Politics 2A Essay South Africa
Politics 2A Essay South Africa
Politics 2A Essay South Africa
Introduction
In an increasingly developed world, underdevelopment continues to be of
international concern. However, in recent years, there has been growing acceptance
that good governance is the key to any development or progress in Africa because it
is seen to create an environment open to investment and growth. Indeed the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) claims that good governance is a
precondition and foundation for sustainable development and poverty eradication
(NEPAD Secretariat, 2003:58). This so-called good governance agenda contains
several criteria or guidelines perceived as crucial for creating and maintaining good
governance. For a country such as South Africa (the subject of this essay) which
remains underdeveloped in certain areas of the country and developing in others, the
good governance self-sufficiency and development. This essay will analyse South
Africa’s compliance with the Good Governance Agenda by studying each of their
standards, explaining their importance and examining South Africa’s observance of
each one. This essay will begin with and background to South Africa in order to
contextualise its current setting, before moving on to examining the standards.
In 1910, the Union of South Africa including the British colonies of the Cape and
Natal and the Afrikaner republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State was
created as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire.
In 1948, when D.F. Malan came into power he implemented Apartheid or race
segregation. Due to this South Africa became a republic in 1961 and withdrew from
the Commonwealth (Freedom House, 2006, Internet Source).
The first democratic elections took place in April 1994, which resulted in a major
victory for the African National Congress (ANC). The election in turn made Nelson
Mandela president. South Africa is a young democracy and began the enormous task
of reforming South Africa’s politics and economy from the apartheid system. South
Africa adopted its first new constitution in February 1997.
.
1
3.South Africa’s compliance with the elements of good governance
Good Governance is principally concerned with the exercise of power and its effect
on the lives of the citizens and their standard of living within a country
(Larmour,1998:1). In this regard several elements or components are provided by
which to ‘operationalise’ good governance. Each of these will be examined in turn:
their importance for good governance will be outlined and South Africa’s compliance
with each will be studied to ultimately determine the extent of South Africa’s
compliance with the good governance agenda.
With regard to South Africa, the Constitution of 1996 provides for a multiparty election
in the form of a Republic. It allows for universal suffrage over the age of eighteen.
There is a separation of powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature (CIA,
2007, Internet Source).
The President is both the chief of state and head of government who in turn appoints
cabinet of ministers. Presidential elections are held every five years. The legislative
branch consists of a bicameral parliament consisting of 400 seats in the National
Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The judiciary is headed by the
Constitutional Court, then the Supreme Court of Appeal, High Courts and the
Magistrates Courts. Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein is the
judicial capital (CIA, 2007, Internet Source).
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa ruled is by the government. The
African National Congress (ANC) is the only party that can amend the constitution as
it’s the majority party in the government.
There are several political parties and pressure groups exist and are all seen to
participate in electoral competition. The African National Congress (ANC) is the
majority party represented in parliament which controls eight out of the nine
2
provinces. The electoral system is considered legitimate and credible by the citizens
and the international community (SouthAfricaInfo, 2006, Internet Source).
In 1994, South Africa had its first free and fair democratic elections monitored by
international observers, despite political violence resulted in a complete success
victory for the ANC and the election of Nelson Mandela as president. In 1999, the
general elections saw the ANC claim two-thirds of the vote; Thabo Mbeki, won the
presidency. The National elections in April 2004 saw the ANC won 70 percent of the
vote and President Thabo Mbeki was sworn for his second term as president
(Freedom House, 2007, Internet Source).
The World Democracy Audit ranks South Africa as 42 out of 150. Political and Civil
liberties are both ranked 2, which is very impressive for an Africa State (1 represents
most 7 least free). Furthermore, South Africa is reported to be free (World Audit,
2006, Internet Source). South Africa has had difficulty with its democracy in the past.
But since South Africa became a democratic state it has vastly improved. These
scores thus indicate that South Africa is indeed an active democracy both in law and
in practice, thus overall, South Africa complies with the democratic requirement.
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights provide South Africans with a comprehensive
set of liberties that are generally enjoyed in practice. The rights that are included in
the Bill of Rights are equality, human dignity and freedom from torture, inhuman and
cruel treatment, freedom from child abuse, and a series of procedural rights for
arrested, detained and accused persons (The Constitution of the Republic of South,
2005:6).
A United States Report (2006, Internet Source) states that since the abolition of
apartheid, levels of political violence in South Africa have dropped dramatically.
There are high levels of crime and organised criminal activity. Due to this, vigilante
action and mob justice occur. Members of the police commit abuses and deaths in
3
police custody as a result of excessive force remain a massive problem. The
government has taken action to investigate and punish some of those who such acts.
In 1997, the government established an Independent Complaints Directorate to
investigate deaths in police custody and deaths resulting from police action.
Thus South Africa’s compliance with the human rights indicator is not absolute is not
absolute. There is a major problem with crime, gender discrimination, race and
religion hampers major problems. In addition, South Africa has a good record of first
generation of rights since the beginning of the new democracy, but its poor economic
conditions hamper its provision of second generation rights.
4
South Africa has emerged from decades of minority racialist rule as a parliamentary
democracy rule under the new 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
Extensive political rights guaranteed by the Constitution which provides for adult
suffrage, a national common voters roll, regular, free and fair competitive election. An
independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and Electoral Court had been established
to monitor any election irregularities. Such an example was in the 2004 elections
when Inkartha Freedom Party (IFP) challenged the election results for Kwa-Zulu
Natal at the Electoral Court. It was later thrown out of court.(Freedom House, 2006,
Internet Source).
Corruption poses a very significant threat to South Africa’s new democracy and
particularly rampant in members of parliament (Freedom House, 2006, Internet
Source). For example, former ANC chief whip, Tony Yengeni and former South
African deputy minister, Jacob Zuma were both find guilty of corruption. Due to this
President Thabo Mbeki fired as him as deputy president (Europa World Year book,
2006:3970). South Africa features a wide-ranging anti-corruption framework with
several agencies and special bodies claiming a legal mandate to prevent detect and
combat corruption among senior officials, enforcement of these laws and related
sanctions is serious problem in South Africa (Freedom House, 2006, Internet
Source).
5
scores are preferable). The Transparency International Corruption Index (CPI) 2006
(2006, Internet Source) puts South Africa at 4.6 (0 being highly corrupt and 10 being
clean). Giving South Africa’s history of apartheid and high rate of crime it is not
surprising that corruption continues to be a serious problem. South Africa cultivates a
culture of transparency in order to uphold its new democracy
The South African legal system is the product of a synthesis between Roman Dutch
law and English law. Although writers still describe South African law as Roman
Dutch law. English law has a profound effect on the development and the contents of
our law since the beginning of the 19th century (Malherbe and Rautenbach, 2004:21).
6
This indicator relates to monetary, fiscal and trade policies. It examines public
expenditure and economic stability. It prescribes to certain standards such as market
orientated policies, property rights and central bank independence. Effective
economic management is essential for development and thus good governance must
incorporate into its agenda (NEPAD, Secretariat,2003:68).
South Africa operates under a two-tiered economy. The South African Reserve Bank
is the Central Bank of the Republic of South Africa. The primary goal of the South
African Reserve Bank, as defined in the Constitution, is to protect the value of the
currency. This requires the achievement and maintenance of financial stability
(SARB, 2002, Internet Source).
In 1990, after the end of apartheid the government introduced Reconstruction and
Development Program (RDP) which was an economic initiative to improve the
standard of living for the majority of the population. It does not really exist today, but
number of government ministers and offices are charged with supporting RDP
programs and goals. The Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) brought
greater financial discipline and macroeconomic stability, but had disadvantages in
certain areas such as formal employment and black empowerment
(US#2,2007:Internet Source). In 2004 the South African Government was mandated
to establish a government policy, known as Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative
(ASGISA) for South Africa. The main objective of ASGISA is to halve poverty
unemployment, the macroeconomic policy, trade and Industrial policy by 2014 (SA
Gov Info, 2007, Internet Source).
South Africa is one of the few African countries to have joined the group of upper
middle income countries. Its economy is larger than that of Malaysia, and by so far
the largest in sub-Saharan Africa and about 40 percent total of sub-Saharan African
Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP exerts a major influence on total output,
trade and investment flows of the African continent. It dominates the Southern African
region, where it plays a vital role in the regional economic institutions, such as
Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Southern African Development
Community (World Bank, 2007, Internet Source).
South Africa is the world’s largest producer of gold and platinum and its well-
developed mining, services, manufacturing and agriculture sectors rival those in the
7
developed world. But South Africa’s investment freedom, property rights and freedom
from corruption could be improved (Heritage, 2007, Internet Source). In 2002, South
Africa recorded a visible trade deficit of 281 million dollars, while there was a 7, 442
million dollars on the current account of the balance of payments (Europa World
YearBook, 2006:3975). South Africa’s major trading partners are the United Kingdom,
Germany, Italy, Belgium and Japan. Exports reached a total of 28, 2 percent of GDP,
which was a rise of 11,5 percent than from ten years ago(US#2, 2007, Internet
Source).
During apartheid South Africa two year conscription was compulsory for all men after
they finish school. The military service age for voluntary service is now 18 years of
age. Women have a long history of military service in non-combat roles dating back
to World War One (CIA, 2004, Internet Source).
Recent actions on behalf of the South African military include an invasion of Lesotho
to restore the democratically-elected government after a coup. South Africa is
committed to providing United Nations Peacekeeping troops to countries such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi. An operation to Sudan has
started and will increase to Brigade strength (CIA, 2006, Internet Source).The armed
forces fall under the control of the Ministry of Defence.
8
4.7 Social Development
This standard encourages the equitable promotion of well being for all citizens. If this
standard is met it improves the legitimacy of the government and such as a valuable
tool for good governance (NEPAD, Secretariat, 2003:59,62).
Two types of statistics are used in Social Development namely the Gini Coefficient
(measuring the degree of income inequality) and the United Nations Human
Development Index. South Africa HDI for 2006 was 0,653, which gives South Africa a
rank of 121 out of 177 countries. South Africa’s Gini coefficient is 0.59 for 2006,
which indicates South Africa has a major wealth problem. South Africa’s Human
Poverty Index for 2006 was 30, 9% which ranks South Africa 53rd out of 102
developing countries (UN, 2006, Internet Source).
Education has been legally desegregated, since the end of apartheid; in practice
most black children are restricted to ill-equipped schools. In the early 1990s
expenditure for white pupils was four times higher than that of black pupils. The
teacher-to-student ratio for blacks was 1:60 for blacks in urban areas and 1:90 in the
rural areas. On the other hand, the teacher-to-student ratio for whites was 1:30. The
literacy rate for 2005 was 87% (Encarta, 2007: CD ROM).
The South African government has a good aids policy, but they do not know how to
implement it Fourie, Interview). South Africa is one of the worst countries affected by
HIV, with five million HIV infected individuals. Twenty percent of the 15-49 population
age group is infected and more than 35 percent of women who are pregnant are
infected with the virus. 1,700 infections occur every day and 40 percent of deaths are
aids related cases. There is an estimated 660, 000 children who lost one or both
parents due to AIDS. The infant mortality rate is 60,66 deaths per 1000 births, which
results in a life expectancy rate of 42 years. By 2010, without proper treatment five
to seven million deaths could occur (US#2,2006: Internet Source). There
Violence is the most serious social problem in South Africa; in the early 1990s the
country was estimated to one of the most dangerous in the world, with over 40,000
murders a year. Even so, most of the crime and political violence can be traced back
to apartheid. The enormous housing shortage for blacks has helped create the
conditions for violence. The high rate of unemployment, especially among black
youths, also tends to cause the high rate of crime (Encarta, 2007: CD ROM).
9
South Africa’s social development seems to be improving. But there still seems to be
major problems like education, crime and unemployment, which have to be adhered
to.
4.8 Participation by Civil Society in South Africa
The participation of civil society is necessary in order for government to effectively
satisfy demands and be legitimate. Participation also ensures in accountability and
transparency. In this way civil society ensures good governance (Sadie,2004:4).
Freedom of association and peaceful assembly are secured by the constitution and
South Africa features larges variety of civil society (Freedom House, 2006, Internet
Source). South Africa allows for the activities of several non-governmental
organisations (NGO) such as Amnesty International South Africa, the Red Cross, and
Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and other several local
organisations. IDASA’s activities include promoting democracy based on active
citizenship, democratic institutions and social justice. IDASA has a Political
Governance Programme (PGP) which seeks to enhance methods by which citizens
are empowered and can give their opinion on the parliamentary governance process
(IDASA,2007: Internet Source).
Press Freedom is ranked by the World Audit (2001, Internet Source) at 35 out of 150
countries. Freedom of the press and expression, is protected in the constitution is
generally respected. The media are sharply critical of the government, political
parties and other societal actors. Civil society ensures that organisations are allowed
to be heard regarding any concerns it may have. South Africans are free to join and
form and participate in trade unions. Labour rights codified under the 1995 Labour
Relations Act and more than 250 trade unions exist, such as National Union of Mine
Workers and Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) (Freedom House,
2006, Internet Source).
South Africa’s legislative elections take place every five years. The election allows
the citizens to choose a country’s leadership on the basis of a diverse menu of
national programmes and ideological orientations of political parties (Matlosa,
2005:5).
The above element of good governance promotes the participation of civil of society
and thus South Africa is complying with this standard.
10
4.9Equity and Inclusiveness
This standard states that all members of society need to feel included to further the
promotion of good governance. It includes aspects such as gender equality, equitable
representation of all groups, protection and promotion of women’s vulnerable groups’
rights (UNESCAP, 2000, Internet Source).
South Africa’s gender related development index (GDI) is 0,646 should be compared
to its HDI value of 0, 653. Its GDI value is 98, 9% of its HDI value. Out of the
countries with both HDI and GDI values, 83 countries have better a ratio than South
Africa. This indicates that South Africa has major gender discrimination towards
women (UN, 2006, Internet Source).
Equal rights for women are guaranteed by the constitution and promoted by the
constitutionally mandated Commission on Gender Equality. While the constitution
allows the option and practice of customary law, it allows such law to super cede the
constitutional rights assured to women as South African citizens. Nevertheless,
women suffer de facto discrimination with regard to issues surrounding marriage,
divorce, inheritance and property rights. Women are subject to wage discrimination in
the workplace and are well represented in top management positions. In June 2006,
President Thabo Mbeki appointed Mineral and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlamba-
Ngcuka as deputy president (Freedom House, 2007, Internet Source).
An important economic equality and equity program in South Africa is the Black
Economic Empowerment which redress the inequalities of the past by giving
disadvantaged non-whites economic opportunities previously not available.It includes
indexes such as Employment Equity (Encarta, 2007:CD ROM).
4.10Government Capacity
This indicator examines the ability of government to design, formulate and implement
policies and discharge functions. This requires competent officials to ensuring the
security and well-being of citizens. The very nature of this indicator forms an integral
part of the concept of good governance (Weiss, 2006:611).
The National Assembly forms the sole legislative arm of power. This allows for broad-
based discussion on the adoption of policies to meet ensure they meet citizen
demands. This body effectively formulates and discharges functions and various
sub-committees to ensure their implementation.
11
In the local and national government there is a major government capacity problem.
As such vacate positions are not being filled with adequate and skilled people. There
is money readily available. Due to money being readily available makes corruption
even worse. Ministers are being bribed by construction workers to employ that
certain construction company. There is a high instance of nepotism cases as
government employers only employ family workers. There is major fraud and stealing
in the government for instance Former Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Scbair
Schaik in the Arms Deal Case (Freedom House, 2006, Internet Source).
South Africa’s judiciary is corrupt and inefficient as such fails to meet this standard.
Civil servants have been noted as corrupt in their processing of paperwork for new
business. A major crisis in the delivery of public services such as the transport
system and home affairs receiving anti-retroviral, ARV) treatment in the public sector
and there is not enough doctors and clinics in the rural areas. As stated before, South
Africa is hampered by lack of skills shortage in the public sector. Revenue collection
and local programmes are effectively and efficiently managed well, however it has
been improving since the end of apartheid (Encarta: 2007, CD ROM).
5.Conclusion
There is difficulty judging South Africa’s compliance with good governance agenda.
Of the eleven indicators listed in this essay. South Africa complies with military,
participation by civil society is promoted and sound economic management is
developing. However within the indicators it was noted South Africa had to work in
areas on reducing discrimination, for instance women’s rights. Furthermore, South
Africa failed to comply with indicators regarding accountability, equity and
inclusiveness, transparency, government capacity, South Africa’s legal framework
and social development. There is a high corruption rate that has to be improved.
South Africa is still living in the apartheid era certain parts of the country. Even
though the country is a young democracy, but it can improve by 2010. Thus overall
South Africa cannot be judged to fully comply with the good governance agenda.
12
6. Bibliography
Documents:
13
African Union, 2002. NEPAD
NEPAD Secretariat, 2003. Objectives, Standards, Criteria and Indicators for the
African Peer Review Mechanism. NEPAD, Nigeria.
Sadie Y, 2004. The Quest for Good Governance in Africa: Issues and Debates”.
Unknown Publication.
Weiss T, 2000. Governance, Good Governance and Global Governance. Third World
Quarterly Vol. 21 (5).
Encyclopedia:
Europa World Year Book. 2006.South Africa Europa Publications, London. Vol. 46.
no. 2. pages 3964-3997
CD-ROM:
South Africa (2007). Microsoft Encarta 2007 {CD ROM}: U.S.A. Microsoft
Corporation.
Constitutions
Republic of South Africa, Act 1996
Interview
14
Fourie, Dr P.F. Politics Lectuer at the University of Johannesburg. Interview 25 April,
2007.
Internet
CIA World Factbook. 2006, South Africa Internet Source, Accesed 1 April 2006.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ml.html
Freedom House. 2005, Country Report – South Africa, Internet Source, accessed 23
March 2007.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=16&year=2005&country=6785
The World Bank. 2005, South Africa- Country Brief, Internet Source, accessed 23
March 2007.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/MALIEXT
N/0,,menuPK:362193~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:362183,00.html
UN Human Development Report, 2005. Country Fact Sheet – South Africa. Internet
Source, accessed 23 March 2006.
http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_MLI.html
[U.S. # 2] U.S. Department of State. 2006, Background note – South Africa, Internet
Source, accessed 23 March 2007. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2828.htm
15
World Audit. Org, 2005. South Africa: World Democracy Profile. Internet Source,
accessed 23 March 2006. http://www.worldaudit.org/countries/mali.htm
Books
Burger, D.,2006. South Africa Year Book 2005/2006. STE Publishers, Yeoville.
Malherbe, E.F.J and I.M. Rautenbach 2004. Constitutional Law, Lexis Nexis,
Butterworths, Johannesburg.
16
17
18