SOUTH AFRICA GOVERNMENT
South Africa is a vigorous multi party democracy with an independent judiciary and a free and diverse press. It has a constitutional democracy with three tiers – national, provincial and local government – each with their own executive authority. Until 1994, the country was known for apartheid – white-minority rule. South Africa’s remarkable ability to put centuries of racial hatred behind it in favour of reconciliation was widely considered a social miracle, inspiring similar peace efforts in Northern Ireland, Rwanda and elsewhere. Now ruled by a democratic government of all races, South Africa is often referred to as the “rainbow nation”, a phrase coined by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu. The highest law of the land is the new Constitution, considered to be one of the most progressive in the world – and with a Bill of Rights second to none. The rights protected include equality, freedom of expression and association, property, housing, healthcare, education, access to information, and access to courts. Protecting those rights is the country’s independent judiciary, subject only to the Constitution and the law. Some presidents of South Africa include: Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma.