South+Africa

Home of Team South Africa (Aditi; Stephanie; Alejandra)

PROFILE OF __SOUTH AFRICA__ For the nation your group is assigned, you need to research and develop a profile. Your profile should have, **//at a minimum//**, the following information:

GEOGRAPHY


 * //Area://** 1.2 million sq. km. (470,462 sq. mi.)


 * //Cities://** Capitals--administrative, Pretoria; legislative, Cape Town; judicial, Bloemfontein. Other cities--Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth


 * //Terrain://** Plateau, savanna, desert, mountains, coastal plains


 * //Climate://** moderate; comparable to southern California

PEOPLE


 * //Population (date of census being used)://** 2009: 49.3 million


 * //Ethnic Groups://** 79.7%: Black, 9.1%:white, 8.8%:colored, 2.2.% Asian (Indian)


 * //Language(s)://** Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sestotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga


 * //Religion(s)://** Predominantly Christian; traditional Africa, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish


 * //Education://** school is required ages 7-15 for all children. The South African Schools Act passed by Parliamen in 1996.


 * //Health://** Infant mortality rate (2007) 58 per 1,00 live birthdays. Life expectancy 52 years women, and 49 years for men.


 * //Work Force (occupations)://**

FEATURES OF GOVERNMENT


 * // T ype://** Parliamentary Democracy


 * //Constitution://** Entered into force February 3, 1997


 * //Executive Power://** President elected to a 5-year term by the National Assembly

The National Assembly elected by a system of proportional representation. National of Provinces consisting of 90 delegates and 10 nonvoting delegates representing local government.
 * //Legislative Power://** Bicameral Parliament consisting of 490 members in two chambers.

Supreme Court of Appeal is the highest court for interpreting and deciding nonconstitutional matters.
 * //Judicial Power://** Constitutional Court interprets and decides constitutional issues;

STRENTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE GOVERNMENT - Strengths: president works close with the police force, - Weaknesses: international isolation
 * //Citizen Participation://**

SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL HISTORY NOTES - Although South Africa's economy is in many areas highly developed, the exclusionary nature of apartheid and distortions caused in part by the country's international isolation until the 1990s have left major weaknesses - Although South Africa's society is undergoing a rapid transformation, some discrimination against women continues, and discrimination against those living with HIV/AIDS remains. Violence against women and children also is a serious problem


 * Features of Government **
 * Bicameral System.
 * Legislative body elected by popular vote.
 * Supreme Court appointed by executive with legislative approval.
 * Supreme Court is independent and has the power of judicial review.
 * Two political parties dominate the party system.
 * Written constitution.
 * Establishes a federalist system of government.
 * Establishes a parliamentary system.
 * Establishes a presidential system.
 * Cabinet appointed by the executive with legislative approval.

= WHITE PAPER (Final Report) =

I. First part should be a review of the basic function of a constitution in a democracy, including the essential characteristics of limited vs. unlimited governments II. Final recommendation for Xlandia's government with at least the following addressed: A. What type of system would your constitution establish? What is your reasoning (include what makes this better than the other options)? B. How would you protect the rights of minorities and individuals? C. What would be the relationship between the military and the civilian leadership? D. The Executive Branch This branch consist of the President who is also Commander-in-Chief. The president is voted upon directly by the people so the people of Xlandia can vote for the person they want. The President is in charge of appointing the Cabinet and Supreme court. Also the President signs Bills so they become laws. A presidential term last 5 years and can only be in office for two terms.
 * A Constitution defines a limited government. It works to make sure governments run smoothly and efficiently. Essentially, it is a set of laws that a group of people have agreed upon for the government. The laws in the Constitution apply at a national level meaning anyone who is a resident of the nation is subject to them. In our opinion, a Constitution is very important to a government because it prevents the people who run the government from overstepping important boundaries. It makes sure that one set of people does not become too powerful and discourages the idea of becoming corrupt with power as well.
 * Our constitution would establish a democracy because it gives power to the people. Xlandia has had an authoritarian government for many years and we think it would be a good idea to finally give the people what they want. Specifically, we decided upon a Republic Democracy so officials will be elected to speak for the people of Xlandia. Since the Authoritarian government has just been overthrown, there are probably many ideas and opinions floating around in Xlandia, it would be more convenient to make the ideas a little more compact through using a Republic Democracy as opposed to a Direct Democracy.
 * In addition to the Constitution that we have already established, we'd like to include something similar to the "Bill of Rights" to protect the rights of individuals. Xlandia's version of the Bill of Rights would include basic human rights (ie. freedom of speech, civil trial by jury, etc). Our reasoning behind this is we feel that these rights are extremely important for residents of Xlandia to have and our government should not overstep these rights. In order to protect the rights of minorities, we have chosen to become a Republic Democracy. While in a Direct Democracy, the voice of the minority can become lost or overpowered, our Republic prevents something like this from happening.
 * For our government, the civilian leadership would help control and regulate the military. Although the military is separate from the government, the executive branch of the government would assist in appointing leaders of the military. Ultimately, the military makes large decisions based on the government.

E. The Legislative Branch The legislative branch has the power to pass and repeal laws.. The members of this branch are voted upon so that way people can vote for someone who has similar views to represent them. This is a bicameral legislature which has two separate chambers.

F. The Judicial Branch The Judicial Branch has the courts like the Constitutional Court and the supreme court of appeal. The Constitutional Court which guarantees the basic rights the people have. It is also the highest court for constitutional matters. While the supreme court is the highest court of appeals. This branch also has other courts like the small claims courts that looks at smaller cases. G. Citizen Participation - who gets the right to vote? What would your voting requirements be III. What is needed to keep a democracy strong? Which ones are present in Xlandia? Which ones are not?
 * The people would have the right to vote. The requirement should be at least at the age of 18 and older.


 * In order to keep a democracy strong, there must be popular votes that elect people that people know and that they trust. People should understand the purpose and limits of a government. I think that this would work for Xlandia.

A. What advice would you give the leaders of Xlandia to help them develop these conditions as they move from an authoritarian past to a democratic future?
 * Some advice that I would give is that people should understand exactly what the government is trying to do to make a better government. Also they should include legal information books, and set laws. People should be educated about the Constitutional rights and how to defend them.