Written by Stella Mapenzauswa | From Reuters

A census in 2011 showed that white South Africans still remain in control of Africa’s most advanced economy, with incomes for white households nearly six times above those of black families who constitute 80 percent of the population.

A report by South Africa’s Institute of Race Relations (IRR) last year showed that poverty among blacks was at 42 percent on average, against just one percent for whites. White males still occupy more of the chief executive positions in the country’s biggest companies.

Critics say the ANC is responsible for failing to improve the lot of blacks due to rampant corruption in its ranks, with legislation like the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment only benefiting a small clique with ties to the ruling party.

Lack of access to good education has also left many blacks ill-equipped to compete against their white and Asian counterparts on the job market.

Archbishop Tutu, a champion of South Africa’s struggle for democracy, believes South Africans should be proud of the relative stability achieved in the country since 1994.

“We’ve notched up a very significant milestone without significant turbulence. South Africans should celebrate proudly,” Tutu said this week.

However, he has also been fiercely critical of current President Jacob Zuma’s administration, saying it has failed to fulfil the promise of a prosperous South Africa for all.

“But I had imagined at this time we would be cheering our young people. Watching the new generation of leaders, cheering them from the sidelines as they were accomplishing the things we had all dreamt about,” he added.

“We dreamt about a society that really made people feel they mattered. You can’t do that in a society where people go to bed hungry. When you have many of our children still attending classes under trees. We missed out on opportunities.”

As a result of the racial disparities, tensions have simmered under the surface, occasionally boiling over when the strain of coexistence becomes too much.

The release of four young white men jailed for beating a black homeless man to death in 2011 triggered outrage earlier this year, with some angry South Africans commenting on social media that this was another example of a justice system that still favoured whites.

Read more at Reuters