Cities of Gold, Townships of Coal

Book excerpt: After apartheid was dismantled, South Africa's townships anticipated a peace and development dividend. But as the ANC begins its second term in office (1999-2004), the cities have degenerated further into impoverished, polluted, under-serviced, zones of blight and despair. Indeed, in many respects, the townships were worse off than when the ANC took power. In this collection of essays, the author argues that the ANC's adoption of free-market economic and social policies is at the root of these problems and can be blamed for S Africa's uneven urban development.