SPECIAL FEATURE The Orange and Vaal rivers play important roles in water schemes and irrigation and the Limpopo River defines the country’s northern boundary. A number of rivers run strongly from the Drakensberg to the sea but South Africa has no navigable rivers. Maize is produced in large quantities in the interior. The dry interior mostly supports livestock in the form of sheep and cattle. South Africa is the world leader in mohair production. Wines and fruit are specialities of the Western Cape while KwaZulu-Natal and the low-lying areas of Mpumalanga are known for sugar cane and tropical and subtropical fruits. Limpopo is a major vegetable producer. History One of South Africa’s premier museums and tourist attractions is known as the Cradle of Humankind, pointing to the fact that what is now South Africa has been home to the human species for thousands of years. Each of the country’s nine provinces presents its official documents in the relevant regional languages so the Western Cape, for example, presents material in Xhosa, Afrikaans and English. The most widely spoken languages are Zulu and Xhosa. Other languages, in order of the number of people who speak the language as a home language, are Pedi, English, Setswana, Sotho, Tsonga, Swati, Tshivenda and Ndebele. Historically, the Nguni-speaking people (Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi and Ndebele) settled along South Africa’s east coast (and what is now Swaziland) while Venda and Tsonga people made their homes south of the Limpopo River. The Mapungubwe cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in northern Limpopo Province illustrates a highly sophisticated kingdom that flourished between 900 and 1300AD. The central regions of South Africa (and Lesotho) were populated by Sotho and Tswana. The Cape was colonised first by the Dutch, by the Batavian Republic and by the British. Prolonged British rule began in 1806. By the late 19th century there were four territories in what is now South Africa: two British colonies (Cape Colony and Natal) and two independent Boer republics. The Anglo-Boer War was fought between 1899 and 1901 and ultimately led to the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, uniting the four territories but ignoring the wishes of the black population. South Africa became a republic in 1960 and severed ties with Britain soon afterwards. After Nelson Mandela was released and a series of negotiating conferences were held, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. South Africa reentered the Commonwealth after 1994. PROVINCE CAPITAL PREMIER POPULATION AREA GRP BILLION RAND Eastern Cape Bhisho Phumulo Masualle 6 916 200 168 966km 2 R289.9 Free State Bloemfontein Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule 2 817 900 129 825km 2 R189.1 Gauteng Johannesburg David Makhura 13 400 000 18 178km 2 R1 305.6 KwaZulu- Natal Pietermaritzburg Willies Mchunu 11 919 100 94 361km 2 R610.1 Limpopo Polokwane Stanley Mathabatha 5 800 000 125 754km 2 R271.5 Mpumalanga Mbombela David Mabuza 4 283 900 76 495km 2 R284.2 North West Mahikeng Supra Mahumapelo 3 707 000 104 882km 2 R249.5 Northern Cape Kimberley Sylvia Lucas 1 185 600 372 889km 2 R79.9 Western Cape Cape Town Helen Zille 6 200 100 129 462km ² R518.1 Snapshot of South Africa’s provinces SOURCE: STATSSA, 2016. SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018 16
FACT FILE: REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA President: Jacob Zuma (African National Congress) Capitals: Pretoria/Tshwane (administrative, seat of government), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial). Provinces and provincial capitals: Western Cape (Cape Town), Eastern Cape (Bhisho), KwaZulu- Natal (Pietermaritzburg), Mpumalanga (Nelspruit), Limpopo (Polokwane), Gauteng (Johannesburg), North West (Mafikeng), Northern Cape (Kimberley), Free State (Bloemfontein). Time: GMT+2 Population: 55.91-million (2016) Population under 15 years: 30% Population over 60 years: 8% Life expectancy: 65.1 (female); 59.7 (male) Size: 1 220 813km² Major languages: South Africa has 11 official languages but the main language of government and business is English. Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans are widely spoken. Religion: There is no state religion. The majority of the population are Christian but many other religions are followed such as Islam, Jewish and Hindu. Currency: The rand (100 cents). R13.48 = (October 2017) Political system: South Africa is a republic with an executive president who is appointed by the political party that wins the majority of votes in parliamentary elections. There are three tiers of government: national, provincial and municipal but the revenue raising capacity of the latter two spheres is limited. Allocations for health and education for example, are made by national government and then administrated by provinces. Eight of South Africa’s nine provinces are run by premiers from the African National Congress; the Western Cape is administered by the Democratic Alliance. In 2016, municipal elections saw the DA come to power in some of South Africa’s biggest cities, supported by other parties such as the Congress of the People and the United Democratic Front. SPECIAL FEATURE Legal system: South Africa is a constitutional state with separation of powers between the legal and executive authorities. All laws must pass muster with the Constitutional Court which is the ultimate court of appeal on legislation. South Africa’s legal system is based on Roman Dutch law. Infrastructure: Ports of Cape Town, Saldanha, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Ngqura East London, Durban and Richards’ Bay. International airports at Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban and domestic airports at all major cities. South Africa has 34 000km of railway track and half of the country’s road network is paved. Most of South Africa’s power is generated by coal-fired power stations run by the state utility Eskom. A vigorous programme to encourage private investment into renewable energy began in 2012. Resouces: Platinum, gold, iron ore, chromium, vanadium, manganese, alumino-silicates, coal, copper, diamonds, uranium, zirconium. GDP: R3 055-billion (2015) GDP growth: 0.5% (2016), projected 1.3% (2017) (SA Treasury) Exports: Precious and semi-precious stones, mineral products, base metals, vehicles, machinery, chemical products, vegetable products, fruits, foodstuffs and beverages, paper and pulp. Main export markets: China, USA, Japan, Germany, UK, India. Imports: Machinery, mineral products, vehicles, chemicals, original equipment, base metals, plastics and rubber, textiles, optical and medical, foodstuffs and beverages. Main import markets: China, Germany, USA, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, UK, India, France, Nigeria. 17 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2018
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