Economic Recovery

• Johannesburg became the modern and sophisticated centre of the South African Republic.
• The number of people employed in gold mining doubled. With new technology and cheap black African labour the SA economy surged forward.
• The De Beers Diamond Company and the Rand Gold Fields traded on the international stock market. The government used the income generated to invest in national roads, dams and power plants.
• The government purchased military equipment from France, Britain, and the United States.
• Except for some small pockets of urban and rural poverty, whites were living a comfortable life. Most whites worked in skilled jobs and most households could afford a maid and a gardener.