Academics and political analysts from around the world have gathered in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, for a conference on the achievements of the first decade of democracy in the country.
The three-day event, which began on Wednesday March 24, is entitled South Africa: 10 Years after Apartheid. It has been organised by the Africa Institute of South Africa (Aisa), an NGO based in Pretoria, and has attracted about 200 delegates.
“Post-apartheid South Africa has taught all of us that even those who are made into the worst enemies, creating a relationship in which some are brutalised and dehumanised, can overcome the trauma of such a tragedy and the compulsion towards vengeance through a genuine process of reconciliation,” said Salim Ahmed Salim, formerly the prime minister of Tanzania and secretary general of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union).
“The mere fact that this nation could sustain and consolidate its democratic dispensation for 10 years … has not only reaffirmed the negation of the apartheid system, but it has also empowered and inspired the African people,” he added.
Even though South Africa is confronted with a plethora of economic problems, some of which have deepened over the past decade, many speakers continued to view the country as Africa’s best ticket out of poverty and marginalisation.
“South Africa should play the role of a locomotive engine to pull the rest of Africa out of its predicament,” said Abdoulaye Bathily, a member of Parliament in Senegal, adding: “South Africa’s assistance will enable Africa to play an active role in globalisation.”
The fact that Pretoria has managed to avoid entangling itself with the dreaded structural adjustment plans of multilateral donors like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also earned it praise.
“South Africa is one of the four African countries where the IMF does not stand behind the minister of finance and say ‘Sign our programme’,” said Adebayo Olukoshi of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, an NGO based in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
Structural adjustment programmes seek to impose fiscal discipline on states in return for continued development aid. However, civil society groups argue that they have mostly led to cuts in social spending that is critically important for the poor. Botswana, Mauritius and Namibia are the other countries that have not introduced these programmes.
A South African treasury official who was present at the Pretoria conference said the ruling African National Congress, upon assuming power in 1994, had decided to improve tax collection instead of borrowing money from the IMF and the World Bank.
“We felt that there was a lot of money out there. There was no need to borrow money from the international financial institutions,” said the official, who chose to remain anonymous.
South Africa’s tolerant society was viewed as contrasting sharply with those of other African countries such as Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Togo, Sudan and Djibouti, where opposition views are often suppressed.
“What impresses me is that after 10 years of democracy I see opposition pamphlets all over the city,” said Patrick Wilmost of the Africa Centre in London.
“I hope that after 10 years when I come back here I will still find the opposition operating freely and putting up their posters.”
Salim Ahmed Salim also praised South Africa’s efforts to help end conflicts on the continent.
“The role South Africa has played in resolving the conflict in Burundi, Lesotho and Comoros, as well as its active involvement in collective efforts in other African crisis areas such as that of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have enhanced the capacity to promote peace, security and stability in the continent,” said Salim.
To date, Pretoria has deployed 1Â 500 peacekeepers in Burundi and a similar number in Congo-Kinshasa.
But other participants said South Africa’s role of continental peace-broker had been undermined by certain aspects of its foreign policy, such as the hotly disputed approach of “quiet diplomacy” towards neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Critics in South Africa and abroad say Pretoria should be more outspoken in its condemnation of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, where two disputed elections and a controversial land reform programme have taken their toll. Formerly described as a regional “breadbasket”, Zimbabwe is now in urgent need of food aid.
Joel Netshitenzhe, head of South Africa’s Department of Communications, disagreed.
“We do not believe that shouting across the Limpopo [river] will resolve the problem in Zimbabwe,” he said.
“Neither the [ruling] Zanu-PF nor the [opposition] MDC [Movement for Democratic Change] can pull Zimbabwe out of its problems. They need each other. Neither of them can do it alone,” added Ayala Ntsaluba, director general of the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Many people have opted for different strategies on Zimbabwe. Britain opted for a different strategy. Australia also opted for a different strategy. We also opted for a different strategy. I’m convinced that South Africa’s policy — of quiet diplomacy — can resolve the Zimbabwe crisis.”
Another issue that may dent South Africa’s image is crime.
“Crime still poses a major threat to the consolidation of our democracy. [It] has gone up 33% between 1994 and 2003. This is the highest rate in the world compared to 4% and 6% in Britain and the United States,” said Anton du Plessis of South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies.
Defending the government, Netshitenzhe said crime figures were being exaggerated.
“Some of those figures relate to the loss of cellphones — nothing serious,” he argued.
Looking ahead to what the future would bring for South Africa, some delegates said there were contradictory forces operating on the country.
“There are people who are pulling South Africa towards Africa. And there are those who are pulling it towards Europe,” observed Chris Landsberg of the Johannesburg-based Centre for Policy Studies.
Others, however, believe this debate has already been resolved.
“South Africa experienced an identity crisis between 1994 and 1996. During that period, it didn’t know whether it was part of Africa or Europe. But after President [Thabo] Mbeki made his African renaissance speech in 1996 it chose to be part of Africa,” said Rok Ajulu, a lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
His words were echoed by Salim.
“Today, 10 years after apartheid, finds South Africa returning into the fold of African nations. It is quite evident that even within this short period, as a previously dismembered part is gradually bonding back, the continent shows indications of retrieving its full potential,” he said. — IPS