A white, gay, Zulu-speaking mayor is shaking up South African politics
Chris Pappas is an unlikely but effective trailblazer
Isiphethu Semfundo is the only primary school for miles in the upper Mooi valley, a bucolic area in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the second-most-populous South African province. It educates the children of the rural poor—or at least tries to. For a year it has had no clean water. Nor does it have state-provided transport for its pupils. This abruptly ended after officials were threatened by the owners of private minibuses who wanted the business. A few kids now walk; some cover 20km (12 miles) in a day. But more stay at home. Taking the minibus costs 450 rand ($28) a month, more than the 350-rand welfare grant given to the destitute.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Fluent in empathy”
Middle East & Africa January 28th 2023
From the January 28th 2023 edition
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