Part 1: A lot more than you think!
A while back I was reading a Chomsky book when I came across this tidbit: He offhand mentioned that a UN Economic Commission for Africa had found that South Africa had killed 1.5 million people and caused $60 billion of damage in the period 1980-1988 alone, in it’s depredations. Naturally I was quite shocked to read these figures! It took me quite a while to find, but I tracked down the report in question, which you can download here:
South African Destabilization – The Economic Cost of Frontline Resistance to Apartheid
The report goes into detail about the attacks on infrastructure which South Africa carried out in the 1980’s in all the countries bordering it, from Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, of course Angola – where it was fighting a major war and even Zambia and Tanzania, which are quite far away.
The extent of the destruction was major. Half the populations of Angola and Mozambique were forced to flee their countries and become refugees!
In particular the transportation networks were targeted, and these were countries which were already struggling to survive. The consequence is that many people died unnecessarily and prematurely. Half the premature deaths were children under the age of 5.
Angola and Mozambique bore the greatest cost, losing 70-75% of their GDP, but every economy in the region was affected, even eSwatini and Lesotho.
Rampaging through the region, South Africa cut a vast swathe of destruction, holding back the development of these countries, affecting food security, collapsing medical services and destroying vital trade links by destroying transport infrastructure. It was a remarkably cruel and unenlightened assault on the region, sponsored and supported by the West.
The 1980’s were an unmitigated disaster for Africa. Not only was Africa beating back by collapsing commodity prices and neoliberalism, but also by the sustained military and economic assault led by South Africa. Keeping the price of goods and labour low has been favourable to the West, who though they profess to help Africa through their foreign aid, in fact keep it oppressed due to the unfavourable trade arrangements, which far outweigh this aid.
The devastation continued past the 80’s and to the present day, and the shockingly low level of development of Sub-saharan Africa is a stain upon the world and humanity.