“Even the Middle Class Is Not Coping”: SA Outraged by How Food Has Become Inaccessible in Mzansi

• A South African woman was disturbed after realising how the economic crisis in the country is affecting Black people
• She recorded a video for TikTok and was vulnerable enough to express her emotions as she broke down the ways in which poverty is being romanticised 
• Social media users agreed with her points and shared some of their own stories and how food has become inaccessible to a lot of people in the country 

The economic decline in South Africa has become the main topic in a lot of conversations.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been hustling to find decent jobs that would at least cover their basic needs, like their monthly groceries. Food prices have since skyrocketed, and basics like bread and milk are slowly becoming luxury goods.

A store in Diepsloot, Gauteng, recently introduced an innovative way to make food more affordable for people. They allow customers to bring their own containers and charge them for quantities they can afford.

Food becoming inaccessible in South Africa

A South African woman on TikTok, Lelo, expressed her frustration with the Black-led South African government and how oppressive they’ve become towards Black and impoverished communities. Four days ago, the lady was torn by how food has become inaccessible for many people in the country.

“The people who we have put in power are cruel. This is the most cruel thing I’ve ever heard from people who look like us. That is so apartheid coded. You are romanticising poverty as innovation."

She touched on the ignorance of the justice system towards the GBV crisis in the country and corruption. Lelo also highlighted the high crime and unemployment rate in the country, which has not yet been looked into:

“We are at rock bottom. You are the first leaders to starve the country. We thought that you were for the people, but you’re cruel.”

Lelo captioned her now-viral video:

“I am very angry, I will not lie.”

Watch the TikTok video below:

SA discusses poverty in the country in TikTok video 

Social media users shared their views on the matter in a thread of comments:

@Thimbela shared:

“ANC is a very racist Black party I have ever seen towards its own people.”

@MDANGE!!!D explained:

“My next-door neighbour called me over the wall. I went to him and he started crying and said his wife and child are starving. My heart sank. This economy is killing us.”

@NyakazaN remembered:

“I saw a video of three girls going to a funeral just to get a plate of food.”

@Zee155 pointed out:

“They refuse to solve the problem. Instead, they are ensuring that black people learn to live with the problem.”

@DelC commented:

“Apartheid won, and it's perpetuated by ANC.”

@Khethymd said:

“I'm still shook at how the whole country was rioting for #cwecwe and they didn't flinch. Like, how is that normal?”

@Zina_and_Mom»-wrote:

“In this economy, even the middle class is not coping. I can only imagine what people who live on social grants are going through.”

3 More stories related to socioeconomic issues in SA by Briefly News

• A 37-year-old mother of nine children has been drowning in poverty so much that she had to give away some of her nine kids.
• A young South African gent shared his traumatising experience of growing up poor in a detailed TikTok video.
• Mzansi was pained to see a homeless mother of three attacked by Cape Town storms after her siblings sold the family home.

Source: Briefly News