The Issue Of South Africa - 1714 Words

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse â€Å"the most cruel, yet well-crafted,† horrific tactic â€Å"of social engineering.† The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced â€Å"racial segregation under a system of legislation† . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities†¦show more content†¦Around 1652, the Dutch East India Company created a settlement on the cape, leading to several other indigenous peoples settling in the area as well . This tactic nearly parallels with the colonization beginning throughout the rest of the world. White supremacy gradually took over South Africa as more and more of them colonized the country, and worked their way into government positions. The English pushed the natives out and eventually did not care about race, merely about the money that came from labor . The Land Act of 1913, was believed to be the initial beginning of the apartheid laws. This act initiated by white supremacists marked the first major downfall of segregation for the colored and Indian peoples of South Africa. The Afrikans were essentially â€Å"divided into nine nations† and approximately 93% of the land was reserved for the white people. 2/3 of the population of South Africa at the time was considered African, or native people, and these people were all banned from â€Å"freely buying land†, making conditions very harsh, and malnutrition was extremely common . Urbanization occurred with white people in power simply increasing the segregation between races. Africans continued to live and work in absolutely terrible conditions. They often resided in the outskirts of cities in derisory housing, with poor sanitation, were lucky to have a bit of electricity, and had awful people to manage their workplace. The