South African History Online

University of Pittsburgh, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall,
6 December 1991

First of all, I would like to thank Tony O'Reilly most sincerely for inviting
us to deliver this lecture and, thus, joining other speakers more distinguished
than ourselves, who have spoken on such occasions.

I take it that this is in recognition of the importance which he and his
colleagues attach to the question of South Africa and a statement of their own
commitment to continue acting together with all other people of conscience to
help us end the apartheid crime against humanity. For this, we would like to
express our profound appreciation.

As though to reaffirm the correctness of the saying that "nothing is
permanent except change itself," our world is transforming itself in front of
our very eyes. Old truths are being swept aside by a breathtaking tide of events
which is sometimes difficult to comprehend.

Established states and social systems are demonstrating a fragility and an
ephemeral quality which the most incisive intellectual enquiry could never
convey with the fullness of drama which life itself provides. Clearly, a new
world is being born.

But what world shall it be? We can only address this question from our
perspective as South Africans. We cannot but be struck and inspired by the
coincidence that we speak today in the State of Pennsylvania which played a
major role in the emancipation of Africans who had been enslaved.

Our country too has been the victim of a social order that is a relic of the
past, a social order which condemned the Africans to a modern form of slavery.
How much a relic is demonstrated by the fact that we can find a resonance and a
relevance to our situation in the words of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
of 1863, which is reproduced on the wall behind us. We, too, must say that our
nation "shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people,
by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." We must say
this because indeed our nation is having a new birth, having engaged in its own
great Civil War - which, also dedicated to the proposition that all men are
created equal, unhappily is not yet concluded.

That Civil War broke out during the course of the struggle to end the system
of apartheid and to transform South Africa into a united, democratic, non-racial
and non-sexist country. Whatever form this struggle might have assumed today, it
continues still to pursue this great and noble objective.

A historic document of our struggle adopted in 1955, the Freedom Charter,
contains the ringing words: "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black
and white and no government shall claim authority unless it is based on the will
of all the people."

It is these goals that we aim to achieve, of turning South Africa into a
common patrimony of all our people, who must have the equal right and
opportunity to participate in its government and to shape its destiny.

We are suing, therefore, for the earliest adoption of a' democratic
constitution which must enshrine the principle of "one person, one vote" on a
common voters roll. We want to ensure the emergence of a constitutional system
in which there is no distinction among our people on grounds of color, race,
gender or creed.

We are also determined that the fundamental human rights of all South
Africans should be protected. We, therefore, propose that there should be an
entrenched and justiciable Bill of Rights, protected by an independent and
non-racial judiciary. We have already put to the people of our country a draft
of such a Bill of Rights which we will take into the negotiating forum.

We are also in favor of political pluralism which will enable the existence
of a multi-party system. Similarly, we stand for a constitution which will
provide for regular elections, with those elections conducted on the basis of
proportional representation to ensure the free expression, of the widest
possible spread of political opinion.

Repeatedly, our opponents in the ruling National Party raise the issue of the
need to protect minority rights and propose various formulae which they say are
designed to achieve this objective.

The ANC recognizes the fact that South Africa is a multi-ethnic and a
multi-cultural country, as this country is. We are proud of this reality and
have no desire to see the people reduced by some form of social engineering into
one undifferentiated mass. But, at the same time, we shall continue to insist
that a Person's color, language or culture should not be used to determine his
or her place in the political structures of the country.

There should be no weighing of votes or structuring of the political system
which would result in compromising the fundamental democratic principle of
majority rule. And here we speak not of racial or ethnic majorities, but of a
political majority, regardless of the polyglot of languages and the variety of
colors of the rainbow it might represent.

We are aware of the fact that we are dealing with a situation in which there
coexist white fears and black aspirations. The process of change demands that
both of these must be addressed.

We believe that the political structures we have already described address
both of these issues. The Bill of Rights that we have spoken of would, for
instance, protect the rights of the individual in such matters as language,
culture and the freedom of worship.

Our own draft Bill of Rights goes further, to provide for the right to
property. Borrowing from the German Constitution, we, however, also make
provision that the state may, in the context of a defined national interest,
acquire property through due process of law and with just compensation.

We believe that provisions of this kind, appearing in an entrenched Bill of
Rights and, therefore, not subject to arbitrary and whimsical alteration by the
legislature, are adequate to address the issue of white fears without our
seeking to construct a constitutional order which would, in fact, perpetuate the
divisions of the apartheid system by creating racial or ethnic political
ghettoes.

These are some of the basic political propositions that the ANC has placed
before out country and the international community which are advanced with the
sole purpose of contributing to the process of transforming South Africa into a
non-racial democracy. We believe that they are just, unimpeachable and critical
to the solution of the political problems facing our country and people.

The ANC will be celebrating its 80th birthday on January 8, 1992. Throughout
it s life it has argued and fought for a negotiated resolution of the problems
of our country. During all those decades, successive white minority regimes
refused to heed this call. Confident of their might and steeped in the arrogance
of a deep-seated attachment to notions of white racial superiority, they
responded to this just demand by gunning down and imprisoning those who had the
temerity to make it. In the end, however, and as a result of struggle, they have
been obliged to accept that they must get together with us to arrive at a
negotiated settlement.

Later this month, the Convention for a Democratic South Africa will meet in
Johannesburg to begin the process that will lead to the adoption of a democratic
constitution. This will be an epoch-making gathering which will decide such
questions as the, constitutional principles under which the new South Africa
will be governed, the forum which will negotiate the new constitution, how the
country will be governed during the transitional, period and the time frames for
this transitional period.

We have put forward the concept and demand that there should be formed an
interim government of national unity which should govern the country during its
transition from an apartheid to a democratic society. This would be a government
that would end the monopoly of power exercised by the white minority and,
therefore, enjoy the support and confidence of the majority of people.

It would in itself be a confidence-building measure reinforcing the process
of arriving at a peaceful settlement. Furthermore, it would be entrusted with
such delicate tasks as, in terms of our proposals, the supervision of elections
to the constituent assembly which would be charged with the task of drawing up
the new constitution.

From all this, it ought to be very clear that the formation of this interim
government would mark a decisive step forward in the process of the
transformation of South Africa. It is our own resolve that this government,
which will be discussed at the convention a fortnight from now, should be
installed as soon as possible, to clear the way for speedy movement forward to
the adoption of a new constitution and the election of a new government.

If it is obvious that South Africa cannot emerge out of the crisis in which
it is enmeshed without its transformation into a non-racial democracy it is
equally clear that this new democracy can neither achieve stability nor be
assured of permanence if nothing is done to effect an economic transformation of
the country.

South Africa is confronted by the reality of a disastrous economic situation,
itself the direct result and expression of the system of apartheid. Millions of
people are afflicted by endemic and dire poverty. Levels of unemployment are
estimated at 40 percent and more. The majority of the urban African population
live in shacks and squatter camps.

Millions are landless because of previous policies which reserved 87 percent
of the land for the white 15 percent of the population. The most important
killer diseases, as far as the black population is concerned, are diseases of
poverty. In other words, millions of people die simply because they are hungry
and ill-fed.

At the other end of this equation is, of course, the reality that the bulk of
the income that the economy generates accrues-to the white minority, which also
owns virtually all productive wealth. There are many figures we can quote to
show this gross maldistribution of income, wealth and opportunity between black
and white.

Suffice it for our purposes today to mention merely that at least 75 percent
of the shares quoted on the Johannesburg stock exchange is owned by four
conglomerates which are completely white-owned and white-managed.

All of these economic questions have to be addressed as part of the process
of the creation of the new South Africa. We do not pretend that they can be
dealt with easily or that quick solutions can be found. Nevertheless, the great
task of the economic reconstruction of South Africa must begin.

Today, the South African economy is in decline. Measures must be taken to
ensure that it grows. These must include: a sharp rise in the rate of
investment, the growth of the domestic. market, the growth of exports of
manufactured goods, the expansion of the domestic market, the raising of skill
levels to increase labor productivity, the inflow of foreign capital and the
achievement of technology transfers (especially to build a modern and
competitive manufacturing sector), redistribution of wealth to ensure the
upliftment of the millions of deprived black people and the creation of
opportunities (including through affirmative action) to ensure black
empowerment.

We are convinced that the private sector must and will play the central and
decisive role in the struggle to achieve many of these objectives. Contrary to
what you might have heard or read,-let me assure you that the ANC is not an
enemy of private enterprise or the market system.

Without the involvement of the private investor, the South African economy
will not grow and will, therefore, not be able to address the needs that
confront the masses of our people. Equally we are aware that the investor will
not invest unless he or she is assured of the security of their investment. This
and other things have to be guaranteed to ensure that the necessary levels of
investor confidence are attained.

As you are undoubtedly aware, the South African economy already has a fairly
large public sector which plays an important role in the economy. What we have
said about this is that the question of what happens to this sector should be
left until the democratic transformation has been achieved.

Detailed discussions will be required in a democratic setting to see whether
any of these assets should be privatised, commercialised or left as they are.
These determinations will be made not in furtherance of any ideological
imperatives but in the context of the elaboration of policies aimed at growth
and equity.

Let me further make the point that the ANC has no ideological commitment to
nationalization. This provision appears in policy documents of the ANC adopted
more than 35 years ago, at a time when the word "privatisation" was not in
anybody's vocabulary.

This matter was raised to address the obscene racial imbalances in the
distribution of wealth to which we have referred. This issue is now under
discussion throughout our ranks and is being approached in a pragmatic manner
which takes into account both the experiences of other peoples since the 1950s
and the present-day realities of South Africa.

In summary, What we visualize is a mixed economy which, led by the private
sector, will include a public sector, small business and cooperatives. Once the
detailed work of elaborating an economic policy has been concluded - and we do
hope to do this by March - this mix may be no different from the mix that exists
in such countries as Germany, France and Italy in which public enterprises
constitute 9, 11 and 15 per cent of the economy respectively.

The rates of economic growth we seek cannot be achieved without important
inflows of foreign capital. We are determined to create the necessary climate
which the foreign investor will find attractive.

We are also determined that economic sanctions should go as soon as possible.
For this reason, we have said that these should be removed as soon as an interim
government is in place. And, we believe that this government should be in place
within a matter of months as a result of decisions that will be taken at the
convention which begins its work only a fortnight from now.

Therefore, I am here to say "yes" to American trade and investment as soon as
that interim government is in place, even before there are free elections.

And, as I have said, there is no reason why an interim government should not
be formed during 1992 to take charge of the country until a democratically
elected government is formed.

Indeed, why delay? The divisions of the Cold War were swept away in a matter
of months. We, too, must strive to sweep away the crime of apartheid with
similar speed.

And you in this country as you helped us by imposing sanctions, can help us
to achieve this and to rebuild our society.

We will need both public and private sector investment to create a new South
Africa that will not just be politically free, but economically prosperous as
well.

Addressing myself specifically to the business leaders in this audience and
throughout the United States, I invite you to explore investment opportunities
in South Africa now, so that you are ready to invest as the opportunity arises
in the near future.

Ours is a land blessed with a vibrant people, natural resources and a
beautiful climate. South Africa, so long neglected And mismanaged, can prosper
with democracy and a dynamic blend of public and private enterprise, in keeping
with what the World Bank, in its development report of 1991, sees as "the
interaction between governments and markets" and goes on to point out that, "it
is not a question of state versus market - each has a large and irreplaceable
role."

South Africa also belongs to a region which will evolve into a common market
of more than 100 million people. This is a region which is also endowed with
enormous natural resources and extraordinary opportunities. With the solution of
the problems confronting South Africa, Angola and Mozambique, it will be a good
place to be for any investor who familiarises himself or herself with its
particularities.

Let us all, Americans and South Africans, act together to build a partnership
for democracy, for peace and for prosperity. We are pleased that this University
is already helping us to prepare for the future. If we all follow this example,
as we can, we should have made an important contribution to the creation of the
new world of which Lincoln spoke when he talked of a new birth of freedom.