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SOUTH
AFRICA
South Africa is a republic at the southern tip
of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and
Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is
contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa.
South Africa is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in Africa,
and has the largest white population on the continent. Racial and ethnic
strife have played a large role in much of the country's history and
politics.
History
South Africa is one of the oldest nation-states in Africa. The area that is
now South Africa was inhabited by the Khoi, San, Xhosa, Zulu and various
other native tribes, when Dutch settlers arrived in 1652. Great Britain
progressively encroached, leading to the Anglo-Dutch War and the two Boer
wars. In 1910 the four main republics in the region united as the Union of
South Africa. In 1931 South Africa became a fully sovereign and self-governing
dominion under the British crown. In 1961 it became a republic.
The descendants of the white settlers remained a minority among the black
Africans. After the Second World War the whites were able to maintain their
rule by implementing Apartheid, a series of harsh laws segregating the
country along racial lines. The Apartheid system became increasingly
controversial in the late 20th century, leading to widespread sanctions and
growing unrest and oppression by the National Party government. In 1990,
after a long period of resistance by various anti-apartheid movements, above
all the African National Congress, the National Party government took the
first step towards negotiating itself out of power, when it lifted the ban
on the African National Congress and other leftwing political organisations,
and released Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years. Apartheid
legislation was gradually scrapped from the statute books, and the first
multiracial elections were held in 1994. The ANC won by an overwhelming
majority, and has been in power ever since. Control of the country is now
largely in the hands of the black majority, which makes up roughly 80
percent of the population. Despite the demise of Apartheid, millions of
black South Africans continue to live in poverty, and the official
unemployment rate is 40 percent. However, a series of voluntary and
legislative moves, under the broad umbrella of BEE, or Black Economic
Empowerment, have helped to redress decades of racial imbalance in the
management and ownership of South African business and industry.
Politics
South Africa's government operates under a Westminister-inspired
parliamentary system that is nevertheless noticably distinct from many
others in the Commonwealth of Nations.
The President of South Africa is Head of State as well as Head of Government.
He or she is elected by a joint sitting of the bicameral Parliament,
consisting of the National Assembly or lower house, and the National Council
of Provinces, or upper house. In practice, the president is the leader of
the majority party in parliament.
The National Assembly has 400 members, elected by proportional
representation. The National Council of Provinces (NCoP), which replaced the
Senate in 1997 is made up of 90 members representing each of South Africa's
nine provinces as well as the large cities.
Each province of South Africa has a unicameral Provincial Legislature, and
an Executive Council headed by a Premier.
Provinces
South Africa is divided into nine provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State,
Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Northern Cape, North West and
Western Cape.
Geography
South Africa is located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa.
Economy
South Africa is a middle-income, developed country with an abundant supply
of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and
transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the
world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of
goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, although growth
has been positive for ten consecutive years, it has not cut into the 40%
unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the Apartheid era,
especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among
the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS.
At the start of 2000, President Thabo Mbeki vowed to promote economic growth
and foreign investment by relaxing restrictive labour laws, stepping up the
pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. His
policies face strong opposition from organized labour.
South Africa has an estimated 4.79 million HIV infections. The government
has recently, after much delay, devoted substantial resources to fighting
the epidemic. A recent study (from the African Journal of Aids Research,
Thomas Rehle and Olive Shisana) showed the infection rate starting to level
off, (from 4.2% to 1.7% infection rate for 15-49 year olds), and AIDS deaths
peaking at 487 320 in 2008.
Since South Africa opened its borders after the demise of Apartheid,
international crime syndicates have penetrated the country, and much of the
world's drug trade flows through its borders. South Africa is also the
fourth-largest producer of marijuana in the world.
The volatility of the rand has affected economic activity, with the rand
plummeting during 2001 (hitting an historic low of 13.85 to the dollar,
raising fears of inflation, and causing the reserve bank to increase
interest rates), but since dramatically recovering, trading at under 7 in
October 2003, leading to a recovery in inflation, and the Reserve Bank to
drop rates, but exporters threatening to cut jobs.
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