South Africa

There are four oil refineries in South Africa, with a total production capacity 469,000 barrels per day. As of 2005, South Africa’s economically active population was estimated at 15.23 million. As of 2003, the services sector accounted for 65.1% of the labor force, with agriculture at 10.3%, and industry at 24.5%.

Most of the administrative work of the Chaplaincy Committee was carried out by the Board of Deputies. The Progressive movement also maintains a network of supplementary Hebrew and religious classes at its temples. These schools are affiliated with the Union for Progressive Jewish Education.

South African Rand (ZAR): History of the Currency

The Embassy/Consulate staff can, for example, assist you to find appropriate medical care, contact family members or friends and explain how funds could be transferred. Although the investigation and prosecution of the crime is solely the responsibility of local authorities, consular officers can help you to understand the local criminal justice process and to find an attorney if needed. Travelers are encouraged to be vigilant and avoid any large gathering, particularly protests and demonstrations. The possibility of violence, including threats against American interests, should not be discounted, particularly in times of heightened world tension.

Despite these efforts the government continued to pass laws limiting the rights and freedoms of blacks. In 1948, the National Party (NP) won the all-white elections and began passing legislation codifying and enforcing an even stricter policy of white domination and racial separation known as “apartheid” (separateness). In the early 1960s, following a protest in Sharpeville in which 69 protesters were killed by police and 180 injured, the ANC and Pan-African Congress (PAC) were banned. Nelson Mandela and many other anti-apartheid leaders were convicted and imprisoned on charges of treason. Nelson Mandela stepped down as President of the ANC at the party’s national congress in December 1997, when Thabo Mbeki assumed the mantle of leadership. Mbeki won the presidency of South Africa after national elections in 1999, when the ANC won just shy of a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Please see the International Adoption section of this book for more details and review current reports online at travel.state.gov/family. Under South African laws, inter-country adoptions are governed under the Child Care Act, No. 74 of 1983. While in a foreign country, a U.S. citizen is subject to that country’s laws and regulations. Legal systems often differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be much more severe than in the United States for similar offences.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

PIETERMARITZBURG , a city of 420,000, lies in the eastern part of the country in KwaZulu-Natal. There is currently uncertainty whether the provincial capital will be in Pietermaritzburg or Ulundi. Its name, unfamiliar to most foreigners (except those acquainted with South Africa’s history and geography), is derived from the names of two Boer War leaders, Pieter Retief and Gert Maritz. The city has several industries, producing rubber and aluminum products, furniture, footwear, and rice. One of the University of Natal’s campuses is here (the other is at Durban). The Queen Elizabeth Nature Reserve, Union Park, Municipal Game Reserve, Bakone Malapa Open-Air Museum, and the Scottsville Race Course are among the city’s many attractions.

Despite the increase in crime in the nation, the second parliamentary elections held in June 1999 were peaceful and generally fair. In the 3 June elections, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) won 266 of 400 parliamentary seats (63%), just one seat shy of the two-thirds https://bigbostrade.com/ majority required to change the constitution. Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as South Africa’s second democratically elected president at a glittering inauguration ceremony, which saw Nelson Mandela step down after steering the country away from apartheid rule and oppression.

Feudalism was a legal and military system that flourished in medieval Europe. Lords would grant fiefs (land or rights) to vassals in exchange for allegiance and service. Much of South Africa’s famed gold comes from mines around Johannesburg https://forex-world.net/ in the Witwatersrand (Afrikaans for “the ridge of white waters”). New opportunities and interesting choreographers are appearing in the field of contemporary Black dance, but audiences and budgets are still painfully small.

People

Shortly thereafter, in 1976, South Africa became embroiled in a war against South West African liberation fighters and Cuban forces on the Angola-South West Africa border. The war continued until 1989, when South West Africa, now called Namibia, gained its independence from South Africa. A number of Jewish conscripts, perhaps a dozen in all, were amongst those who lost their lives in the conflict. The majority of Jews tended to vote for opposition parties during the 1948–94 period, and in the elections of 1999 and 2004 overwhelmingly supported the Democratic Alliance. The growing numbers of East Europeans led in time to social, religious, and cultural ferment. Social distance, and even open friction and conflict, developed between the “greeners” and the older sections, due to differences in ritual tradition, in intensity of religious observance, or in attitudes to Jewish education and Zionism.

Public awareness in the country as to how to protect against infection is increasing. However, travelers are advised to exercise appropriate precautions if engaging in sexual activity, or if they become exposed to a blood source other than that supplied by a hospital for transfusion purpose. Armed robberies of cash-in-transit vehicles and personnel occur throughout South Africa and peak during December and January due to the increase in cash flow from commercial stores to banks.

Understanding the Purpose of the Currency

With the inauguration of multiracial government in 1994, this investment was restored from about $13 billion in 1994 to about $18 billion in 1998, creating new jobs and generating growth. Tremendous changes in the structure of the economy are required as well to relieve the pressures of poverty and inequality which resulted from apartheid. The government implemented a Growth, Employment, and Redistribution (GEAR) plan to cover the years 1996–2000. The plan was successful in bringing macroeconomic stability to the country, but formal employment continued to decline, and wealth remained unequally distributed along racial lines.

• The local affairs of blacks living in the six black homelands within the Republic of South Africa were administered by the respective homeland governments.
• If you are the victim of a crime while overseas, in addition to reporting to local police, please contact the nearest U.S.
• The South African school system follows the United Kingdom Standard form of schooling.
• Modeled on the Bank of England (BoE), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) stands as the monetary authority for South Africa and issues its currency.
• South Africa also includes part of the Kalahari Desert in the northwest and a section of the Namib Desert in the west.
• In 1960, agriculture contributed 11.1 percent of the GDP, down from about 20 percent in the 1930s.

In 1986, following the substantial depreciation of the rand, the countries replaced the RMA with the Common Monetary Area (CMA) to manage monetary policy. The CMA and the Southern African Customs Union work together to help member nations. The terms of the new agreement provided Swaziland with additional flexibility in its monetary policy.

Several incidents of wild animal attacks on tourists in the region have resulted in death or serious injury. In 2005 and 2006, in the False Bay area of the Western Cape, several people were attacked by sharks; some of the attacks were fatal. Should a shark be spotted close to the shore, local authorities will sound a warning siren to notify the public. Although South Africa’s society is undergoing a rapid transformation, some discrimination against women continues, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS remains.

• A 26 September summit between Mandela and de Klerk produced a Record of Understanding that met several key ANC demands.
• In 2004, the number of Orthodox congregations in Johannesburg had grown to 51 while the Reform temples had declined to three.
• The U.S. Embassy is located in Pretoria, and Consulates General are in Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town.
• The city serves as an important rail junction and industry is based on food processing and the nearby KwaZulu-Natal coal fields.
• In 1956, the Decimal Coinage Commission was established which gave its recommendation to replace the South African pound and to eliminate the denominations of shillings, pounds, and pence, in favor of a new currency.

There are a plethora of Jewish day schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town, all of which provide a complete secular education, with Jewish studies integrated into the general curriculum, up to matriculation standard. The mainstream schools in Johannesburg are the three King David schools, located in Linksfield, Victory Park, and Sandton. The first two provide Jewish education from pre-school to matriculation level while the third goes up to primary school level. King David’s counterparts in Cape Town are the Herzlia schools, while there is also a small Jewish day school in Port Elizabeth, Theodor Herzl. The Jewish community has assumed financial responsibility for all its welfare needs, the large budgets being met by fees, membership dues, contributions, and bequests. Some advantage has been taken of government grants for specific welfare projects.

The South African Rand

Ocean swimming and surfing are major attractions, but Durban must contend with shark dangers. The city has instituted a system of shark netting to protect most of its public beaches. Excellent asphalt and concrete all-weather tennis courts, most of which are operated by private clubs, are available, but admission is by availability. Inexpensive aqua-cise classes and well-equipped health studios, which provide aerobics and individual training programs, are https://forexbox.info/ close to homes in Durban and in the central business district. Many adult classes at institutions such as the University of Cape Town (UCT), The University of Western Cape (UWC) and University of Stellenbosch offer instruction in the normal range of university studies, including various degree courses. Compared with American universities, the full-time annual tuition at these universities is inexpensive for a university of fairly high academic standards.

The South African minerals industry operated on a free-enterprise, market-driven basis. Government involvement was primarily confined to ownership of the national electric power supply and the national oil and gas exploration company. Mineral land holdings and production has historically been controlled either

by the government or by private entities.