South Africa

H

Foreign Trade

In 2004 South Africa’s total exports were worth $40.2 billion and imports $47.8 billion. The major exports were gold, iron and steel, coal, chemicals, automobiles and other transport equipment, and food products. South Africa is a net exporter of farm products, especially maize, sugar, fruit, vegetables, and wine, but the country experiences substantial variations in production because of recurring drought. Imports consist mainly of machinery and equipment, motor vehicle parts, chemicals, and crude oil.

Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Saudi Arabia are the leading suppliers of imported goods. Chief purchasers of South Africa’s exports are the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Italy. Trade with the rest of Africa grew even in the final years of apartheid and has increased considerably since 1994. Most of South Africa’s exports to Africa are to the other countries of the Southern African Customs Union (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland). In 1994, after restoring normal relations with other African countries, South Africa joined the Southern African Development Community.

I

Currency and Banking

The rand, divided into 100 cents, is the basic unit of currency (6.40 rand equal U.S.$1; 2005 average). The South African Reserve Bank in Pretoria, founded in 1920, is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy, overseeing the banking system, and issuing the currency. There are numerous commercial, savings, and investment banks, and electronic banking services are well developed. There is an organized money and capital market that includes the JSE Securities Exchange (formerly named Johannesburg Stock Exchange) and related brokerage activities.

VI

Government

The 20th century produced several fundamental governmental changes in South Africa. In 1910 the Union of South Africa was formed as a largely autonomous dominion of Britain. Under the 1910 constitution, the British monarch was the nominal head of state, but authority over most matters was vested in a single-chamber parliament, headed by a prime minister. By the 1931 Statute of Westminster, South Africa and other dominions within the British Commonwealth were proclaimed fully autonomous, gaining equality status with Britain. In 1961 South Africa became a republic and left the Commonwealth. The 1961 constitution created the office of president as head of state. A new constitution in 1984 established a tricameral (three-house) parliament with white, Coloured, and Asian houses, but excluded the black majority altogether.

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Lengthy constitutional negotiations in the early 1990s led to the implementation of an interim constitution in April 1994. These negotiations also resulted in agreement on a number of principles that would be binding during the negotiations for a final constitution. The final constitution was passed by parliament in May 1996 but was subsequently rejected by the Constitutional Court because certain provisions did not comply with the 1994 principles. A revised version was finally accepted in December 1996 and went into force in February 1997. The new constitution, which included a comprehensive bill of rights, was the first in the world to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

A

Executive

The president is elected by the majority party in the National Assembly (one of the two houses of parliament) to a five-year term, renewable once. The president appoints a deputy president and a cabinet of ministers from members of the National Assembly.

B

Legislature

The parliament consists of two houses: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. The National Assembly has 400 members, popularly elected to five-year terms under a system of proportional representation. The National Council of Provinces has 90 members, 10 from each province. These members, which are appointed by the provincial legislatures, also serve five-year terms.