South Africa is not only teetering on the brink of being downgraded economically to junk status, with soaring unemployment and zero growth; but of heading into a protracted period of political and social turmoil. In recent elections the ruling ANC had its worst result in 22 years since the end of apartheid, losing control of all major cities to the opposition.
President Zuma has reacted by refusing to interfere in what most say are trumped up charges against the Finance Minister and seizing control of the economy himself. A South African commentator wrote in Business Day, based in Johannesburg: “This unschooled man has pronounced himself commander-in-chief of the economy. In doing so, he has grabbed control of all the big state feeding troughs on which the ‘tenderpreneurs’ have been engorging themselves since he came to power seven years ago. There will now be no restraining them.”
The South Africa 27 April 1994 12am chart has tr Neptune conjunct its 2nd house (financial) Saturn now until early 2017; with this September Virgo Eclipse in opposition from the 8th – which looks critical for business finances. With the Solar Arc MC conjunct Pluto, exact in 6 months’ time, which looks blocked and could be some kind of government meltdown. Tr Uranus will be in a highly strung square to Neptune and Uranus in 2017/2018 – so high anxiety and disruption. Then tr Pluto moves to conjunct Neptune and Uranus between 2019 to 2022 which looks like a catastrophic upheaval, so nothing sorted anytime soon.
The South Africa 31 May 1910 chart looks worse if anything in the coming years. The 9 degree Gemini Sun is picking up the tr Saturn square tr Neptune through coming months as well as being squared by the September Eclipse. Then from January 2017 tr Pluto is opposing the SA Neptune Mars till late 2018 which is high-risk, devastating, stuck every which way; and tr Uranus returning to square Uranus early 2017 and on till early 2018 which could see civil strife breaking out. Plus a dangerous, high-anger Solar Arc Mars opposition Saturn in late 2017/18. Then tr Pluto will follow to conjunct Uranus in 2020/21, having moved across the square to the Mars Neptune Pluto midpoints inbetween.
Jacob Zuma’s 2nd Term chart, 24 May 2014 11.35am launched on a rolling-crises Cardinal Grand Cross of a pushily-confident, unconcerned-with-rules-and-regulations Pluto opposition Jupiter square Uranus Moon opposition Mars. The Solar Arc Pluto has moved to square Uranus exactly this year so it is at its most unstable; with tr Pluto also square Uranus at the moment and again Oct/Nov; though he’ll likely try to brass-neck it out with even more outrageous behaviour as tr Pluto hits the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and Jupiter now and across 2017/18.
His own personal chart has a 21 degree Aries Sun which tr Uranus will conjunct again in Feb 2017 which might just unseat him. Though he does look suspiciously upbeat through 2017/18.