Transforming South Africa

In this assignment I am going to analyse how government policies are developed, covering all aspects of the policy making process.

South Africa has long been known for the racist policies that were implemented by the government during apartheid. In reality, many of these policies were introduced before apartheid, and thus South Africa today is affected by centuries rather than just a few decades of racism. The racial practice and policies of the nineteenth century that developed out of South Africa’s mineral revolution were then carried into the apartheid era, and are of particular importance for black South African families. The desires of the white population to have sufficient labour and to monitor it while reserving urban areas for whites occasioned the government to create restrictive laws starting in the late nineteenth century which were carried into apartheid. These laws and practices broke apart the South African black family and has resulted in enduring consequences for black families and South Africa.

Twenty years into democracy, the high poverty rates of the post-Apartheid government is an indication of the high income inequality and also a clear view that improper policy formulations or planning. The ANC at some point forgot to create policies which could be consider or uplift ordinary citizens instead of benefiting those who are already better off, and to add up, the current situations encountered by the current leadership is an indication that they have not advanced to narrow down the income or economic inequality gap between the rich and the poor. However, let’s give them credit that at least there are few rich black people than before even though there still remain the dominance of white people on the economic platform of getting

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

The neoliberal policies, which South Africa has implemented after the end of the Apartheid era, has lead to increased inequality, both on the national as well as the global level. This has led many to argue that South Africa today faces a new kind of imperialism, one that is not so much based on political subordination but rather on a new type of economic subordination through a so-called "empire of capital". This idea, among others, falls under the broader theory of "economic imperialism".

The Atlantic article by Kenichi Serino, entitled “How Apartheid Haunts a New Generation of South Africans”, discusses the lasting effect of the segregation system in South Africa, specifically focusing on young adults and the way in which they face limits due to lasting racial sentiments in areas such as education, as well as job opportunity. Serino succeeds in provoking an emotional response in the audience through the avenue of powerful and strategically placed quotes, incorporated with the grim reality of the situation. Additionally, the author of the piece sets out to familiarize the audience with the concept of apartheid through his informative style and also, inform the reader of the long term injustice suffered by Africans in the country long after the initial period of official discrimination.

The policy making process in CA plays an instrumental role in the prosperity and quality of life that exist today, and will exist in the future for CA. Public policy can be defined as a public response to public problems. It's what the government says and does about these problems. Policy is when government and nongovernmental agents work together to create solutions for the public at large. The policy actors are formal, as well as informal; they are individuals or groups, which bring about the influence needed to implement public solutions.

This essay also investigates whether the South Africa is really state capitalism or are they using Major Private Sectors to socially develop the South African economy, being Neoliberal capitalism?

South Africa is an upper-middle income country with a population of 52 million people and a GDP of 312.80 billion US dollars (“Statistics South Africa | The South Africa I Know, The Home I Understand”, n.d.). The country has the second largest economy in Africa; it plays a prominent role in sub-Saharan Africa and in the continent as a whole. South Africa was hugely shaped by the apartheid legacy, a system of racial segregation that began during the colonial rule and was officially enforced by the National Party after the elections of 1948. Apartheid regime ended in 1994 and the newly elected government led by the African National Congress (ANC) had to deal with enormous challenges in terms of poverty and huge inequalities. ANC’s election manifesto, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) emphasised that “attacking poverty and deprivation” must be “the first priority of a democratic government” (Statistics South Africa 2014). RDP was an ambitious socioeconomic framework focusing on addressing “economic imbalances” and “democratising” the economy (ANC, 1994 cited in Francis, 2006), redistribution through major land reform, house construction and service provision. In 1996, the RDP was substituted by a neo-liberal programme “Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR)”, which was an export-led orthodox macroeconomic strategy coupled with trade liberalisation. This rightward shift of policy aimed at maintaining the confidence of international

“South Africa cannot escape its African destiny. If we do not devote our energies to this continent, we too could fall victim to the forces that have brought ruin to its various parts” (Mandela, 1993: 89). The South African government, after the apartheid regime, made African issues one of the pillars of its foreign policy. The government committed itself to Africa because of various reasons, however, the most obvious reason is that the country wants to show loyalty to African States who played a hand in the liberation struggle. The areas of engagement South Africa has set out for itself in the Africa-mission are the following: “the encouragement of cultural exchange; the emancipation of African women from

This investigation will thoroughly evaluate the political, economic and social effects on the natives of South Africa after its union in 1910 . To what extent was the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910 an effort to combat Black political awareness? The most valuable sources that are going to be used to explore this are Nelson Mandela’s illustrated Long Walk to Freedom , and the article “The Union of South Africa” created by the South African History Online (SAHO).

1 Despite the successful transition into a democracy, a country that poorly manages conflicts is what haunts South Africa to date. It continues to defy the promotion of good governance. Often times finding difficulty for the citizens of South Africa to meaningfully express their demands and concerns without violence as a means to get attention. Violence seems to be a legacy long left behind from a country torn by apartheid. A country where violence seems to be a first resort rather than a last. To understand the structure of South Africa today one must recognize the function of it’s past. The identification of society and its conflicts must be understood to help with the development of conflict resolution.

Specifically in regards to education, the government targeted the wrong aspect once more. It employed affirmative in university admissions, but with little effect. Recall that the Extension of University Education Act made it illegal for blacks to attend universities without government permission. So when apartheid ended, all universities were open to blacks. But opening a university to blacks doesn’t mean they will attend, and it certainly doesn’t mean they will excel. Just like how apartheid left blacks unskilled and unqualified for jobs, it also left millions of black secondary school students unprepared for higher education. As shown in the figure below, the graduation rate for Africans was 24% lower than that of whites as of 2006. Figure 3: Graduation in regulation time, overall and by population group (%) (http://www.che.ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/Full_Report.pdf

According to Farlam (2005) and Schönteich (2007, the South African government saw PPPs as a way to radically improve/enhance infrastructure and service delivery to its people and as a way to redress the inequalities that were evident. To this end, they appointed a task team to develop legislative, policy and a framework for PPPs (PPP Unit). As a result, a PPP Unit was established in National Treasury. Schönteich (2007) remarks that as a way of redressing inequalities and social imbalances, the PPP framework incorporates Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) regulatory requirements to ensure that previously disadvantaged blacks participate in PPPs projects and this shows government’s sincerity and strong commitment to making PPPs work.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities