“This is Sad”: Pretoria Man’s Sad Reminder of SA’s State of Crisis Leaves Mzansi Angry

• A Pretoria man shared a video breaking down South Africa's harsh economic realities
• The video highlighted devastating statistics, including youth unemployment jumping from 40% to over 60% in 30 years
• South Africans flooded the comments expressing their frustration with the country's economic decline

A Pretoria-based man has left South Africans heartbroken after sharing a deeply emotional video that breaks down the country's harsh economic realities.

TikTok user @givenwearsspecs, known for his regular posts about life in South Africa, particularly around Pretoria, shared the viral video on 21 August 2025, which has since garnered over 268,000 views.

The video opens with a Google search showing the current rand-to-dollar exchange rate, where $1 equals R17 and a few cents. The man then moves through various scenes highlighting the cost of living crisis facing ordinary South Africans, including Pringles costing R72.99 and one-bedroom flats in Cape Town going for R20,000 per month.

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The video takes viewers through a series of sobering statistics that paint a grim picture of South Africa's economic state. One particularly striking scene shows how an Australian company, West Wits Mining, is opening the country's first new underground gold mine in 15 years, creating only 1,000 jobs despite the massive investment.

Another devastating revelation shows electricity prices have increased by 1000% over the past 20 years, explaining why many South Africans struggle to afford basic utilities. The video also displays youth unemployment statistics spanning from 1991 to 2024, showing how joblessness among young people has skyrocketed from just over 40% to more than 60% in just over three decades.

Perhaps most shocking of all, the video highlights a Google search about 28 banks allegedly involved in manipulating the rand-dollar exchange rate between 2007 and 2013. This revelation helps explain some of the factors behind the rand's poor performance against major currencies.

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The video ends with the young man staring directly into the camera with a visibly sad expression, reflecting the mood of millions of South Africans facing these harsh economic realities daily.

South Africans react with anger

@jono wrote:

"But y,all voted for this since '94, so?"

@polished_item expressed shock:

"1 bedroom for R20 000?!"

@retha pointed out:

"We aren't angry enough about the rand manipulation."

@ms.mthembu shared her pain:

"Bought R50 electricity and got 6.5 units 💀💀 We are in hell!"

@sammie added:

"I heard every single thing you said. I also have to add that 😐."

@thuto_6 commented:

"And people from the Eastern Cape are still going to vote for ANC 👎🏼"

@mhlanga noted the irony:

"And the president is asking why so many people are living in poverty, btw. 😀"

@Soobie_Boobie reminisced:

"There was a time when R1= $1."

Watch the TikTok clip below:

3 Other stories about economic struggles

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• Briefly News recently reported on a woman whose monthly expenses on a R16,000 salary left South Africans stressed, with many seeing their own financial struggles reflected in her breakdown of how quickly money disappears when faced with debt repayments.
• Former President Jacob Zuma described BRICS as a revolution against the dollar empire in Ghana, leaving South Africans divided as the MK Party leader called it a rebellion against financial colonialism rather than just an alliance.
• Statistics revealed that a fifth of South African households are starving, with 20% of the population not having enough food to survive through the month as more people rely on social grants to get by.

Source: Briefly News