The invisible people of the world speak out

The XIII Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the 24-25th February, 2003. Attended by almost 110 member countries, the Summit Meeting represented about two-thirds of the world's population and the membership of the United Nations. Made up essentially of the developing countries of the South, NAM is an important voice for the poor of the world, whose lives are defined by exclusion from many of the benefits of the process of globalisation.

As our readers will remember, the XII NAM Summit was held in Durban in 1998. It adopted the Durban Declaration, which, among other things, said: "We are the ones who have endured centuries of colonialism, oppression, exploitation and neglect. We have been the invisible people of the world. In recent times, spurred by our Movement and progressive forces, we see our rapid emergence from that condition. Indeed, our time has come."

However, our optimism with regard to the new epoch was moderated by the fact that a unipolar and rapidly globalising world had emerged.

Accordingly, we further observed in the same Durban Declaration that: "We now stand on the threshold of a new era, an era that offers great opportunity, yet poses special dangers for the developing world."

The XIII Summit Meeting adopted the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, which returned to this issue. Among other things it said: "With the end of the Cold War, the emergence of unipolarity, the trend towards unilateralism and the rise of new challenges and threats, such as international terrorism, it is imperative for the Movement to promote multilateralism, the better to defend the interests of developing countries and prevent their marginalisation.

"With increased globalisation and the rapid advance of science and technology, the world has changed dramatically. The rich and powerful countries exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations, including economic and trade relations, as well as the rules governing these relations, many of which are at the expense of the developing countries. It is imperative, therefore, that the Movement respond in ways that will ensure its continued relevance and usefulness to its members.Globalisation should lead to the prospering and empowering of the developing countries, not their continued impoverishment and dependence on the wealthy and developed world."

The XIII Summit Meeting took place at the time when the dark clouds of war are gathering over Iraq, a long-standing member of the Movement. Almost all the speakers at the Meeting addressed this burning question, on which the Summit Meeting issued a special Statement, which, among other things, said:

"We are fully cognisant of the concerns expressed by millions in our countries, as well as in other parts of the world, who reject war and believe, like we do, that war against Iraq will be a destabilising factor for the whole region, and that it would have far reaching political, economic and humanitarian consequences for all countries of the world, particularly the States in the region.

"We reiterate our commitment to the fundamental principles of the non-use of force and respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and security of all Member States of the United Nations. We reaffirm our commitment to exert our efforts to achieve a peaceful solution to the current situation."

It went on to "call on Iraq to continue to actively comply with Security Council resolution 1441 and all other relevant Security Council resolutions and to remain engaged in the process."

The concluding paragraph of the Statement Concerning Iraq said: "We believe that the peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis would ensure that the Security Council will also be in a position to ensure Iraq's sovereignty and the inviolability of its territorial integrity, political independence and security, and compliance with Paragraph 14 of its Resolution 687 on the establishment in the Middle East of a weapons-of-mass-destruction-free-zone, which includes Israel."

We should here note that 12 Middle East countries participated in the XIII NAM Summit Meeting.

As we met in Kuala Lumpur, our Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aziz Pahad, was in Baghdad leading the group of experts we had sent to Iraq, to share with their counterparts our experience relating to South Africa's elimination of weapons of mass destruction under international supervision.

We took this step to help Iraq realise precisely the objective sought by NAM and the UN Security Council, "actively to comply with Security Council resolution 1441 and all other relevant Security Council resolutions and to remain engaged in the process", to ensure the peaceful and speedy resolution of the issue of Iraq.

In the meantime, the continued deployment of troops in the Middle East by the US and the UK suggested that these two countries are determined to go to war against Iraq, at all costs.

A new draft resolution they, together with Spain, presented to the Security Council, even as the XIII NAM Summit Meeting was in session, sought to get the Security Council to agree that Iraq was in material breach of Resolution 1441 and that it had "failed to take the final opportunity afforded to it in resolution 1441 (2002)."

The draft resolution also requires the Security Council to recall that "it has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations". Of course, the phrase, "serious consequences", has been interpreted by some members of the Security Council as meaning resort to war.

The current situation therefore suggests that even as the representatives of two-thirds of humanity, including those in the immediate neighbourhood of Iraq, were urging a peaceful resolution of the Iraq question, a few countries were determined to make the statement that war against Iraq is inevitable.

This indicates that the XIII NAM Summit Meeting was justified to draw attention to the global imbalance of power, when it said "the rich and powerful countries exercise an inordinate influence in determining the nature and direction of international relations".

The international media has played an important role in keeping the world informed about the developments on Iraq. This has included live television transmissions of the proceedings of the UN Security Council.

Nevertheless, the "inordinate influence" mentioned by NAM, showed up even in these transmissions.

For example, repeatedly, the television broadcasts cut off the African members of the Security Council as they were about to speak, so that the world never got to know what Africa, and the developing world, think. Even as the Iraq debate among the countries of the North rages on, there is hardly any mention of what the countries of the South feel and think.

In practice the point has been made that this issue will be resolved solely and exclusively on the basis of what the countries of the North decide, regardless of what more than two-thirds of the world's population, the citizens of the countries of the South, think or feel. The fact that some of these countries serve as members of the Security Council is little more than a small and irritating distraction.

Those who, in practice, uphold and perpetuate this practice globally are democratic countries, justly proud of the democratic rights their peoples enjoy. Regularly, because of their own experience, they find it necessary to make judgements about political practice in the countries of the South.

A great number of the most contentious issues in world politics relate to the countries of the South and members of NAM. These include Iraq, Palestine, North Korea, Cuba, Cote d'Ivoire, India and Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and so on.

A great number of the biggest challenges facing humanity have their epicentre in the countries of the South. These include poverty, underdevelopment, AIDS and other health challenges, famine, violent conflicts, and so on.

Those most affected by all these generic matters as well as those issues affecting individual countries, are members of NAM. They have repeatedly made the simple statement, as they did in Kuala Lumpur, that they have a right and duty to help find answers to these challenges.

They have repeatedly made the simple statement, as they did again in Kuala Lumpur, that they are ready to work with the countries of the North, in a partnership of equals, constructively to respond to these challenges.

A few years ago, they felt that, at last, their voice was beginning to be heard. That is why at the XII NAM Summit Meeting in Durban in 1998, they said "we have been the invisible people of the world. In recent times, spurred by our Movement and progressive forces, we see our rapid emergence from that condition. Indeed, our time has come."

However, developments since then have made the practical statement that this dream had to be deferred. Accordingly, at Kuala Lumpur in 2003, the countries of the South were constrained to state that "with the end of the Cold War, the emergence of unipolarity, the trend towards unilateralism and the rise of new challenges and threats, such as international terrorism, it is imperative for the Movement to promote multilateralism, the better to defend the interests of developing countries and prevent their marginalisation."

"Unipolarity" and "unilateralism" mean that one power, with a little help from its friends, takes decisions about what happens in the world, including our countries, without our participation. This represents an undemocratic "new" world order that turns us, once more, into "the invisible people of the world", living in fear of the consequences of responding to our consciences, because of our dependence on the wealthy and developed world.

"Multilateralism" and an effective United Nations mean that we would have the possibility to contribute to the solution of the problems facing humanity, including ourselves. This would mark the emergence of a new world order, characterised by the democratisation of the system of international relations and the availability of the space for the poor and powerless freely to speak their minds, in a world that is being integrated and made more interdependent by the unstoppable process of globalisation.

The processes relating to the question of Iraq confirm the disturbing reality that unilateralism, rather than multilateralism, has become the dominant tendency in world politics. They confirm the painful truth that economic, military, technological and other power constitutes the political engine that determines the fate of all humanity.

They make the statement, practically, that the voice of the people is not the voice of God. They tell the billions whose representatives gathered in Kuala Lumpur at the XIII NAM Summit Meeting, that their dream that they would cease to be "the invisible people of the world" must, perforce, be deferred.

Sooner or later, those who have the power to defer the dreams of billions of human beings will have to answer the question that Langston Hughes, the outstanding African-American poet, posed when he asked - "What happens to a dream deferred?"

"Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore -.
Does it stink like rotten meat?.
Or does it explode?"

Budget 2003

Supporting growth, fighting poverty, creating opportunity

The budget presented in Parliament this week by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel aims to push back the frontiers of poverty by directing increased government spending towards social services and infrastructure, while proposing measures to stimulate investment and economic growth.

"It seeks to empower people by expanding their capabilities," Manuel said.

It builds on the last two budgets, which have seen a marked increase in government spending to meet the needs of the poor. This has been made possible by sound management of government's finances since 1994 and improved tax collection. It has also been helped by reducing the amount government has to pay in servicing debt, thereby making more money available for social development.

South Africa's economic position has changed dramatically for the better since the ANC was elected into government in 1994. The country was then in its fourth year of recession, the economy having shrunk by 2.1 percent the previous year. Both employment and investment had fallen significantly between 1989 and 1993. The budget deficit - the amount by which public spending exceeds income - was 8,6 percent of GDP. As the democratic government took office, the economy was in decline and public finances were in a bad state.

As Manuel noted in his speech, the ANC-led government has achieved much since then: "Our economy is growing steadily, jobs are being created, the public finances are in a healthy state and investment is accelerating."

The budget deficit is now down to around two percent. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by three percent last year, rising to an expected 3,3 percent this year, and to around 4 percent in 2005. Investment also grew last year by around 6,3 percent.

The lower budget deficit means that government is able to cover most of its spending through the tax it collects, and doesn't need to borrow as much. If it doesn't need to borrow as much, it can reduce the amount of money spent servicing this debt - and reduce the burden on future governments and even future generations. National government debt, which was almost equal to half the GDP in 1996/97 is expected to decline to around 37 percent over the next few years. "The lower our interest bill, the more resources we have to spend on public services," Manuel said.

More to social services

Over the past ten years government spending on social services has increased by 35 percent in real terms. Spending on health, education, welfare, housing and other social services now accounts for 58.3 percent of non-interest expenditure, up from 52.9 percent a decade ago.

This means that more money is available to meet the needs of those most affected by poverty and to provide basic services to the millions of South Africans that have been long denied them. It has allowed for increases in social security spending: pension and disability grants are going up by almost 10 percent, while the child support grant is going up by 14 percent. Extra resources are also being devoted to expanding access to these grants, with the maximum age of children eligible for the child support grant increasing from six to 13 years over the next three years. It is expected that this will raise the total number of assistance beneficiaries to more than eight million by 2005.

The integrated nutrition programme will be expanded this year, with an additional R217 million for this school-feeding scheme. It will be extended to Grade R pupils and to a larger number of schools. Not only does this scheme help combat malnutrition and associated ill-health among children, it also contributes to improving their ability to concentrate and do well at school.

This is part of a concerted effort to invest resources in the education and training of South Africans, from school level through to the workplace. This is seen as a crucial part of encouraging sustainable economic growth and job creation. More money will be spent this year on school building and maintenance, as well as textbooks, stationery, mathematical sets and science kits. The restructuring of higher education will be allocated R800 million over the next three years. A further R280 million will replenish the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, which already plays a key role in making tertiary education accessible to poorer students.

Resources will be directed towards improving the quality of provincial health services, focusing on the supply of medicines, hospital and clinic management, and staffing. An additional R3,3 billion has been budgeted over the next three years to extend preventative programmes and finance medically appropriate treatment for HIV/AIDS.

The budget also provides additional funds for land restitution. Not only is it important to restore land to those who were dispossessed of it under apartheid, but the R1,9 billion provided to accelerate restitution and agricultural development support will also contribute to ensuring food security, job creation and pushing back the frontiers of rural poverty.

The criminal justice sector will receive an extra R2,7 billion to fight crime and ensure the safety of communities. Additional funding will go to recruiting more police, expanding the sector policing strategy, enhancing the vehicle fleet and improving communications systems. More resources will also go to improve court performance and efficiency, improving the protection of women and children in the court process, expanding prison accommodation, and fighting corruption in prisons.

More to building communities

Since 2001 there has been an increased focus on investment in infrastructure, reflected in more resources to national, provincial and local infrastructure projects. "Investment in infrastructure allows us to expand the provision of basic services, contributes towards economic growth and strongly supports job creation," Manuel said.

Much of the focus of this investment will be at the level of local government. Infrastructure grants to local governments grow strongly over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period, including a further R1 billion for labour-intensive community development. It is estimated that the municipal infrastructure programme has benefited around 2.5 million people over the last five years.

The budget sets aside more than R23,7 billion over the next three years to help municipalities further extend basic service delivery to poor households. It includes a further R4,1 billion over the next three years for the provision of free basic services, including water, sanitation and electricity. This is intended to ensure that even the poorest households are able to receive a minimum of water and electricity before the need to start paying.

Stimulating savings and growth

While government is investing more resources in social services and in developing infrastructure, it is using tax cuts to ease the burden on lower income groups, encourage greater levels of savings and investment, and stimulate economic development.

Income tax on individuals will be reduced by around R13,3 billion this year. Over half of that will go to people earning less than R150,000 a year, and almost a quarter to people earning less than R250,000 a year. This follows a pattern over the last few years to provide relief for people at the lower end of the income spectrum. Since 2000, the income threshold above which people have to start paying tax has been increased by over 50 percent for people under 65 years, and by 40 percent for people over that. "This means that over a million people, ordinary workers and pensioners, who would otherwise have had to transfer part of their monthly pay to the fescues, pay no income tax at all," Manuel said.

As part of the effort to encourage people to save, the threshold below which interest on savings and dividends on investments are exempt from tax has been increased from R6,000 to R10,000 for people under 65. It has been increased from R10,000 to R15,000 for senior citizens. The costs of home ownership have also been reduced by bringing down the amount payable in transfer duties.

A number of proposals have also been put forward to encourage business growth, particularly in the small and medium enterprises sector. Small businesses with a turnover of less than R5 million will qualify for a lower company tax rate. Previously, the threshold was R3 million.

To encourage greater investment by business in the regeneration of South Africa's cities, special tax rebates will be available for investment in the refurbishment or construction of buildings in certain inner-city areas. There will also be tax advantages to organisations that provide affordable housing to low-income households in underdeveloped urban areas.

As in previous years, the budget reflects the accelerated reprioritisation of government spending and taxation towards meeting the needs of the poor. It does so in an unfavourable global economic climate, and in a country with a massive legacy of economic inequality and social underdevelopment.

According to Manuel, the budget aims to push back the frontiers of poverty while supporting growth and creating opportunities.

"This budget once again recognises that making the right choices is not just about delivering a better quality of life to our people for a year or two. It is about ensuring that the policy choices we make today are affordable and sustainable ten or twenty years from now," he said.

More Information:

• Budget Speech, 26 February
• Budget Information

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