Potential Locomotives for Change

The end of apartheid and the 1994 general elections brought the Republic of South Africa under President Mandela back into partnership with sub- Saharan Africa. Her rich natural resources, economic infrastructure and $132 billion GNP (in 1996) can play an important role in sub-Saharan Africa if they are wisely used. Although by world standards her GNP is not enormous (about the same size as Poland’s at $124.7 billion), by regional standards it can be called a giant. In fact, South Africa’s GNP is more than four times larger than that of Nigeria ($27.6 billion), which is the second largest sub-Saharan economy after South Africa, and her percapita GNP - $352 in 1996 -reflects the potential economic force if the disparity between the black and white communities can be eradicated.