South African History Online

Davos, Switzerland, 2 February 1992

Prof Klaus Shwaab, President of the World Economic Forum
Distinguished
Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen:

The ANC and I personally, would like to thank the World Economic Forum most
sincerely for inviting us to attend and address this important gathering. We
would further like to express our profound appreciation for your decision to
allocate time for discussion of the South African question. We do believe that
your initiative in this regard is most timely.

The impending political transformation of South Africa is part of the truly
phenomenal processor renewal which our planet is experiencing. The features of
this process are clear enough.

They delineate a future in which the peoples in all countries will govern
themselves under open and plural democratic systems

in our own country this means the end of white minority dictatorship and the
building of a new nation of many colours, languages and cultures, bound together
by a common South African patriotism, a shared spirit of nationhood and bonds of
mutual dependence.

As in other parts of the world, we too will establish a society based on
respect for human rights, to ensure the freedom and dignity of every individual,
as an inalienable condition of human existence and development.

The new world that is being born foresees the dawn of the age of peace, in
which wars within nations, between countries and among peoples will be a thing
of the past.

We need to reach the point when weapons of mass destruction will themselves
will themselves have been destroyed and the trade in weapons of death will have
been reduced to an absolute minimum.

And yet many of these masses who are freeing themselves from tyranny and
expanding the frontiers of liberty, exercising their right to self determination
and committing their lives to the defence of peace an life itself, are
themselves threatened by death from starvation.

The planet they inhabit faces the awesome menace of destruction as a result
of a human-made ecological catastrophe.

I am certain it is a matter of common cause among us here that the continued
impoverishment of millions of people throughout the world has become one of the
great sources of global instability.

Those who are deprived will inevitably act to demand a better life. The
gnawing pain of persistent hunger must, in the end, lead to food riots.

In response governing authorities that will feel threatened by the rebellion
of the masses will resort to repression, to a denial of political rights and a
return to a world hostile to freedom, none of us want this.

The migration of people from central and south America and the Caribbean into
the United States; similar movement of people from Africa, the near east and
eastern Europe into western Europe; the phenomenon of boat people in the far
east, all serve as safety valves helping to avert the threatening food in the
countries from which the emigrants originate.

But the question has to be posed and answered as to whether this is the best
way to address the issue of poverty which afflicts so many countries in the
world.

Is it in the long term interest of these countries and humanity as a whole,
to uproot the most enterprising individuals from these communities, and dump
them as unskilled and semi-skilled workers on the developed economies of the
world!

Nor can the reality be ignored that in response to these population flows and
to the pressure of poverty, there is, certainly in various parts of Europe, a
growing tendency towards the proliferation of racist and neo-nazi ideas and the
thuggery that goes with them.

I have no desire to overestimate the seriousness of this problem. But I would
also like to submit that it is not one that can be ignored either, certainly
those who are immediately threatened, be they black, Arab or Jew, cannot think
this a matter to be treated with benign neglect.

The simple point we are trying to make is that the dire poverty of some is
not an affliction which impacts only on those who are deprived. It reverberates
across the globe and ineluctably impacts negatively on the whole of humanity,
including those who live in conditions of comfort and plenty.

The inescapable conclusion from all this must surely be that our
interdependence, bringing us together into a common global home, across the
oceans and the continents, demands that we all combine to laugh a global
offensive for development, prosperity and human survival.

We are aware of, and respect the initiatives that have been undertaken in the
past to address these issues, including those of the united nations, the EEC-ACP
countries, the non-aligned movement, the north- south and south-south
commissions, the OAU, as well as many others.

But I am certain that none of us here can assert that there does indeed exist
a real and meaningful global offensive for development, prosperity and human
survival, drawing into one concerted effort governments, the private sector,
non-governmental organisations and the people themselves.

To come closer home and talk about the African continent. We cannot but take
advantage of this occasion to reiterate the alarm that others have expressed at
the continuing deterioration of conditions of life for millions of people.

There is no need for me, in front of third knowledgeable audience, to dwell
at any length on the specifics of the socio-economic situation on our
continent.

Suffice it to remind the conference that ten years ago already, in its report
entitled "accelerate development in sub-Saharan Africa: an agenda for action".
The world bank had various things to say which should have sounded the alarm
bells.

Here are two quotations from this report:

"When , in the mid-1970's, the world economy experienced inflation and
recession, nowhere did the crisis hit with greater impact than in (the region
of sub-Saharan Africa.")

And again:

"For most African countries, and for a majority of the African population,
the record is grim and it is no exaggeration to talk of crisis. Slow overall
economic growth, sluggish agricultural performance coupled with rapid rates of
population increase, and balance of payments and fiscal crisis - these are
dramatic indicators of economic trouble."

As can be expected, other issue are dealt with in the report, including
deteriorating terms of trade, a continuous fall in exchange reserves and the
Dracula of and external debt which many countries can neither avoid nor
afford.

With regard to the current situation, the secretary general of the united
nations reported only last year that in the period up to 1990. "The average
African continued to get poorer and to suffer a persistent fall in an already
meagre standard of living".

In his report on the "UN programme of action for African economic recovery
and development" the secretary general speaks of the African continent sinking
deeper into "and unrelenting crisis of tragic proportions".

He goes on to say that "overcoming this crisis represents the greatest
development challenge of our time."

Therefore, perhaps more than any other part of the world, the situation in
sub-Saharan Africa, which has worsened since the world bank report we have cited
was published, illustrates the importance of the global offensive for
development, prosperity and human survival for which we have called.

Quite clearly, for this project to record success, it would be necessary that
a massive transfer of resources

takes place from north to south, let me hasten to state it here that we are
by no means suggesting that this is an easy objective to achieve.

Nor are we suggesting that the issue be approached either as an act of
charity or as an attempt to improve the lived of the have-nots by impoverishing
the haves. Rather we are suggesting that it is necessary that these transfers
take place as a necessary condition to achieved development, prosperity and
survival for humanity as a whole.

We say this fully aware of the general shortage of capital in the world, its
sensitivity to economic imperatives and its mobility.

We also say this knowing that the underdevelopment countries themselves have
to continue addressing such issues as better utilisation of resources and
management of their economies better governance, human resource development,
including the upliftment and liberation of women, as well as the protection of
the environment.

Among other things that the concerted global offensive would have to deal
with are, of course, the dept problem, the issue of the continuous decline in
the prices of commodities that the poorer countries export and access to markets
for their manufactured goods.

We would like to take advantage of this opportunity to bring to your
attention, as others have done before, the problems that many African and other
poor countries experience as they implement structural adjustment programmes.
Carried out without providing a social net to cushion their impact on those who
are already gravely disadvantaged, these programmes may create more problems
than they solve.

Naturally, we must also express our own unease at any developments which
might result in investor attention being directed exclusively at central and
eastern Europe, to the exclusion of Africa and the rest of the third world.

Nor would it be beneficial to allow the positive processes leading to
European integration to result in a "fortress Europe" and, inter alia,
the delinkage of Africa from this and other areas of the world.

My own country, South Africa, is marching on its own road to liberation and
democracy. The specific process in which we are engaged, epitomised by the
convention for a democratic South Africa, may not themselves be
irreversible.

Nevertheless, it is quite clear that there is no force that can permanently
stop our advance towards the transformation of South Africa into a united,
democratic, non-racial and non-sexist country.

We want to see established, as quickly as possible, a multi-party democracy,
enshrined in a constitution which provides for one person one vote on a common
voters roll, separation of powers between the legislature, executive and
judiciary and devolution of power to regional and local levels of government,
furthermore, we would also like to see an entrenched bill of rights, protected
by an independent and representative judiciary.

Equally protected should be the rights of all our people to language, culture
and religion. Further than this, we have said in the past that we are willing to
look at any proposals aimed at addressing the fears of any of our population
groups, provided that this was not in furtherance of apartheid and intended to
subvert the normal democratic practice of majority rule.

We need to make point also that we are against the notion of a prolonged
transitional period, we have therefore put forward the suggestion that this
period, beginning with the establishment of an interim or transitional
government around the middle of this year, should not last longer than is
months.

Thus, we are determined to end apartheid and liberate ourselves as a matter
of urgency. We are as equally determined that this transformation should bring
with it real changes in the material conditions of life of the people.

This is dictated both by the fact of the widespread and endemic poverty that
affects millions of black people in our country and the need to guarantee the
success and permanence of democratic change.

This will require that all necessary measures are taken to ensure the growth
of the South African economy, pulling it out of the recession and decline in
which it is now enmeshed.

This will require a rapid and sustained growth in terms of capital formation
or fixed investment, drawing on both domestic and external sources to finance
this investment. It will also require a rapid and sustained expansion of the
domestic market, as well as improved access to international markets.

Inevitably, we must address the critical question of achieving high levels of
productivity for both capital and labour. At the same time, we must attend to
the issue of equitable distribution of income and wealth, without which the
domestic market will remain small and social stability impossible to
achieve.

We visualise a mixed economy, in which the private sector would play a
central and critical role to ensure the creation of wealth and jobs. Side by
side with this, there will be a public sector perhaps no different from such
countries as Germany, France and Italy where public enterprises constitute 9, 11
and 15 per cent of the economy respectively, and in which the state plays an
important role in such areas as education , health and welfare.

For it to succeed to achieve such basic objectives as creating wealth and
jobs, ending poverty and creating a just and equitable society, future economic
policy will also have to address such questions as security of investments and
the right to repatriate earnings, realistic exchange rates, the rate of
inflation and the fiscus.

We firmly believe that the South African economy has the potential for a very
bright and exciting future. It is in our interest that this economy should
thrive as never before. We are equally convinced that it will also offer very
good prospects for the investors present in this room, both South African and
international.

We therefore urge you to enter into a partnership with the people of South
Africa, who would like to act together with you to rebuild their country to the
mutual benefit. We invite you to begin now to investigate the business
possibilities in our country so that you are able to move with all due speed
when the moment is opportune.

In this regard, we should once more explain that our own considered position
is that remaining economic sanctions should be lifted once an interim government
has been established. Furthermore, we are determined to move forward as speedily
as possible, to establish the political and social climate which is necessary to
ensure business confidence and create the possibility for fall investors to make
long term commitments to help develop the South African economy.

South Africa is also part of a region of the world which has a population of
anything up to 150 million people. This region must and will grow and develop in
an integrated manner and will thus provide a sizeable market for those investors
who take advantage of the opportunities this region offers and bring in the
resources necessary for its development.

We must also make the point that current developments in various parts of
this region point to a common striving to reinforce the democratic process,
entrench a human rights culture, end civil wars and the creation of large
refugee populations.

It also seems inevitable that sooner or later the peoples of the region will
also begin discussing such issues as regional economic cooperation and
integration, a regional security system based, I inter alia, on the reduction of
armed forces and military expenditures as well as coordinated measures for the
protection of the environment.

In brief, we strongly believe that the region of southern Africa as a whole
offers the possibility for us all to implement the perspired of the global
offensive for development, prosperity and human survival of which we have
spoken.

Needless to say, success in this great and historic venture would do
wonderful things to address the concern which is common to all of us, of
achieving the regeneration of African societies and the upliftment of its
peoples.

Let me end with a special appeal to you all, who constitute a critical
component part of the leadership of the peoples of the world.

If the voices of millions have been freed to enunciate the political
aspirations of the people, those voices will also surely speak loudly,
proclaiming an urgent desire for an end to poverty and for a more equitable
distribution of opportunities, income and wealth within and among the
nations.

We believe that those voices must be listened to and the concerns they
express addressed. If the political transformations taking place across the
globe are anything to go by, it would seem clear that these masses will not
allow themselves to be silenced.

They will not be fobbed off with polite and courteous but meaningless
responses. Nor will they accept the promise of jam tomorrow if they see nothing
being done today to deliver the promised jam.

Motivated by nothing other than the fact of our common humanity and informed
by the realisation of the common destiny of the peoples of all continents, left
us then do together what we can and must do together in the interests of all
humanity, while each one of us also does what he or she must do in pursuit of
their enlightened self-interest but recognising, in the end, that no man is an
island.