Historical Development of South Africa

 Before South Africa's vast mineral wealth was discovered in the late nineteenth
century, there was a general belief that southern Africa was almost devoid of
the riches that had drawn Europeans to the rest of the continent. South Africa
had no known gold deposits such as those the Portuguese had sought in West
Africa in the fifteenth century. The region did not attract many slave traders.

 Valuable crops such as palm oil, rubber, and cocoa, which were found
elsewhere on the continent, were absent. Although the local economy was rich
in some areas--based on mixed farming --only ivory was traded to any extent.
Most local products were not sought for large-scale consumption in Europe.
Instead, Europeans first settled southern Africa to resupply their trading
expeditions.

 In 1652, the Dutch East India Company settled a few employees at a small fort
at present-day Cape Town and ordered them to provide fresh food for the
company's ships. This nucleus of European settlement quickly spread outward
from the fort, first to trade with the local Khoikhoi hunting populations and
later to take control their land for European farmers..

 By the early nineteenth century, when the Cape settlement came under British
rule, 26,000 Dutch farmers had settled the area from Stellenbosch to the Great
Fish River. In 1820 the British government sponsored 5,000 more settlers who
also established large cattle farm, relying on African labor. But the European
immigrants, like earlier arrivals in the area, engaged primarily in subsistence
farming and produced little for export.

 The discovery of diamonds in 1869 and of gold in 1886 revolutionized the

economy. European investment flowed in; by the end of the nineteenth century,
it was equivalent to all European investment in the rest of Africa. International
banks and private lenders increased cash and credit available to local farmers,
miners, and prospectors. The Europeans applied to violence to defend their
economic interests, sometimes clashing with those who refused to avoid their
freedom. Eventually, as the best land became scarce, groups of settlers clashed
with one another, and hostile Dutch and British populations fought for control
over the land.

 South Africa was drawn into the international economy through its exports,
primarily diamonds and gold, and through its own increasing demand for a
variety of agricultural imports. The cycle of economic growth was stimulated
 by the continual expansion of the mining industry, and with newfound wealth.

 In the first half of the twentieth century, government economic policies were
designed to meet local consumer demand and to reduce the nation's faith on its
mining sector. But the government also saw its role as helping to defend white
farmers and businessmen from African competition.

 In 1913 the Natives Land Act reserved most of the land for white ownership,
forcing many black farmers to work as wage laborers on land they had
previously owned. When the act was amended in 1936, black land ownership
was restricted to 13 percent of the country, much of it heavily eroded.

 During the 1920s, to encourage the fledgling manufacturing industries, the

government established state corporations to provide inexpensive electricity and
steel for industrial use, and it imposed import tariffs to protect local
manufacturers. Again black entrepreneurs were discouraged, and new laws
limited the rights of black workers, creating a large pool of low-cost industrial
labor.

 By the end of the 1930s, the growing number of state-owned enterprises

dominated the manufacturing sector, and black entrepreneurs continued to be
pressured to remain outside the formal economy.

 Manufacturing experienced new growth during and after World War II. Many
of the conditions necessary for economic expansion had been present before the
war--cities were growing, agriculture was being fixed into large farms with
greater emphasis on commercial production, and mine owners and shareholders
had begun to diversify their investments into other sectors.

 The government increased its role in the economy, especially in manufacturing,

during the 1950s and the 1960s. It also initiated large-scale programs to
promote the commercial cultivation of corn and wheat. Government
investments through the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation
(IDC) helped to establish local textile and pulp and paper industries, as well as
state corporations to produce fertilizers, chemicals, oil, and armaments. Both
manufacturing and agricultural production expanded rapidly, and by 1970
manufacturing output exceeded that of mining.

 Despite the appearance of self-sustaining economic growth during the postwar

period, the country's economy continued to be able to its historical limitations:
recurrent drought, over-trust on gold exports, and the costs and consequences of
the use of disenfranchised labor. While commercial agriculture developed into
an important source of export revenue, production plummeted during two major
droughts, from 1960 to 1966 and from 1981 to 1985. Gold continued to be the
most important export and revenue earner; yet, as the price of gold fluctuated,
especially during the 1980s, South Africa's exchange rate and ability to import
 goods suffered.

 Manufacturing, in particular, was seriously affected by downswings in the price

of gold, in part because it relied on imported machinery and capital. Some
capital-intensive industries were able to expand, but only with massive foreign
loans. As a result, many industries were insulated from the rising labor
militancy, especially among black workers, which sparked disputes and slowed
productivity in the late 1980s. As black labor increasingly voiced its
frustrations, and foreign banks cut short their loans because of mounting
instability, even capital-intensive industries felt the impact of apartheid on
profits.

 The economy was in fall back from March 1989 through most of 1993, largely
in response to worldwide economic conditions and the long-term effects of
apartheid. High inflation had become chronic, driving up costs in all sectors.
Economic growth continued to depend on decent world prices for gold and on
the availability of foreign loans. Even as some sectors of the economy began to
recover in late 1993, intense violence and political uncertainty in the face of
reform slowed overall growth through 1994.

 October 2011 saw Statistics South Africa conducting a comprehensive national

census. The census, which analysed the country’s demographics, population
distribution and access to services, average household size, income, migration,
and mortality, was the third national population and housing count in post-
apartheid South Africa.

 South Africa has continued to build on its international profile. On 1 January

2011, the country started its second term as a non-permanent member of the
United Nations (UN) Security Council between 2011 and 2012

 In 2011, to secure a better quality of life for all, the National Planning
Commission in The Presidency finalised the draft National Development Plan:
Vision for 2030. The plan is a step towards charting a new path for South
Africa in dealing with the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and
inequality.

 On 8 January 2012, Africa’s oldest liberation movement, the ANC, celebrated

100 years of existence. This was a historic achievement, not only for the
movement, but also for South Africa and the continent.

 In May 2012, the Square Array Kilometre (SKA)Organisation announced that

the SKA Project would be shared between South Africa and Australia, with a
majority share coming to South Africa.

 South Africa celebrated 20 Years of Freedom in 2014, which was a historic

milestone for the country. The Twenty Year Review, which was released in
 2013, and the National Planning Commission’s 2011 Diagnostic Report,
highlight that poverty, inequality and unemployment continue to negatively
affect the lives of many people.

 Despite progress in reducing rural poverty and increasing access to basic

services in rural areas over the past 20 years, rural areas are still characterised
by great poverty and inequality. As stated in the NDP, by 2030, South Africa’s
rural communities must have better opportunities to participate fully in the
economic, social and political life of the country.

 Government’s programme of radical economic transformation is about placing

the economy on a qualitatively different path that ensures more rapid,
sustainable growth, higher investment, increased employment, reduced
inequality of the economy. The NDP sets a growth target of at least 5% a year,
and emphasises measures to ensure that the benefits of growth are equitably
shared.

 In 2017, South Africa celebrated five years since the launch of the National
Development Plan, which outlines the goals to achieve the vision of a
prosperous South Africa by tackling the triple challenge of unemployment,
poverty and inequality by 2030.