To what extent are the problems of present day South Africa a legacy of the apartheid period?

Samantha Krzywopulski

South African coursework

Question 3

To what extent are the problems of present day South Africa a legacy of the apartheid period?

The system of apartheid collapsed in 1990 for many reasons. F.W de Klerk was the first white man that took over as president and made changes. His first speech was in February 1990, in this speech he set out some dramastic changes, he unbanned the ANC, PAC and SACP. He also announced the release of Nelson Mandela and his fellow prisoners; he said that he was going to work towards equal rights for all South Africans. F.W de Klerk had no choice to do this as South Africa was on the edge of a civil war between the races.

A problem facing modern day South Africa is HIV and Aids. Aids are sweeping throughout South Africa, which is like a new black death that could kill most of the population. Aids is already killing 2 million people a year in Africa, this means that about 1 in 5 South Africans are infected. This means that if things don’t improve half of all 15-year-old boys in the country will die of aids. There are about 1700 new cases of aids and HIV a day, which is a disaster for the economy. By 2015 there will be a population shortfall of about 10 million people. It is said that women with a life expectancy of 54 in 1999 would only survive until the age of 37 by 2010. Men would also only live to about 38, this means that almost 30% of the country’s workforce will be HIV positive and a whole generation would be wiped out.

There are many reasons why the apartheid was to blame for HIV/ Aids in South Africa here are some of the reasons why. During the apartheid Black South Africans received no sex education, this meant that they could not appreciate how HIV and Aids are passed on. Also during the apartheid Black South Africans could not afford condoms, which increased the chances of HIV spreading quickly. They could not afford things like food let alone condoms. The government did nothing to help prevent the spread of HIV as it was seen as a black disease. This is because they believed that HIV and Aids was a result of living in poverty.

However, the apartheid was not entirely to blame for the spreading of HIV and Aids. President Mbeki argues that HIV is spread through poverty and malnutrition. People are less likely to believe the white doctors and trust Mbeki because of his origins. The current health minister says a cure for HIV is to eat garlic and beetroot. Also other countries in Africa like Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola all have HIV problems but they did not have the apartheid. The current government did not help thing either as they refuse to pay for the treatment to prevent pregnant mothers from passing ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

However, the apartheid was not entirely to blame for the spreading of HIV and Aids. President Mbeki argues that HIV is spread through poverty and malnutrition. People are less likely to believe the white doctors and trust Mbeki because of his origins. The current health minister says a cure for HIV is to eat garlic and beetroot. Also other countries in Africa like Zimbabwe, Botswana and Angola all have HIV problems but they did not have the apartheid. The current government did not help thing either as they refuse to pay for the treatment to prevent pregnant mothers from passing on the HIV virus to their unborn child. Crime is a big issue in South Africa a vast amount of rapes are taking place, which means that HIV is spread very quickly. Another thing to blame is the tradition of sleeping with the dead brothers wife. This also means that HIV can spread, as it would be unprotected sex.

There are many solutions that could help improve this situation. One of the solutions that could help is to provide the people of South Africa proper sex education that was good quality. Brazil, Uganda and Thailand have all had this problem and the infection rates have dropped. This system should include free condoms and family planning. The government should fund drugs such as Nevaprine, which prevents the babies from catching HIV from their mothers. President Mbeki and the government recognise the problem and should invest money into helping the issue. They should also ban the tradition of sleeping with your brother in law.

A further problem facing modern day south Africa is the slow growth in the economy. The growth of the economy is at 3% instead of the normal rate of 6 – 7% that is needed to create jobs. The coverage of Aids had shook business confidence; this has had a negative effect on overseas investor confidence. The South African Reserve Bank blew $13 billion in 1998 in order to try and save the rand. In 2001 the economy had grown by 1.5% because of the improvements of productivity. Average incomes are low and really needs improving especially among the black community. The reason why the economy is not at the 6-7% where it should be is because no one knew how to attract investment, as no one wanted to invest in South Africa.

Here is why apartheid was partially to blame for the slow growth of the economy. The white Africans were reluctant to invest in the economy believe that black leadings are not intelligent enough to run the economy. This is due to their poor education received under the apartheid. The economy needed the whites money to help keep it growing but they were afraid that they would loose their money. There was also a constant fear of racism as the white South Africans believe that the black government would give their money to the black South Africans. This means that the white South Africans are frightened that the black South Africans would do the same to the white South Africans as they did to the black South Africans. The white South Africans also gave negative reports about society in South Africa and this frightened the foreign investors. Which means that the economy wouldn’t be growing at the rate it should be.

However, again apartheid is not entirely to blame for the slow growth of the economy. This is because of many reason one of these reasons is that Africa as a continent is struggling to improve its economy. The effects are felt in South Africa, as it cannot trade with its neighbouring continents. This is because the South African Reserve bank spent $13 billion to try and save the rand, when they could have spent it on something else. There was also the competition with Sierra Leone as this led to a decline of exports of diamonds. Sierra Leone could sell diamonds cheaper so that people stopped buying diamonds from South Africa. This was a problem because South Africa relied on the diamonds to keep the economy growing. Without the money from the diamonds South Africa was getting poorer. Another factor was the impact of HIV and Aids. As this meant that it cost more money to train workers as they are dying out from the disease. But also as they train new workers it is not long until they have to train someone else, as life expectancy is very short.

Again there are many solutions that could help improve the situation. One of these could be to improve everyone’s education for all the races so they know how to invest. White South Africans would be less frightened to invest in the economy. They could also try to sort something out about the competition over the diamonds as South Africa depends on it. No crack down on crime will help unless it is accompanied by economic growth strong enough to bring down unemployment. There is a slow growth in the economy; this is because the coverage of the Aids controversy had shook business confidence, which has stopped people from investing abroad. They should also allow better education so that all races are better educated. This means that more people could become police officers, lawyers and judges. However, this cannot be done unless the economy improves. If more people had jobs there would be less people on the streets so there should be less crime.

The biggest problem facing South Africa today is crime. There are a number of murders, rapes, car jacks and violent assaults. Johannesburg is probably one of the most dangerous places in the world today. The murder rate rose to 58.5 per 100,000. A rape is reported every 12 minutes. It is the highest rate of sexual attacks in the world. In 1999 there were 400,000 violent assaults and 58,000 frauds. Car jacks jumped to 30% to 9.1 per 100,000. Young children would watch helplessly as their parents die at the hands of ruthless criminals.

As there are so many sexual attacks HIV and Aids spread very quickly across the population. This means that more people are dying because the life expectancy has dropped. Women with a life expectancy of 54 in 1999 would only survive 37 years by 2010. Men would live until they are 38, which affect the economy greatly.

Crime is the number one issue for all races in South Africa. 500 policemen were murdered in 1998. This situation was made worse by the view of the government and the courts as they were ineffective or even for the criminals. There is a rise in vigilante groups. The police turned a blind eye to the Mapogo organisation because when they go into an area the crime rate goes down.