CHAPTER
9
TheNewSouthAfrica,
1994-2000
••__
L.-
ill
The Legacy of Apartheid
As the euphoria that marked the election and the inaugura-
tion died down, it became apparent that in South Africa, as in
many other countries, although the creation of a democratic
constitution was a vital step forward, it was merely a skeleton
that might or might not lead to the growth of a democratic
society. The tasks that confronted the new government were
awesome. The country was racked by the cumulative effects
of colonialism, apartheid, and urbanization. According to the
United Nations Human Development Program, in 1994 the
level of human development in South Africa ranked ninetieth
out of 175 countries, behind Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, and
Cuba, but ahead of the Philippines and Indonesia.! The judi-
ciary, bureaucracy, army, police force, and municipal admin-
istrations were all dominated by white men who had been
brought up in a racist milieu and had been trained to serve the
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