JONNY STEINBERG: SA’s parched fields of inequality ripe for angry flames
Trouble seldom arrives in the garb one expected. Sixteen months ago, in response to the coming pandemic, SA locked down in ways tailor-made to provoke the poor. People were shut into crowded townships under a military-style siege. Those who broke the rules were subjected to public humiliation. Millions were cut off from their livelihoods without adequate compensation. At the time I thought SA would be lucky to see out lockdown without a rebellion.
It turned out that circumstances mattered. People were afraid of the virus. People believed their government took such extreme measures because it was in the public interest. People were extraordinarily acquiescent...
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