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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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South Africa: Neither Black Nor WhiteIt's almost impossible to speak about South Africa without risking being accused from at least one of the ethnic groups of neglecting their versions of truth. The general picture being neither black nor white, after 10 years without apartheid at least as an official state policy it's right time to make first general assessments of this period, by weighing its achievements and failures. 10 years after officially the apartheid was abolished were neither paradise nor hell as some prophets predicted at that time. On the one hand, the economic foundation of the society was strong enough to withstand the quick and radical change in the body politics. In this respect South Africa was in much better shape than some countries in the former Soviet block. Some white South Africans have decided to leave the country but the majority are still there, ready to continue their life. On the other hand, the multiethnic democracy didn't solve many social and economic problems as was promised 10 years ago. Most of the millions new houses and apartments, promised by Nelson Mandela to the black majority, are still on the drawing board. The unemployment is rampant, so is the HIV pandemic, already touching every fifth citizen of the country. The criminal rates are alarming. The medical problems get worse by mass emigration of qualified personnel, medical doctors go to countries like the United States, Canada and Australia; nurses go to countries like the United Kingdom. Recent media reports from South Africa, made to coincide with the third multiethnic democratic election since 1994, demonstrated that the living conditions of the black majority didn't improve by any measure. The political paradox, or at least it seems as a paradox for some foreigners, is that these poor people still believe in the African National Congress, reflected by its astounding third victory in a row. The mentality of the ANC supporters is clearly bipolar with no nuances. For them the white minority is to be blamed to each and every social and economic problem, for those accumulated during the official apartheid as well as for those who developed at far larger scale after 1994 (e.g. HIV). If the apartheid is the main culprit for every social malaise, then the present government can do nothing to improve the situation and fear no devastating electoral consequences. How long can continue such obsession with the past? In countries without free press this can continue for decades. Some communist regimes in Eastern Europe explained the poor economic performances in late 1980s with the devastating consequences of WWII 40 years earlier. So does Fidel Castro fingering on the capitalist past of his country and the US embargo as main culprits of each and every economic problem his country faces. When we talk about the apartheid in South Africa it's necessary to distinguish between its official form before 1994 and its present hidden version. Apartheid meaning "separateness" in Afrikaans isn't only when you don't allow different ethnic groups to share common political institutions. Making job appointments according to the ethnic profile of the candidates is another form, equally unfair for those who suffer. Not allowing people from different ethnicity to settle down in your community is another example of present day unofficial apartheid. For the world the apartheid in South Africa has gone in 1994 with the establishment of multiethnic democracy. To point on the remaining examples of apartheid as only existing in South Africa will be more than unfair. In fact there are only a few countries in the world, where with or without means of affirmative actions really everyone can enjoy equal opportunities. The financial apartheid has replaced the apartheid as political system. It will take many decades before we see it disappear. The picture of new South Africa won't be complete without mentioning in brief some interesting trends in and around the real estate market. The first thing that strikes the foreign observer is the low property prices in many parts of the country, especially in the rural areas. Indeed, in many areas the white farmers plan to sell their properties and the lack of sufficient market demand explains the low prices. On the other hand, in some areas at the coasts the residential prices have gone well matching and even exceeding the inflation rates since 1994. Many new developments, targeting not only local but also foreign investors, offer quiet life far away from the main urban areas. The prices there are higher than the average for the country but are still much lower than in North America or West Europe. The local currency Rand has experienced many ups and downs in the last 10 years. For the investors looking for returns in hard currency the last 2 years were exceptionally good with the property prices in some areas going up by 50% and the Rand making major gains against the US dollar.
South Africa profile: --------------------
See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of South Africa.
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