South Africa’s reconciliation project has not failed, but its economic follow-through has, according to veteran negotiator and newly appointed ambassador to the United States Roelf Meyer, who says the country’s growing divisions are rooted in stalled socioeconomic progress rather than a breakdown of its democratic foundation.

Speaking in an interview with eNCA, Meyer rejected the idea that the post-apartheid settlement had collapsed, pointing instead to the enduring commitment to a united South Africa across the political spectrum. He argued that the early 1990s negotiations, led in part by himself and President Cyril Ramaphosa, built a durable framework of trust and cooperation that remains intact.

That framework, however, has not translated into improved living conditions for most South Africans. Meyer said the failure to deliver meaningful socioeconomic transformation over more than three decades has left citizens frustrated and prone to blaming one another along racial and ethnic lines. “How people experience their livelihood today,” he noted, is what ultimately shapes their perceptions of fairness and unity.

He pointed to missed opportunities in economic policy, arguing that early programmes such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme were abandoned too quickly, while later strategies failed to deliver inclusive gains. The National Development Plan, he added, remains largely unimplemented, leaving the country without a clear path to meeting its aspirations.

Meyer also raised concern about the rise of parallel, identity-based movements, including AfriForum. While acknowledging that the government could learn from such groups, especially through their educational initiatives, he criticised their exclusivity, warning that siloed development such as that risks undermining national cohesion.

Instead, Meyer called for renewed dialogue across political and social divides, arguing that inclusive engagement is essential to rebuilding trust. Without tangible economic progress and a shared national project, he suggested, South Africa risks deepening fragmentation despite its still-intact democratic vision.