SOUTH AFRICA'S BLACK MIDDLE CLASS: GROWING FAST,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 000505 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PGOV SF SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA'S BLACK MIDDLE CLASS: GROWING FAST, DISILLUSIONED, IN DEBT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: South Africa's black middle class is growing rapidly, but definitions of "middle class" vary widely and the group may be smaller than many assume. Middle class blacks support the economic policies of Thabo Mbeki and have a strong attachment to the ANC. However, they are not active in ANC branches or in community organizations, and they tend to be increasingly disillusioned about politicians. They have taken on high levels of debt in order to "catch up" with white peers. Few are entrepreneurs. Few have social contact with white peers outside of the workplace. The existence of a healthy black middle class will contribute to the long-term stabilization and normalization of South Africa. End Summary -------------- Who Are the Black Middle Class? -------------- ¶2. (SBU) South Africa's black middle class is growing rapidly and supports the economic policies of Thabo Mbeki, but is not active in ANC branch politics, according to Professor Lawrence Schlemmer, a retired sociologist and Director of MarkData, a market research firm that conducts surveys for private companies, government departments, and political parties. Schlemmer recently met with Deputy Economic Counselor, Economic Officer, and Economic Specialist in Cape Town. ¶3. (SBU) According to Schlemmer, blacks are now 18-20 percent of what he called the "core middle class" of South Africa. He defined this group as salaried professionals, middle managers (including those in the public and parastatal sectors),owners of capital- or knowledge-intensive small- or medium-sized firms, and others in like occupations, earning at least 12,000 rand (about $1,500) per month. As recently as 2004, Africans were only 12 percent of the core middle class, he said. While still small, the number of core middle class blacks has exploded by almost 15 percent per year in recent years. ¶4. (SBU) Schlemmer attributed the expansion of the black core middle class to brisk economic growth and aggressive affirmative action policies, especially in the public sector. He warned, however, that growth would be slower in the future, as government has already hit many of its affirmative action targets, and skills deficits will make it harder for employers to find qualified black candidates for core middle class jobs. �A; -------------- Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics -------------- ¶5. (U) Although the term "black middle class" is ubiquitous in South African media and public discourse, it has no standard definition. As defined by Schlemmer, the core middle class had 1.6 million adult members of all races in 2003, and somewhat fewer than 2 million total members today. If Schlemmer is right that 18-20 percent of this group is black, then fewer than 400,000 blacks today qualify as core middle class. In contrast, ONE widely-publicized estimate by the UCT/Unilever Institute puts the size of the black middle class at 2.6 million persons (out of a total adult black population of about 25 million). However, this estimate has been criticized as overly broad because it includes, for example, college students and other potential members of the middle class, as well as people who own middle class consumer goods like microwave ovens. According to the market research firm Market Tree Consultancy, the black middle class has doubled in size since 2003 to over 3 million adults today (out of a total middle class adult population of 7.5 million),but only if "middle class" includes persons earning Qmillion),but only if "middle class" includes persons earning at least 2,250 rand (about $300) per month. (Market Tree also reports that 52 percent of blacks earning 8,000 rand (about $1,000) or more per month are employed in the public or parastatal sectors.) Using a different definition of "middle income," Standard Bank estimates that the "middle-income" proportion of black households grew from 15 percent of all black households in 2000 to 26 percent in ¶2006. All everyone agrees on is that the black middle class has grown rapidly in the past 5 or 6 years, especially if the term is used to include holders of lower-end jobs in government, retail and the service sectors. -------------- -- The Political Profile of the Black Middle Class -------------- -- ¶6. (SBU) A detailed 2005 survey (supplemented by follow up research) showed that core middle class blacks are firmly pro-Mbeki and endorse his approach to economics, Schlemmer PRETORIA 00000505 002 OF 002 said. "They support empowerment. They support a private economy. These are Mbeki's priorities, too," he said. At the same time, Schlemmer found that these blacks are not active in ANC branches or in local civil society organizations. "They are just too preoccupied maintaining their life styles" to be involved in community activities, he explained. ¶7. (SBU) Schlemmer has also found that core middle class blacks are increasingly disillusioned with politicians, whom many see as incompetent or corrupt. "They think Mbeki made mistakes on non-economic issues such as AIDS and Zimbabwe," he said. "They think it's incredible that (Health Minister) Manto (Tshabalala-Msimang) has kept her job, in spite of her views on AIDS and her personal scandals." Nevertheless, core middle class blacks retain a "fervent" sentimental attachment to the ANC and support the party at above-average levels. ¶8. (SBU) Schlemmer saw little or no possibility that core middle class blacks would ever defect from the ANC to support the white-dominated Democratic Alliance. "The DA just cannot deliver empowerment," he said. In the long run, however, he could see a "market" for two major black parties: a pro-labor party and a party adopting Mbeki's positions on economics. -------------- Living on the Edge -------------- ¶9. (SBU) According to Schlemmer, middle class blacks are insecure about their status and hence devote much energy and money to "catching up" with their more-established white peers. "They borrow money to buy cars. They borrow money to buy garish furniture. They borrow money to buy flat-screen TVs." As a result, middle-class blacks are heavily in debt and have small net worths, he said. They feel vulnerable to interest rate hikes and are anxious about downturns in the economy. Knowing that many black university graduates struggle to find jobs, they are anxious about the future of their children. At the same time, blacks in the core middle class expect rapid job promotions and they regularly hop from job to job, taking advantage of the relative scarcity of skilled blacks in an economy committed to affirmative action. ¶10. (SBU) Schlemmer's research found that the ranks of the core black middle class include very few entrepreneurs -- and what few there are fail in business at high rates. He thought this situation would improve over time, as more middle class blacks build up capital and social networks in stable jobs, which they could then put to use in businesses of their own. Sadly, his research shows that middle class blacks have little social contact with whites outside of the workplace. "Whites and blacks eat different food. They go to different restaurants. They root for different sports teams. They even drink different beer. There isn't much common ground," he said. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The emergence of black capitalists, managers, and professionals is an epochal change in the social and political landscape of South Africa. While many white South Africans still complain bitterly about affirmative action and racial transformation, the fact that growing numbers of blacks have a personal stake in mainstream economics will contribute to the country's long-term stability and normalization. In fact, if the black middle class does grow steadily and develops its own political identity, it may turn out to be Thabo Mbeki's greatest legacy. But whether it can mature fast enough to offset the discontent of millions of rural and unemployed blacks who have seen only limited Qrural and unemployed blacks who have seen only limited economic pay offs from democracy is ONE of the major question marks in South Africa's future. BOST