Just as South Africa may be considered to be a developing democracy, the translation and interpreting industry in the country should be regarded as a developing rather than a struggling industry. Many observers, assessing the South African situation, seem to make the mistake of comparing the present situation with that of the past. Such a comparison cannot be regarded as fair since there is no basis for comparison. This survey shows that there are more than enough reasons to participate optimistically in building new translation and interpreting industry for South Africa.