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6 South Africa
6.1 Background and Government
The Republic of South Africa is located in Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the
continent of Africa. Until 1994 South Africa was ruled by a white minority government
which was so determined to hang onto power that it took activists most of the
last century before they succeeded in their fi ght to get rid of apartheid and extend democracy
to the rest of the population 67 . The African National Congress (ANC) led the
opposition to apartheid and many top ANC leaders, such as Nelson Mandela, spent
decades in South Africa’s prisons. Internal protests and insurgency, as well as boycotts
by some Western nations and institutions, led to the regime’s eventual willingness to
negotiate a peaceful transition to majority rule. The fi rst multi-racial elections in 1994
brought an end to apartheid and ushered in majority rule under an ANC-led government.
The new leadership encouraged reconciliation. But the cost of the years of
confl ict will be paid for a long time yet, not least in terms of lawlessness, social disruption
and lost education. South Africa since then has struggled to address apartheid-era
imbalances in decent housing, education, and health care. ANC infi ghting, which
has grown in recent years, came to a head in September 2008 when President Thabo
Mbeki resigned, and Kgalema Motlanthe, the party’s General-Secretary, succeeded him
as interim president. Jacob Zuma became president after the ANC won general elections
in April 2009 68 .
The Republic of South Africa is divided into 9 provinces comprising: Eastern
Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape,
North-West, Western Cape. The South African government has clear policies that local
municipalities and councilors should be sensitive to community views and responsive
to local problems. A number of laws outline participation processes that municipalities
have to use to consult the community. The Department of Provincial and Local Government
is responsible for national co-ordination of provinces and municipalities.
Most of the civil servants in the country fall under provincial government – these
include teachers and nurses.
The whole of South Africa is divided into local municipalities. Each municipality
has a council where decisions are made and municipal offi cials and staff who implement
the work of the municipality. The work of the council is co-ordinated by a mayor
who is elected by council. The mayor is assisted by an executive or mayoral committee,
made up of councilors. The mayor together with the executive also oversees the
work of the municipal manager and department heads 69 .
6.2 Geography and Demography
South Africa has a total land area of 1,219,090 sq km and a population of
49,052,489 (July 2009). It has a population comprising the following:
67 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profi les/1071886.stm
68 http://www.indesmundi.com/south_africa/background.html
69 http://www.etu.org.za/toolbox/docs/localgov/webundrstdlocgov.html
Strenghtening e-Governance in the North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme 53