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Namibia-South Africa relations refers to the relationship between the governments of the Republic of Namibia and the Republic of South Africa.
[edit] Pre-Namibian independence(1915-)
South Africa conquered and occupied what was then German South West Africa beginning in 1915 during World War I. From 1915, South West Africa (as it was called) was administered by South African administrators and control of the area came from Pretoria. Many white South African settlers moved to the area and established farms on previously African-controlled pastures. From 1966 until the 1980s, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) fought a border war with the South African Defence Force (SADF), which from 1974 onward included battles with Cuban troops as well as Angolan forces. During this period, Namibia was administered essentially as a fifth province of South Africa, as it was integrated economically and militarily under the Apartheid regime.
[edit] Post-Namibian independence (1990-)
[edit] Economy
Upon independence in 1990, Namibia's economy was still tied to South Africa's. [1] To this day, the economy of Namibia is still closely contacted to South Africa through both institutional relationships (Southern African Customs Union, for example) and privately owned mining concessions.[2] The South African rand is still legal currency within Namibia, while the Namibian dollar is not so in South Africa and the currencies are traded on par locally.
[edit] Walvis Bay
The issue of Walvis Bay, an important port which South Africa claimed during the colonial era, was returned to the government of Namibia in 1994 upon the ascendance of Nelson Mandela to the Presidency of South Africa. [3]
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- "A New Small State with a Powerful Neighbour: Namibia/South Africa Relations since Independence" by Graham Evans, The Journal of Modern African Studies, March 1993
