South African History Online

Address by ANC President Nelson Mandela to ANC-Business Summit

30 March 1994

Mr. Chairperson,
Distinguished participants

This summit departs from tradition in more ways than one.

Firstly, in the hustle-bustle of a hard-fought election campaign, it stands
out as a forum for calm, rational debate about the challenges business that the
ANC face.

Secondly, we are confident that this summit will serve as a ray of hope, a
spur to major economic players to act with decision to resolve the complex
problems that beset our country.

Since 1990, we have often said that South Africa has entered a new terrain of
debate. In Dakar, Davos, Paris, and on countless occasions within the country,
we sought occasions to understand one another.

This summit is no different. Today, we are continuing along the same road in
search of meaningful partnership; raising our discourse from one premised on
ideology to one that derives from a common identification of national needs and
goals.

We thank you all for finding the time in your busy schedules to be here with
us. We particularly want to congratulate "Finance Week" for its keen sense of
timing and organisational capacity.

During the course of the day, the experts will share with you the evolving
detailed policy positions of the ANC. Mine is the relatively easy task of
talking in general terms.

Important historical moments always have their surprises. I will try to fit
the bill by sharing with you some information the ANC has not made public. And I
trust you will come to my rescue when I am castigated by constitutional
structures of the ANC.

I deliberately refer to "evolving" details of policy. Because we would not
have been the movement we are, if we did not temper our approaches to take
account of the views of those we consult. At the end of this summit, we will
summon all the ANC experts present here to find out how they and the ANC have
benefited from this encounter.

For any organisation to govern it should appreciate the needs, aspirations
and fears of the nation as a whole. For, to govern means translating varying
viewpoints into a harmonious national effort. We do not pretend that we are
capable of ironing out all differences. The contradictions will always be there.
But we are duty-bound to act in a manner that demonstrates sensitivity to the
needs of society as a whole.

The ANC is confident that South Africa will make it. We have been part of a
historic paradigm shift among forces which were at each others throats - in
politics and in economics - to understand that national consensus is possible.

Over the past year or so, such an emergent consensus has found expression in
many areas: within the National Economic Forum, the Housing Forum, the TEC
Sub-council on Finance, and in the joint missions abroad. There, we have acted
as South Africans first and foremost, pursuing a common national agenda. And
there is no doubt that, if we get our act together, we will achieve a great deal
for the nation as a whole.

This is of course conditional on one central factor. That is, our ability to
resolve our political problems in a manner that our people and the international
community can say: there is a legitimate arrangement to support.

No matter how hard we try to convince potential international investors and
financiers about the discrepancies between TV screen images and reality; No
matter how loudly we proclaim our commitment to find lasting solutions; as long
as we are not seen to be acting together on these issues, their doubts will
persist.

Every rational person appreciates that our country is on the verge of
fundamental change, the most important expression of which will be the elections
on 26, 27 and 28 April.

The country has successfully negotiated rules of the transition which will
culminate in the drafting of a new democratic constitution. These rules,
encapsulated in the interim constitution and electoral laws, might have their
defects. But central to these rules are basic principles of democracy and a
constitutionally-guaranteed mechanism for working together in a Government of
National Unity.

Much has been made of the pet subject of federalism, turning words upon
themselves until they lose all meaning. Most unfortunately the telegraphic
nature of news reports on the debate the fundamental issue that what we have now
is an interim arrangement is all too often missed.

We have already made numerous adjustments to provincial powers as a means of
accommodating the White extreme right. But, to the extent that the new
constitution will be drafted in a context of elected structures, it will be much
easier to examine these questions in a more rational manner.

Let me pause to share a secret. In my discussions with our regions and the
provincial candidate premiers, I have found a persistent leaning towards
ensuring that the powers of the provinces are amplified - not as a tool for
blocking national programmes, but to facilitate national development closer to
where the people are.

What we are saying is that it is highly irrational to make a life-and-death
issue of the interim constitution. This interim constitution makes room for the
political approaches of the widest spectrum of parties, including the
possibility of a volkstaat. Of course, what it does not do is to guarantee any
political leader or party a status independent of the will of the electorate.

It would be wrong to compel anyone to take part in elections if they choose
not to do so. But our argument is that even those who choose to abstain should
not seek to undermine this national consensus by means of violence.

There is a serious danger that by being silent on these problems, we might be
seen by the perpetrators of violence, by our own people and by the outside world
as succumbing to the ancient dictum that might is right. Especially for the
private sector, it is not helpful to the national economic consensus we seek,
that a perception takes root among the majority, that while business appears
keen to challenge the ANC on issues such as the double ballot; it fails to speak
out when major obstacles to the transition are created.

The past fortnight has witnessed some of the most dramatic developments in
our political history. There was the uprising in Bophuthatswana, the events in
the Ciskei and the revelations in the Goldstone Commission report.

I do not personally have a penchant for uprisings or exposes. I had
personally hoped that the Bophuthatswana government would co-operate with the
transitional process and find a respectable role for itself. The objective of
free political activity and the whole transition in this area could have been
attained without unrest or bloodshed.

Except for local structures which kept in touch with events, there was no
direct ANC participation in the fall of President Mangope. That is a matter of
record. Until the eleventh hour we had hoped that negotiations and the
phenomenal offers we were making to the Bophuthatswana administration would
resolve the problems. However, our life-line was rejected and the Bop
administration became victim of its own intransigence.

I would want to commend leader of the Freedom Front General Constand Viljoen
for his maturity. We profoundly disagree with him on the issue of a volkstaat
and we shall continue to differ with him in coming negotiations. But he has had
the foresight to seek a peaceful settlement.

To the ANC, what is at issue is not whether a particular administrator stays
in office for another few days or not. The question is ensuring free and fair
elections.

We remain very apprehensive about the unfolding events in KwaZulu-Natal. As
everywhere else, we would prefer the administration to accept the people's right
to express their political views either way. An attempt to postpone the
elections or drown them in blood cannot be countenanced. Allowing such an
eventuality would be sending a terribly wrong signal about ourselves as a
leadership and as a country: that might is right.

The ANC will continue seeking the least painful solutions to the crisis. We
are aware of the genuine fears of the Zulu King and we shall continue seeking a
meeting with him to clarify what we believe is a misunderstanding about his
future status and role.

We do appreciate that the KwaZulu administration is different. Now this is no
secret. The most recent report of the Goldstone Commission helps to piece
together what has been more or less an enigma to many. if we recall, the
motivation of the Security Police who engineered Inkatha funding in 1990, was
that the apartheid state could not afford co-operation between Inkatha and the
ANC during the transition. The revelations about co-operation between Generals
at SAP Headquarters and this party confirms society's worst fears. This is what
makes the KwaZulu administration different, not the anthropological analyses
that seek to take us to pre-historic times.

Decisive steps need to be taken without delay. The South African government
should exercise its jurisdiction to end the carnage and ensure normal political
activity.

We should build a provincial consensus in Natal: a consensus that includes
business, political parties, religious leaders and others, for a right of
choice. If the forces of peace act together, we might yet be saved from what
would be a mutually-debilitating conflict.

The ANC is convinced that such initiatives are in the interest of the country
in general and our economy in particular. As politicians, we accept our
responsibility to create the conditions in which the economy can thrive.

The thrust of our programme is to forge the emergent consensus into a dynamo
for a national effort to build a better life for all.

There are many problems that we have collectively and variously identified
that need resolution in the medium and long-term. Often, we set each other up
for acrimonious exchanges by the ideological manner in which we identify these
problems.

Our country suffers from:

• a unacceptable under-utilisation of its productive capacity
• an underdeveloped human resource base
• a structural dependence on the mining industry
• an underdeveloped manufacturing sector which is in no position to compete
  internationally
• a skewed agricultural sector that relies in the main on a few enterprises
  while the majority are condemned to chronic debt and landlessness
• a sharp urban-rural divide which is bound to explode in even worse
  urbanisation crises
• an industrial and commercial structure that is top-heavy and views small
  and medium-size enterprise with derision.

We could go on and on. The sum-total of it all is the disparity and
attendant socio-political problems. We need to kick-start the economy in a
joint national effort. This should be within a clear framework with national
goals. It should be people-centred.

This is the premise of the ANC's Reconstruction and Development Programme:
our Public Works Programme, Education, Health, Housing and other policies.

In the past we have often engaged in what is essentially an academic
debate: what comes first, growth or delivery! But it is now part of the
national consensus that these processes must proceed together and should in
fact complement each other.

It is also part of our common understanding that these problems cannot be
resolved in a shot-gun manner: let everyone fly in their own direction hoping
they will reach some target.

We believe that the state should set the framework allowing for private,
autonomous activity. It has an important role to create the environment within
which business can thrive. It has an important role to ensure that there is
full national participation in the economy, including the creation of
opportunities for small business. It should direct public finance towards more
investment spending rather than consumption.

The ANC's plan is conscious of the need for macro-economic balances. We
emphasise more efficient utilisation of resources and thinning down the
bureaucracy of apartheid duplications; closing the gaps for corruption; and
ensuring an efficient tax collection system. In government, effective and open
performance auditing will be the priority.

And to share with you the real secret that even top leaders of the ANC do
not know: Minimal as its contribution would be, we intend to ensure that
political leaders themselves set an example. Going through the salaries and
perks current politicians pocket, leaves a sour taste in the mouth. This
applies to the Presidency, ministers and parliamentarians. And I intend to ask
my colleagues in the ANC executive and parliamentary lists to consider
reducing these salaries and ensuring that everyone pays tax. The time has come
that politics should be seen as a service to the people rather than as a means
to self-enrichment.

The ANC's approach to tax is that we should examine the system as a whole,
foster the rule of law and recognition of rights and responsibilities. All
this has to be conducted within acceptable macro-economic balances. The aim
should be to ensure increased revenue through growth and efficiency rather
than increasing the tax burden. In particular we do not seek to increase
central government spending above its current level of 25%. Government
borrowing should not rise above current levels.

Our proposal for a reconstruction fund should be implemented in a manner
that does not stifle individual business initiative. Emphasis will be on
elements of the reconstruction programme that can generate funds.

What about a reconstruction levy, prescribed assets and foreign exchange
controls? The ANC does not want to be prescriptive. Our preference is that, if
national consensus on economic goals and a partnership between business and
government take root, then government laws and policing should become
redundant.

As the ANC, we are committed to creating a macro-environment for economic
growth and to assist business to be competitive internationally. We will
pursue sound monetary policies, guarantee the independence of the Reserve Bank
and improve South Africa's credit rating. Our programme sets out broad
parameters which we believe should stimulate the thriving of enterprise and
initiative.

The fundamental question is, how the private sector proposes to play its
role in this national effort! We would strongly argue that partnership between
business and an ANC government should find expression in a commitment from the
private sector to the country's future. This means investing in the country
and developing its human resources. It means working together in various
sectorial forums to hep build the economy and add to national wealth.

We believe that such a partnership is possible. Especially if we both shed
the ideological baggage that has so undermined national debate, and pursue
things as they are, not as interpreted in some manuals.

This should be the message that together we send out to society. On both
sides of the apartheid divide, people wish to see practical efforts to improve
the situation for all South Africans.

That is why we are concerned about some of the distortions we are coming
across in the election campaign, aimed at exaggerating ANC support.

This is a particularly clever and dangerous campaign. The aim is to create
a hung parliament and a government unable to implement reconstruction
programmes.

The ANC does not pursue a two-thirds majority as a matter of principle. We
are committed to ensuring that policies are worked out in consultation with
all role players which genuinely seek a solution to the country's problems.

It makes sound economic and business sense to say that South Africa needs a
decisive government; that governmental paralysis will naturally result in an
unguided drift and continued economic hardships. We believe that it is in the
interest of business that the reconstruction and development programme,
tempered by our consultations, should be implemented.

I hope that this encounter will bear the kind of results that will move us
from debate to practical action. There is a common challenge. Let us work
together to find a common solution.