South African Country - Know More about South Africa
South African Country - Know More about South Africa
Republic of South Africa is a country in the African part of the south . South Africa is next to Namibia , Botswana and Zimbabwe in the north, Mozambique and Swaziland in the northeast. The whole country of Lesotho is located in the interior of South Africa.
In the past, the government of this country was criticized for its ' apartheid ' politics but now South Africa is a democratic country with the largest white population on the African continent . South Africa is also a country with various nationalities and has 11 official languages . The country is also known as the world's leading producer of diamonds , gold and platinum .
African history
South Africa is one of the oldest countries in the African continent. Many tribes have become residents, including the Khoi , Bushmen , Xhosa and Zulu tribes . The Dutch explorer known as Afrikaner arrived there in 1652 . [2] At that time Britain was also interested in this country, especially after the discovery of abundant diamond reserves. This led to the Anglo-Dutch War and two Boer Wars . In 1910, four major republics were merged under the Unity of South Africa . In 1931, South Africa became a complete British colony. [3]
Although this country was under British rule, they were forced to share power with the Afrikaners. This division of power continued until the 1940s , when the pro-Afrikaner party, namely the National Party (NP) gained a majority in parliament . The party's strategies had created the foundation of apartheid (which was passed in 1948), a way to guard the country's economic and social system with white domination and racial discrimination . But the British government often thwarted overall apartheid efforts in South Africa.
In 1961, after special white elections , South Africa was declared a republic . Beginning in the 1960s, 'Grand Apartheid' (large apartheid) was implemented, this politics emphasized the alienation of the territory and the tyranny of the police .
The oppression of blacks continued until the end of the 20th century. In February 1990, due to encouragement from other nations and intense opposition from various anti-apartheid movements in particular the African National Congress (ANC), the National Party government under the leadership of President F.W. de Klerk withdrew the ban on the African National Congress and other left-leaning political parties and released Nelson Mandela from prison. The apartheid law began to be abolished slowly and the first non-discrimination election was held in 1994. The ANC party won a great victory and Nelson Mandela , was appointed as the first black president in South Africa. Although power was in the hands of blacks, millions of its population still lived in poverty.
When Nelson Mandela was president of the country for 5 years, his administration had promised to implement changes especially in issues that had been ignored during the apartheid era. Some of the issues handled by the ANC- led government are unemployment , AIDS epidemics , housing shortages and food . The Mandela government also reintroduced South Africa to the global economy after several years of exile because of apartheid politics. In addition, in their efforts to unite the people the government also created a committee known as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) under the leadership of Bishop Desmond Tutu . This committee has the role of monitoring government agencies such as the police agency so that the people of South Africa can live in safety and harmony.
President Mandela concentrated all his attention on peace at the national stage, and tried to foster an identity for South Africa in a plural society that was separated by decades of protracted conflict. Mandela's ability to achieve his objectives is clearly proven because after 1994 the country was free from political conflicts. Nelson Mandela resigned his position as president of the ANC party in December 1997, to give the new President Thabo Mbeki the chance . Mbeki was elected as president of South Africa after winning the national elections in 1999, and his party narrowly won a two-thirds majority in parliament . President Mbeki has shifted the focus of government from reconciliation to change, especially in terms of the country's economy.
Independence
After four years of negotiations, the South African Union was created from the colonies of the Coat and Birth, as did the Free State of Orange and Transvaal , on May 31, 1910, exactly eight years after the end of the Second Boer War. The newly established South African Union is a dominion of the United Kingdom . From 1913, land ownership by 'black was restricted; in that step only 7% of countries have control . Some of the land reserved for people comes from later in broad outline.
In 1931 the union effectively permitted independence from the British empire with a passage from the Westminster Decree , the british morphed position between South Africa into the King differing from South Africa. In 1934, the South African Parties and the National Parties combined the forms of a united Party, seeking a reference between European-born African and "white" English. In 1939 parts of the party passed input from the union into World War II as an ally of the British empire, a movement in which the National Parties were strictly opposed.
Apartheid
Main article: Apartheid
In 1948, the National Party was elected to control South Africa. This strengthened the implementation of racial segregation under British and Dutch colonial rule , and the subsequent South African government since the formation of the union . The Nationalist Government regulates the course of the law of separation, classifies people into three races, develops rights and restrictions for each group, such as pass laws and settlement restrictions. The white minority controls a much larger majority of blacks. This system of separation became known collectively as apartheid . [4] This isolation was intended by whites to control wealth that accelerated industrialization from the 1950s, '60s, and' 70s. As long as the White minority enjoys the highest standard in all of Africa , often compared to Western First World countries, the majority of Blacks remain disadvantaged at every level, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy. On May 31, 1961, following a white people referendum, the country became a republic and left the Commonwealth ( Britain ). Queen Elizabeth II is no longer the head of state and the last Governor General is the President of the State.
Apartheid became increasingly controversial, leading to widespread international sanctions, divestment and riots and oppression within South Africa. A long period of oppression by the government, and sometimes with violence, strikes, demonstrations , protests and sabotage using bombs or other means, by various anti-apartheid movements which were followed mainly by the African National Congress (ANC). [5]
In the late 1970s, South Africa began developing a nuclear weapons program. In the following decade, six nuclear weapons were deliverable. The rationale for a nuclear arsenal is debated. Some commentators believe that the leaders of Vorster and PW Botha want to be able to intervene in American catalyse in the event of a war between South Africa and Cuban language that supports the MPLA government from Angola. [6]
Democracy
In 1990 the National Parties government took the first step towards when this lifted a ban on the African National Congress and other left-wing state organizations. This diluted Nelson Mandela from prison after twenty-seven years of his imprisonment in one sabot sentence. The government revoked apartheid legislation. South Africa destroyed this nuclear arsenal and granted it to the Nuclear Non-Breed Treaty. South Africa grasped this first with a multi-racial election in 1994, the ANC which was won by an overwhelming majority. This has been in power always since.
In South Africa apartheid places, millions of South Africans, mostly black, have continued to live in poverty, it seems that it has been difficult to compensate quickly for generations from the neglect of education and society. Poverty between white, was rare, has been very large level. While some have addressed this in part to the legacy of the apartheid system, these attributes have continued to increase to the failure of the current government to work on social emissions. In addition, the current government has struggled to achieve monetary and fiscal discipline to ensure both the redistribution of wealth and economic progress. Since the ANC which led the government took power, the Human Development United Nations Table of Contents The Book of the South Africa has been massive, while this has steadily risen until the mid-1990s. point it.
Political
National Assembly Building in Kaapstad
South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a free three level system and judicial institutions . There are three ranks namely national, regional and local government which have legislative and executive bodies with their respective territories.
The President of South Africa holds two positions, namely as Head of State and also Head of Government. He was elected when the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces joined. Typically, the President is the leader of the majority party in Parliament.
The National Assembly has 400 members elected through proportional representation. The National Council of Provinces , which replaced the Senate in 1997 , consists of 90 members representing every 9 provinces including major cities in South Africa.
In South Africa, elections are held every 5 years and every citizen aged 18 years and over is required to take part. The last election was in April 2004, where the ANC party won 69.68% of seats in parliament. This party together with the Freedom Party of Inkatha (6.97%) has formed a government alliance. The main opposition parties include Aliasi Democrats (12.37%), United Democratic Movement or UDM (2.28%), Free Democrats or ID (1.73%), New National Party or NNP (1.65%) and African Christian Democratic Party or ACDP (1.6%).
In addition, each province in South Africa has one legator of the country's law and the Executive Assembly chaired by a Prime Minister or "Premier".
RI-South Africa relations
Relations Indonesia -Afrika good South has existed since 1994 when the two countries signed a joint communique establishing relations diplomatic . Politically, Indonesia joined in supporting the struggle of the African National Congress (ANC), the party formerly led by Nelson Mandela , to oppose apartheid .
Since the days of President Soeharto to Megawati Sukarnoputri , visits to South Africa have been carried out. And vice versa, Mandela visited Indonesia at least twice, namely when he was still president ( 1997 ) and after not being president ( 2002 ).
Lately, alternately a number of officials from both countries also visited each other. Finally, the President of South Africa visited RI in April 2005, and the visit of former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri at almost the same time to receive an award of freedom fighters. He represented his late father, Ir. Sukarno . Meanwhile a number of freedom fighters from various parts of the world (represented by children / closest relatives) were also invited to the awards ceremony, such as Indira Gandhi, and girls from Jawarharlal Nehru from India.
Administrative division
Map of South Africa
The province
South Africa consists of nine provinces, namely:
- Eastern Cape
- Free state
- Gauteng
- KwaZulu-Natal
- Limpopo
- Mpumalanga
- North West
- Northern Cape
- Western Cape
- North-Western Cape
Main cities
The main cities in South Africa include Johannesburg , Durban , Cape Town , Pretoria , Kimberley, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein .
Geography
South Africa is located at 29 ° 00 'S, 24 ° 00' T. Its total area is 1,219,912 km² including Robben Island and Prince Edwards Islands (Marion Island and Prince Edward Island). South Africa is next to the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast and the South Ocean and Indian Ocean on the east coast. The main currents in the oceans are the cool currents of Benguela and the warm currents of Agulhas. The lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean at 0 m and the highest point is Njesuthi at an altitude of 3,408 m.
South Africa has a different climate. In the southwest of the country, the climate is Mediterranean , in the deep regions it has a temperate climate, and in the northeast the climate is subtropical .
South Africa is a country rich in valuable minerals such as gold , platinum and diamonds . Mining materials originally included gold , chromium , antimony , charcoal , iron ore , manganese , nickel , phosphate , tin ore , uranium , diamonds , platinum , copper , vanadium , salt , natural gas .
The economy
The Sandton region in Johannesburg, which has become the location of major companies driving the South African economy.
South Africa is a developed country with a simple income population. The country is rich in minerals, especially high-value mining materials such as gold, platinum and diamonds. It also has a sophisticated , modern, financial , regulatory , telecommunications , energy , infrastructure system. The stock exchange in Johannesburg is so active that it was ranked 10th in the world.
Since the arrival of the British there, the country's economy has depended on the mining sector . But a few decades ago, these activities have been replaced by the production sector . South Africa's highly developed industrial sector, and is the 25th largest economy in the world. With only 7% of the population and 4% of the total area of Africa, South Africa releases more than a third of products and services in Africa, and nearly 40 % of industrial expenditure in Africa. Commodity materials exported: machine tools, food and equipment, chemicals , petrolliam products and scientific equipment.
However, the HIV epidemic is a critical problem in this country. It is estimated that 4.79 million people are infected with AIDS and the new African government is forced to spend millions of Rand to deal with this problem. Since South Africa opened its borders after the end of Apartheid, international drug syndicates have entered the country. Now South Africa is the largest producer of marijuana in the world. Political upheaval in Zimbabwe also had a negative impact on the country's economy. Many foreign investors worry that this problem will affect South Africa. In 2002, these problems had been a major factor in the decline in Rand's value by as much as 30 percent but by 2004 the Rand's currency had returned solid.
As a result of the foundation of apartheid, which was carried out for more than four decades, poverty among the black population was the most important problem of the new government of South Africa. At the end of the 1980s, it was estimated that 16 million people lived under poverty and 2.3 million people were at risk of malnutrition and food shortages. However, South Africa's black government has succeeded in reducing poverty from 42% in 1994 to 24% in 2003.
Demographics
Demographics in South Africa are divided into four main groups: blacks, white people, people of color (people of Asian or mixed blood) and Indians.
The largest in South Africa are black natives, accounting for 77% of the population here. Black population consists of a plural society that can be classified into four ethnic groups based on their respective languages. The largest group of 50% of the population of Africa here is Nguni, including the Ndebele , Swazi , Xhosa and Zulu . The second largest group is Sotho-Tswana , including several Sotho , Pedi , and Tswana languages and form the majority in most of the Highveld region. The last two groups are the Tsonga , or Shangaan, which are concentrated in the North and Mpumalanga regions , and Venda , which is also concentrated in the northern regions of South Africa.
White people comprise 11% of the population here, who are of Dutch , French , British and German nationality . Most Europeans in this country are descended from early explorers in the Cape colony. There is also a Portuguese minority group - the first group of descendants of the early European explorers, while the second group of descendants of Dutch slaves who came from Indonesia .
9% of South Africa's population consists of colored or colored nations . The nation includes mixed marriages and Asian migrants , who are brought in to work as coolies at Christmas . When, another 3% consists of Indians from Indian traders .
Education
In South Africa, the schooling period is 13 years - or level. However, the first year of education or level 0 and the last three years ie from level 10 to level 12 (also called "matric") are not required. Most primary schools offer level 0. But this level can also be made in kindergarten . Usually to enter a university , one must pass a "matric" with a minimum of three high-level subjects and not just a pass (standard). In fact, several prestigious universities will impose higher academic requirements. Even so, those who pass the "National Senior Certificate" are eligible to study at " technikon " or technical campuses.
Under the apartheid system, the education system is structured based on skin color namely different ministries for white, colored, Asian and black students outside Bantustan . This alienation has resulted in 14 different ministries of education in the country.
Structuring the education system after the apartheid era is a big challenge for the government of this country. The new government has established a national education system without discrimination against people but combining 14 ministries of education is a difficult task. Therefore in February 1996, the Ministry of Education launched a new curriculum called "Curriculum 2005". This curriculum, which will replace the foundation of education based on apartheid, will provide a basis for the results, namely students will become more proactive in the surrounding environment and also in society. To achieve this objective, in 1999 the government provided 5.7 percent of the budget for the education sector including the construction of 2,000 new schools, 65,000 new and fully equipped classrooms, 60,000 trained teachers and 50 million printed textbooks.
In 2004, South Africa had 366,000 teachers and nearly 28,000 schools - including 390 special schools and 1,000 private schools . Of this number, 6,000 are high schools (level 7 to level 12) and the rest are elementary schools (level 1 to level 6).
South Africa also has an advanced system of higher education , which was also separated by race during the apartheid era. In 1995 there were 385,000 students studying at 21 universities and 190,000 students at " technikon " (technical or vocational institutes). Nearly 37 percent are white. But since 1994, the inclusion of black students in universities devoted to white students has increased suddenly. [1]
Culture
Robben Island Prison which holds apartheid- era political prisoners , including Nelson Mandela , is now one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites .
Free association among South Africans in urban areas and the oppression of black culture during the apartheid era have resulted in the loss of the old way of life in the cities here. However, black culture still exists in rural areas. Some cultural differences still exist between the ethnic groups there, such as customary marriage and customary law. But in general, the traditions of black people are based on belief in the mighty and masculine gods , the spirit of ancestors and occult powers. Polygamy is also justified and "lobolo" (dowry) will usually be paid. Buffalo plays an important role in most cultures, as a symbol of wealth and animal sacrifice.
South African art can be seen from various cave and stone paintings by the San , some of which were painted 26,000 years ago. Beads carefully designed by the Zulu people are also a popular handicraft in this country. Unfortunately, black culture was abolished during the apartheid era. Daily traditions that are closely related to the traditions and culture of black people have been ignored and also abolished. The most striking example is the destruction of "District Six", a multicultural area in Cape Town and Sophiatown in Johannesburg , where many internationally renowned musicians gather and hone their skills. Among the famous music groups included Ladysmith Black Mambazo who succeeded in bringing South African music to the Western world, before and also after apartheid.
In terms of food , beefsteak or sausage boerewors , boiled vegetables and chips (french fries) are the main foods, and more challenging foods are usually rather scary. Food here leads more to meat. African food is rarely sold in restaurants here, although people can get cheap rice and "stew" from outlets in urban areas. Beer and brandy are the most popular drinks among the people, and wine is increasingly popular here.
State symbol
Main article: Symbol of South Africa
The symbol of the South African country was first introduced on South Africa's independence day on April 27, 2000 . This symbol replaces the old symbols used since 1910 .
National Flag
Main article: Flag of South Africa
The South African flag was worn by the government since April 27, 1994 , in the first general election since the end of apartheid. This flag is used to symbolize South African democracy. The flag, which was originally only for the time being, and was designed by Frederick G. Brownell, was well received by the community so that it was eventually made a national flag.
International organization
South Africa is a member of several international organizations, including:
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