English is above all a verbalizing language (as opposed to, say, French, which is a nominalizing language). So, use an active verb aka action verb. In other words, we have strong verbs and they have strong nouns. This is a generalization that happens to be true.

• Unemployment gnaws away at South Africa.
• Unemployment plagues South Africa.
• Unemployment undermines South African society.
• Unemployment burdens South Africa.
• Unemployment throttles South Africa.

Here's a sample:

Read a good weather forecast and you’ll find the weather patterns described with such active verbs as “hammered,” “trounced,” “sliced,” and “eased.” Read a good sportscast and you’ll find gleeful discussions of how a losing team was “throttled,” “bashed,” “whipped,” or “humiliated.”

active verbs

English is above all a verbalizing language (as opposed to, say, French, which is a nominalizing language). So, use an active verb aka action verb. In other words, we have strong verbs and they have strong nouns. This is a generalization that happens to be true. My opinion is: forget the verb to be and adjectives. Go for a good verb. These are some I thought of. I am sure others can come up with a plethora of other ones.

• Unemployment gnaws away at South Africa.
• Unemployment plagues South Africa.
• Unemployment undermines South African society.
• Unemployment burdens South Africa.
• Unemployment throttles South Africa.

Here's a sample:

Read a good weather forecast and you’ll find the weather patterns described with such active verbs as “hammered,” “trounced,” “sliced,” and “eased.” Read a good sportscast and you’ll find gleeful discussions of how a losing team was “throttled,” “bashed,” “whipped,” or “humiliated.”

active verbs