Working with our global friends to meet tomorrow's challenges

The UK-South Africa Solidarity Conference will take place in London this week. The strong delegation we have sent will have the opportunity to interact with a broad cross section of the British people to reflect on our achievements during the first decade of our liberation and to discuss our cooperation during our second decade of freedom.

Our people bore the brunt of the struggle against apartheid. Many paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure that we gain our freedom. The democratic victory of 1994 belongs firmly to these millions and the organisations that led them, with the ANC at their head.

Nevertheless it would be a fundamental mistake to minimise or underestimate the central role played by the peoples of the world in the struggle to end the apartheid system. Their involvement in this struggle resulted in the formation of the strongest international solidarity movement the world has ever seen.

Many of these international activists against apartheid did not forget about our country when we achieved our freedom. They sustained their interest in our future, hopeful that we would use the victory to which they had contributed so much, to create a better society.

Many have also sought to continue acting in solidarity with us to help us build the non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous democracy to which we are committed. Anti-apartheid activists have taken initiatives in various countries to translate this desire into action.

Perhaps because of its specific historical colonial relationship with our country, the UK played a leading role in helping us to build the global movement against apartheid. Its Anti-Apartheid Movement was one of the oldest and strongest in the world. Some of its leaders, such as the late Archbishop Trevor Huddleston, were recognised globally as leaders of the peoples of the world against apartheid.

The British people have been among those who have sought further to deepen their relations with us by extending a hand of friendship and solidarity to us, to give us such support as they can to help us achieve our programme for reconstruction and development. This has led to the convening of the UK-South Africa Solidarity Conference that meet in London this week. It will also be attended by representative drawn from other European countries, which are also interested to develop their own national mass movements in support of social transformation in our country. The Conference will draw people from all walks of life, including politicians, trade unionists and business people, academics and religious leaders, youth, women, cultural and media workers, and so on. It will examine all aspects of our national life to see in what ways the British people can support our efforts.

As happened during the years of struggle against apartheid, the UK-South Africa Solidarity Conference has the potential to provide an example to other countries of how to tap into the goodwill towards our country and people that is so prevalent in many parts of the world. We look forward to the outcomes of what will certainly be a very successful UK-South Africa Solidarity Conference.

Many years before the birth of the British and global anti-apartheid movement, a young Indian lawyer arrived in our country. This was Mahatma Gandhi who, as the people of India say, arrived in our country as a lawyer and returned to India as a liberator. These shared experiences of Gandhiji brought the then struggling people of South Africa and India close to one another.

As India achieved independence in 1947, acting through the UN, she immediately took up the matter of racial discrimination in our country. From then onwards, she remained in the forefront of the global struggle against apartheid. To enable us further to broaden and deepen our relations with the Indian government and people, the Indian government allowed our movement, the ANC, to open a representative office in New Delhi.

Leaders of our movement who have served as our representatives in India include the late Alfred Nzo and our Treasurer General, Mendi Msimang. This indicates the importance our movement attached to the relations between ourselves and the sister people of India.

Last week we visited India with a large government and business delegation. Our visited coincided with the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. This was celebrated, in part, in a concert in Mumbai, in which two of our leading singers, Yvonne Chakachaka and Vusi Mahlasela performed.

The establishment of these diplomatic relations further strengthened the relations of friendship and solidarity that have existed ever since Mahatma Gandhi helped to organise the forces of liberation in our country, resulting, among other things, in the establishment of the then Natal and Transvaal Indian Congresses.

These bonds of friendship and solidarity have remained as strong as ever during the period since our liberation. And yet it was clear to both the Indian and South African governments that at the practical level, our relations did not reflect the deep-seated friendship that our peoples felt for each other. At the same time, it was equally clear that there was much scope for the expansion and deepening of our relationship, covering many areas.

At the international level, we are both members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth. In many instances, within these organisations, our two countries take the same or similar positions on the major issues of the day. This is equally true of the United Nations and other multilateral bodies.

This commonality of views and approaches has been demonstrated during the last few months when India, Brazil and South Africa decided to join hands in the IBSA Dialogue Forum. This Forum seeks to deepen the cooperation between our three countries in all fields, including international affairs, the economy, social development, science and technology, and so on. All informed observers understand the importance of this initiative with regard to giving practical effect to the idea of South-South cooperation.

An example of this is that the Southern African Customs Union, of which we are a member, is negotiating or about to negotiate Free Trade Agreements with both India and Mercosur, of which Brazil is an important member. The increased trade that will result from this will help all the countries concerned the better to meet their development challenges and use their comparative advantages to the mutual benefit.

Our need and ability to work together was also demonstrated during the recent WTO negotiations at Cancun, Mexico. In this instance, India, Brazil, China, South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Indonesia and other countries came together in the so-called G20+ to advance the interests of the developing countries as a whole. This cooperation will continue.

Even as we work together with these countries of the South to address these and other international questions, many of which relate to the important matter of North-South relations, we will also work steadfastly to strengthen our bilateral relations with them. This will include a trade agreement with China.

The purpose of our visit to India was to address the matter of our bilateral relations, and thus add to the reinforcement of the process of building South-South relations.

India has a population of a billion people, which is larger than the population of Africa. It has a big economy, sections of which are at the cutting edge of the global economy. It is highly advanced in such areas as Information and Communication Technologies and Biotechnology.

It has a large pool of highly trained scientists, engineers, technologists and technicians covering many areas of human activity. For instance, just one of a number of Indian Institutes specialising in Cellular and Molecular Biology, has over 120 Ph.D. students specialising in this field of study. We were also told of a single project that, alone, employs more than 340 Indian aeronautical engineers.

Indian specialists in information and communication technology are much sought after in all countries of the world, including the most developed. Major international pharmaceutical companies source some of their drugs and medicines from Indian manufacturers, re-selling these under their own labels.

At the same time, a huge amount of work is going to bring India's considerable intellectual and other capacities to bear, to find solutions to such problems as poverty and underdevelopment, and the imbalance between the rural and the urban areas.

At the same time, India has some of the most outstanding companies in the world, which produce both for the global market, and the large Indian population, which includes at least 300 million people belonging to the middle class.

We found an India keen to welcome us with great warmth and open arms. Here we found a people, government, politicians, business, workers, intellectuals, artists and others, all very keen to share whatever they can with us, to help ensure that we move forward speedily towards the realisation of our goals of reconstruction and development. It would truly be difficult to find another country that betters India in terms of the strength and depth of the feelings of friendship and solidarity towards our country and people.

Our visit to India will lead to a radical expansion of our bilateral relations in all areas. It will significantly increase our capacity to meet the national challenge to create a better life for all. Without reducing our relations with the countries of the North, it will expand our possibility to build our future on the basis of strengthened relations with a strategically important country of the South and the world.

Our visit to India served as a dignified tribute and a pledge to a shared son of South Africa, India and the world, Mahatma Gandhi. Together with the UK-South Africa Solidarity Conference, it made the statement that the peoples of the world have the possibility to define the process of globalisation in a manner that promotes the goal of building people-centred societies.

We enjoy the rare fortune that on our side, we have the people of India and the United Kingdom who have the courage and the heart to act in a manner that defines them as our all-weather friends. There can be no better company in which to celebrate our first decade of Liberation, no better company to be in as we confront the challenges of our Second Decade of Liberation.

Ten Year Review

Progress in first decade creates major possibilities

The progress made by the ANC-led government since 1994 has resulted in major possibilities for South Africa to move decisively towards meeting the needs of the people.

This is one of the key findings of research undertaken by government and published in a discussion document, 'Towards a Ten Year Review', released last week . An assessment of the implementation of government programmes since 1994, the document is a welcome contribution to a thorough examination of the first ten years of democracy.

In its response, the ANC commended the thorough research and evaluation evident in the document, and said it provided a sound basis for an honest and informed evaluation of the achievements and challenges of the first decade of freedom.

The ANC urged South Africans from all sectors of society to review the document and participate actively in the process of assessment which will unfold over the coming months.

"It is critical for South Africa that as we enter our second decade of freedom we consider in detail the progress of the last nine years and the possibilities which have been created for us to move forward decisively to tackle the major challenges facing our country today," the organisation said.

The document concludes that South Africa is "at the confluence of major possibilities" arising out of the progress made since 1994.

"The fruits of good macro-economic management are being reaped in social services; programmes for micro-economic interventions have been developed, and experience has been gained in implementing government programmes, including crime prevention and improving the global positioning of the country," it says.

But, the document notes, there have been weaknesses in those areas least dependent on direct government action. These include areas like employment and food prices, where government is not able to impact directly.

While the advances made in the first decade far outweigh the weaknesses, the document warns that continuing on the current "trajectory" could result in the negatives starting to overwhelm the positives.

It is for this reason that an accurate assessment of what has taken place over the past 10 years is so important - so that the country can establish what needs to be done now to seize the opportunities that have been created.

"If decisive action is taken on a number of focused areas, the confluence of possibilities is such that the country would enter a road of faster economic growth and job creation, faster and more efficient provision of quality services, increased social cohesion and the reduction of the paradigm of exclusion prevalent among sections of society."

While the review is focused on government's performance, it is expected that organisations in sport, arts and culture, universities, professionals and the intelligentsia, trade unions and the private sector will make their own assessments. These together with government's review will help the nation evaluate itself in the country's first decade of freedom.

Among the things the document considers is the kind of South Africa which the democratic state inherited in 1994. Blacks were denied the vote, society was divided along racial lines and the social exclusion of the majority was a matter of state policy.

The country was economically isolated and the economy was in a state of near-terminal decline. Growth had declined to below one percent a year in the decade before 1994 and had come to a standstill by the early 1990s. Public debt had increased massively and was threatening the country's economic stability.

The police and justice system, which was mainly used to defend apartheid, violated most human and civil rights. The defence force was fighting a low-intensity war against the liberation movements. Governance was defined by the apartheid national security doctrine and the social fabric had been torn apart by years of apartheid and social conflict.

The challenges faced by the incoming democratic government were massive, numerous and, in many instances, urgent. The task of turning the country around fell to the ANC-led government and to the people, who had given it a mandate to build a better life based on the objectives and policies of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).

'Towards a Ten Year Review' evaluates how successful the ANC-led government has been in implementing these policies and meeting these objectives across a broad range of areas. In doing so it draws on a wide variety of research both within government and undertaken by groups independent of government.

It details the progress made in areas like tackling poverty; transforming and improving governance; building the economy and expanding economic opportunities; preventing crime and improving security; developing South Africa's international relations; and more effectively marketing the country.

The document also looks at the challenges ahead. It looks in particular at the influence of the state and social trends that are likely to shape the tasks facing the country in the future.

In the course of the coming weeks, ANC TODAY will be further examining some of the themes raised in the discussion document and the assessments made.

More Information:

• Towards Ten Years of Freedom

Financial Sector Charter

Important step towards economic transformation

The transformation of the economy has been given an important boost with the recent release of the Financial Sector Charter, which is set to contribute to the process of redressing the legacy of apartheid inequality.

The Charter is a voluntary mechanism developed by the financial sector which will be registered as a 'Transformational Charter' in terms of black economic empowerment (BEE) legislation.

The preamble to the charter says: "We, the parties to this charter, therefore commit ourselves to actively promoting a transformed, vibrant, and globally competitive financial sector that reflects the demographics of South Africa, and contributes to the establishment of an equitable society by effectively providing accessible financial services to black people and by directing investment into targeted sectors of the economy."

The charter establishes the principles on which black economic empowerment will be implemented in the financial sector, outlines responsibilities of institutions and establishes targets for the next ten years.

The charter recognises some of the major challenges facing the financial sector in South Africa. These include the low levels of black participation, especially black women, in meaningful ownership, control, management and high-level skilled positions in the sector. The sector acknowledges that it has not responded adequately to the increasing demand for financial services, nor effectively provided credit to black entrepreneurs in particular.

Added to this, the national level of savings and investment is inadequate to support sustained economic growth and individual financial security.

A central component of the charter's objectives is to develop human resources within the sector, and, in particular, ensure that the composition of the sector is progressively changed towards reflecting the demographics of the country.

Each financial institution has therefore undertaken to invest in human resource development "across the full spectrum of skills, with special emphasis on increasing the participation of black people in skilled, strategic and operational leadership in the sector".

Each institution has a minimum target of having 20-25 percent black people and four percent black women at senior management level by 2008. There is a minimum target of 30 percent black people (and 10 percent black women) at middle management level; and 40-50 percent black people (and 15 percent black women) at junior management level by 2008. Before 2008, the sector will determine the respective targets for 2014.

Financial institutions will also implement a targeted procurement strategy to enhance BEE, which aims to ensure 50 percent of the value of all procurement is supplied by BEE accredited companies by 2008. This figure should increase to 70 percent by 2014.

These institutions will provide support to small and medium-sized black businesses to help them benefit from targeted procurement programmes. They will further support enterprise development by improving the levels of assistance to BEE accredited companies through skills transfer, secondment of staff, infrastructure support and giving technical and administrative support and assistance.

A critical part of the charter is the commitment of financial institutions to "substantially increase" effective access for the poor to basic financial services like savings accounts, home loans, small business loans and various forms of insurance. These services need to be affordably priced and accessible throughout the country.

By 2008, institutions need to make transaction and savings products available to at least 80 percent of the poorest households.

The financial sector has agreed to establish by no later than June next year the total amount it will commit to the financing of black economic empowerment. It plans to work with government and its development finance institutions to mobilise significantly more resources for empowerment financing.

To address the issue of ownership, each financial institution has been set a minimum target of 25 percent black ownership by 2010. At least 10 percent of this must be direct ownership.

At least a third of the positions on the board of directors of each financial institution should be occupied by black people - and 11 percent by black women - by 2008. A quarter of executive level positions must be occupied by black people.

Each institution has a target of directing 0.5 percent a year of post-tax operating profits to corporate social investment between 2004 and 2014. This investment should go to projects "aimed primarily at black groups, communities and individuals that have a strong developmental approach and contribute towards transformation".

To oversee the implementation of the charter, an independent 'Charter Council' will be established to conduct reviews of progress and assess changes to the environment in which the charter is to be implemented. The charter also sets out a scorecard which provides a set of indicators by which to measure BEE progress in financial institutions and in the sector as a whole.

More Information:

• Financial Sector Charter, October 2003

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