(I) Today the worst problem facing the government of South Africa is unemployment. (II) This now affects a third of the population and is rising rapidly. (III) Actually, the end of South Africa's isolation from the world meant that companies had to cut jobs to be competitive. (IV) Moreover, in order to meet the government's tight deficit targets, there are now cuts being made in the number of the public-service staff, which makes unemployment even worse. (V) In the economic sector, the situation is even more hopeful for there has been a wave of reforms and mergers among banks and insurance companies.