1.
2015 in South Africa
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2015 in South Africa saw a number of social and political protests and movements form. South Africa also saw new xenophobic uprisings taking place, mainly targeted towards Africans from other countries, foreigners were beaten, robbed and murdered during the attacks. In education, South Africa recorded a drop in its matric pass rate from 2013 to 2014, the protest #FeesMustFall was started towards the end of the year and achieved its primary goal of stopping an increase in university fees for 2016. South Africa also saw the discovery of Homo naledi in 2015, the South African national rugby union team came third in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and Trevor Noah started hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central. 23 – Leaked documents derived from communications between South Africas State Security Agency and various agencies are published by Al Jazeera and The Guardian,1 – Multiple fires break out on the Cape Peninsula, damaging large expanses of vegetation and several houses. 17 – A group of University of Cape Town students demand the removal of a statue in honour of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes on campus and these protests spur calls for further transformation of South African universities, including a proposed name change for Rhodes University in Grahamstown. 24 – The country sees another resurgence of violence after a statement by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini calling for foreigners residing in South Africa to pack their belongings. Zwelithini later retracts his statements, saying that his comments were misunderstood,30 – Robin Stransham-Ford, a terminally-ill cancer sufferer, is granted the right to die by the North Gauteng High Court in the first assisted suicide case in South Africa. 12 – Mmusi Maimane succeeds Helen Zille as the Leader of the Democratic Alliance,28 – South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan is elected mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Bashir is, however, allowed to leave South Africa soon afterward, the ensuing controversy results in an inquiry into the academic qualifications of one of Prasas senior engineers, as well as the dismissal of the companys chief executive, Lucky Montana. 17 – More than 100 people are injured after two trains collide near the Booysens Train Station in Johannesburg,25 – Eight former police officers are convicted for the murder of Mozambican immigrant and taxi driver, Mido Macia, in the North Gauteng High Court. 10 – An extinct species of hominin dubbed Homo naledi, fossils of which were discovered in 2013 in the Rising Star cave system in Gauteng, is unveiled at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind. 19 – The South African national rugby team suffers a historic 32-34 loss to Japan at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the Springboks later go on to beat Argentina and achieve an overall third place in the World Cup. 28 South African comedian Trevor Noah succeeds Jon Stewart as host of the American news satire television program, The Daily Show. 29 – The 2015 crime statistics, presented in Parliament by police commissioner Riah Phiyega and minister Nathi Nhleko, indicate an increase in the rate of murder,14 National Police Commissioner, Riah Phiyega is suspended after an inquiry into her fitness to hold office. A temporary bridge collapses over the M1 motorway in Johannesburg near Sandton, student protests erupt at the University of Witwatersrand after it is announced that university fees would be raised by 10. 5%. Similar protests later spread to universities across the country, including the University of Cape Town,21 – The #FeesMustFall protests gain momentum countrywide, culminating in a march of 5000 students to the South African Parliament. Riot police move to disperse the largely peaceful protests using stun grenades, tasers, coloured gas, riot shields
2.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
3.
President of South Africa
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The President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under the Constitution of South Africa. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President, the role was founded to be distinct from the now defunct role of prime minister, but the two roles were merged in the 1983 constitution which specified a four-year term of office. The 1993 and later constitutions limits the time in office to two five-year terms. The first President to be elected under the new constitution was Nelson Mandela, under the interim constitution, there was a Government of National Unity, in which a Member of Parliament from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as Deputy President. But De Klerk later resigned and went into opposition with his party, a voluntary coalition government continues to exist under the new constitution, although there have been no appointments of opposition politicians to the post of Deputy President. The President is required to be a member of the National Assembly at the time of his election, upon his election, he immediately resigns his seat for the duration of his term. The President may be removed either by a motion of no-confidence or an impeachment trial, a number of manifestations of the office have existed. Aspects of these offices exist within the presidency today, alternating sovereignty as a result of wars culminated in the Vereeniging Treaty signed in which concluded the South African War. The Union of South Africa, a British Dominion, was established on 31 May 1910, upon the declaration of South Africa as a republic on 31 May 1961, the office of State President was created. It was originally a ceremonial post, but became an executive post in 1984 when a new constitution abolished the post of Prime Minister, South Africa has an almost unique system for the election of its president. Contrary to presidential systems around the world, the President of South Africa is elected by the Parliament of South Africa rather than by the people directly and he is thus answerable to it in theory and able to influence legislation in practice as head of the majority party. The president is elected at the first sitting of parliament after an election, the president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, from among its members. The chief justice must oversee the election, once elected, a person is no longer a member of the national assembly. They must then be sworn in as president within five days of the election, should a vacancy arise, the date of a new election must be set by the chief justice, but not more than 30 days after the vacancy occurs. The Constitution has thus prescribed a system combining both parliamentary and presidential systems in a unique manner, only Botswana and a few other countries use a similar system. Between 1996 and 2003 Israel combined the two systems in a way, with an elected prime minister. Although the presidency is the key institution, it is hedged about with numerous checks and balances that prevent its total dominance over the government, the presidential term is five years, with a limit of two consecutive terms. Thus the electoral system attempts to prevent the accumulation of power in the president as was during Apartheid or in many other African countries
4.
Jacob Zuma
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Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, GCB is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his partys victory in the 2009 general election. He was re-elected in the 2014 election, Zuma is the President of the African National Congress, the governing political party, and was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. Zuma is also referred to by his initials JZ and his clan name Msholozi, Zuma became the President of the ANC on 18 December 2007 after defeating incumbent Thabo Mbeki at the ANC conference in Polokwane. He was re-elected as ANC leader at the ANC conference in Mangaung on 18 December 2012, Zuma was also a member of the South African Communist Party, briefly serving on the partys Politburo until he left the party in 1990. On 20 September 2008, Thabo Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the African National Congresss National Executive Committee, Zuma has faced significant legal challenges. He was charged with rape in 2005, but was acquitted and he fought a long legal battle over allegations of racketeering and corruption, resulting from his financial advisor Schabir Shaiks conviction for corruption and fraud. Zuma was born in Nkandla, Natal Province and his father was a policeman who died when Zuma was young, and his mother was a domestic worker. As a child, Zuma constantly moved around Natal Province and the suburbs of Durban in the area of Umkhumbane and he has two brothers, Michael and Joseph. Zuma began engaging in politics at an age and joined the African National Congress in 1959. He became a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1962. Zuma joined the South African Communist Party in 1963 and that year, he was arrested with a group of 45 recruits near Zeerust in the western Transvaal, currently part of the North West Province. Whilst imprisoned, Zuma served as a referee for prisoners association football games, organised by the prisoners own governing body, after his release from prison, Zuma was instrumental in the re-establishment of ANC underground structures in the Natal province. During this time Zuma joined the African National Congress Department of Intelligence where he became the departments Head of Intelligence. Zuma first left South Africa in 1975 and met Thabo Mbeki in Swaziland, and proceeded to Mozambique, Zuma became a member of the ANC National Executive Committee in 1977. He also served as Deputy Chief Representative of the ANC in Mozambique, after signing the Accord, he was appointed as Chief Representative of the ANC. He served on the ANCs political and military council when it was formed in the mid-1980s, in December 1986, the South African government requested Mozambican authorities expel six senior members of the ANC including Jacob Zuma. As a result of the pressure applied by the government on Mozambique, in January 1987. He moved to the ANC Head Office in Lusaka, Zambia, following the end of the ban on the ANC in February 1990, Zuma was one of the first ANC leaders to return to South Africa to begin the process of negotiations
5.
Leader of the Opposition (South Africa)
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The Leader of the Opposition in South Africa is a title held by the leader of the largest party, not forming part of the government, in the most important house of Parliament. This was the House of Assembly from 1910 to 1994 and the National Assembly from 1994 and he or she acts as the public face of the opposition, leading the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet and the challenge to the government on the floor of Parliament. They thus act as a critic of the government and ultimately attempt to portray the opposition as a feasible alternate government. The current Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly is Mmusi Maimane of the Democratic Alliance and he is also the national party leader. Former national party leader Helen Zille is not a member of the National Assembly, in the list below, when the office is said to be vacant, there was no opposition party with more than ten seats and no clear Leader of the Opposition has been identified. This was the case between the formation of the Hertzog-Smuts coalition in 1933 and the breakaway of the Purified National Party in 1934 and it was also the case during the government of National Unity from 1994 until the National Party ministers resigned in 1996. Only the last two Leaders of the Opposition in the list have been Parliamentary leaders only, whilst the incumbent national party leader was not a Member of Parliament. Section 56 of the South Africa Act 1909, was amended by Section 1 of the South Africa Act Amendment Act 1946, a salary was provided for the Leader of the Opposition and the office was given an official definition. Rule 21 of the rules of the National Assembly provides in similar words that, notes The South African Constitution, by H. J
6.
Free State (province)
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The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africas judicial capital and its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa. It is also the one of the four original provinces of South Africa not to undergo border changes. The provincial government consists of a premier, a council of ten ministers. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of each party receives in the province during the national elections. The assembly elects a premier, who appoints the members of the executive council. The premier of Free State as of 2009 was Ace Magashule of the African National Congress, the Free State is situated on a succession of flat grassy plains sprinkled with pastureland, resting on a general elevation of 3,800 feet only broken by the occasional hill or kopje. The rich soil and pleasant climate allow for an agricultural industry. With more than 30,000 farms, which produce over 70% of the countrys grain, the province is high-lying, with almost all land being 1,000 metres above sea level. The Drakensberg and Maluti Mountains foothills raise the terrain to over 2,000 m in the east, the Free State lies in the heart of the Karoo Sequence of rocks, containing shales, mudstones, sandstones and the Drakensberg Basalt forming the youngest capping rocks. Mineral deposits are plentiful, with gold and diamonds being of importance, mostly found in the north. The flats in the south of the reserve provides ideal conditions for large herds of game such as black wildebeest. The ridges, koppies and plains typical of the section are home to kudu, red hartebeest, southern white rhinoceros. The African wildcat, black wildebeest, zebra, eland, white rhinoceros, the South African cheetahs has been reintroduced in the Free State for the first time in June 2013 after a hundred years of regional extinction, at Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis. The Free State experiences a climate, characterised by warm to hot summers. Areas in the east experience frequent snowfalls, especially on the higher ranges, almost all precipitation falls in the summer months as brief afternoon thunderstorms, with aridity increasing towards the west
7.
Gauteng
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Gauteng, which means place of gold, is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africas first all-race elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria–Witwatersrand–Vereeniging and was renamed Gauteng in December 1994, situated in the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, accounting for only 1. 5% of the land area. Nevertheless, it is highly urbanised, containing the countrys largest city, Johannesburg, its capital, Pretoria. As of 2015, it has a population of nearly 13.2 million, the name Gauteng is derived from the Sotho name, gauta meaning gold with the locative suffix -eng. There was a thriving industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. In Sesotho, the name Gauteng was used for Johannesburg and surrounding areas long before it was adopted in 1994 as the name of a province. Gauteng, formerly known as Pretoria–Witwatersrand–Vereeniging, was carved out of the old Transvaal province in 1994, although the terminology PWV, after the discovery of gold in 1886, the region proceeded to become the single largest gold producer in the world and the city of Johannesburg was founded. The older city Pretoria was not subject to the same attention, Pretoria grew at a slower rate and was highly regarded due to its role in the Second Boer War. The Cullinan Diamond which is the largest diamond ever mined was mined near Pretoria in a town called Cullinan in the year 1905. Gauteng has only been documented since the 1800s and as a result. At the Sterkfontein caves, some of the oldest fossils of hominids have been discovered, such as Mrs. Ples, today, the Apartheid Museum stands testament to these struggles in Johannesburg. Gauteng is governed by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, a 73-person unicameral legislature elected by party-list proportional representation. The most recent election of the legislature was held on 7 May 2014, and the African National Congress won 53. 59% of the vote. The official opposition is the Democratic Alliance, which won 30. 78% of the vote and 23 seats, other parties represented are the Economic Freedom Fighters with eight seats and the Freedom Front Plus and the Inkatha Freedom Party with one seat each. Premier David Makhura of the ANC was elected on 21 May 2014, the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa, which has seats in Pretoria and Johannesburg, is a superior court with general jurisdiction over the province. Johannesburg is also home to the Constitutional Court, South Africas highest court, Gautengs southern border is the Vaal River, which separates it from the Free State. It also borders on North West to the west, Limpopo to the north, Gauteng is the only landlocked province of South Africa without a foreign border
8.
KwaZulu-Natal
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KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, enjoying a long shoreline beside the Indian Ocean and its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban. It is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa, with fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, at around 92,100 km2 in area, KwaZulu-Natal is roughly the size of Portugal. It has three different geographic areas, the areas largest river, the Tugela, flows west to east across the center of the province. The coastal regions typically have subtropical thickets and deeper ravines, steep slopes host some Afromontane Forest, the midlands have moist grasslands and isolated pockets of Afromontane Forest. The north has a primarily moist savanna habitat, whilst the Drakensberg region hosts mostly alpine grassland, the province contains rich areas of biodiversity of a range of flora and fauna. The iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, along with uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Ndumo, are wetlands of international importance for migratory species, and are designated as Ramsar sites. South Africa signed the 1971 Ramsar Convention to try to conserve and protect important wetlands because of their importance to habitats, the former Eastern Cape enclave of the town of Umzimkulu and its hinterland have been incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal following the 12th amendment of the Constitution of South Africa. The amendment also made changes to the southern border of the province. The northwesterly line of latitude and longitude traverses the province from the coast at Hibberdene to northeast Lesotho. KwaZulu-Natal has a varied yet verdant climate thanks to diverse, complex topography, generally, the coast is subtropical with inland regions becoming progressively colder. Temperature drops towards the hinterland, with Pietermaritzburg being similar in the summer, Ladysmith in the Tugela River Valley reaches 30 °C in the summer, but may drop below freezing point on winter evenings. The Drakensberg can experience heavy snow, with light snow occasionally experienced on the highest peaks in summer. The Zululand north coast has the warmest climate and highest humidity, one of these, eThekwini, is a metropolitan municipality and the other ten are district municipalities. The local seat of district municipality is given in parentheses. In 2012, the Ingonyama Trust owns 32% of the land in KwaZulu-Natal and this amounts to about three million hectares, occupied by over 4 million people. The Zulu king is the chairman of the Trust, the coastline is dotted with small towns, many of which serve as seasonal recreational hubs
9.
Speaker of the National Assembly of South Africa
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The Speaker of the National Assembly presides over the National Assembly of South Africa, the lower house of the Parliament of South Africa. The speaker is chosen from among the Members of the Assembly at its first sitting following a general election, the Speaker acts as a referee, taking charge of debates to make sure that the MPs can participate freely while keeping to the rules. The Speaker also has duties to ensure that Parliament runs smoothly. Each political party in the Assembly elects a whip to run its affairs. The presiding officers, the whips, and the Leader of Government Business together decide on the programme of work. org
10.
Northern Cape
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The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up and it includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, an international park shared with Botswana. It also includes the Augrabies Falls and the mining regions in Kimberley. The Namaqualand region in the west is famous for its Namaqualand daisies, the southern towns of De Aar and Colesberg, in the Great Karoo, are major transport nodes between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. In the northeast, Kuruman is famous as a mission station, the Orange River flows through the province, forming the borders with the Free State in the southeast and with Namibia to the northwest. The river is used to irrigate the many vineyards in the arid region near Upington. Native speakers of Afrikaans comprise a higher percentage of the population in the Northern Cape than in any other province, the Northern Capes four official languages are Afrikaans, Tswana, Xhosa, and English. Minorities speak the official languages of South Africa, and a few people speak indigenous languages such as Nama. The provincial motto, Sa ǁa ǃaĩsi uĩsi, is in the Nǀu language of the Nǁnǂe people and it was given in 1997 by one of the languages last speakers, Ms. Elsie Vaalbooi of Rietfontein, who has since died. It was South Africas first officially registered motto in a Khoisan language, subsequently, South Africas national motto, ǃKe e ǀxarra ǁke, was derived from the extinct Northern Cape ǀXam language. The Northern Cape was one of three carved out of the Cape Province in 1994, the others being Western Cape to the south. Politically, it had dominated since 1994 by the African National Congress. Ethnic issues are important in the politics of the Northern Cape, for example, it is the site of the Orania settlement, whose leaders have called for a Volkstaat for the Afrikaner people in the province. They were awarded a settlement in Platfontein in 1999 by the Mandela government, the precolonial history of the Northern Cape is reflected in a rich, mainly Stone Age, archaeological heritage. Cave sites include Wonderwerk Cave near Kuruman, which has a long sequence stretching from the turn of the twentieth century at the surface to more than 1 million years in its basal layer. Many sites across the province, mostly in open air locales or in sediments alongside rivers or pans, document Earlier, Middle and they occur on hilltops, slopes, rock outcrops and occasionally, in a river bed. In the north part of the province there are sites attributable to the Iron Age such as Dithakong. The copper mines of Namaqualand and the rush to the Kimberley area resulted in industrial archaeological landscapes in those areas which herald the modern era in South African history
11.
National Council of Provinces
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The National Council of Provinces is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the constitution which came into full effect in 1997. Election to the NCOP is indirect, citizens vote for provincial legislatures and this means that each of South Africas nine provinces has equal representation in the Council regardless of population. Each provincial delegation consists of six permanent delegates, who are nominated for a term that lasts until a new provincial legislature is elected, the party representation in the delegation must proportionally reflect the party representation in the provincial legislature, according to a formula included in the Constitution. A delegation from the South African Local Government Association, which represents the municipalities, may also attend sittings of the NCOP, after the elections of 7 May 2014, the new provincial legislatures met on 21 May to elect NCOP delegations. The delegations elected are described in the following table, the NCOP may consider, amend, propose amendments to, or reject legislation. It must consider all national bills, and also has the power to initiate legislation in the areas where Parliament. Each delegation has one vote, and six of the nine delegations must approve the bill for it to pass, other constitutional amendments do not have to be passed by the NCOP, but they must be debated publicly in the NCOP. Section 76 bills fall into any of the Schedule 4 areas, as well as other laws specifically envisaged in the Constitution. In handling Section 76 bills, each delegation has one vote, all other bills, specifically including money bills, are Section 75 bills. In handling Section 75 bills, each delegate in the NCOP has a vote, in considering Section 74 and 76 bills, each delegation must vote in accordance with a mandate approved by the provincial legislature that it represents
12.
Deputy President of South Africa
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The Deputy President is also a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet. The Deputy President is constitutionally required to assist the President in the execution of the functions of government, under the interim constitution, there was a Government of National Unity, in which a member of parliament from the largest opposition party was entitled to a position as deputy president. Along with Mbeki, the previous State President, F. W. de Klerk also served as Deputy President in his capacity as the leader of the National Party, de Klerk later resigned and went into opposition with his party. A voluntary coalition government continues to exist under the new constitution, the Deputy Presidents term of office is not fixed by law. The Deputy Presidents term begins when he or she is appointed by the President from amongst members of the National Assembly, presumably, a statement of resignation would also be sufficient to end a Deputy Presidents term of office. List of current vice presidents Vice State President of South Africa
