Nation-Building in South Africa: Has Progress Been Made?

In view of these remarks, nation-building can be defined as the social process of transforming an underdeveloped, poor and divided society into a community with peace, equal opportunities and economic viability within which individuals enjoy dignity, basic human rights and the prospect to observe their own religion, tradition, culture and language in harmony with other people who may function within other traditions. After the establishment of the new democracy in South Africa in 1994, the leadership understood this very well and immediately started with grand economic planning which included Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), affirmative action, land restitution, housing projects, a Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) and later the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme (Gear).5 On top of this the government, to the surprise of its allies, opted for a new liberal economy and the privatization of state assets. In the civil service and in the huge mining and other corporations, more and more blacks are employed at all levels of management and labour.