APARTHEIDIN CRISIS
Homelands)-had
no say in the new dispensation. The other significant
feature of the new constitution was that it introduced a strong presidential
system in place of the previous Westminster model of cabinet government.
Duly elected state president, P. W. Botha appointed a cabinet in which
members of his National party were in charge 'of all the departments
responsible for "general affairs." The cabinet included one Coloured and
one Indian member, but neither had a departmental portfolio. This cum-
bersome arrangement did not succeed in winning the hearts or minds of
most Coloured and Indian people, who showed their discontent by refrain-
ing from participating. Only 61 percent of the Coloured adults and 57
percent of the Indian adults bothered to register, and only 30 percent of
registered Coloureds and 20 percent of registered Indians voted in the
election.l-' The new constitution, moreover, accentuated the alienation of
the African population from the regime, and it compounded the costs and
the confusion of government by adding still more departments of educa-
tion, health, and welfare tothose
already existing in South Africa and its
ten Homelands.
The government also made a fresh effort to deal with the problem of