Mandela Dream Fades With a Quarter of South Africans Jobless
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When Nelson Mandela came to power in 1994 he reached out to South Africa’s poor and to its rich by promising jobs and a secure climate for business. Eighteen years later, his country has a 24 percent unemployment rate and a debate over nationalizing mines is deterring investment.
Economic growth is less than half the 7 percent level the government says is needed to make inroads into the highest jobless rate of 61 countries tracked by Bloomberg. Stocks have underperformed Brazil and Peru. The ruling African National Congress is considering raising mine taxes and President Jacob Zuma’s government is pushing through a secrecy law that could impede reporting on state corruption.