The corporate divestment movement is generally acknowledged as one of the catalysts that transformed South African society from apartheid rule to a democratic social order. However, the dream that the abolition of apartheid would bring prosperity to a majority of South Africans has proven to be elusive. Even though democracy has delivered the much-anticipated universal franchise to all, questions still linger about the redistribution of economic power, which still largely remains concentrated in the hands of those who had it before. What lessons can be learned from the experiences of sanctions and divestment from South Africa as an instrument for the socioeconomic transformation of the country? In this article, we discuss the merits of the divestment strategy, offer our observations about current disparities in postapartheid South Africa, comment on the initiatives by the new government to restore equity, and conclude with some final thoughts and reflections.
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