Paris 9 November 1999
Mr. President,
Members of the Socialist International,
Comrades, Friends and Colleagues.
On this final day of the proceedings, we bring warm greetings from our President Thabo Mbeki and former President Nelson Mandela. We are also honoured to be amongst you, our fraternal partners and address this congress as a full member of the Socialist International.
We appreciate the vote of confidence as demonstrated by the Congress in accepting our membership. The warm welcome we have received over the last few days, have indeed made us feel that we are amongst friends and comrades.
We take this opportunity to salute members of Socialist International for the outstanding contribution and support given to us during our bitter struggle against apartheid system which you correctly declared a crime against humanity. Your support made it possible for us to achieve victory in 1994 and ushered in a non-racial, non-sexist democratic society.
We also remember the selfless dedication to our cause by some of the stalwarts of the Socialist International. As I stand her now, I would like to salute and pay our tribute and deepest respect to Olaf Palme, Willy Brandt and many others who shared their wisdom with us and our inspirational and respected freedom fighter, the late Oliver Tambo.
It is these leaders that sought to deal with the perception that the Socialist International was in the main a Eurocentric organisation.
We are encouraged by the participation in the socialist International of political parties coming from the developing countries, as we regard this as an important development for this organisation. We believe that this will add value and enrich the character of the Socialist International as the views, interests and needs of the region where these parties come from shall be discussed at first hand, rather than being interpreted on their behalf.
This Congress of the Socialist International meets at a crucial juncture for the future of humanity and the developing countries in particular. Our deliberations at this congress should determine ways to positively impact on the intractable problems that still confront society.
The gap between rich and poor is widening as projected by the UNDP report, which indicates that by the late 1990's a fifth of the world's people living in the highest in-come countries had:
President Clinton in his address to the 50th Session of the United Nations, even further highlighted the disparities between rich and poor by saying that the promising future is far from being inevitable. He went on to say that 40 million people a year still die of hunger ... almost as many as the total number of people who died in World War Two.
This situation is graphically illustrated by the appallingly high figures of unemployment on the African continent. This points to us that we still languish at the bottom of the development index in the world.
This is accompanied by widespread hunger and poverty, homelessness and the continuing spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis which is busy decimating Africa's population. It is worrying in the extreme that a cure for HIV/AIDS has still not been developed.
African children and women are still being subjected to dislocation through conflicts. A great number of people are dying of hunger in the midst of plenty.
The stark reality is that these are the challenges that the Socialist International is confronted with. There is no doubt about the unity of purpose and that we share the same objectives, ideals and values but the intensity of the challenges are different for each region of the world and for each country.
Social justice and freedom means that these fundamental issues need to be addressed forthrightly and decisively by the Socialist International. To us social justice and solidarity means collectively accepting the responsibility of addressing these social ills.
Mr. President, in this regard we believe that an extraordinary plan for Africa will be an appropriate strategy for it's developmental needs. This could be similar to the Marshall Plan introduced in Europe to deal with the consequences of the Second World War. Let this congress therefore emerge with concrete plans and programmes to confront the huge challenges facing us in the future.
In essence this crisis calls for new social relations based on the understanding that the democratic states have both a developmental and transformative responsibility and consequently the partnership between the state and capital becomes inevitable.
The State has the responsibility to harness investment both domestically and internationally to encourage owners of capital to act on decisions consistent with the attainment of the needs of broader society. The private sector, must therefore become a social partner and to complete our golden triangle, it must also include labour.
In fact, over the previous two days, Mr. Perez suggested that firm financial commitments be made with regard to the creation of special funds for Human Resource Development and Peace. We believe this suggestion merits serious consideration.
The question that confronts us as an organisation is whether we can still allow things to continue in the same old way? The Socialist International is in our view the only organisation that share the views and ideals of continuously creating a better world for humanity. We need to find ways and means to intervene in these fundamental matters facing society.
Having said that, we must dedicate ourselves to review and transform the various multi-lateral institutions. In fact a stronger and more vigorous commitment is required for the transparent, participatory and people-centred approach by these institutions.
With reference to the UN, we wish to reiterate the challenge by President Mbeki at the 54th session of the UN General Assembly where he called for the review of the functioning of all multilateral institutions, including those that belong within the UN family, particularly the Security Council. We wish that members present here, will give effect to the consensual position expressed on this matter.
Understanding the opportunities provided by globalisation, it remains simultaneously a serious area of concern for developing countries, more especially Africa. Our concern is that as globalisation evolves, we might be globalising poverty as well, instead of spreading the benefits of wealth and development. What we experience in Africa is well encapsulated by the 1998 UNDP report, which says that:
When the market goes too far in dominating social and political outcomes, the opportunities and rewards of globalisation spread unequally and inequitably - concentrating power and wealth in a select group of people, nations and corporations, marginalising the others.. when the profit motives of market players gets out of hand, they challenge people's ethics - and sacrifice the respect for justice and human rights.
Mr. President, I will not do justice in addressing this congress, If I do not mention the issue of the developing countries rising debt burden, in particular that of African countries. THe debt is particularly onerous for the poorest African countries. THe presentations made by the key members at this Congress unfortunately did not take the debate far enough in terms of finding concrete solutions to the fundamental issue of debt relief. The debt problem therefore stands as one of the major obstacles for addressing the needs of the developing world. It is an indisputable fact that the debt problem exacerbates the problems of the developing nations.
As Mr. Ibrahim Keita from Mali said the day before yesterday, we are determined to stand on our own feet to address Africa's problems. This kind of determination is borne of a communal culture which is characteristic of the people of Africa even in the midst of grinding poverty. It is this resilience which we bring as new members of the Socialist International.
Mr. President and delegates we leave this congress hopeful for the future and with a renewed determination for the reconstruction and development of the African continent.
The ANC's overwhelming victory during South Africa's 1999 general elections was underscored by our declaration towards building a Better Africa and a Better World.
It is through this mandate that we are able to continue to participate in the initiatives taken by the international forums in which, we have taken a lead in nuclear disarmament, outlawing land-mines, and in the struggle for a more just world economic order.
The time has come for us to work for the reconstruction and development of the African Continent. Our challenge as Africans is to promote peace and development, to foster democratic systems of government, respect for human rights, and an end to corruption throughout our continent.
Mr. President we would like in conclusion to propose an action plan to the Socialist International, which should amongst other;
Consider establishing a mechanism through which we could undertake decisive intervention to the plight of developing countries, particularly the African Continent.
Act more decisively to promote peace and stability in all the regions.
Campaign for a better managed global economy, including the restructuring of international financial and trade institutions - and to make them more sensitive to the needs of developing countries, especially those in Africa;
Advocate strongly for the relieving of the debt burden on the poorest countries of the world.
Promote equitable trade, investment and development plans for all the developing regions - and at the same time promoting a common set of democratic values, including fair labour and environmental standards.
In pursuing these goals as the Socialist International, we should also strengthen out ties with all those who strive for peace, development and equity.
May the vision, wisdom and good legacy of leaders like Olaf Palme and Willy Brandt remain a fountain of inspiration and guidance and continue to guide the work of the Socialist International into the 21st Century.
I thank you.