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In line with other Commonwealth countries, New Zealand lifted trade, investment and financial sanctions against South Africa on 1 October 1993. Following the inauguration of the first fully democratic South African government on 10 May 1994, all remaining restrictions against South Africa were removed. There is a New Zealand South Africa Parliamentary Friendship Group, co-chaired by Hon Chris Carter and Hon Judith Tizard.
New Zealand’s relationship with South Africa is today warm and substantial. Since 1994 political, economic and social links between the two countries have grown significantly. In 1996, President Mandela and Prime Minister Bolger signed the Cape Town Communiqué, which sought in general terms to strengthen cooperation between the two countries. The political relationship has been further strengthened by numerous high-level delegations that have visited New Zealand to gain expertise in their different fields and exchange knowledge with the view to enhancing capacity building in central, provincial and local government structures. New Zealand and South African officials dealing with foreign and trade policy hold consultations on an annual basis. There is also strong multilateral co-operation. Our ties with South Africa range from trade and tourism to agriculture, disarmament, fisheries (New Zealand and South Africa concluded a fisheries co-operation arrangement in March 2007), environment, and indigenous and human rights issues, through to traditional sporting ties. A fisheries co-operation arrangement was concluded in March 2007. Increasingly these ties are not just at national level but also at local level, with South Africa looking to the “New Zealand model” as instructive as it reforms its public sector. There is no South African mission in Wellington at present. New Zealand established a High Commission in Pretoria in 1996.
South Africa is New Zealands largest market in sub-Saharan Africa, In the African region it has the unique combination of a highly developed first-world economic infrastructure and a huge emergent market economy. The gradual opening of the South African economy to international competition and the stable and well-managed political and macroeconomic environment offer traders and investors a profitable base from which to launch their southern Africa operations.
As a result of sanctions, trade declined greatly during the apartheid years. Since 1990, however, bilateral trade has increased markedly to the point where, as at June 2005, South Africa was New Zealand’s 29th largest trading partner, 31st most important export market and 20th largest source of visitors. In the year to June 2005 New Zealand exported goods worth NZ$144.3 million to South Africa, and purchased NZ$187.9 million worth of South African products. The main exports were transmission apparatus, sheep meat, meat offal, cheese, milk powder, electric transformers, frozen fish, frozen vegetables. The major imports were motor vehicles, uncoated paper and paperboard, carbides, kraft paper, wine, stainless steel – flat rolled products, trucks and vans, cosmetic and toilet preparations.
As a result of sanctions, trade declined greatly during the apartheid years. Since 1990, however, bilateral trade has increased markedly to the point where, as at June 2007, South Africa was New Zealand’s 29th largest trading partner, 31st most important export market and 20th largest source of visitors. In the year to June 2007 New Zealand exported goods worth NZ$177.1 million to South Africa, and purchased NZ$158.1 million worth of South African products. The main exports were of frozen fish, sheepmeat. The major imports were motor vehicles, uncoated paper and paperboard and copper.
There are now some 45,000 – 60,000 South Africans resident in New Zealand, some of whom are actively looking to generate business activities with their former home.
On 6 February 2002 a Double Tax Agreement between New Zealand and South Africa was signed. This agreement represents a step forward for trade and investment between the two countries.
New Zealand Agency for International Development NZAID [external link] has a modest programme of development assistance to South Africa. South Africa is one of NZAID’s core bilateral partners, where modest but targeted assistance is provided. Present budget allocations stand at NZ$1.79 million per year. New Zealand’s Development programme to South Africa is an important component of the bilateral relationship and has fostered closer cooperation in areas of common interest. The programme comprises assistance with primary and non-formal education; small scale development projects; Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) capacity building in the areas of local government reform, policy and planning, town planning, and water supply development; and a range of community initiatives encompassing leadership enhancement, conflict resolution, and HIV/AIDS activities. There is a particular focus on the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
There is warmth in the political relationship with South Africa, historically due to New Zealand’s support for the anti-apartheid movement. Multilateral co-operation is in good shape. Our ties with South Africa range from trade and tourism; agriculture; disarmament; fisheries; environment; and indigenous and human rights issues, through to traditional sporting ties. Increasingly these ties are being forged not just at national but also at a local level with South Africa looking to the “New Zealand model” as instructive as it reforms its public sector. South Africa is our largest trading partner in the African region. Since 1990 bilateral trade has increased more than nine fold to reach NZ$330m in 2004/5, and is the most diversified of any in the region.
Land Area - 1,219,080 km2 - Population - 42.3 million (EIU 2006 estimate) - Capital Cities - Pretoria (Administrative), Bloemfontein (Administrative/Legal), Cape Town (Legislative) - Religion - Christianity (80%), Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and traditional African beliefs - Languages - Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, siSwati, Xitsonga, Setswana, Tshivenda, isiXhosa and isiZulu
GDP - US$255.2bn (2006 EIU estimate) - Real GDP growth - 5% (2006 actual) - Exports - US$63.9bn (2006 EIU estimate) - Imports - US$69.7bn (2006 EIU estimate) - Main exports (2006) - Platinum; gold; coal - Main imports (2006) - Petrochemicals; cars; petroleum oil - Current account balance - US$-15.8bn (2006 EIU estimate) - Gross external debt - US$28.8bn (2006 EIU estimate)
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ$144.3m (year ended June 2005) - Main Exports - Transmission apparatus, sheep meat, meat offal, cheese, milk powder, electric transformers, frozen fish, frozen vegetables - NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$187.9 million (year ended June 2005) - Main Imports - Motor vehicles, uncoated paper and paper board, carbides, kraft paper, wine, stainless steel - flat rolled products, trucks and vans, cosmetic and toilet preparations
The new South Africa has a relatively young political system where policy directions are still being identified. The struggle to develop a successful and inclusive economy and society remains fundamental to the governance agenda facing the country. President Mbeki has sought to establish himself as a reforming President and the economy has grown consistently during his term in office, but he has also faced immense problems, particularly crime, social services and HIV/AIDS.
Effectively addressing regional issues, including the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe is a prime focus of foreign policy and part of President Mbeki’s vision for an “African Renaissance”. Transforming African economies is another part of this vision, translated with the help of other prominent African leaders into the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
People have inhabited southern Africa for thousands of years. The first Europeans (Portuguese) arrived in 1488, but it was not until 1652 that the first permanent white settlement established itself at the Cape of Good Hope. In subsequent decades Dutch, Germans, and French Huguenot refugees began to settle at the Cape, forming the bases for the Afrikaner settlement of today’s population. The British took control of the Cape by the end of the 18th Century marking the beginning of a long conflict between the Afrikaners and the British, culminating in the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880-81 and 1899-1902, which also marked the first use of New Zealand troops in a foreign expeditionary force. British forces prevailed in the conflict and in 1910 the two Afrikaner republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State, together with the British colonies of the Cape and Natal were combined to form the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British Empire. The Union’s constitution kept all the political power in the hands of the whites.
In 1948 the National Party (NP) Government came to power, and began to introduce a series of laws aimed at separating the races under its policy of apartheid. Facing international pressure over its apartheid polices, South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth in 1961. UN sanctions were imposed on South Africa, and by the end of the 1980s the economy was in ruins from the effects of being shut-off from the international community. A series of violent uprisings and demonstrations forced the Government to declare a state of emergency in 1985 that was to last for five years. In response to a growing recognition within the NP that apartheid would not be sustainable in the long run, South African President P W Botha introduced a series of reforms. The black majority and other critics of apartheid, however, did not view the changes as sufficient.
In 1989 F W de Klerk became President and began the process of dismantling apartheid. He accepted the African National Congress (ANC) as a negotiating partner. In February 1990 a ban on the ANC, Pan African Congress (PAC) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) was lifted, and Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The Government and ANC met in May 1990 to discuss conditions for the opening of full constitutional negotiations and in December 1991 negotiations began. The result was an interim constitution, which provided for the country’s first fully democratic elections. Non-racial elections were held on 27 April 1994 and were won convincingly by the ANC, with Nelson Mandela as its leader. President Mandela completed a single 5-year term as President of the country (the Constitution allows for two terms). He was succeeded by Thabo Mbeki as President of the ANC in 1997 and President of the country in 1999, when Mbeki led the ANC to electoral victory. President Mbeki repeated the feat, but with a larger margin, at the 2004 general elections.
During Mandela’s 5-year term as President of South Africa, the government committed itself to reforming the country, focusing on social issues that were neglected during the apartheid era such as unemployment, housing shortages, and crime. Mandela also reintroduced South Africa into the global economy. In order to heal the wounds created by apartheid, the government created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. When Mbeki took over the leadership of the ANC and South Africa, he shifted the focus of government from reconciliation to transformation, particularly on the economic front. In April 2004, the ANC won nearly 70% of the national vote, and Mbeki was re-elected for his second 5-year term. In his 2004 State of the Nation address, Mbeki promised his government would reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth, and fight crime.
South Africa is Africa’s largest economy, but has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the world. The economy ranges from the affluence and sophistication of gleaming shopping centres to levels of poverty associated with developing countries. GDP per capita is US$5,200. The dominant sources of economic activity are centred around minerals and energy; much manufacturing is based on mining activity and exports are led by minerals, including gold and diamonds. Agriculture contributes little directly to GDP but is linked to significant agro-industrial activities. The most important crop is maize, but there is increasing concentration on wine and on high-value fruit, such as mangoes. Services are the most important contributor to GDP, ranging from an advanced financial sector to a developing tourism industry and an important retail sector. For many South Africans, however, informal services are the main source of employment. In 1996 the Government took a firm policy stand in revitalising the economy with the release of a major macroeconomic strategy, Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR). GEAR highlighted the urgent need for further action to raise labour-intensive economic growth to address the unemployment crisis.
The future prospects for the economy continue to improve as a result of the gains in macroeconomic stability. However, at the domestic level massive unemployment, low savings levels, an inflexible labour market and insufficient Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are constraining growth efforts. To address some of these issues, in March 2003 the ANC Government released a broad based black economic empowerment strategy (BEE), which aims to accelerate growth and stimulate job creation.
In the near term, South Africa’s GDP is expected to grow at a respectable 4.7% for 2007, and 5.1% in 2008. This growth will be underpinned by public spending on infrastructure, including that focussed on preparations for the World Cup in 2010 (R15.1 billion (US$2.029 billion) has been allocated for stadiums and supporting infrastructure), as well as state assets and social services. South Africa is also expected to continue to benefit from strong foreign direct investment inflows, which remain the highest of any state in Sub-Saharan Africa (reaching US$6.4 billion in 2005).
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South Africa has become a leading international actor since its re-emergence on the world scene after being isolated during the apartheid era. The country’s focus has been to promote the economic, political, and cultural regeneration of Africa. South Africa’s membership of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a significant determinant of the country’s foreign and trade policy, in which South Africa places importance on ensuring its policy decisions are consistent with SADC views. SADC itself is significantly influenced by the position of South Africa, although South Africa is very careful to align its external policies with those its SADC neighbours.
Along with other African leaders, Mbeki was instrumental in the drawing up of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) - formerly known as the New Africa Initiative (NAI). NEPAD was adopted by the then OAU in July 2001 and continues to be promoted by members. South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 June 1994 after an absence of 33 years, and took a seat in the UN General Assembly on 24 June 1994. It is also a member of the African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity). South Africa aspires to permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
In addition to membership of international organisations, South Africa has forged relationships with a number of specific countries and regions, including the Middle East and Asia where it has taken a leading role in initiatives such as the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (set up in April 2005). A trade agreement with the European Union in 2000 gave South Africa a privileged position in the EU market. South African trade also benefits from the US African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).
New Zealand have a constructive relationship in a variety of multilateral for a. We have worked together on Commonwealth and UN issues of mutual concern. New Zealand and South Africa have traditionally had a close working relationship within the context of the Antarctic Treaty (South Africa is also a consultative party), Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), Indian Ocean fisheries; and disarmament (as members of the New Agenda Group). The two countries also share similar positions on a wide range of other international environmental issues.
In the trade context, South Africa became a member of the Cairns Group (a group of WTO members which have agricultural based economies - New Zealand is also a member), at the Ministerial meeting held in Sydney, 1-3 April 1998. We have since worked closely with South Africa in multilateral trade negotiations at the WTO.
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to South Africa [external link].
