South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) marks its 100th anniversary this week. Founded on January 8, 1912 as the African Native National Congress and later renamed the African National Congress in 1923, the ANC has maintained an unbroken 17 years in power since the end of apartheid.

While the movement politically liberated South Africans from the apartheid regime and delivered a vibrant constitution to the rainbow nation, it is unfortunate that black South Africans are yet to receive economic emancipation. In spite of the country's independence and mineral wealth, black South Africans remain at the periphery of economic development. The gap between the rich and poor in South Africa has immensely widened. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), black South Africans are much poorer than coloureds, Indians and whites respectively.

It is imperative that the ANC brings to realization its rallying call Amandla ngawethu or Matla ke arona [power to the people] by probing its economic structures with a view of liberating black South Africans in particular and black people in general from political and economic bondage. Failure to do this will heighten frustration and xenophobic activities that may be taken advantage of to ignite unrest in the rainbow nation, to the detriment of the black majority.