Lydenburg

The Trekboer Republic of Lydenburg Die Trekboere Republiek van Lydenburg
Motto: Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone)
Anthem: Die Boerenkrijgslied (Dutch)
Capital and largest city		Lydenburg
Official languages		Afrikaans
Ethnic groups		Mainly Afrosians (blacks); the rest white, Coloureds; Asiatics
Demonym		Lydenburger
Government		Republic
-	Prime Minister	Hendrik Strydom
-	Staatspresident	Gerrit Scheepers
Legislature		Volksraad
Sovereignty
-	Asserted	26 May 1542
-	Declared	17 December 1856
Area
-	Total	746,253 km2 288,130 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.14
Population
-	June 2012 estimate	7,600,000
-	2010 census	7,415,595
-	Density	18/km2 46.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2013 estimate
-	Total	$53 billion
-	Per capita	$1,352
Gini (2010)		63.7 very high
HDI (2011)		0.336 low
Currency		Burgerpond (VBP)
Time zone		CAT (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+2)
Drives on the		left
Calling code		+013 local
Internet TLD		.lyd

Lydenburg forms a vast, wedge-shaped, block of predominantly barren territory which has cultivated a harsh and unforgiving climate. It lies astride the western rim of the subcontinental Traaksvaai Basin, to which it rises in a sharp coastal escarpment and from which it then slopes gradually to the east and north. Except in the southern provinces, most of the country receives under four hundred millimetres of raindfall per year, with an average hovering close to two hundred and seventy millimetres. Rainfall generally increases from the coast inland, creating agricultural zones which correspond roughly to these patterns: minor plantations and subsistence farming in the far south, small animal stock such as merino sheep in the north, and large animal stock (including cattle) in the central to southern regions.

Despite the fact that over half the nation is dry and unfertile, it remains rich in mineral deposits, including diamonds and uranium. Most Lydenburgers dwell live in the forested northern provinces and in the high, arid, plateau between the Traaksvai and Henestadt deserts. One of the largest ethnic groups is the BaPedi, which lives in the south and comprises a significant percentage of the country's population. Over half the citizens speak Pedi, Lbomba, or Macatese. English and Afrikaans are the most widely used languages in schools, government, and businesses, but native peoples continue to maintain the Afrosian tongues of their homelands. None of the indigenous dialects are afforded official recognition; over fifteen are spoken in the territory.

Lydenburg's people are predominantly black sub-saharan Africans (Afrosians), but the country is ruled by a government dominated entirely by local white settlers. The former account for over seventy per cent of the total population. White people of Dutch, German, and Flemish ancestry represent roughly twenty per cent. Many hold administrative jobs in urban areas. Living standards do vary, but most black Lydenburgers must struggle to make a living. Whites have higher incomes and better medical and educational facilities than do blacks.

The institutionalised racialism in practise today can be traced back to the beginning of early colonial penetration, when European farmers and merchants arrived to plunder the territory's riches. Indigenous tribes were gradually pushed off their land, and the Afrosian status eroded to the point that most were simply driven into overcrowded reserves to be used as units of labour for white-owned enterprises. The natives did not accept these land divisions submissively, and resistance against Lydenburg's minority regime has ranged from passive demonstrations to guerilla war. The white authorities follow an overt baaskap policy, and have imposed measures barring blacks from public facilities and accomodations. Total segregation has also been practised in eating places, parks, sports facilities, theatres, and toilets. The result has been a society marked by white supremacy and black subordination. Membership within a particular racial category regulates access to jobs in government and private industry, as well as the quality of education, modern housing, and social welfare.

Presently, an increasing number of educated Lydenburgers envision - though the law does not allow them to express it - a future nonracial society where everybody willing to contribute to a united, peaceful, Lydenburg will be accepted - a society that seems increasingly remote as the racial lines continue to be entrenched.

All in all, the nation's population is so compounded racially as to form a highly explosive mixture. In their attempts to preserve the existing socioeconomic order, the tyrannies of the current regime are now combining to heat this mixture to a point where the world waits apprehensively for the explosion.

Environment

A significant part of the nation is occupied by the great Traaksvai plateau, which gently rises from the interior towards the west, sloping again towards the north and south from the highest elevation points. Most of this land not arable, water is so sparse that in over half the country even dry-land cropping is impossible. In the far east, moderately habitable country is overrun by the sterile Henestadt plain. Forest, fertile grasslands, and elevated savanna abound in the south, penetrating the central plateau - but in the northeast, the Arturian Desert is nearly as undesirable as the Henestadt. Mountain ranges on the edge of the plateau generally run parallel to the coastline, which is nearly flat in the north and predominantly low in the south.

Cold temperatures occur along huge sand dunes bordering the coast, where moisture is supplied by dense fogs. Further inland, a temperate climate prevails - but there are significant differences of temperature between day and night. Daytime temperatures average 24° C. in January and about 20° C. in June. Warm rainy season peaks December-March; dry and cold season October-April. Only the far north receives adequate rainfall annually, other regions receive under 50 millimetres of rain per year. Seasonal proceedings and water uncertainty have necessitated some conservation measures, drought is clearly not uncommon.

People and Society

Most recent census 2010; official estimate 7,600,000 for 2012. Black Afrosian population (71.2% of total) increasing at an average annual rate of 3.4 per cent. White residents - Afrikaners, Anglophones, and other Europeans - never more than 21.9% of the total population, declining some; estimated unofficially at 2,344,000 in early 2012. "Coloureds" of mixed ancestry and even fewer Asians comprise very small communities (est 6.9%). Anywhere from 60 to 70% of Lydenburg's people live in the rural countryside, while the remainder - including most whites and half-bloods - dwell in urban areas.

Demographics

Afrikaans is Lydenburg's only official tongue. English is popular for commerce, but Afrikaans and written Dutch remain languages of government and schools above primary level. Perhaps the most important ethnolinguistic category is the BaPedi. Most are of negroid stock, and live near the Kalumba border in an area designated as Greater and (Lesser) Sekhukhuneland, respectively. They are believed to have settled with the Barubuza around southern Lydenburg, where their descendants still dwell today as agriculturalists. BaPedi kingdoms have generally been regarded as prosperous because of their monopolies on effective environments with rich soils. Pastoralism and sedentary agriculture based around a kraal, which included the homes of an extended, polygamous, family and the lands they cultivated communally. The Macatese, who settled in the southwestern swamplands, are divided into four clans which depend largely on pastoralism and fishing. They are a freedom-loving race, which has within tribal societies placed an emphasis on personal rights. Dettontots (Houteniqua) and Kalumba Caffres (Hita) dwell further south. The latter are recognised as Lydenburg's oldest inhabitants, having migrated there by A.D. 1300. Dettontots are divided into independent clans, many of partial European - particularly Dutch - ancestry. Hardy mountain Hita are suspected to be of closer relation to the BaPedi than their southern neighbours, but speak an unrelated dialect. Lydenburg Bastaards, a name they chose for themselves, are a Coloured race from Port Swettendam. They are Christians, and literate. Other natives are practising spirit worship, save for the increasing minority who have been converted by Protestant missions.

No government restrictions are placed on religion. Population 41% Christians, overwhelmingly Protestants. The natives continue to adhere, for the most part, to local varieties of indigenous faiths, although some Afrosians are affiliated with Christian churches of several kinds, especially of the Severan and Dutch Reformed variety. There are some independent apostolic churches with black congregations.

Health

Water-related diseases common to Afrosian citizens include malaria and bilharzia. In the south, typhoid epidemics have claimed many lives, due largely to the spread of highly contagious bacteria in crowded settlements. Respiratory diseases are rife across the poorer southern provinces, such as bronchitis and tuberculosis. In one such area, up to 25% of the indigenous population suffered from tuberculosis. Lack of basic sanitation, undernourishment, and severe protein deficiency contribute to the frequency of these problems among blacks, who are over three times more likely to contract tuberculosis than their white countrymen. Crowded townships surrounding urban areas have unusually high rates of cancer, hypertension, and stroke. In such conditions one out of every six slum dwellers are killed by cancers. Unsealed asbestos in many crude shanties is believed to have compounded the issue. Despite harsh police measures designed to stem the tide of illicit drugs, other considerable health problems in the townships include substance abuse, especially among mineworkers. Health delivery, meanwhile, remains oriented solely towards whites, with an emphasis placed on curative rather than preventative medicine. The white infant mortality rate stands at an acceptable 21 per every 1,000 live births. Coloured and black infant mortality rates, however, are far more staggering, standing at 155 and 175 per 1,000 live births respectively. It has been theorised that gastroenteritis is a major factor in the deaths of these children each year.

Education

A superior education system primarily serves the ruling minority. Relative to the European population, education for other races has been poor. Some free primary education has been made available by the Native Affairs Commission since 1968, but in general schooling is far from universal. Per capita support for white students is over thirteen times that of black students (in 2002 this figure was BP 3,966 per capita). Responsibility for the construction and staffing of Afrosian schools is a burden largely vested in missions and other nonprofit organisations – which must comply with standards set by government officials. Many inevitably suffer from overcrowding, scarce equipment, and unqualified teachers. Secondary education is unheard of and no publicly funded vocational schools presently admit blacks. Some of the nation’s larger firms have, however, provided literacy programmes of their own, such as the technical training institute in Sekhukhuneland; a corporate venture finances and manages this operation for select employees with no official support. Schooling for white children is compulsory to the age of fifteen. Primary education is free, and only nominal fees required for enrollment in secondary schools. Most white youth attend secondary schools through age sixteen, through Form III or IV. Passing the examination after Form IV automatically makes one eligible for a wide range of technical training or apprenticeships normally unavailable to Afrosians and Coloureds.

Economy

In 1920, Lydenburg was one of the most underdeveloped territories on the continent. Port Swettendam, the economic capital, had fewer than 120,000 inhabitants, and other major centres such as Baardwyk, Brandfontein, and Droomdorp were but outlying villages. Even Steelpoort scarcely resembled the bustling industrial centre it is today. But after World War II, both investment and output expanded at an unprecedented rate, with few interruptions. By 1980, the economic situation had dramatically improved - built up painfully during the long years of white rule, which had advocated an almost inhibited free enterprise system. Foreign companies provided the nation with much-needed capital, technology, and marketing skills, and prior to 1983 the government confined its role to assisting private enterprises. A large number of small or medium scale mining operations were permitted to open, and in the mid-1970s an open-cast platinum mine at Lydenburg City initiated major production. Mining subsequently rose to overwhelming dominance in production and export, from half the economic output in 1974 to four-fifths in 1978. Three major mining conglomerates, led by the Port Swettendam Company, control local industry through mere force of size (diamond taxes continue to account for the country’s single largest source of revenue). In addition, Lydenburg's other valuable resources, such as uranium, copper, lead, zinc, vanadium, and lithium have ensured that nearly a third of her entire area remains snugly encompassed by various mining concessions to this day.

Sectoral activities – both subsistence and capital intensive - provide 12% of the GDP and livelihood for at least half the population. Large scale agriculture and a modern farming sector are concentrated in the central plateau, overseen primarily by white ranchers. Some 6,000 to 7,000 commercial farms are owned by about 4,500 individuals and businesses, although absentee landlords account for a fairly significant portion. Livestock ranching accounts for 85% of all agricultural production, although some have charged that overgrazing and poor weather conditions have caused recent decline in this subsector. Commercial crops include millet, sorghum, peanuts, maize, and cotton. The Afrosian's cattle herds are generally not processed for export but consumed locally. His subsistence crops include beans, potatoes, and maize. In 1992 it was officially stated that there were well over 200,000 heads of households engaged in subsistence farming, although they occupied under 20% of the productive land. During the eighteenth century, the Port Swettendam Company expropriated all prime farmland in central and southern Lydenburg for her colonials. After World War I, government officials allocated another 10.4 million hectares to 1,500 whites. By 1938, there were 3,300 settlers occupying about 25 million hectares. Their numbers continued to grow following World War II, peaking at 37 million hectares and 6,500 ranching households, respectively, in 1979. As of 2006, 90% of all viable pastureland remains in white hands. The commercial farmers have helped introduce new techniques such as dry farming as well as the use of dams, cattle dips, and artificial fertilisers to their country. Under such skill and direction, Lydenburg has become a major wool and beef supplier. In 1995 there were over 2,200,000 head of cattle in all the provinces as compared to the 438,000 in 1913. Merino sheep during the same period increased from an estimated 27,000 to around 4,600,000.

Lydenburg's industrial elements are export-oriented, and it predominantly facilitates the production of raw minerals and fish. However, hopes for major industrial diversification in the future seem to lie directly with the labour-intensive, agriculture-based, sectors or urban manufacturing. Since 1920, the manufacturing sector has never surpassed 6% of the GDP, and in 2011 contributed only 4.8% of the total. Lack of natural material limited markets, water, affordable energy/transportation costs, and a skilled workforce have all contributed to this. The manufacturing sector is based primarily on processing food products. Of that total, pilchards and rock lobsters account for about 75%, beef 20%, and dairy 2%. Smaller industries are involved in wood processing, textiles, furniture, and production of limited machinery. Overfishing of the pilchard stock in the 1990s brought the canning subsector briefly to a standstill – although within the decade the fish had recovered somewhat. Drought has always threatened the supply of cattle available for beef processing. The 711 modern-sector manufacturing firms are located near major population centres. With the exception of the small artisanal and cottage industries, these enterprises are owned solely by whites. Baardwyk, Steelpoort, and Swettendam account for two-thirds of the country’s manufacturing firms.

As Lydenburg is rich in minerals, the mining industry, which exploits vast deposits of copper, lead, zinc, uranium, diamonds, vanadium, silver, tungsten, tin, lithium ore, tantalite, and salt, contributes to over 52% of the GDP in addition to providing the state’s largest foreign exchange source. For the most part, the mines are foreign owned and nearly all production – gem quality diamonds in particular - earmarked for export. This sector has been providing healthy profits since 1976, with the tax revenues alone standing at BP 619,000,000 in 1984 (60%). Product sales doubled between 1980 and 1989, skyrocketing from BP 1.139 billion to BP 2.671 billion in that period – they continue to account for 75.8% of all exported goods. The pattern of mining is dominated by a few transnational corporations, such as Brigmann Consultants (BC), the Port Swettendam Company (PSC), and a third major producer, Van Jaarsveld Ltd, which owns the nation's largest platinum mine, at Lydenburg City. The mines are scattered across numerous provincial boundaries, since most minerals fall predominantly within the centre west or Steelpoort regions. At the upper level, some 17 large companies own most to all of the holdings in the twenty or so major mines on Lydenburger soil. At a lower level, domestically registered businesses (which are directly bound to their parent corporations as majority subsidiaries) manage the individual ventures. An estimated 36,000 blacks and 7,000 whites were employed by this industry in 2003.

Energy

Domestic sources of energy include wood, coal, and hydroelectric power – largely a monopoly of the Lydenburg Water and Electricity Corporation. The Republic imports nearly all petrol products and any additional electricity needed despite some undeveloped hydroelectric capacity and suspected coal deposits. Energy use is skewed by population group, economic activity, and industry; over 50% of the nation’s available energy output is consumed directly by the mining sector or channeled into major cities on the south-central plateau. In 2012 wood remained almost the sole source of energy in black Afrosian communities. Only a few rural households (mostly white-owned farms) are linked to the national power grid. Construction and service sectors consume about 11% of commercial energy – about 77,000 tons of coal, 200 tons of gasoline, 2,200 tons of diesel, and 130 million kwh of electricity. Prior to 1996 60% of all electricity was produced by coal-fired generation stations, but hydroelectricity can now potentially meet 43% of Lydenburg's demand, coal-fired sources 32%, and oil-fired sources 12%.

Currency and Trade

Lydenburg exports raw agricultural products (wool, millet, sorghum, peanuts, livestock, forest products, maize, fish) and strategic minerals (diamonds, lead-copper concentrates, zinc, vanadium). Her largest imports are machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, chemicals, and fossil fuels.

The national currency unit is the Lydenburg Burgerpond (VBP) consisting of 100 cents. Until 1970, when a new decimal system was introduced, the currency unit was the Florijn (LF). Veldponds continued as the sole money in circulation throughout 1971, when a start was made on issuing a new series of notes and coins bearing the name “Burgerpond”. Official replacement of the Florijn (which continued to be recognised as legal tender for some years to come) had been essentially completed by August 1973. As of March 1, 2012, USD$1=BP 4.66; conversely BP 1=US 21.4 cents, following slow but steady decline throughout 2011.

Transport

Ground

Lydenburg has a network of 2,750 route kilometres of 1,065 millimetre-gauge single track railways, which cater to a principally modern sector. Major lines run from north to south through mineral-rich regions towards Steelpoort and Woenstroom, and frequently provide vital transit hubs for traffic between several other states in the region. The largest east-west line begins in Gryvlei and ends in Swettendam. Diesel locomotives carry approximately 5 million tons of cargo – mostly imports – through the country each year. Over sixty passenger coaches are also available, carrying half a million passengers annually. A government study projected in 2010 that the existing system was in excellent condition, but new equipment is necessary to handle an increasing volume of traffic.

Total mapped road network is about 69,213 kilometres, of which some 6,500 kilometres are paved. The national road system, designed predominantly for mining interests, modern agriculture sectors, and the military, interconnects towns, commercial farming regions, and zones developed by major industries. Well-maintained gravel surfaces meet local needs for white farms. Black townships and other Afrosian communal areas are only serviced by earth roads or tracks. Public transport is poor; pressure has been mounting on the government to facilitate a serious expansion since 1997.

Air

Lydenburg has 130 registered airfields, and three can handle wide jets. Ten of the remaining runways are paved. Scheduled domestic flights furnished by Lydenburg Lugdiens (English: Lydenburg Airways) operate from seven main public airports, although only two are registered as international class. Local aviation is a monopoly of private charter operations. Lydenburg Lugdiens was established by Adriaan de Vooght in 1948 as Wonderfontein Air Transport, to begin working out of Swettendam two years later with a fleet of Ryan Navions. By late 1968, this had grown to include three Douglas DC-3s, four Piper PA-30 Twin Comanches, two Cessna 206s, and one de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. In the 1970s some Fokker F-28 jets were acquired via the Cookish States. The present incarnation of the airline was adopted in 1959 when Wonderfontein Air Transport merged with Bucquoij Aviation, a much smaller charter company. Lydenburg Lugdiens is partially dominated by the Republic government, which purchased 54% of the stock and has since designated it a national airline.

Sea

Despite a lengthy coastline, Lydenburg has few natural harbours, and only three major ports (Swettendam, Schatzenberg, Winepoort). Schatzenberg, a fairly prosperous diamond port in the colonial era, has been declining since 1971, and now survives predominantly on the lobster fishing industry. The ocean floor here is narrow, shallow, and rocky – forcing ships to unload cargo at outer anchorages. A series of costly and largely ineffectual attempts have been made to deepen the port in recent years. Swettendam, founded by Piet van Riet in 1542, can handle vessels of up to 10,000 tons apiece. The former is adequately sheltered, blessed with a short, deep, access channel, and located on a main rail line. Under Company rule, it was largely abandoned in favour of Winepoort, but by the 1980s authorities had recognised the need to bypass this potential stranglehold on maritime trade. A massive campaign was undertaken to combat problematic siltation, which has now been solved through vigorous dredging and an artificial breakwater. Swettendam is presently a modern, containerised, port adopted for “roll-on, roll-off” services.

Politics and government

Main article: Voksraad (Lydenburg)

Lydenburg is a democracy structured along Westminster lines, with a unicameral parliament (Volksraad) recognised as the supreme legislative and budgetary authority. A republican constitution, introduced at full independence in 1856 as the country’s basic law, gives a prime minister and cabinet drawn from the Volksraad absolute appointment power over ministry officials, department secretaries, national police chiefs, and military commanders. It also provides for a figurehead president, who is to remain a largely honorific head of state. Constitutional amendments must be approved by two-thirds of both houses. MPs, who are directly elected by white voters, serve five year terms unless parliament is dissolved sooner, and cabinet ministers cannot hold office for more than three months unless they also sit in the Raad. General elections are scheduled every five years, but each poll must be taken on the same day. The franchise is restricted to literate Lydenburger citizens over 21 bound to the white (European) racial classification and "possessed of portable property within the country of the clear value of 700 Burgerpond". A consecutive six months’ residence before voter registration is required.

During the 2011 parliamentary elections, the Volkseenheid Burgervereniging (VeB), far-right party of Prime Minister Hendrik Strydom, received a thirty-four-seat majority in the Volksraad; Gert van der Sluys' Eenheid Bond van Lydenburg (Unity League of Lydenburg; EB) secured fourteen seats, with another fourteen divided among candidates from various elements of the Nasionale Volksorganisie Party coalition (NV) and independents; Gerrit Scheepers' Verenigde Skikking (VS) attained eight seats. A VeB-dominated cabinet earmarked two prominent positions for VS members and one for an independent.

The NV had utterly dominated Lydenburger politics since 1974, and was a prominent partner in prior governments with the VS and EB. It was founded in September 1924, permitting membership only to white Afrikaans speakers, gaining support for representing political and cultural interests of the rural population in negotiations with colonial administrations and non-Afrikaans whites. Under the NV, Afrikaners have almost completely dominated the national leadership, civil service, and military command. Protesting that the party had become too liberal in matters of race, its radical right wing, led by former Justice Minister Gijsbert Kotze formed a new Unity Action colaition in 2000. Even further to the right, the neo-fascist VeB, also led by a former NV minister, Hendrik Strydom, vowed violence to preserve white power indefinitely. Combining diehard white opinion with supporters of an even more vigorous baaskap, the VeB won 63% of the vote in the southeastern farming districts where predominantly liberal parties had once held sway. In 2011 Strydom was swept to victory in a landslide, which was regarded as an expected right-wing backlash by blue collar voters against an increasingly centrist NV.

Judiciary

A Supreme Court of Judicature for Lydenburg was created upon the establishment of the republic. It may be divided into two units, the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division. Appeals from the decisions of provincial and local courts and from those of the Sekhukhuneland High Court, can be made to the Appellate Division. Serious crimes are tried before a judge with a jury available on request, while minor offences are handled by magistrates. In civil cases either party may demand a jury. The legal system is grounded in Roman-Dutch law, which is administered together with ordinances passed by the Volksraad and some portions of unique civil code. Prerepublican legislation is valid if not in conflict with the constitution. Unofficial community courts try cases with regards to Afrosian customary law.

Administration

In the spirit of a unitary rather than a federal state, state authority is centralised in Lydenburg City; all six provinces, exclusive of Sekhukhuneland, a native reserve, lack administrative privileges. They are subdivided into rural and urban constituencies, of which a limited number may elect all-white provincial councils, who govern with appointed magistrates and possess judicial powers. Afrosian communal lands and reserves are prohibited from representation; as on the national level, blacks may not vote during elections or participate in government.

National Security

External Defence

Main article: Lydenburg Defence Force

In 2012 the well-equipped and well-trained Lydenburg Defence Force (LDF) operated with approximately 63,000 active duty personnel, including a navy of under 2,000, an air force of 2,900, and an underpaid army of 58,000. There is an organised army reserve for whites, and during crisis an additional 19,000 troops can be called up. Recent enlargement and modernisation of the armed forces owes a major debt to Hendrik Strydom, whose administration faced the first insurgency threat posed by black nationalist movements since the late 1990s. The defence force as a whole is organised with an emphasis on light bush tactics and counter-insurgency warfare, although it is also capable of mounting limited conventional strikes as necessary. Almost the entire white male population between the ages of seventeen and sixty are affected by compulsory military commitments. An able-bodied white man is liable for three years of military service beginning in his twenty-first year, but volunteers are accepted for basic training upon their seventeenth birthday. Wherever facilities are available, boys between 13 and 17 must undergo training as cadets unless parents specifically object. Army reservists initially train for 25 days every twelve months during their first two years, and anywhere from 10 to 21 in their subsequent two years (10 to 15 days of this must be consecutive). After this period, they are incorporated into the national reserve and subject to annual inspection.

The Army is organised into full-time mechanised infantry battalions, plus armour, artillery, engineer, support units, and one brigade of active reservists. A reaction-trained unit, paratroop battalion, and special forces contingent operate separately. Equipment in the 2012 inventory included tanks, sophisticated field artillery, and 1,000 armoured fighting vehicles of indigenous design. The Air Force is organised into respective light bomber, fighter-bomber, light attack, transport, and helicopter squadrons. Equipment in the 2012 inventory included approximately 59 aging combat aircraft and 40 helicopters.

Until 1999, Lydenburger military equipment was often worn and in many cases, outright obsolete; trade sanctions and arms embargoes on the white minority government had seriously limited the LDF’s ability to recreate its arsenal. Yet great resourcefulness has since been demonstrated in achieving nearly complete self-sufficiency for small arms, equipment, and ammunition. Two major state-owned armaments ventures, Temple Development and Van Essen Engineering, produce 30% of the nation’s light weapons. Another 15% is developed directly by the state, and the remainder acquired via sources abroad or the private sector. Commercial aircraft have been modified for military usage, and several models of 5.56mm automatic rifles have been designed, including a copy of Germany's successful HK G36, known locally as the TDW-21. A substantial amount of military hardware supplied during the years immediately following Kalumban independence is still in use, particularly with the air force. Small arms of Soviet, Chinese, and Eastern European origin have either been captured during from insurgents during past conflicts or supplied by sympathetic countries.

A vast increase has been noted in defence-related expenditure since the resurgence of guerrilla activity at the end of 1999. In 2012, military spending rose to 4.1 per cent of the total national GNP; expenditures classed as “additional security costs” accounted for BP 8,000,000. Another BP 15,000,000 has been earmarked for relocation, surveillance, and civil defence in Sekhukhuneland, where the most clashes between insurgents and the security forces have been noted. Compounding the rising expense of fighting a counter-insurgency campaign, even one which has hardly more than a police action thus far, are reduced foreign exchange earnings due to renewed sanctions, depressed market prices, spiralling petrol prices, higher transport cost due to the closing of borders, etc. An economic slump which has accompanied recent political unrest has made this figure dangerously unsustainable.

Veiligheidsmagte

There is a national law enforcement agency, the Lydenburg National Police (LNP), which operates as the nation’s sole civil police force. It is headquartered in Droomdorp. Policemen are expected to represent the government in rural areas and perform basic administrative tasks. They are often tasked with singlehandedly observing the duties of immigration officers, census takers, postal workers, meteorological observers, and vehicle inspectors. Despite a controversial history of alleged and open human rights abuses, LNP has nevertheless succeeded in controlling crime alongside political subversion. Between 2010 and 2011, the police successfully investigated 90% of criminal cases involving state security and 67% of cases involving destruction of property. Many units are trained to act in concert with the LDF and over 1,500 have even assumed paramilitary functions. In theory, LNP is part of the armed forces and answers to the High Command, but is also registered as a civil department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Police Auxiliary Unit, founded as a nonwhite support group directed by the Prime Minister’s Office, once handled riot control and apprehended poachers in game parks. Now, operators function as the police element primarily responsible for tracking and engaging guerrillas in the northern savanna.

The Lydenburg Prison Service is presided over by the Ministry of Justice. It was estimated in 2012 that there were 150,000 prisoners, many of them political detainees who had yet to receive an official sentence. Overcrowding is a severe problem and conditions often harsh. There were 500 reported deaths in custody between August 2011 and June 2012. Separate facilities have yet to be established for women and young offenders, although to a degree the races remain segregated. Regardless of duty or experience, black employees are classified as warders, and whites ranked as officers.