Essay Title - The Making of a Modern South African State
Introduction
In February of 1990 thousands of South African’s listened to Nelson Mandela speak moments after he was freed from jail. He had been previously sentenced to life twenty seven years earlier along with ten other political activist leaders. As the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) he was forced to flee the country after the ANC had been banned from 1960-1990. He bestowed words of wisdom and inspiration to the people of South Africa, saying “Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters' role in a united democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony”. (Mandela, 1990) Mandela spent a majority of his life standing up for what he believed in and has even said he would die for these beliefs:
“I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” (Mandela, 1990).
Nelson Mandela was a dominant figure in the anti-apartheid movement since the 1940’s when segregation laws began to be put in place throughout South Africa. He was elected president in 1994, South Africa’s first free election since apartheid in which all races were allowed to vote. The ANC beat the previous ruling party, the National Party, which was composed to mainly white English speaking members who ruled during the years leading up to apartheid. The ANC’s continues to be successful and the dominant party in parliament after winning the general election in 2006 (Democratic Party, 2008). Even though apartheid ended in 1994, it has had lasting affects within its culture, people, and government. There is still a deep rooted ethnic division between white and black South African’s.
Geographic Settings
South Africa is located at the southernmost tip of Africa (hence its name) and similar to India is surround by water on three sides and touches the Indian Ocean. It has almost 3,000 miles of coastline compared to India’s approximate 7,000. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to the North (South Africa). With in South African boundaries are two independent countries Lesotho and Swaziland. South Africa is divided into nine provinces: The Eastern Cape, The Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, The Northern Cape, North West, and The Western Cape.
South Africa has a diverse landscape; including everything from savannah’s spreading Limpopo to the Northern Cape to Karoo (vast dry lands with low-laying shrubs) in the Northern Cape Province to grasslands in the Free State and Lesotho. Most of its landscape can be seen on the central plateau which stretches across most of the country. The north east area consists of the Drankensberg Mountain Range (Government in South Africa).
The Limpopo, Orange, and Vaal River provide most of the water for the country which has become a problem in recent years. South Africa has had to undergo water conservation and control measures due to severe droughts, pollution, and use to the water for other sources such as hydroelectric energy. Many people are left without clean drinking and bathing water.
Environmental issues that exist include pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and industrial uses, acid rain in areas where coal is used as a source of energy, soil erosion in overpopulated areas and desertification in areas where grasslands are being lost due to over-grazing of livestock.
Most of the people without clean water are the poverty stricken black South Africans. South Africa is ethnically divided into four groups: “Black Africans (79%), White (9.6%), Colored (8.9%), and Indian/Asian (2.5%)”. (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/sf.html) The Black Africans can also be subdivided into three major groups identified as the Zulu, Xhosa, and the Sotho.
During the apartheid years, the government recognized four ethnic groups: white, black, coloured (colored), and Asian. The Asian group was majority Indian descendents. Most of the Indian population arrived during the 1800’s to work on coal mines or on plantations. Over the years, they have combined with other ethnic groups to create today’s colored population. Today, majority of the Indian population (which consists of about a one million people) is located in the Natal Province.
Africa itself is considered to be the homeland of today’s Man. South Africa’s discovery that leads to the development of South Africa as we know it today was when the Portuguese, Dutch, and English used South Africa as a stopping point on their route to India (especially the Dutch East Indies) and other parts of Asia. Similar to India, South Africa was originally a colony.
Critical Junctures
The Colonial Legacy (1652-1910)
The Dutch East India Trading Company settled what is now known as Cape Town in 1652. The port was mainly established as a mean to re-stock or rest on the trade route to India or South East Asia. After the Dutch established the colony at Table Bay and farm the land there was an increased need for labor so they began to import slaves from Western Africa, Madagascar, and Indonesia. These first Dutch Settlers and imported slaves created the first generations of today’s Cape Coloreds and Cape Malay’s.
The British Empire saw the Cape Colony as means to prevent others such as the French from trading with the East. In 1806, Great Britain set up its official colony forcing the Dutch farmers and settlers north and remaining in complete control until 1910 when the Union of South Africa was established (Background Note: South Africa).
The Union of South Africa (1910)
The significance of the Union of South Africa was its impact on what ultimately was the establishment of legal apartheid. The previous four colonies Cape Town, Natal, Transvaal, and the Orange Free State unified into one colony. Similar to India, the British set up as system of home rule in South Africa leaving British governors in charge. The English men and women unified with the Boers (Dutch Farmers) in the suppression of the slave population. After the Union was established, many blacks in opposition of such subjugation began to form groups such as the African National Congress in 1912. Slavery was abolished in all British colonies in 1833 but the impact and system left in place lead legal segregation known as apartheid.
Apartheid (1948-1988)
The apartheid system evolved over many years until 1948 when laws were put in place excluding blacks from certain activities or places. Some of the most severe laws include the Population Registration Act which forced every citizen to identify their race and carry passbooks at all times to provide such information; the Groups Areas Act, which forced certain ethnic groups to live in designated areas or “homelands”; Separate Representation of Voters Act and the Native Labour Act, both took away Black’s freedom of speech by not allowing them to vote or physically or verbally strike out. Other very important laws emplaced which still have great impacts on South Africa today is the Bantu Education Act and the Bantu Building Workers Act. Both of these acts limited Blacks abilities to further themselves via education or workers skills. Blacks were not allowed to get an education that would potentially threaten and challenge the system in place. Furthermore, only allowing them to have specific trades limited the amount of success an individual could obtain. (Clark)
The apartheid system created and the laws put in place were products of the National Party who remained in power until 1994. The party was mainly comprised of wealthy, white, Afrikaners of European descent. The National Party did their best to remain in power by suppressing the Black voice and people which lead to many riots, bombings, and other rebellious movements. One of the most notable Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 in which hundreds were injured and sixty-nine demonstrators (of the 20,000 total) were killed by African police. Many opposition groups formed during years of segregation such as the African National Congress (ANC), United Democratic Front (UDF), the South African Communist Party (SACP), and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC); all of which were banned from the country in 1960 after the Sharpeville Massacre. Due to increased unruly mobs and riots in size and occurrences South Africa declared a State of Emergency in 1985. India also has had experience with state of emergency’s having gone through three. The State of Emergency wasn’t lifted until 1990 when recently elected President F.W. de Klerk ended the ban on the anti-apartheid political groups and freed major political leaders such as Nelson Mandela. (Government in South Africa)
South Africa Post-Apartheid (1990-)
Beginning in the late 80’s, many of the segregation laws began to be dismantled. With the help of President Fredrick William de Klerk, apartheid was finally coming to an end. He helped change the constitution to include the rights of blacks as citizens. Then in 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections since the end of the apartheid. Leader of the ANC, Nelson Mandela was elected president and began a reconciliation movement to try and bring the divided country together. Then after Mbeki took his place as president his goal was to transition the country with a special focus on the black sector of the economy. (Background Note: South Africa)
Themes and Implications
Any country that has been divided for so many years could only expect a slow transition. One of the advantages South Africa has is it was established based on a democratic belief (just as India was). Robert Dahl would say that one of the reasons that South Africa has seen success with democracy is because the country had previously experienced democracy before and thus would more likely return to such a system. Even though we have seen major changes since the end of apartheid, South Africa continues to struggle today. Even though blacks make up seventy-five percent of the population, they can only account for 29% of the wealth. The National Report on Social Development (1995-2000) reported that 61% of blacks live in poverty (majority of which are women and children) compared to the 1% of whites. In 2005, a total of 37% of all black are unemployed. Such high rates of poverty and unemployment can be attributed to the previous system of apartheid limiting a citizen’s ability to further educate themselves or develop the necessary skills required for higher paying jobs. (Orkin)
Political Economy and Development
Compared to most of Africa, South Africa is one of the success stories. The country makes up one-fifth of the total continent’s production (South African Economy) and its economy has grown each year since the end of the apartheid. It is comprised of a two-tiered economy consisting of a formal sector and an informal sector. The formal sector has become industrialized and part of the world market. On the other hand, the informal sector is encompasses unregulated work and small trade outside the tax system. The two tier system that exists has “many characteristics associated with developing countries, including a division of labor between formal and informal sectors, and uneven distribution of wealth and income” (Background Note: South Africa). South Africa has just recently seen a positive growth in the past twenty years due more government involvement that provided more stability and ability for growth.
From 1950 to around 1990, South African economy was created and controlled by the dominant, white minority. “The economic downturn which began in the 1970S is hence mainly attributed to the legal constraints of Apartheid. These constraints include job reservation, the instability of migrant labour, the cost of maintaining duplicate bureaucracies and security establishments in the homelands and in the rest of South Africa, the low income of the black majority which limits growth of an internal market, and the costs of meeting the challenges posed by trade sanctions, disinvestment, and capital outflow.” (Lewis) These trade sanctions and disinvestment that Lewis mentions along with other embargo’s placed on South Africa were implemented as means to condemn its apartheid form of government. The United States and the United Nations were major leaders in the disinvestment movement. There is a dispute as to whether the embargo’s they lead to the dismantlement of the apartheid laws or from other causes but in either case, the apartheid was South Africa was moribund.
After the National Congress was replaced by the African National Congress there was an increase in government lead efforts to address the violence, lack of housing, lack of jobs, inadequate education and health care, lack of democracy, and a failing economy. The first program was Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) in 1994. Its goals included increasing employment, creating better living conditions (clean water, electricity, better homes), increasing literacy rates, and creating a system similar to a welfare state. (A Basic Guide to the Reconstuction and Development Programme)
Then in 1996, the country began its 5-year plan Growth Employment and Redistribution also known as GEAR. After many years lacking foreign investment, South Africa decided to open up its markets through privatization and programs such as GEAR. GEAR’s goals included: “creating a competitive fast-growing economy which creates sufficient jobs for all workseekers; a redistribution of income and opportunities in favor of the poor; a society in which sound health, education and other services are available to all; and an environment in which homes are secure and places of work are productive”(Growth Employment and Redistriubtion: A macroeconomic strategy). Although South Africa has reduced its budget deficit and inflation since these programs have been implemented, many of the problems still exist today.
Today’s South African economy has become part of the global economy. It has the 17th largest stock exchange in the world and remains the largest producer of gold, platinum, and chromium(Background Note: South Africa). It will also be hosting the FIFA world cup in 2010. Although it has seen such success South Africa still has some of the highest unemployment rates and poor infrastructure. The privatization, which has brought wealth into the country, has also created many problems such as the recent electricity crisis. Eskom, as the state electricity supplier, has not been able to provide the electricity needed due to inefficient and inadequate power plants.
Governance and Policy Making
South Africa is a democratic republic consisting of nine provinces, each with their own provincial government. Similar to India, the system developed from one similar to English parliament based on English law and Roman-Dutch law. South Africa was officially named a republic in 1910 after the Union of South Africa formed. After that the government further developed into the apartheid legal system and democracy was at an all time low. Elections were head leaders were chosen but not everyone had a vote. Since 1994, allSouth African citizens have legally been able to vote. Today’s government consists of three branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.
Instead of having a Prime Minister as the head of state, South Africa has a President who is also head of the national executive. The President is elected by the National Assembly (South Africa’s legislature) every five years. The current President is Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki since 1999. He is assisted by and head of the executive branch of government known as the cabinet. The cabinet includes the President, the Deputy President and twenty ministers appointed by the President from the National Assembly. The President decides which department each of the Ministers will lead. The current Deputy President is Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was appointed by Mbeki. (Government in South Africa)
Just as the President appoints members of the executive cabinet, he or she also appoints judges to the judiciary. The legal system of South Africa consists of four parts: the Constitutional Court (the highest court that deals with cases challenge the constitution), Supreme Court of Appeal (mainly used for non constitutional matters), the High Courts, and the Magistrate’s Courts. Similar to India, the judiciary has a significant role in the state system. It is bound to constitutional law and demonstrates its use of judicial review. (South Africa)
As mentioned before, South Africa’s legal system is based off of English and Roman-Dutch common law. Similar to India’s common law, it is a system based on years of tradition and customs. Also, relating to the two is the problems that often arise from having a dual legal system. Most often, women tend to get caught between the custom laws and the state legal system. Under the common law system, women are often neglected in terms of marriage disputes, inheritance rights, and gender inequalities. (Zimmermann)
The third section of the government in South Africa is the legislative branch, also known as the National Parliament. Just as India state system operates under a bicameral legislature so does South Africa. The National Assembly could be compared to India’s Rajya Sabha and the National Council of Provinces to the Lok Sabha. The National Assembly consists of around three hundred and fifty seats that divided by the political parties based on the percentages of votes won. The current head or speaker of the National Assembly is Dr. Frene Ginwala. The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is comprised of some permanent members and some representatives from each province. The bicameral system is used to ensure representation of minority parties.
Both India and South Africa have experienced years of discrimination and unrepresented citizens and in both cases change has come from civil society and pressure for change from the masses. During the apartheid times in South Africa many political groups formed in opposition to the segregation. In charge at the time was the National Party, later was renamed the New National Party which recently disintegrated in 2005. Other significant parties include the African National Congress, which currently holds majority of the seats in the National Assembly(293), Democratic Alliance (47 seats), Inkatha Freedom Party ( 23 seats), United Democratic Movement ( 6 seats), and Independent Democrats ( 5 seats). There are a total of sixteen parties represented in Congress (South Africa). Hopefully, with such a wide selection of representation we will never see or allow such inhumane actions such as the apartheid.
More than twenties years since South Africa faced its greatest challenge, there is still more to overcome. Even though the country is not legal forced to live separated lives they still do. Most black lived in underdeveloped and unindustrialized communities away from urban cities where most of the whites or coloreds reside. But the divide doesn’t stop there; it is also present in the differences in wealth and living conditions between black and whites. Also, contributing to the never ending circle of oppression are the lack of job opportunities and the lack of better, higher paying jobs throughout the country.
References
Robert Pollin University of Massachusetts-Amherst 2006 Post-Apartheid South Africa: the First Ten Years (http://www.econlib.org/Library/Enc/Apartheid.html Edited by Michael Nowak and Luca Antonio Ricci 2005 International Monetary Fund January 12, 2006
Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. The Economics of Apartheid. New York and London: Council on Foreign Relations Press, I990. 195 pp.
http://richardknight.homestead.com/satoday.html- bookks
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/nft/2006/soafrica/eng/pasoafr/- IMF books
http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_about.html
Lee Jr., S.. "The Impact of Race on South Africa's Post Apartheid Foreign Policy"Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii, Mar 05, 2005 <Not Available>. 2008-04-22 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p70127_index.html>
http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/economy.htm#introduction
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