Apartheid in Africa

This is a 2 page paper that discusses the development and progress of the APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA

INTRODUCTION:

ANALYSIS:

After the primarily Afrikaner Nationalists came to power in 1948, the social custom of apartheid was systematized under law. The implementation of the policy, later referred to as "separate development," was made possible by the Population Registration Act of 1950, which put all South Africans into three racial categories: Bantu (black African), white, or Coloured (of mixed race). A fourth category, Asian (Indians and Pakistanis), was added later (2). This was the inception of the historical too of discrimination unleashed on the poor community of the blacks by the ruling whites called the Apartheid.

The clear reason of this apartheid was to have as less interference of the blacks in the governmental process as possible. Simple hatred could also be termed as a plausible reason. The social structure at that time for the blacks was deplorable, they were assigned to low wage jobs only, had no access to education, they were given separate homelands, territories where they stayed put and had to carry passports with their finger prints and photographs if coming into ‘non-black areas’.From 1976 to 1981, four of these homelands were created, denationalizing nine million South Africans However there were apartheid rebels who demonstrated against the inhuman subjugation of the blacks. Politically they were imprisoned, killed or banished. Nelson Mandela was one such freedom fighter.

“South Africa’s party system is one-party dominant; the African National Congress holds nearly a 2/3 majority. The political culture is described in terms of racial and tribal groups. Class, religion, and other cleavages are not as significant. The ANC faces a fundamental political problem: coming through on promises to improve black conditions of life while not frightening the white minority that still controls much the country’s wealth. The ANC’s dominance can also lead to a degree of instability. South Africans debate how to manage their revolution, and how to implement capitalist policies. If disorder ensues, the ANC could become authoritarian, resembling Zimbabwe. The country has abundant resources and the most developed industry on the African continent. The question is whether it can harness these assets to serve the needs of the majority while maintaining democratic institutions.’(1)

CONCLUSION: