Discover South Africa, by Peter Joyce
Discover South Africa, by Peter Joyce. Penguin Random House South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa 2014. ISBN 9781920545949 / ISBN 978-1-92-054594-9
Discover South Africa, by Peter Joyce: Where the people live
In 1910 the Crown colonies of Natal and the Cape of Good Hope and the former Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State were brought together as provinces of the Union of South Africa. This territorial structure lasted until 1994, when the country was divided up into nine provincial regions in terms of the new quasi-federal arrangement, and the former black 'homelands' - four independent republics and six self-governing national states - were reincorporated. The nine provincial divisions, each with their own premier, parliament and civil service, enjoy a certain degree of legislative and administrative autonomy {see page 53). Briefly, the nine provinces are:
WESTERN CAPE The oldest, most populous and economically advanced segment of the old Cape Province. The new region embraces Cape Town and the Peninsula; a beautiful hinterland of mountains and valleys rich in vineyards, orchards and pastures; approximately half (the more fertile half) of the country's western maritime belt; the lovely south coast (this stretch known as the Garden Route) as far as Plettenberg Bay, and a fairly large expanse of the semi-arid Great Karoo. Capital: Cape Town. Population: 5.9 million.
EASTERN CAPE A large, heavily populated and unevenly developed region that takes in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth and its surrounding 'settler' country and the former 'independent' republics of Transkei and Ciskei. The major growth areas are the Nelson Mandela Metropole (Port Elizabeth) and East London-King William's Town-Bhisho. Capital: Bhisho. Population: 6.6 million.
NORTHERN CAPE The largest region in the country in terms of geography - it covers 30 per cent of South Africa, stretching from the Namaqualand seaboard in the west to the Kimberley diamondfields in the north-central part of the country - but also the most sparsely populated and least developed. Much of the terrain is covered by the dry sands of the Karoo and, in the far north, the Kalahari. Capital: Kimberley. Population: 1.1 million.
KWAZULU-NATAL The region corresponds, with minor adjustments, to the old Natal province and the KwaZulu homeland it incorporated, and it supports the largest of the regional populations: nearly ten million people are crowded into the 92,000 square kilometres that lie between the awe-inspiring grandeur and beauty of the Drakensberg and the warm, inviting waters of the Indian Ocean.The city of Durban is by far its largest urban hub. Capital: Pietermaritzburg. Population: 10.2 million.
FREE STATE This province, on the high, mostly open plains of the central plateau, occupies about a tenth of South Africa's land area, yields a third of its maize and wheat harvests and sustains 80 per cent of its sheep and a substantial percentage of the national cattle population. Mining output includes gold, diamonds, platinum and coal. Capital: Bloemfontein Population: nearly 3 million.
NORTH WEST This province comprises the former western Transvaal and part of the former northern Cape, and is something of a Cinderella region. It has its platinum, chrome and other mines (around Rustenburg and Klerksdorp) but the regional economy is increasingly dependent on farming: fruit, vegetables and flowers around the beautiful Magaliesberg hills, cattle and great fields of golden maize elsewhere. The province encompasses most of the former 'republic' of Bophuthatswana and the tourist playground of Sun City and its super-luxurious neighbour the Lost City. It also includes the game-rich Pilanesberg National Park. Capital: Mahikeng. Population: just over 3.5 million. [...]
This is an excerpt from Discover South Africa, by Peter Joyce.
Title: Discover South Africa
Author: Peter Joyce
Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa 2014
ISBN 9781920545949 / ISBN 978-1-92-054594-9
Softcover, 21 x 28 cm, 224 pages, over 500 colour photos
Joyce, Peter im Namibiana-Buchangebot
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