South Africa During Apartheid

[Bowiefan871]

Was South Africa ever considered a world power? I know that back in the 60's the rand was worth 7 American dollars or something along those lines. How powerful was our military back then(I know we had nuclear weaponry)? What are primary reasons for the rand degrading so much in a democratic society?

This is a bit off-topic but did some apartheid politicians plan on deporting the black population into Zimbabwe?

[ches]

I believe the Rand, when first implemented in the 1960s, was valued at US$2. It was never as high as US$7, though in the mid-90s it was Zim$7.

During apartheid, the fiscal policy was one of exchange rate control and very strict regulation. For instance, when you went on vacation, there was a limit to how much foreign exchange you could take out of the country per year and it was noted in your passport. There was up until the mid-90s a roaring blackmarket trade in going overseas for a short trip taking the maximum amount of forex out for somebody else, receiving a small cut which more than paid for your travels. The post-apartheid government instead focused on inflation control. While inflation during the latter stages of apartheid had been well into the double digits, Trevor Manuel was able to bring it down into the mid-single digits, receiving praise from the IMF and other international institutions.

The apartheid-era military was a conscript army with a sizeable "permanent force" of volunteers. Conscription was for whites-only, but there were non-white soldiers too (of course separated by race). This video has a good description (i.e. text describing the video ). YouTube - South African Armed Forces (SADF,KOEVOET,RECCE,SAP) In the war in Angola the South Africans were supported by the US because amongst the ANC the South Africans were fighting against communist Angolans and Cubans. After democracy thousands of umKhonto weSizwe (MK) and APLA soldiers were amalgamated into the SADF (renamed the SA National Defence Force or SANDF) and then the process of downsizing began. Our military is a bit of a farce these days, what with AIDS debilitating so many of our soldiers, the seemingly endless weapons-related corruption scandals, and the "possessed" robotic arm of an ancient anti-aircraft gun killing 9. Robot Cannon Kills 9, Wounds 14 on Danger Room Many ex-SADF soldiers became mercenaries, but after the Equatorial Guinea fiasco in 2004(?), a law has been passed where mercenary, or would-be mercenary soldiers need to get government approval. It doesn't help diplomatic relations to have your countrymen hired to attack your ally. Still, many South Africans are contractors in the Middle East, including Iraq.

Yes, we were a nuclear power, though I do not know anything about how we developed it and what we had. I do know that we're the only country to voluntarily decommission our nuclear weapons, though. That was done by the Mandela government.

The apartheid government never had a plan to deport the black South Africans to Zimbabwe. Instead they created "independent" states and "homelands" within South Africa's borders (much easier to get cheap labour that way) and stripped black South Africans of their citizenship of South Africa. You seriously needed a passport if you wanted to enter the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda or the Ciskei (TBVC States) under apartheid! Nevertheless, only Israel ever acknowledged the sovereignty of the Transkei (the only state it recognised sovereignty of.) Bophuthatswana looked a little like the Palestinian state under certain proposals; it was scattered all over the north of the country, with one section up against Lesotho, and the majority of it in the northern Cape/western Transvaal near Botswana. The homelands and TBVC states were cunningly devised so that people had to pay tax just to live there, but couldn't afford the tax unless they had a job, basically consigning women and children to the rural backwaters, and forcing men to be migrant labourers in the cities.

[rach2005]

South Africa and weapons of mass destruction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nuclear strategy

The South African officials involved in the program claim that the nuclear weapons were only intended to be used as part of a "three phase nuclear strategy" to deter potential adversaries (especially Soviet-backed forces from neighbouring states) and to compel Western involvement should deterrence fail; this is known as a finite deterrence. Phase one involved neither confirming nor denying its nuclear capability. In phase 2, if faced with imminent attack, Pretoria would reveal its capability to Western leaders to force their intervention. If that failed, phase 3 would involve overt nuclear testing to demonstrate South Africa's ability and willingness to use nuclear weapons. In 1988, South Africa even took preliminary steps necessary to put phase 3 into effect when it clandestinely reopened one of the boreholes at the Kalahari test site (and built a metal concealment shed over the shaft) as part of a contingency plan to help bring an end to the Angolan war. Undeclared phase 4 contingency is borne out by South Africa's substantial investment in the development and production of intermediate-range ballistic missiles to be eventually fitted with nuclear warheads, and the completion in 1989 of the Advena nuclear warhead production facility.

[edit] Analysis

South Africa was the first state in the world to give up its nuclear weapons capability voluntarily. When South Africa dismantled its advanced, but clandestine, nuclear weapons program and assumed a leading role in the nonproliferation regime, it was in anticipation of the country’s immense political changes. The then President F.W. de Klerk's decision in 1990 to dismantle the apartheid system paved the way for democratic elections. All the bombs (six constructed and one under construction) were destroyed and South Africa acceded to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1991. In 1993 F.W. de Klerk admitted the scope of the country's past nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and gave them access to the country's nuclear sites for verification purposes. On August 19, 1994, after completing its inspection, the IAEA confirmed that one partially-completed and six fully-completed nuclear weapons had been dismantled. As a result, the IAEA was satisfied that South Africa's nuclear program had been converted to peaceful applications. Following this, South Africa joined the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as a full member on 5 April 1995. South Africa played a leading role in the establishment of the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty (the Treaty of Pelindaba) in 1996, becoming one of the first members in 1997. South Africa signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996 and ratified it in 1999.

Although South Africa declared its fissile material inventory to the IAEA, it did not reveal the exact figures to the public. Moreover, scientists who had previously worked on the nuclear weapons and missile programs could constitute a proliferation risk, and some reports indicate that some South African scientists may have gone to work for Middle Eastern countries. Some individuals and companies in South Africa are known to have been part of the A Q Khan nuclear black market. Other reports suggest that the country's Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) secretly sold China some of the equipment from its dismantled nuclear facilities.

It was Actually F.W. de klerk that dismantled the system and allowed international inspectors in. By the time Mandela and the ANC were put in power, the nuclear program had already been scrapped.

The above quote also says why SA wanted nulcear weapons.

[rach2005]

CNS - South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Program: An Annotated Chronology, 1969-1994

September 1989

At a meeting of his senior political aides and advisors, President F.W. de Klerk declares that in order to end South Africa's isolation from the international community, both the political system of apartheid and the nuclear weapons program must be dismantled.[43]
November 1989

An "Experts Committee" formed by de Klerk and composed of senior AEC, Armscor, and South African Defense Force (SADF) officials formally recommends the dismantlement of South Africa's nuclear weapons, and outlines dismantlement procedures. De Klerk and the South African cabinet approve the plan.[44] The Y-plant stops producing HEU.[45]

[ches]

Thanks for the correction. The nuclear weapons stuff isn't something I've read much about and it wasn't really headline news given all the other things going on at the time at home.

[rach2005]

I wish we would follow SA's lead and dismantle our weapons. It seemed a plausible thing during Reagan, after the end of the Cold War, but now seems a long way off under our current leadership

[Bowiefan871]

What was the cause for whites torturing the blacks? Was it because they would stay in the "white area" of South Africa?

Also, the white race makes up about 9.2% of the modern population. How large was the white race back in apartheid?