years since Nelson Mandela led the African National Congress (ANC) to power, ending apartheid in South Africa.       But as voters head to the polls, the party is on the verge of losing dominance, after coming under fire over corruption, high levels of crime and econ ... Show More
20m 56s
Apr 2019
African Americans' wages nearly stagnant over decade
The unemployment rate is near historic lows, the job market is tight, and wages have been rising steadily.But since the Great Recession, wage gains have varied significantly by race, with African Americans’ earnings nearly stagnant over the period, while other groups' median pay ... Show More
1m 23s
Jun 2024
Why are two million children in northern Nigeria suffering from severe malnutrition?
Millions of children in northern Nigeria are without sufficient food, that's according to the aid agency, MSF. The persistent malnutrition crisis in the region, MSF says, stems from inflation, security issues and insufficient healthcare infrastructure. We'll hear from Dr Simba Ti ... Show More
28m 16s