Almost five months into South Africa’s lockdown, new studies are finally indicating the extent of economic devastation it has caused. An estimated 3 million people lost their jobs in the early stages of the lockdown, and once the rest of the lockdown period is factored into future studies, the numbers are bound to increase. Unemployment already hovers around 40%; as a result there was pressure put on the government to expand the provision of social grants before the lockdown started. But the implementation of expanded provision has been slow and many people remain excluded. For the majority of South Africans who are poor and working class, living conditions are dire with the threat from the virus and food insecurity looming large, while many municipalities remain unwilling or unable to provide basic services like water.

Staff writer William Shoki sat down with Siyabulela Mama, Ayanda Kota, and Khokhoma Motsi, three activists from the Assembly of the Unemployed, to talk about the challenges facing working class communities and the prospects for resistance and social transformation during and beyond COVID-19.

The Assembly of the Unemployed is a burgeoning movement that gives voice to South Africa’s more than 10 million unemployed. It unites many movements around the country fighting for the right to work, a basic income grant, and the implementation of a number of job creation strategies that up to now, the South African government has ignored.