.,--, I ~~As~-~o-u--th__ e_n_!_A_f_n~.~c-a--~------vol. 14 No, 1 llBJ~Ir@lli~ December 1998 Swapo and Dissent
• Is GEAR illegal? r- - • South Africa Invades Lesotho ~@lill10Thl®1rdill ~ir1rJi©@1 December 1998 REPORT Vol. 14 No.1
ANGOLA Contents .. ..
Editorial: MALAWI . ] NAMIBIA : Of Real Heroes ... and Realpolitik
:· ~ . · . .. _.· c)' ; ·.. . r/<«-' ·: .' SWAZILAND The Ulenga Moment: ··•.•• · 0-<.,0 ••• Swapo and Dissent 3 c,O .. LESOTHO
The Statesman who Brought Honour to Africa (a parable) 9 Southern Africa REPORT Lesotho: Democracy at Gunpoint? 12 is produced quarterly by a collective South Africa Intervenes of TCLSAC, the Toronto Committee for Links between Southern Africa & Canada Update: Current Moment in Maseru 18 427 Bloor St. W est Toronto, Ontario M5S 1X7 Tel. (416) 967-5562 Angola: The War Machines . . . Again 19 email: [email protected] web site : www.web .n et/~tclsac/ Submissions, suggestions and help in Is GEAR Illegal? 24 production are welcome and invited ISSN 0820-5582 Member: Canadian Magazine Education on Trial: The Poor Speak Out 27 Publishers Association Indexed in: Canadian Index; Canadian Business & Current Affairs Review: All rights reversed The House Gun 32 Subscriptions Southern Africa Report subscription & TCLSAC m embership rates: SAR Collective SUBSCRIPTION: Individual (per year) $18 .00 Margie Adam , Stephen Allen, Carolyn Bassett. Institution (per year) $40.00 Christine Beckermann, Lois Browne. Marlea Clarke, David Cooke, David Galbraith. Marnie Lu cas-Zerbe, Heather Murray, MEMBERSHIP: (includes subscription ) John S. Saul. Marit Stiles. Lauren Swenarchuk , Regular . . $35.00 Joe Vi se . Mary Vise Unemployed Student . $18.00 O ur thanks to CVSTUDIO for electroni c image processing Senior
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Of Real Heroes • • • and Realpolitik
Nelson Mandela in Canada ! R Pcent em erged both to e m brace hi s j a il ers during its lo ng years of struggle events here had some of the a nd to lead hi s 1w.o pk. He ro of the against apartheid. Still , as veteran resonance of a n aging athl Pte's last centu ry indeed . a nti-a partheid activists craned their tour of the arenas to receive the nec ks to catch a glimpse of lVla ndela kudos of the crowd on t he eve of or course, it. was a bit galling from Llw cheap seats, t.hey t ri ed his retirem ent. Only t his time t he to note just. \\'h O we re sitting there no t. t.o t.ltink such profane thougl1ts, record of accomplishment was a ll preening t hemselves in t.h e fr ont. row preferring to ri de the euphoria of t he t he more real, t he plaudits a ll the at the various events, poli ticians m om ent. (as at Toronto's S kydome, more deserved , the ceremonies all a nd business people who had had wii.h '10.000 school-kids s houting out t he more moving. A man who spent li ttle good t.o say a bout.. a nd their solid a ri ty 1rit.h 1\ladiba.) whi ch. twenty-seven years in prison and even less help Lo give, t.h e AN(' to put it mildly, was considera bl e
Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 1 Not that, as !VIandela. prepa res 'vVeep, t hen. hut. weep eve n more for ( '
2 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ______m~mmn@n~------The Ulenga Moment Swapo and Dissent
BY LAUTI.EN DODELL (1\1l 1 N). At i t:; innugtJral co 11 g r c;-;~ '"' <' Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 3 ______rueiliTIIillJ11WneiD, ______a significant Reaganesque. off-tlw but one [or which the govermng advisors disc ussed not wllPtlier hut cuff component - its implelll enta.tion party perh aps felt. 11 0 es pf'c ial Sl' nse how. was put. on indefinite hold , foll ow in g of OII'IH'rship or at.t.achment. ll aving lwen ret. unwd Lo powe r protests from the judiciary and press In the lea d- up to t. he Hl\l4 na with a siguifi cant. ly a ugme11t.cd lll a that such a ban, 1,xcept. in a state tiona l and presidentia l elections, jori ty, t.hc Swapo lendrr,;h i p pa ra of na tional emergency . was who ll y cri ticism of the Constitution gave cl oxi ca ll y se!'lrte d t.o !'Pe l lcs;:; :;cc urc in co nsistent. with t he Consli tu t.ion. way t. o talk of am ending it. Puh in olfi c1' than lw fore. Or periHlp» , Const.it.ut.ional limits Lo Llw Pres i \i c references i>y Swa. po pa.rt.y k a.d as some criti cs suggest., they silll dent's powP rs of a ppoint.nwnt. haw· !' r:; to t.he t.wo-third,; pa.r\ian1 entary ply felt. co mforta bl e enough t.o let a lso occasiona ll y lwP n bypassed, as majority n' quired t.o unilatera ll y their true co lours show. N!-' 11' scnl wit.h t.h e PrPs id 0nt. 's unilatera l s!-' a tn end the ( :onstitution were 1n a.de rity legisla. t.i on was iuLrodu ced, aud lect.ion (later resc in ded) of a new with increasin g fr eqtwncy. Privately a well-funded National Stat.!' l u OntiHidsma11, witho ut recou rse t. o t. o p of-fi cials talked about t. li e one tc· lli gcnce ,\ genc y wa,; established . t. \w rPco nlni!'Dd ation of t.\w Judicial clause that. pt-cocc 11pi ed the leader- Tlwre have been several in stance:-; of direct. goverllliWIIL inkrfi'I'!' II C!' i11 :\' \3( ' radio and Le le1·ision bro;Jdcast in g dec isions. OfL~' II Nuj o 111 a, st!'p ping out of hi ;:; generally a ffable> per sona, appea rn l Lo lw taking a pag1· fr om t\lugabc's hook, lashing out iu public speec\ws at an u nclul y ni ti ca l medi a, un -Africa n gays. in krfer in g judicia ry, import1111at.e donor,;, ro a nd SO ill et. iii JPS f'oreig11 er:; (w hit e,;) i11 u general. T lw res 11rrect ion in I ~)~Hi :E <( of question,; co uce rning tlw lni :;- f- t.r ea t.nwnt of suspected di sside1il s hy ~ Swapo i 11 ex i\ 1-' eli cit 1,d a particularly ~ l'eroc ious rcspons1 · from N u,i o 111 a and :::J 0 tit< • lat.e Sl\' 4 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT dented thousands to draw a ttention In It is televised add ress N u in the Great Lakes a.nd the Congo to t heir plight.. .ioma. cast. Namibia's participation are instigated by white imperialists in swcc>pi ng Pan-Africanist terms, who want to control the country, .Ju st what. role these a nd ot. her invokin g m otives of' Afri can brot. lt take o ut its ri ches while the factors playt> d in t.he President.'s Prhood and solidarity with "a fel Congolese people li ve in f! OVert_v. decisi on !.o involve the Namibia n lo\\' SAD C 111 ember sLate whi ch T his ca.n no longer be allowed army in t.he Democratic Republic o f has fallen victim to a foreig n to cont.inue." (The lamibia.n , the Congo's m essy war is unclear, inspired conspiracy, a nd duplicity Septembe r '21, Hl98) the more so because t.he decis io 11 [by Uganda. and Rwa nda] ." Inte rest. was mad<' by t.lw President. a nd ingly, in light. o f t he uncertain con Saying the uusayable hi s advisors witho ut. seeking t he stit utionali ty of th c> decision itsell· Lt. was against. t his general a nd im approval of Parliament., or informing (the Presid e nt's swe<:>p ing powers as m ediate backdrop that Ben Ulenga the natio n. For several days tll<' Commander-in-C hi ef of the Defe nce returned to Namibia from London presen ce of Namib ian troops in l.h e DRC was rumoured in Namibia, and <'ven reported by the BBC and CNN news - reports repeatedly den ied by the fv linistries of ForPign Afl'airs a nd Defence - before N uj o n1a finall y confirmed i L at. a Heroes Day col n 1nemora.t.ion ceremony 011 Aug ust '2(:). A few clays later t.he first. Namibian casualt.ies we re repo rt.Pd in the Namibian p ress, hut. it. was another ftt ll fortnight. lw fore t he Presid e nt addressed the nation 111 a televised broadcast. . The President's <" nLhusiasLic sup port for the 1-.: abila. regime has con founclPd obsC' rve rs s in ce t he procla mation o f' \Viudhoek's "J(a.b il a St.." soo 11 after J\ abil a's accessio n l.o power. Jt. is unclPa r what Nam ib ian in terests a re at stake in the DRC to wa rrant. a government-to government loan o l' N%25 million soon a fter Kabil a 's i nsLall a.L ion, ull specifled s hipments of \Y a r materi el, Force a re gra nted under a Defence to pa rticipate in Swapo's Extraor and now t.he com1nit.me nt. of troops. Act. that lo ng predat.es indepen dinary Party Congress sc heduled for The wa r has caused a serious spli t. in dence), Llw President. in vo ked consti August. '27-L8, 1998. T he Congress SADC, with t he ma.jori Ly of m em tutional cl a uses concerning the de convened 400 delegates from N ami bers a li gning themselves with Man fense of Nam ibi a's bord ers a nd pro bia·s t.l1irteen regions , party wings dela's a ttempts to broker a peace tectin g i t.s ci t.izens in describing t he a nd affi liated unions. though for deal, whil e Nam ibi ajoins Angola in act as a lso one of "enli g htened self precisely what purpose seemed to lining up behind a defiantly haw ki sh interest.." An anti-imperialist theme be in some dispute. Days before Mugabe. amibi a's F in a nce Min moved to the forefront in t.he Presi t he Congress, senior party offi cials ister Nangolo Mbmnba has insisted dent's later speeches. espt>c ia.lly fol seem ed a nxious Lo dispel delegates' that Nam ibia's in vo lve m ent. will lw lowing an announcem ent. by the Eu understanding - and press reports la rgely u ncl erwri ttcn by Zimbabwe, ropean Uni on that it. was reviewing - t hat party representatives were though with what resources is n 't a id packages t.o African count ri<'S in meeting in part to discuss the ques clear. Some rumours point. to pro volved in t he DRC: confli ct in o rd<> r tion of a third term for Nuj oma, and saic business concerns - N ujoma.'s to ensur<" t hat. a iel moneys were 110!. policy issues, s uch as la ud reform , brother-in-law Aaron Musltimba is flnan ci ng rnili t.ary act.i vi Li es: t.ha.t. had been put. off a.t. Swapo's beli eved t.o have mining interests in "Thes<:' foolish Europea. ns. They s0coud na tional congress in !Vlay the Co11 go. (In Zimbabwe sintilar fanned a political union and a.gain LD97. Tlw issue of a Presidentia l allegations a re made ahont. Ro l>t•rt. they ll'i-1.111 to get o ur rail' m aterials t.hircl term had been approved at. lVlugalw's son Leo). 11·i thou t paying· us . ... Dist uriJ Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 5 ject t. o l:urther di sc ussion, declared /cac/ers/Jip. SUCCCSSlO ll a nd rcne ll'il f. Iicl y l'X pos<>d t.lw abs<' llC t' uf d<' II IO party spokesmen. The o nl y i tPm .Secondly. t.hc Third TcrJJJ pro positi cratic pract.ic<' at a ll l< ' VC'ls of r.Jw ott t.be agenda of Lit e l.i:x t.raordina ry as r. lirect.ed at ilw present incwn- par ty a ttd gov<' rlltttent. In stand Congress was a series of proposed 1J t' ll i is an unacceJ1( a / de sui 'ject.ion ing lip ('or t.it l' principkS Jt P iJc Ji <'I'('S a menclrn eut.s t.o t.h e Swa po party of the JJ at. iun al p,l)Od ( 6 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ______' llil~lliill~@furu ------plina ry procedures." T houg l! po However, wilile Ill a. ny in t.he leacl HJ8 0s - and for its leaders. [<'o r o ne tenti a ll y sinist.er-souuding, !. he IIIU t • ~ r s hip 111ay be r<'luc t. a nt t.o co ndemn wri ter. t he exa.mpl<> ~e t . by Ll l<' nga t.e rings a. hout violat.ious of pro per IIilll , 11 0 one i ~ rushing t. o hi s side - a t. was reminiscent. of a. t. inw "w hen de party procedure we n.' lent. a rolll edi c least not. publicly. 1-'ri va. t.e ly a num ba l. <' a l> o ut. issues within the part.y note by wha t Ulcii ga lt ad a lready lw r are appla udiug hi s co urage in ex a nd a. hou t. o ur society was the o r rev<'aled conceruing ti l<' <~bsc n c<" of pressin g sentiments t hat a re wid ely der of t.he day , [a.] culture of op <> II such cha nnels. The Presid t' ut.';; II eld , t hough never, u11 t il now, ex d<, hat.e . .. coud i tioned by the p;!:' n a nger, tho ugh repu tedl y t. it a.11i c. bas pressed . But if pa rty a. ud parlia cra l defia nt mood of t. lt e mass deni o uot. be<' ll publicly ve nt.ed . A nil'<' t. ll1 ent.a. ry peers are cautiously wa iL cra.L ic politica.l activity of t.he t. illlc." ing of t.h e Po li t buro was quickl y co u in g t. o see what. pri ce is exacted for Another reminded readers that " Li w ve ned , bu t. a ppa rent.l y fa il ed Lo III a Ul enga 's heresies, ordin a ry Na.lllib struggle for the lilw ra t.io n of Nami t.<> ri a. li ze when a nuln ber o r nw in ia. ns have been less r e~t. r a. in e cl . In bi a. d iclnot start in exile." lwrs sudd<' lll y exc used t. hciJI Se lv<'S 0 11 t. he weeks foll ow in g ll lenga.'s resig Espec ia ll y fasc in ating has lwen n uio us grounds, suggesting a. reln c na.t. ion. o pen- Ii ne radio shows ha.v<' the reclaiming of not. onl y the spiri t. , t. a. nce to t.a ke pa rt. in a. 11 y co ll ec t.i v<' lwen a huzz wit h react.i o n t. o the hu t the unwritten histo ry of the a.ct. ion against. t hP we ll -liked l! I< ' I1 ga. IIPWS , while Na. IIIibi a n IJ ewspa. pers struggle, both inside and o utside. T lw u:; ualrost.e r of inn uendo a ucl in l1 aw heen swan1p ed wit h letters - by t>a rlier generations of activists t~ inu at i on has been t.ro t.t .f'd OJi t. o n t.lw n i<1j o ri t.y support.i ve of Ule nga.. a nd dissidents, most. nota bl y S<~ ni the hyperactive ruiJJ o ur mill, in vo lv Tlw r<' ~po u se has lwen pa rti cularl y son Ndeikwila of the Coun cil o f ing; :;hadowy conspir ac ie::- of wiiit. Ps, no\.<' IVO rt il y in t he un pn-·cedentt'd C ltu rches of Namibia.. One of fo reigners or t.lw ill Pv it.a hl <' ( 'L\ , a ud hread t h a nd dept h of cri t ical opiu Swapo's fi rst "detain ees." havin g. the usual c h a r g e~ of "disloyal" a nd io n expressed. A lso in t<" r<'st.in g; is wit h eight other youn g members. "' unpatriotic" hehav io u r. hut <'V< ' ll t he nosta lgia. it. has revealed fo r t. be fa ll <' ll afo ul of t he exiled leader these ef!'ort.s seem ha.Jf- bea rt. ed . heyday of in ternal struggle in t.lw shi p ti J t he late 1\:.lG Os a. rt.er cl1 a rg- Swapo elechon ra ll y, 1994 Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 7 ing them with being ·'oblivious t.o ably in elo qu ent testimony to their la tter, so casually adva nced, is an their own peopl e," Ndeikwila has lack of independent. poli cy-m a kin g other proposal to dra.m a.t.ically a lter been steadily working to cl<"ar the structures. The diplom a ti c com Lh e Consti t ution by empowt> ring t.h e nam es of those detained or killed munity, foreign investors, and whit<' President to appoint Namibia's t.hir as ''spies" while living in exile dur Namibians have m ainly wit.ltheld teen regiona l governors. P reviously, ing the 1980s . His letters explic comment ( T he N am.-ib um's spirited governors were selected by their re itly place l llenga in a continuum of editor G wen Lister is a nota ble ex spective elected regiona l council s. ception}, citing reasons ra nging from dem ocratic dissent from a. uthori ta r H is Ji kely, of co urse, !.h at a reluctance to interfere to a fear of ian practi ce within Swapo - a his t.h e battle to preserve Namibia's exacerba ting matters. An element. tory which appears fin ally to be ta k ori gin al Constit ution is already lost. of "better t he devil you kn ow'· also ing fragil e root in the coll ecti ve con Swa. po has the necessary two-thirds pl ays a signifi cant role. The gener sciousness of Na.mibi a. ns. m ajority to push the a mendments a lly dorman t parliam enta ry opposi "Bravado aud herois1n'· t.hrough; onl y t he unlikely defection tion , however, seem s to have taken of som e of its own MPs can prevent The enthusiasm for Ul enga's st.and is courage from public opinion. In it.. And with its passing, a da ngero us still tempered wi th caution: letters m ore than its usual sta te o f disar preceden t. will have been set.. As t.o the editor are o ft. en anonymous ray in recent m onths (fo llowing the on<" former student .. leader la ment<> d : or pseudonymous; reporters polling expulsion of t he leader of the offi ''Namibia is busy degeneratin g iu to passersbys discover ve ry few willing cia .l o pposit io n DTA. pa rty for al a Zimbabwean-type politicall y. And to go on the record as opposin g leged separatist ambitions) opposi wi t h N uj om a 's third term we nHts t. a third term for the President .. tion parliamentarians have belatedl y expect t.Jw sit uation to worsen No such reserve has charac teri zed braced them selves t.o defend the na drast.icaJJ y ... espec ia ll y taking in to self-decl a red loyalists and "pa triots" tion 's Consti t. u tion . account. the a bsence of critical aud however, as wi tnessed by one let.t.e r The issue was fr ont. a nd centre as active civic structures ant! JWop le. urging swift. disciplina ry action P arli am ent. reconvened a t. the begin E ven Ben Ulenga's brave decision against Ulenga: ''Thi s would be ning of the month. After som e minor m ay become a. m a tter of history. necessary in order t. o discourage procedural difficulties, occasioned since peopl e a re trapped in to t heir simila r conduct by t hose m embers by the unseemly hurry wi t. h which it m ateri al positions. They j ust. ca n't who wish to displ ay t houghtless was introduced , the Prime Minister afford to difl"er wi t h t he ruling bravado and heroism ." has already moved the ·'A111 endment. [clique], even if they wish t.o.'' (Pa ul Such ''bravado and heroism ," it. Dill ," a ll owing for the am endment. Ka lenga, personal communicatio n. seems, is still mainly the purview of t he Constitution "so as to pro September 29, HJ 98 ). of individuals: Swapo's yout h , vide Lh a.t. the first Presitlent. of Na And yet, as Uknga has sho1m, wom en 's and elders' wings have de mibia. m ay hold offi ce as President. not. <"V<' ryone is trap ped . While cl ared offi cially unanimous suppo rt for three terms," while a companion parli amentari a ns 1rere p reparing t.o for a third term , while a ffili ated or bill has bee n introduced "to p rovide J ebate consti t ut ional antenclments gans and unions wa.t"Fl e uncomfort.- for incidental m a Lt.ers .' ' Amoug !.he t ha t will extend t.he term a nd tl w powers of a. President who has led Swapo for t he past four decades, and t.he nation sin ce in dependence. hun d reds of Namibians gathered for Lhe in augura l meetin g of a "Forum for t.be Fut ure," to hear addresses hy Ulenga , by t he St>cre ta ry-Uenera l of" t he ('(_' , a nd by t he Cowrnor of t he Ba nk of Na mi bia. If. as Ulenga's wife Namba t. a has o bserved (i nvo k in g a popula r Namibia n expression ), ~ it is true th at. within Swapo',; lead t> r u ship people brave enough t.o lw crit.- 1 ical <:H<' "as ra re as chi cken teet h,.. :!j such people appear to lw ra pi dly Q) c pro li fe ratin g amoll g t.he Na rni hia tl ~ citizenry - a ttd . coll cct. ive ly. may Q:; t urn out. to have some IJiLe ...... ~ [!!] 8 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ------llil~lliill~@fuill ______ The Statesman who Brought Honour to Africa (a parable) BY SAMSON NDEIKWILA "Ndeikwila has been steadily working beyond. This is the man today ln her article on recent developmen ts to clear the names of those detain ed whose mere uttera nces a re echoed i11 Namibia featured in tl1 is issue of or kiJ/ed as 'spies' while living in exile in difl'erent la nguages a ll over the d urin g the .1980s .., This persunaJ SAR, Lauren DobeJJ cites Samson world. Ndeikwila of the Council of Churches history of considerable courage and Many people do not kn ow his of Namibia as epitomizing in his work commitment gives added resonance to Ndeikwila 's deft a nd illuminating real name. At home he has proven th e efforts of '·an earlie1· generation of himself consistent. in words and activists and dissidents" no1v seeking pa.rable, reprinted here with permission from T he Namibia n where it firs t: deeds to be ca lled the Father of t he to reclaim "not only tl1 e spirit, but appeared as an extended le tt:er to t./w Nation. In church circles they call the unwritten history uf the [Nami/;ian him the Great Visionary of our Age. liberation} struggle, /;otll in side and editor. All over Africa and am ong the Afro outside'' the coun try. As she writes. The president was born in a poor Ameri cans !.h ey call him Our Pride. Ndeikwila. was '·one of Swapo's firs t. family in a remote African vi llage. Somewhere else he is referred to as 'detain ees,· ha.1··ing, 1vit.h eig l1t ot.her His country had experi enced bruta l the G reat Leader of Africa . yo11 ng members. fallen afoul uf the colonia l oppression , repression and exiled leadership in t lz e late 1960s exploitation . He knows what it. Scholars of different disciplines after cba.rging [t ir e latte1] witlr being means to go hungry, barefo ot and in have all co ncurred that he ts ·oblivio us to th eir O II' Il people' .. (o n rags or half-naked. the most original thinker , most. this m oment in S wa.po ·s history see It is this backgro und which has a rt iculate speaker, most simple in a./so Colin Leys a11d .J ohn S. Saul. shaped his world outlook. And it lifestyle, a nd most organised a nd N amibia.'s Libera.tion Struggle: T he is his simple li festyle which has had d isciplined in t ime- ma nagement. . 11 <" Two-edged Sword [L ondon, 1995}. tremendo us impact. on t he thinking sincerely believes what he says a nd ch. 3). More recenUy, not.es Dobell , of so many people a t. home a nd courageously says wh a t he beli eves. Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 9 ______Till~mmn@fuill ______ Om:- reggae band in tlw Sin g loud er and louder until he was alway:; says. lie 11!"\·e-•r shuut.s Caribbean has released an a lbun1 ti carried away into the alllbul a. nce by sloga ns, threatens or insul ts peo pl e tled "The Statesman Who Brought hi s per~o n a l guard s. at. pu bli c lll eetin gs . Be :; pea ks Honour to Afri ca." The reco rd Doing things differ ently of empowerin g and givtn g VISion praises the PresiJent's e• xemplary Lo t he people. Thousands and approach to life. lt, pra ises hi s gov Jt \\'ould t. ake p age~ to descri be t. housa11ds woul d fl ock to publ ic ernment's poli cy guide a. nd the re t.lt e character of t.lw presiJent or mee tings when t hey kn ew t ha t. tlw vi sed co nstitution. t.o emmiera. t. e wh at he has doue in pres id ent. wo ul d speak. He refu ses to the J-irs t. four years of his lea.dersh ip . rPfer to the people as t he ''masses," Notorious leaders Ile is one indi vidu al who a.lwa.ys arguing t hat. t he t.Pr m was co in eJ do<"s things Jiff'e re, nt.l y. He' speaks It recounts the priorities a nd initia l by the advocates of t. otalit. a. ri a 11ism . of !.he genuine Seco nd iilw ra t.i OI I of At t.h e beginning Lhe presidenl. achi evem ents of hi s fiv e-year pl an. Africa.. Hi s fir s t. a. ppea ra iJ Ce' in However, the last part. of t he record had dif-fi cul ty in co nvincin g t.h e Addis r\.b a ha a t. the OA U s ummit people to cease servile behav iour like is ve ry harsh with Afri can leaders, le ft. t.h e world wi t llOul word s. Hi s dead and alive, who have ki li ed , dancing in fr ont of him . ca rry i11 p; was t. hP sm a ll es t. , cli ea p<>s L !Jut. most his bri efcase, opening doors for imprisoned , tortured , exileJ a nJ effective dPiega.lion, co nsisting of impoveri shed their own pC'o plc. The him , etcetera.. He re11 1inded them h imseiL tlw minister of foreign to t reat him lik f> any body else. record calls ou the peopl e or A !'rica a ffairs a.nd a n,present.at. ive of t he never t. o be deceiveJ again . T hough t he prPs ide nt. has been III edia. They 111 ad(, use of eco uo 111 y give n so-call ed SJWC ia l adviso r:; and Then co nws the ''No Morp'' and class tickets. They bookc>d into co nsul tants. local a nd expat. ria t.e. IH· "Sham e on You" part. wh ere solo a gues t. hou:-w on Lhe outskir ts of has a spec ial ea r and heart for t hC' voices shout. t he names of some Ad dis Ababa.. T hey mad e> USC' or ViCWS and fee lings of t hP ordina ry notorious Afri can leaders. T he lis t. a taxi to and from t. he meet.i ngs peo pl e. \Yith hi s loca ll y-a:;se' mhl l'd is long and co nt roversial. Yo u and they wNe always t.l w fir s t. t.o Toyota Crl'Ss id a, lw d t·iws ft·e •t•ly hear t he names of fdi Ami11, arri ve . T hroughout. t he nwet.in gs he wherever he ll' aut.s t.o go. day Boka.ssa, Samuel Doe, J\: arunw, dresses casua ll y whil e ot.lter lc> 10 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ------~~mm~@fuill ______be'f' IJ the case in SO IJ W count.ri es. Ex type o f person he was looking for t rade unio ns, student. o rganisatio11s. refugees would urgP hin1 t.o e' tl cour t.o work ll'ith in <-1 (,(>an t. He did women's g ro ups, etcetera. , t.o wel agc Lit e 11 a tio n t. o accord Afri ca n IJ Ol. CO II CC'ctl tlw fact. that. t.l w CO llll t ry come differPtt ces and a.pp rec ia.t.e uu lt ospi t.a l it.y t. o rd'ttgel's, so_j o u rti Prs has 111 <1 ny s uch reli able peopl e w ho expect.e>d cha ll enges fr o m new qllar a nd visitors in their mids t. . l ~ x _ju st need lw identified . Ll e discussed ters. For example. t.wo o r t.hree-• crimin a. ls wo uld tell him lww they t.he dift'erence be•t.wee n good a nd s tudent organisations in the CO UII had l>ee n ro bhing, raping, ho use bad leaders hip. fi e a lso explained , try wo uld serve the studen t. popu brea king, s muggling, defra uding t.he g iving concret.e examples in Africa. latio n better if they saw t he wi s prev io us gow'rtinJe nt.s, etcPtera. , a nd a nd e lsewlw re, how corruption, do m in apprec iating, s ttpple nw nt. why t hey ha d dec id ed to abandon nepotism , bribery, fa vouritism and ing a nd enri chi11 g ea ch o t.lte r rathc:r crimina lity. Ex- prostitutes wo uld squandering o f tax- payers' m o ney than emba rking on futile a nd obso urge hint t.o deli ve r a n inspiratio na l would lead to natio na l disaste r and lete exercises of discrediting a nd ttll speech against such a. social v ice. bloodshed a t one o r othe r stage in d ermining each o t.her . The presidc 11 t Even ex-lwa.u ty cont.es t. a nts wo uld t he life o r a n atio n. He warned t.h e call ed ttpo n t.h e natio n , pa rti cula rl y tf' ll him o r the dilemma. of being pa nation against bad leade rs hip, using the church and t.lw 111 edia., to assist. radf' d like anima ls at. a n a uctio n. a. famous African proverb which his cabinet, 110!. t hrough grovelling, says: "'iVhen t.he fish get.s rotte n , it. w hite washing, fl attery a nd boo tlick T he Presid ent would thc u ad a ll starts from t he bead ." ing but by plain and candid criti dress such issues so elo quently to Dislike of grovelliug cism. He surprised some o f his lis Pmpower a nd encourage t.h P iWO teners when he praised a nd t ha nked pl f' to lead a simple• ami di g 11iri ed The President spoke o f leaders who o ne local newspaper which has been life. li e> wo uld e ~ ve n go t.o t.hl' ex tax their people so heav il y but. use ve ry critical o f his government. and t.e' nt. o f t0 lling hi s audience t.h a. t. it. t. he n LOney t. o pay the ttt selves btg which ha d exposed traces o f mal is not. a lo t. o f m o twy in t.h f' han k. salaries, hu ild the mselves expe nsive practice in !Ji gh offi ces. Ht' cha l a bi g and luxurio us ho use o r car. sLate and government ho uses, buy lenged this ue wspapt> r to pick up t he latest fashi o n dress o r a diamond t. helllsel ves most lux urio us cars a nd m o re courage a nd c:a. ll a spade a 1\'e' dding riug which wo uld tnake life a irpla nes. He, spoke o r leaders who spade. He chall enged a.ll m embe rs mo re m eaningful o r give a 1w rson a re in the ha bit o r hosting lavish par of parliament, whether of t.lt e rul real dignity in life. lie wo uld elabo ties a nd receptions with taxpaye r's ing o r o ppositio n parties, no t·. t.o de rate o tt the coucept. of ''full poc ket.s m oney. He ela borated o n the de ht. fend t!J eir parties but to defend t he and empty hearts." Be state's that. yoke w here leaders fr om poo r couii truth a nd t he best interests o f t.h t> the secre t. t. o a h appy a nd clignifi Pd t.ri es borrow huge a m o unts o f m o nt'y nation. He warned against t.he dan life I if's in self-denia l and concern for which, in t he end , t heir count ri es ger of '"co mrades" covering up fo r ot. her peopl e's wdfare a ttd succt'sses. wo uld not be able to pay back . ll e• a dded that. o ft en t.his Ill o ney does ·'comrades." T his was the malady o f True service no t. reach Lh e peop le in whose name t. he OAU during t.lw last. :30 years o f it. is wo rth mentioning how t lw it. was borrowed . He a lso gave ex its e xistence. This was a lso t.he main President. had a ppo inted a t.ean1 of amples of leaders who sLash vast. contributing factor t. o tlte coll a ps0 a bl e ami dedicated tuen a nd ,,·o m en , amounts of m o ney in fo reig n ban ks . o f t.l w socia li st system. Finally, t.l w black a nd white, young a nd o ld , II OIL In m ost cases t.his m o ney has bee, ll preside nt. was ~· xpli c iL in stating that partisa n poli t. ici<-tns a nd t.ec ltuona t. s. stolen in o nP way or a no ther. lie t.he problems facing m a ny count.ri es, a quart er o f the SIZC of t.he categorised a ll s uch acts as in st.it.u s uch as unemployment, in creasin g previo us cabinet a nd nlll ch chea per t io na lised ro bbery a nd fraud. ilP crime, lack of educatio na l a nd lll cd in ntany ways. Uefore a. ppo int.ing we nt into som e detail about t.lw fo l iccll facilities. shortage of ho using t.hi s ca binet. . the prc,sident. gave a lowing as leading items o f his gov a nd sky rocketing cost of living were three-hour a ddress Lo Lit e 11 a tio n ernment's five year priorities: edtt not n a.t. u ra l catastro phes; they were expla ining. a m o ngst othe rs . what. catio tl . water s upplies t.o rura l a. rc•a.s. m a n-made and there fo re s urmo unt Lrue service to t he· nat. io n II Ieans. primary healt h ca re~. ho us ing , lo a bl e . Hcferring to a discussio n he ll e-' bemoaned pPo pl e who aspire cal proc(·ssing inclnst. ri es. e t. cet.c> ra.. had l.lt L' previ o us Pvening with a d el Lo go to pa.rli ament wit.h the sole A.dd ressi ng t.lt f' fu t.u rc' o f denwc racy egat.iotl o f t.ro ubleshoot.er students iu t.ent. io n o r enriching t hem selves in Afri ca, t.h P Pres ident. ide ut.ifi cd from the four uni versities, t he pres allll to pave tl w ll'ay fo r their families ethnicity o r tribalism a nd cla nism ide nt concluded by saying t.ltat even a nd next. o f kin. He emphasised t.hat as future threats wit.h t.lw pote n if he would dro p d ead tlw fo ll ow to day a. leader who is a combination t.ia.l t.o blow nat.io ns a!lll eontmtmi ing d ay. he wo uld depart. in peace o f being m ost si ntple and lnuniJie, Li es apart if no t handled w i t.h u nde r and very o ptimist.ic ahout. the future most. t ru t hful, m ost ready Lo a.d111it. standing a nd wisdom. He cautio ned o f Africa , including t.ltat o f his o w11 mistakes a nd m os t. ltardwo rking is against m o nopolis t.i c te nde nci es a.nd country. t he g reat.est of a ll. This was t.l1e enco uraged civic societies, ittcluclittg Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 11 ______TI®~~rn© ______Democracy at Gunpoint? South Africa Intervenes C1l u ~ i!·~~ ~~~!!=:=l~il~~~ .§~ a:: I ~ 0 --~-- "0~ en "0 ~~~~~~~~~._~~~~~=-~~~~r=~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BY ROGER SOUTHALL out shell. It has also raised ques Back in 1993 , the Basotholand tions concerning the necessity for in Congress Party ( BCP) won an Roger So uthall is a Professor of tervention, the in ternational legal overwhelming victory in an election Political Science at Rhodes University ity of such actions, the credibility brought about by pressures upon in Gralzamstown, South Ati'ica. and consistency of South Africa's the then military government t.o foreign policy, the effectiveness of withdraw to the barracks. U ncl er the South Africa's recent armed in South Africa's armed forces, and the first- past-the-post. electoral systf'm, cm·sion into Lesotho has provoked appropriate role for SADC. the BCP won 75% of the popular a massive controversy. Formally vote and 65 seats, while the conducted on behalf of the South Election woes Basotho National Party (BNP), African Development Community It was far from ev ident when voters which had ruled the country from (SADC) to pre-empt a. military went to the polls that Lesotho's independence until its displacement. coup, it is widely blamed for pre May 23 , 1998 general election would by the military in 1986, made a cipitating an orgy of looting, arson trigger such turmoil. Its roots, showing of only 20% and won no and violence which left the main nonetheless, lie in Lesotho's ongoing seats. But internal divisions split street of Maseru, the capital, a burnt political crises. the BCP in 1997 wh en the aged 12 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ______TI®~@~rn@ ______a nd ailing 1\ l okhehle, the founder lndeed , during the yea rs of its within the military. Tlwse culmi a nd lea der of the pa rty, lost control rul e, t.h e BNP had stuffed the lt ated in Uw arrest of a rmy chi ef as potential successors wrest.lecl for military with its suppo rters. Thus, C: Pneral Mosakheng and other se power. In response, Mokhehlc when !. he BC P assumed o ffi ce i11 ni or of-ficers by junior o ffi ce rs on formed a. new pa rty - !.h e Lesotho 199:3, it faced a la rgely hostil e Sept.emlw r 11 - less bec ause they Congress of Democrats (LCD) a rmy. Tliis hostility was confirmed werP loya l t.o the government than a nd t. ook wit.h hin1 a maj ority o f" when thP 111ilitary backed a l>ri e f" because they were deemed too hes i !.he count ry's elected lVl embers of dismissal of t. he BC P government. tant. to ignore the opposition 's urg Parliament. The key qu t> s!. io n for hy 1\.i ng Letsie in Au gust 1 \!9 4. ings to overthrow the government. . the 1998 election , then revolved This episode had onl y Pnded when, a ro und wh ether o r not 1\'I okh ehl e (; i ven Lh e mo unting cri sis , !".he LCD government [HOVPd to be in would lw a ble to ca rry the popular no position t. o gain say SADC's vo te. Acronyms proposals, drive n by South Afri ca n Some 150 intern atio na l and 400 BCP Basol/wland Congress Deputy President Thabo iVlbeki , Basot.ho electoral mo nitors decla rPd Party. Won an overw helming t.hat the best WRY to resolve matters th E' subseq uent elections more o r less m aj ority in the 1993 elec tions, t he was via !he appointment of a fr ee and fair. T hi s was striking party sp li L in 1997 , and some commiss io n Lo examine the conduct. because !.he LCD was repo rted members formed the LC D . of t.he elec tion and to adjudicate to have won 60% o(" the popula r upo n the result. The resultant vot.e a nd 78 out of the /9 single BDF - Botswana Def ence Force. SA DC' Com mission began work i 11 member seats contested o n elec tio n BNP - Basotho Na tional Party. t.hf' second week of August. and was clay. As in 1993, the mechan ics Ruled Lesotho from independence headed hy .Judge Pius La nga. of of the electora l systen1 had ll" orked until t.h e 1980 milita ry coup. South Afri ca. in Lesotho t. o deliver one part y a virt.llall y cl ean sweep. IEC - Independent Electoral Com 'The Commission a ppears t.o have m ission. In charge of organiz Even if t.he elect.o ra l process had conducted its work effi ciently, yet ing and conducting elections 111 been fai r , the res ult. still le f"t. L[Qf(( , !.he announcements of its findings Lesotho. of the voters ll"h o had voted fo r WP re delayed by what was referred to t he opposit.ion unrepresented in t.hf' LCD Lesoth o Co ngress of as !. he need Lo report t.o SA DC lead Lower Ho use of P a rli ament.. The o p Democrats. Formed in 1997 after ers. lts report. , dated September 9, pos it.ion cri ed fo ul , wit.h t he IJ N 1' a spli t in the BCP, t hey won the was not made public until Sl' ptem a nd BC P, hitherto sworn enemi es, 1998 <' lections. ber 17Lh. Su ch a delay a ll owed ac cusatio ns to rl y about it.s a ll egedly forgi ng a n allia nce of co nv <' n ience RLDF - Royal Lesotho Defotct in pro t.Ps t. Tlw i11si gnificant. hut Forc e. "explosive" findings !w in g doctored vocall y noisy Roya list t\1arem at. lo u in favour of the LCD. Consequently, Freedon1 party j oi ne<.l in. To SANDF - ,':J'o ulh 1lfnca J\'atioual while the fin a l report did find clear get lwr , t hey pror lainwd t hat t. lw Def ence Fo ·rce. evidence o r administrative defi cien elec t.i o n had been ri gged a llCI t.hat cies, Lh e co n1mit.tee's judg ment !.hat. the gm·ern ment II" as t.h e1·efore illegi t acting on b<'h a lf of SADC'. the !.h ere was ins uffi ciPnt ev idPnce to in ill! a l. e. Support:crs we re mo bili zed uPwl y e!Pc l. cd , posl.-a pa rt.lwid , ANC' dicate tha t. the Plec t.i on result was t.o demonstrate in i\l aseru , a. ncl t he Ied governme nt. in Sou th Afri ca in valid 1r as regarded as profoundly opposition alli anc<' o penly ca ll ed f"o r ach,d in co nce rt 1rit.h Botswana allll unsatisfactory by t.h e o pposition a l J\ing Le t. sie l.o exercisP powers lw Zimbabwe to insist. th a t democ racy li ance . Dem ands for fresh elections does not. lega ll y possess t. o dismis, he resto red, resulting in t.lw ret.urn a nd thf' fo rmat ion of a government. t.he government. of the l3 C P government t. o offi ce in of natio na l unit.y began to swell. micl-Sept.emlw r 1V94. i\lo kl1 ehl e 1r ho had It' d the LC'D I\'lea nwhilf' , t he internal dynam party in t.he elec tio n ll"as illlllWdi This previous involvem ent by ics of t he situation had been trans a.t.e ly su<·cePC!Pd as party lt' ad<' r an d SADC: now paved the wa.y for fur formed by t.h<' army revol!.. 1\.u P rem it• r by Pase ka l\losisili , II" ho ther engagement. There was grow mo urs o f" a co up we rP re h11t.t.ed by provt•d ll'oefu ll y indeci,;ive, failin g ing regional a nd Sout h Afri can con government assertions that it. 11·a..<; disllta lly to makt' a 1·oca l respolt S< ' cern a t ri sin g tensions in t he king still in offi ce. Yet. it was st.eadily t.o t li t> oppositio n a llcgat ions. l1 1J cl om . From August 11. hundreds of losing any last. remaining g rip o;, derlyi ng hi s 11n cert.aint.y was hi s n' o pposi \.ion s 11 pporters began to con power, as Ll w BNP , 13C'P, t.h e sol aliza!.ion thnt his goveriJIIWnt, due t.o gregatP at. t.he gatPs of t.h e King's di ery a nd t.h e poli ce were wo rk it.,; hist ory 1rith tlw 13( 'P, was II" holl y pa lace in l\Jaseru Lo protest. again st. ing together to paraly ;~,e the fun c unable lo rely Uj) O il (.he support. o f" l he a ll t'ged ri ggin g of !he election. tioning of the gover11nw n!. Hoad the S<'curi!y forces . f\lean\vhilP tPnsions \VPre in creasin g hlocks pn•vented civil se rva nts go- Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 13 ______TI®~~~© ______ in g t.o work . soldi ers provided sma ll by a. poli cing con1 poucnt. of the inter the fir st w<'ekend a [t.er the in t.e rvcn arm ,; t.o lllldisc iplincd yo uths, a 11d s t. at.e defence and security comlllit t.ion. a further 1000 l1LDF soldiers BNP supporters sec urPd t.lw clos ure t.ee of SA DC :. They were t.o lw fo l had surr<." ncl en•d to t.he SAND I". of t.IH' Uuiversit.y and other ptiblic lowed by a further :WO t roops fron1 But IJNP lea.d<' r Sekh onyana rais<·d st.ruct.ures. the Botswana Defem<' Force ( IJDF ), t.h e prospect t.hat Llw r<' IJe ls still SADC diplomat.i c e ff'orts co ntin wh ich was going to lw res ponsibl e at large might. st.a.ge hit-and-run ued under Llw leadership of So utl1 for guarding Maseru. The apparent ntissions against LC:D refu gees who African SafeLy and Sec urity f\linist.cr supposition was th a t. the iiJL(' rVcll had strea med ac ross the South Sydney Mufulltadi. but. on S<··pt.e lll t.i on force wou ld tn eet lilltit.Pcl wsis African border. SAD(' subsequ ently l.> er :W the LCD refus PCI t.o a.t.t.end t.an ce fr om opposition forc es a 11d t.lw so ught to co nt. ain any such threat.s a ll -party talks call ed to resolv<' the :WOO-strong llLDF. Event.s proved by depl oy ing f1u'l.h er troops, who presently number around :3500 . crisis. citing il Jack of >i<·'C IIrit.v for this PX jWCl.a t.ion dismally wro 11 g. ib delega tes. T!Ji s forc<' d tlw Mill \\'lwn tlw troop:; arrivf'd at. t lw The political aftermath ist.Pr t.o nl l'<' t til<' LC 'D ami oppo l{.oyal Palace t hrough t.hf' fr on t. gate, The in tervention drew vigorous sition alli anc<· :·wparat.ely. \\'hi lc t.h e arnwd opposition simply ex ited niticisn1 from n1an y qu a rt.ers i11 the opposition alliance co nLillll<'d t. o through llw rea r and procccd<·d to South Afri ca, a nd not. onl y fr om t.lw ca ll for a governnwnt of national the town c<> ntre. targeting a nything opposition parties .• Va ri ous human unity to prepare for lWII' <' k ct. io11s. th at was vaguely associat.cd 11·it.h ri ghts NC:O s. such as t.hc Blac k the LCD demanded that t.l w oppo South Africa. Within hours ther <> Sash. and church orga ni sat. iotL ' si ti on accept. defea t. . 011 Sept.emlw r was total may hem. By tl w next. have argued t.hat. South ,\fri ca. had 21, Deputy Prime I ini st.er l\ <>IPIW il l' n1 orn i ng, pract. ica ll y every co 1n lllcr fa i! Pd t. o explore a ll aw11Ues for Maope issued a st.at.c nw nt. t.hat. the cial huilding a long Lh e ca pit al's tltain a peaceful resolution of t.he cri sis . LCD was still in powPr, 14 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ______TI®~~lli@ ______ Tlw::w ,;t.ark at.tit.ucl es found ··sec urity prcs<' nce·· 1rou ld remain (ii) for a multi-pa rty co mmitl<'<' t.o lit.tle favour wit.h South Af'ri ca. 111 L<·so t.ho unt.il !.IH' co uttl.ry"s oversee a ll activit ies relating to t.II<' The South Afri can gon~ rnm e nt al so own secmity forces '· ll"cre ;1 bl<· election, induding t.h e appoinLJII l' llt l)ru siH·d orr ;til ,.;ugg<-·s t.i Oil!") t ha t t' fkrt.iv<'l y Lo di sc lwrge t. lwir legal of a. new IEC. ;\.llcl co tt sti tu t.iona I ro les... Jleport s its co ntroversia l role !t ad rend<·red This event ua lly provided tht• :; ugg,cswd that South ,\frira had it. utt :; uit. a hl <' t. o chair ttego t.i at. io tt s. basis for an agreement. reached ove r pn's,.; ured t.ll<' L( 'I) to co tt cede early lleilind tlw SC<' Il<';.. l>o til ,.; id es W<' r<' the co urse of the next ten da.ys. eiPc tions uuder a. reformed elec toral pre:;s ured to Ill <'<> (. f. ogetiler with But the subsequ ent. arrest by the syst<' Jll t.hat wo uld a ll ow in creased tlt e S,\DC' mediating Lf• ;un (drawn govt• rnnte llt. or :30 soldi ers a ll eged represe nt.at. io 11 for losin g pa rtie:; . f'r om South Af'ri ca, 13 ot.swana and t.o ha.ve bee n in vo lved iu the a rrest. Zimba bwe) on Oct.olwr L. Tilai >O T il e opposit.icm . lt ow<' Ver. de of 1\ losakh eng is said (at the time !vllwki's sc heduled pul)li c address on clared that. J\1 beki had li <·cl a nd of writing) to lw put.t.ing t.h e JWa.ce t he Lt>sot.ho cri sis t.lt e ni ght. o f' tlw that. t.hcr<' had only hecn "' t. cnta t. ive a.gr<'t'lll t' Jtt in peril. ttwetin g added f'urt.l wr prPss ure. agrl'ement " on sonw iss ues . Evc t·y Was the elediou rigged"! ~ ll wki a. nJt OLIJtn 'd in hi s addn·ss t.hin g awaited agreP nt ent. about tlw that a ,;olut.io n to t. lw crisis had administ.rat.ive machinery ncce:;sa ry Tl1e Langa. Commissiou un covered lwe n found. The 111 a in points wen• to <' tt sure that. r> lec tions co uld La ke many adm inistrative flaws and irreg tltat t.h <:> LC'D ll"o ulcl :; tay in pow<' r. plan'. ularities in the elec toral process. lt httl. Jl<'IV <' lect. ions - supervised hy a At <:Ill Oct.o lw r (j ll W<'t ing. the was unable to account. for t.he un reconst.i t.ul <' d ln dept>nde nt Elcc t.o ra I SAD( ' tea m put fon ra.rd a compro usual distribution of hirthda.t.es re Commission (I EC :) - wo uld lw lt<' ld mi se that would proviue for (i) tile vea!Pd by an independent. a udit. of within 15 to 18 tlt ont. hs. ,\ LC 'D to rema in in g;ove mment but t he voters' regist.c r, a nd reported Oppo sition party suppo1'ters protest outside th e pala ce of King Letsie III in Mas eru Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 15 ______n@~~Thl@ ______~~-- tha t its attempts to make judgment of party support broke clown in Hi s tory may judge that t.lt e on the allegations had been rendered l'a.vour of tlw BCP fa irly eve nly SADC intervention marked a turn almost impossible because the elec across the country. the result. of the ing point in Lesotho's political hi s toral records suppli ed by the IEC election - 7\:l seat.s for the LC :0 tory. If the ou teo me of the present wen ' iu a chaotic state. on the basis of a fiO % popular imbroglio does take the army 011L majority - is e ntirely credible . Uut of politics, and produce more rep Nonetheless. the Langa Commis it is thoroughly unfa ir that. the resentative political arrangem ents, sio n countered many of the a ll ega 40% ·of the populatio n that. voted then all m ay not. have been in tions made by the op posi Lion. The fo r the opposition is a lmost wholly vain. No netheless, South Afri ca a llCI lEC was the first ever appoint.ed in unrepresented in Parliament. As SADC can sca rcely escape blame for Lesotho, and it had b et> n given very in 1993, wha t was wrong with the the ham-h anded way in which [.bey short notice to prepare for the t> lec election was not the result . but t l1 e conducted the operation. t.ion, which involved drawing up a electoral system . What is badly new registration list. de limiting 1ww The burnt out. shell of .1vlas t> ru 's needed , therefore, is a. move towards constituencies, and so 0 11. Ove r ma!ll street. says it all. It proportional re presentation. all , therefore, it concluded that. a l would have been one t.h ing if though it was unable to stat.t> that. the SADC forc e had neu t.ralize cl t.he invalidity of the elcct.io ns has Did the iutervention achieve its the opposition and, the army with been conclusively est.a.bli s hed [it. purpose'? suffi cient troops a nd hardwa re. could not] postulatt> that. t . h ~ re The int.ervention was launched a t. An effi cient o perat.ion could have sult. does no t refl ect the wi ll of the the explicit request. of a legitimat e provicl1, d t.he fr am ework for a long Leso tho electora te. governme nt Lo pre-empt. a mili l. erm solution to Lesotho's peqw t.u a l This conclusion was unn<,cPssa r ta ry co up des igned to overt.hrow a political crises. While there wo uld ily limp, as I have argued e lsP wlw re democracy, SADC claillls. Furt.lwr havt> been numero us o bject.i o 11s [Ma ·il (' rnnw nt had bro defending dem ocracy. The BNP h as a hi st.ory of ken down a nd a government. whi ch Instead , So ut.h Afri ca/ SAD(' i;; refusing to accept electi o n loss ( l \:l 70 ha d recently \\·on a s weeping vid.o ry now having t.o count. t.l w cost of a 11 a nd 1993) . The protests against. t.he a t. Lh e po ll s was be in g cha ll enged by o pera ti o n gone badly awry. Critics resu Its of this elec tion net> d to lw a 11 opposition a lli a nce 1rhose lea d have noted t.h a L a fo rce of (j QO seen in tha t. light.. ing clenwnl. , the B NP . ha d dubious SANDF troops was inadequa te to Even if the IEC was bi ased in dem ocra tic crede ntia ls. 11. II'O tdd ap confro nt t he :2000-stro ng HLDF' . favo 11r of the LC D , a nd even if the re pear that. 1rhile the o ppositio n al Tlte units were no t. the most were som e ef!'orts by person::; 11 n li a nce was ta lking negot.iat.io ns with s uita bl e, s imult.a.neous entry 1ra;; known to massage the ekct.o ra l r<'g the LCD vi a t.he S ,\ DC' 111 ediato r::>. no t coordina ted with the 13DI" isLer , the ove rall im pacL upo n t.h c the BNP was a lso o rgani zin g a "v ir (res po nsible for sec uring 1\'laseru ), o utcom e wo uld be un certain . The re tua l coup" by m o bilizing ils youLh a nd intelligeu ce was poor. Thos1' is no sig nifi cant eviden c<.' o f ::;y,.; militia to pa ra lyze the acL iviLi e,.; o f wh o a pproved the milita ry logis t.i c,.; tem aL ic vo ting by "ghost vo te rs" in govPrnment hy int.iniid a t.in g o ppo cP rL a inly provided the ir critics \\·ith fa vo ur of the LC D . There i,.; no evi nents. recklessly m g in g the H LDF e no ug h a mmunitio n t.o q uest io n dence that t he t raditio na l m e thods t. o interve ne, hacking t.l w cli ,.; missal their con1 pdence . used by ruling parties to ri g first of seni or o ffi cers of the a rmy. and past-the-post elections by delimit 11rging the King to t. a kt• un con ,.; Lit.u ,\ pa rt heid So ut h Afri ca prec i p in g co nstituency bo unda ries to Lh c t.i o na l actio n. Fro m this 1w rspec t.i ve i t.a. ted t.h e Hltl o coup by i m pos dis ad va ntage of the o pposi t.i o n, <>X the SADC int.e n ·e ntio n s ucceeded in in g a virtua l bl ocka dP. Democra tic cl ucling opposition suppo rters f'r o n1 preventing a coup again ,.; I. de moc So ut h Africa caj oled a reversa l o f the voters ' register , refusiug t. o reg racy, even if there are some legit.i Ll w •· J\.in g's coup" in J D\J 4 wi t h ister opposition candidat.es, fraudu m a. t.e questio ns a bo ut the e lec t o ral a mixture of arm- t."·isting a nd ne lent vo te counting a nd ba ll o t. box process itself. Post-hoc a na lysis sug goti a ti on . Ha d a ll s uch a v<' nues stuHing, or statisti call y m a nipula t. gests tha t give n the urba n enviro n been a dequ at.<> ly explored this linw ing the results a pply to Lesotho's ment, the number o f o ppo 11 e nts a nd a ro und? It. will 11 011' renta in a n1 oot 1998 election . the geogra phical s pread of t he objec point. To IJe s ure, the o ppositio n Give n t hat the 199::) elec tio n ti ves , t.h e mili ta ry fo rce perfo rn1 ed in Lesotho m ay have been inflexible. dem onstra ted that the di ::> tribut.io n its limiLed task ra ther we ll. deceit.ful. and thoro ug hl y pw pa rcd 16 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ______n®~~~@ ______ t.o act. un constitutionally. But. even scale violence between sections of region. Now there is a da nger that if t.he army had staged a coup, how the population, or between armed or South Afri ca. will be seen to lw long would such a. government have paramilitary forces and sections of throwing its military weight around. lasted 'I the population; if there is a threat. The intervention also shows an in consistency in South Africa's post l Was the interventiou legar? to the legitimate authority of tlw government: or if any cri sis cou ld apartheid Africa policy. It was pro The intervention does not seem threaten the peace and security of moted as a program based on prin to have been founded on sound other m ember states. Neither of ciple rather than pragmatism, with international legal ground. So uth these in struments has yet been fo r human right.s and peace-making at. Africa/SADC cannot be faulted fo r mally ratified, however. t he front. of its agenda.. When Pre helping a legitimate government, toria. protested the extension of mil recently elected , which requested A cleanly conducted . successfu l opera.t.i on might have avoided objec itary support by other SADC coun assista nce. This does not a ppear tions o n interna tional legal grounds. tries to the dubiously-democra.t.ic t.o have been su (·fi cient grounds But the operation was a. mess , and regime of Ka.bila in the DR Congo, t. o validate a tllilitary interventiot t, it earned praise on moral and logi however. now , governments in the region must deal with the consequences. cal grounds. ln contrast., the armed SADC: 's arg ument that. Lhe in intervention to impose a political so Aud South Africa's foreign tervention was legitimate is based lution in Lesotho has rightly aroused policy? on ( i) the South Africa- Botswa na concern. Zimbabwe guarantee of Lesotho's The intervention was ha.ndlecl in a That. t.h e intervention was bun ,;Labi lity forged in HJSJ4 ; and (ii) way that. made post-apartheid So uth gl ed has led to the question of wh o is SADC: 's ow n inter-sLate security ar Africa appear lit.Lie better than actua lly in charge of South Africa's ra ngements. particula rl y Article 5 its apartheid predecessor. South foreign policy. Numerous cri t.ics of t he protocol on poli tics, defense Africa's perceived new econo mi c hav<> pointed out that. neither Man a nd security. This protocol permits hegemony has a lready incited a deJa. nor Mbeki ,vere in the co untry intervention wh ere there is large growing resentment throug hout. th <" at the time. The role, if any, played by the Depa rtment of Foreign Af fa irs remains unclear, beyond post hoc justification by Deputy Minister Aziz Pahacl. F inally, much attention has been paid to stresses em ergi1.g within SADC.:. These are oft.en a.ttri bu ted to growing riva lry between Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the organi zation's failure to develop adequate dec ision-ma king structures. Devel oping such stru ctures will be diffi cult., but t he cri sis in Lesotho has pointed t.o the dangers of continuing an ad hoc approach . Lesotho must now Ji ve with the conseq uences of t.he fail ure of its political in stitutions a nd of South Africa/SADC's bungled inter vention . The best. t ha t can be hoped ts that a negotiated solution will preclude the need for Sr\DC's in vo lvement. in Lesotho's ) domestic affa irs a fter what. wi ll be a bitterl y contested electio n in l eighteen months or so. lf t ha t. outcome is achi eved , l'vi aseru might not have been bmnt. ~ dow n in vain. X ing Letsz e III at his co ronation in October 1997 Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 17 ______n@~~lli©=~~@@~@ ------~-- Current Moment in Maseru BY TSEBO MATS'ASA elections be held afresh wit. l1in t. lw won 7~ out of 80 sea.ts . A com Tsebo lvfats 'as a is Lesotlw col'!'espon next 15 to 18 months. mtssion of enquiry was appointed , dent fOI" Afi'ica Information Ahiquc According to the governn wnt. the headed by .Justice Pius Langa of main task of t.h e troops is to oversee South Africa, but its findings have In the aftermath of the storming yet to be made known. of Maseru in September by South confiscation of property that was stolen from looted businesses and 1\hu tlang said t.lw i!lt.erwntion African and Batswanan soldiers un was uei ther peat<' kcepi ng nor peace der the Southern African Develop repossession of fir earnts in t.h e hands enforcing beca.nse SAD(' vi olated all ment Community (SADC) banner, of civili ans. international lmY S rega rding peace Lesotho ponders its options and as "They should pack and go keeping rn issions. sesses the damages. immed iately. They are soldi ers of ll e said if' t.h e \.roops ld't. Business has almost come Lo a. occ upation and aggression . .. '' said t.be Ba sot. lw would work together st.anclst.ill after angry civili ans, in Reve rend .) . I\:hu tlang, a political in finding a lasli hg a.nd pea.cPfn l reaction to the military in tervention sci<'ntist and lecturer at. the NM.ional soli ILi on i. o t II <.' prohkn1. - which they describe as an invasion Uni ve rsity of Lesotho. - looted and burnt shops and offi ces. I\hut.lang sa id t.he int.ervention Tlw .J usti ce a nd l)<' il C<' D<· par\ III<'III o f' the ('atholi c Bi shops' C' ou South Africa. has already made it was not. necessary as the prohl el!ls in l'< •reii C<' said t.h a. t inviting til<' t.roops clear that. it will not be responsible !.lie co uJLt.r y were entirely a dol!l estic in \\'as just. .. a political trick to doii' II for the damage in Maseru , whi ch mat.ter whi ch had not hing to do 1Yill1 pl ay the twgotiati on,;." is estim ated to be almost. US $1 any other co untry. million. South African Safety and Unrest had been growing in ,\ group o f' \\' 0 11 1<' 11 1\' ho ca ll Sec urity 1\[ini s t. er Sydney l\Iuf'amadi Lesotho following acc usations by op th<'lll S<' IV< 'S C' 0 11 CC I'IH'd \\'o !J !P n o l' says 1 he Basotho have to ta ke position parties of poll rigging in Le,;o t ho, J· ec<' Jill y prese 11 l<'d a p<' res ponsibilit.y for t.hf' burning of the August elections, when the party titio JI to t.li e South Af'ri c;ut llig l! their capital. of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili ConJJiliss ion<' r l. o Lesollto, .Japl wt Ndl ovu , calling f'or t lw J' <' lll oval o f' More t.h an :2 ,000 peo pl t> lw ve t lw t. roop,.; . been rend ered jobl ess. T hi s. co m bined with t.h e on-goin g massive re 'l'lt<'y sai d i1 1\'ils a,.; JOJii shing trenchment fr om t.h e South Afri can tha t t. lw ,. \ t\l' \\'ould illl'il d <' Lc,;o tho mining indust.r y, and Lh e est in1 at.ed ;li'ter h<> in ;; suppo l'l ed ;111d gil'<' ll mili tary cost of about. US$:2 00 .000 a l' <' f'u ge l>y il l<' p<'o pl <' o f' Lesotii o. day th a t. Lesotho spent. during the during \ lw a nt i-apan ll<' id ri ght .. ,,_ mili tary interve ntion has intensifi ed I hi s ho\\' yo 11 I hctnk u,.;? ( ;r;m•,., poverty. or yo u Ai\(' peo pl e \\' II O, toget li <• r ll'ith so l!l c IJ asotl w, \l'<' re killed h1· Before the SXDC' 'interve ntion · 121 Harbord Street l'o rJII er a pa nli <· id ,.;o ld i<•rs a !' <' II<' I';. 5<:\ perce nt of t.l w co untry's popula i11 \l as<' ru ," ,; aid J\lalc-1';1 i\l a ph eleha. ti on was classifi ed as li ving belo\\' t.h e Toronto, Ontario M5S 1G9 ,; pokes person for ll w group . poverty ci a tum line. T h<> S,\ DC' soldi ers, 1\' ho ar< ' Lesotho is t. ot. a.ll y surrouJlll <> d IJy Our pMosoplrj is ll'id cly rd'crred \u ;1,.; "Sat ii !I ·s South Afri ca and has traditionally that travelling, and Troops'· IJ a V< ' 1)('<' 11 slaiiJni<'d for al provided clwap labour for the mines the travel business l< •ged r;qw a nd IJOo li ga ni , III. ,\bou t of Ga uteng, wh ere 50 perce nt o f' it s should reflect I :i :;o ldi Prs appea red hcf'ore t IJ< • male populati on work s. consideration for 111ilit ary co urt in Le:;o tho r< 'C<' II\I y An oth <' r bone of contention is other cultures and charged IYith rap<', bein g a l>se nt t.lw co ntinued presence of the SA DC' without l<,ave, drinking and la kin g our comm~mentto t i'Oo ps. C: cneral suspi cion over the drugs whil e on duty. They \\'P I' <' role of the troops co uld jeopa rdi ze pol~ical and giv<' ll pri so n s<· nt<' II C<'s rangin g {'ro in t he agre<> ment betwee n Lh e three econom~ change. ti\'O t. o liv <' y<' ars. main opposition political pa rt.i es :\ la.>eru. fJ Non ' mber. 1998 nnd the ruling Lesotho Congress (416) 964-3388 ( r\ IA/T., <' IJO 1\/a t., ·, .., a; for Democ ra cy, LCD, t hat. general l:!iJ 18 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT ------~lli~@Thlli ______The War Machines "'> (/) 0 '"'0 ~--~._~--~~~~~~------~~----~------~~~~--~ · • • • Again BY PIERRE BEAUDET The big regional shake-up lib1~ ra.t.ion d u Congo (AFDL). The Take the regional picture first.. A Angolan army itself, as we ll as the Pierre Bea.uder, is the Executive Direc nmjor earthquake rocked ce ntral famous Zairian "KaL a.ngueses" who tor of Alterua.ti1·es in Montreal. Africa. last year with the overthrow had been located in Angola. since Angola appears t.o be heading for a. of the Mobutu dictatorship iu Zaire. the late l\:J70s , played a. major rol e new war. Since August, both the An extraordinary African coalition in the west and the south of Za.i re Angolan government and l.JNITA was built. up around Angola. in the while AFDL forces led by Ugandan have been preparing for what could west. and Uganda. and Rwanda in the and Rwandan elite t roops pushed be another bloody confrontation in east who, with the support. of South forward from t he east. until t lwy a country which has suffered heavily Africa a nd several other central and took 1\insha.sa. after a three month over the last 25 years. Both internal southern African countries and with war. This temporary complem en a nd external (particularly regional) help provided by the United StaLes, ta.r it.y of activity expressed the need factors need to be a na lyzed in order succeeded in pushing into power a. of both Angola a nd Uganda. to se to understand these current trends new Zairian alliance. Lhe A llia.n c1' cure their borders 1vhile eliminat in the country. des forces democra.t.iques po m Ia. ing .tvl obut11 who had been a con- Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 19 ------~lli~li~------ stant. so urce of des tabilization in appeared within SADC, with South Sec ret. talks are undrr way the region. Later, in August 1997, Africa. still siding with Ugand a whil e betwee n Uganda and ,\ngola to Angolan forc es pushed their offen also try in g to play the role of broker resolvr this "technica l prohlcm ," sive forwa rd and succeeded again of peace. [(, appears that 1\•Ju :;eve ni would in terminating an unfriendly regime \'\That motivated Lu and a in this he willing to give new guarantees in Congo-Brazzaville, which had turnaround is still a ma.t.ter of spec to <>fl'ect. ively disposr of UN!TA been supporting UNTTA and dis ul ation. At first glance, domestic once hi s allies are in power. rr sident forces in the Cabinda en reasons seem most importa nt. in Uw Angola buys t hat., Lh e rebels wi ll clave. By the end of lU.V/ . the uew sense that. Luanda wanted to take access f\inshasa relatively quickly regional dispensation appeared ex ad vantage of Congolese tensions in (a Ithough this ntay a Iso depend tremely positive for those who bad order to move against U NITA ',; Con on the rolr Muga.be - whose 011·n initiated the big shake-up. golese sanctuaries. [ndeed, despite Zi111h abwea.n troops have a lso comr In ternall y in Zaire, however, t he promises made when Mobutu was to [\ abil a's defe nse - chooses to play AFDL rapid ly revealed itsell' as be overthrown , UN JTA bad cont.inu ed in the longer run). The calculation in g what it had really bee n a ll to main tain its basc·s and, moreover, in Lu anda is t herefore that. of along, a pa.t.ch-up joh bringin g to its access to a nd fr om the Congo t.o balancing of short term military gether a widP but. t.ot.ally incoher transport goods int.o Angola and to gains (against. U NITA) versus long ent spectrum of politica.l in terests. ex port. diamonds. Perhaps the en term po lit.ical threats res ulting fron1 The new president, Laurent Desire trance of Angolau troops on t he sid e a new deal in I\inshasa. where 1\ abil a soon proved unable to hold of Ka.b il a. ca n be seen, at least. in Museveni would certain ly lw Lit<' Lh i ngs together and new tensions de part, as a pretext to 111ove again:;t obvious king-maker and controller. veloped. Thus, by t l1 e spring of UN ITA direct.ly. 1998, Kabila wanted hi s eastern al Of cou rse, t.lw importa tt L lirni li es (Uganda and Rwanda., as we ll And yet, why would Angola Lat.ion in these calculations is that as the large numbers of Congolese move with Ka.b il a. against Uganda, the Angolan government is thinking Tutsi who had been important. t.o hi s a co untry which has no sp<'cia l once again in purely milit.ary terms. success) out of the picture. Soon in terest. in supportin g, direc tly or The elimination of UNITA is :::;ee n in discreet talks were heing held lw indirectly, UN IT;\? Arter a ll . a n Luanda as strictly a military proce:;s t.wePn Uganda's ~lu seveni and An anti-Kabila rebellion supported by and not. as a political otw (what.Pwr gola's DosSantos ahoul get.t.in g riel llgancla and Rvvanda cou ld have its obv ious military aspects) which of 1\a.b il a and imposing new fac es had the sa me eff 20 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT into the nationa l army (tlw FAA). porta.nt. set back when most of its ical base of the MPLA government. 1\ll a long, .J onas Savimbi made it. senior political o ffi cers based in Lu remains extremely fragile. cl1' ar that. l1e was refusing the sub anda, including top UNITA nego Such a situation seems to lead st.ance of peace by keeping away tiator Jorge Valentim, cl efect.ed a.nd to a kind of ''lose- lose'' scenario, from Luanda.. And , in tl1e mean cam e o 1i!. in support. of the govern with no side able to "resolve" the time, U ITA was conso liclat.ing its ment.. And in tlw latest. SADC' Sum crisis one way or the other and grip over the diamond-rich castem mit in Mauritius, President Do;, San with the people, in the end , as and northern region. · along the bor tos call ed Savimbi a "c riminal'' and t.he biggest losers. nut this m erely der wit.h Congo. H was reported askeu, with some positive response, prolongs a situation that has defin ed that. diamond smuggling was gener southern Africa. t.o support the gov a suffering Angola for the past :25 ating over $600 million for LJNlTi\ , ernment's efrorts to en <.I the mi li years. How to explain the unending which helps explain it s ability t.o tary st.alemat.e. And yet., despite agony? Perhaps the chief cause, maintain significant military fo rc!'S. these reverses, Savimbi is far from according to Angolan expert. David Later i11 1D\:J7 , UNITA fo rces mowd finished . He commands the bulk Sogge, is the fact that the economic on governlnent-cont.ro i! Pd zo nes. of UNITA's a rmed forces inclucl- base on which both the government u"' ~ 0 u I}) "' :::l ~~~~~~------~--~~--~------~------~~~__j ~ In Luanda., such moves havf' ing battle-hardened troops that were and UNITA are built has very little strengthened the position o r hard never dem o bilized despite the l\:J94 to do with the Angolan people. The liners like fAr\ commander .J oiio peace accords. Jn the past. Savimbi ofl'-shore oil with its yield of over $3 .1\'latos ~Yho has always advocat.Pcl has alway:; been able to extract him billion per year is appropriated by the launching of a '·wa r to the self from appareutly inevitable d!' the government and feeds the :FAA. finish'' again st UN ITA. Large-sca le feats, so it remains unclear just. what. On the other hand , UNITA lives off military purchases have been made outcome might emerge from the cur diamond smuggling. The immense by thf' government. a nd paid for l)y rent co1tfront.at.ion. profits are used by both sides to buy loans bas1~ d on future oil exports. Moreover , the Angolan govern arms and hire m ercenaries, with the ln a. co ntext of• renewed esca.la.t.i o n ment is also unsure of it.s capac Angolan people themselves rendered sPve ral important clashes occurred, ity to ''go a ll the way" as Gen more or less dispensable. particularly in l...:wamm Nort.e. In eral .1\-1a.tos would wish it. to do. ln consequence, the lack of August , llNlTA attacked UN food Many senior ollicers have expressed reciprocity between those who staff co nvoys. ln late September, reservations about the prospect of the two war machines and ordinary UNITA forces were closing in on a new and prolonged war in the Angolans has created a situation Uige, the biggest. ciLy of the i nbospi table northern and eastern where t he basic needs of the uort.h. Moreover , fac ed with all zones, and also about being bogged population in terms of food security, this, the UN peacekeeping operation down in a. prolonged stalemate in the health and education remain unmet. is a. shambles, with its effective Congo. Au additional factor is the At. t.lw present moment, according presence also nega.t.i ve ly affected continuous social and economic cri to the UNDP, Angola. is the second by the unexpected death of the sis, particularly in large cities like worst-off country in the world in UN special representative in Angola Luanda. and H.uambo. Exhausted by terms of living conditions. In the and by decliniug commitments from years of neglect, the civilian popula m eantime, the war economy remains the international community to tion is cl early in a. very dissenting profitable for a. handful of military maintain UN AVEM and prevent the mood , even if unable to express this rulers on both sides, with no end Ill military build-up. through mass movements and mass sight. True, UNITA did suft'er an im- actions. At best, in fact, the polit- Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 21 BEST OJ; TIHE ALTERNATIVE PRESS Looking for an With over 25 years of journalistic ARTI CHOKE is Western Canada's visual adventure in your experience, ALTERNATIVES is the arts magazine and winner of the 1996 most widely-read environmental Western Magazine of the Year Award for magazine reading? journal in Canada. Thought-provoking editorial excellence. Launched in Calgary in Order a sample copy of the best of articles go beyond band-aid solutions 1989, ARTICHOKE sustains a critical to consider concrete alternatives for a dialogue about visual arts in BC, Alberta, Canada's other press by simply filling wide range of environmental issues. Saskatchewan, and beyond . Each issue out the request form. Look to ALTERNATIVES for environmen features reviews, interviews, and profiles tal reports, opinion pieces, and reviews documenting art careers and events, of eco-books. cultural politics and art trends. Canadian Woman Studies les mhiers de l.a femme Bridnlng No:1h <:md Soulh .~~;tl~'rtl" (If T; ·,;n;fmr.wtivn .. .,., ...... , ...... N.,, .. ,,...... ,,...,, ,,...... ,,~ ... AA .."'( '"' ...... ~ ...... " ...... ,.....___,,-.y..,, ....,, .•_ ...... ,-.,..<...... , BRIARPATCH is Canada's award Principled . Radical. Independent. 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And you get its world readership and representa tion, award-winning investigative journalism and ground-breaking research on women's : only (no orders), e-mail [email protected] or : that the mainstream won't touch . global and community realities. • fax:(604)875-1403. • • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sou t hern Africa REPORT december 1998 23 Is GEAR Illegal? BY CAROLYN B ASSETT ri ghts that are necessary for an ill unifi ed structure has been created Caroly n Bassett. is a PhD Candidate in el usive democracy. instead. the Department of Political Science at "The stm ggle for a just; order in Jn addition to changing t he in sti Toronto's YOJ' k University. T his article South Afri ca. has not yet ended,., t utions, !. he Depart ment. of J ustice is based in p art: upon a taped transcript Om a. r rem arked . ·'We achieved a has attempted to transform t he le of the address given by So u tlz A fri can historic s uccess in 1!)94, rem o\'ing gal culture, to remove t he rac ist bi Ju stice Minister A bd ulah Omar and the white minori ty regime fr om ases of t he apart heid era. '' Bu ihl Hum an Rights Commission CJJ airper power thro ugh dem ocratic elections. ing an in dependent. jurli cia. ry, and es son Bam ey Pi tyana at Osgoode Hil ll But that did not bring about; any tablishing the rule of lrnv are t l\"0 Law School, Toronto, July 8 1998. other change. It. brougJJt ahout no very important components in I he T hanks to J\'en T uriff, Yo rk Un i ver change in the police. in t.he army. crea.Uon of a const.itut.ional slate, .. sity's m edia relations offi cer, for provid in the ci vil service. in our courts, Oma r wmmcnt.ed .. .A lawyer who ing us with the tape. in the economy. in the structural had practiced un der the old rPg ime. Om a. r noted tha t t he judicia ry was Is GEAR ill egal? T his provoca imbalances in our society. A nd so 1994, historic Uw ugh it was, never independent. despitP t.he inde tive question has seldom , if ever, pendence a nd integrity of some indi been asked of the new Sout h has been fo r us only the starting point of a. very difficult pmcess of vidual officers. "T he ethos of au a. rt. Afri can government . Nonetheless, transformation ." heid society, a society !Jasec/ on re t he bill of rights in the new South pression, seeped through the think Afri can constit ution specifi cally enu Since t he elections, the new ing of all South A fri cans. W hites '-'e merates social a nd economic rights. government has beg un to ma ke som e lieved th a.t the lega l system sen e1 l Ivl a.ny critics of the government's of t hese changes. It. fin alized a. 11 ew the people, blacks believed f.ha.t I he Growth, Em ployment and R edistri constitution , and began to overha ul lega l system m ain tained the system bution economic restructuring stra t the justice system . of OJ.IjJI'ession . At t.he level egy, G EAR, argue that it threatens or Ill a.gist.ra. t;e's courts [t.he lower level the social and economic well-bein g "We took over a South African of t he poor m a.jori ty. state which was fr agm en ted, legally co urts in South A fri ca}, the lack of and structurally, on racial and eth independence was m ost e1riden t, a nd GEAR's failure to improve basic nic lines," Oma.r o bserved . "Our racism was rampant .., human needs is unlikely to lead t.o people did not enjoy equal citizen Hum an r igh t s cu l ture a. successful legal challenge. But the ship. Under the dispensation wh ere di sjuncture between the aspira.t. ions there were ten hom elands, and one Building a. hu man ri ghts cul ture, Omar argued . is a bsolu tely ce ntral of t he constitution 's bill of ri ghts so-ca. /led R epublic of South A fri ca. to creating a. new South Africa. and the em erging socio-economic re blacks were depri ved of their South ali ty of post-apart heid Sout h Africa A fri can citizenship, as you know, T herefore. a hill of ri ghts t ha t in co rporates civil and poli tica l ri ghts. raises some uncomfortable qu estions and clecla.red to be citizens of one social and economic ri ghts, envi for t he ANC-lecl government. T hese or another lw m eland. And so t,h e ronmental ri ghts. cultural ri gh t.;; . questions loom even as the ANC pre establishment of one single equal wo men 's ri ghts a nd children's ri ghts pares for an almost-certa.i n victory citizenship is a big achievement of is prominent in t he new coust. i tu at t he polls in a. few m onths. South A tl-i ca.. Our constit utional tion. Indeed , t he valu es a.!. t.l w co re Consti tutional issues slogan 'One La w for One Nation ' of t he entire co nstitut ion , Ba m ev represents the importa nce which we Interestingly, such issues were Pityan a. noted, '·are t.he values c.; ( accord to n a.t ion-l.1 uilding in our among those that we re raised when human cli.I,!,"!Ji ty, the achievem en t, o f' CO Untry." Sout h African Justice Minister Ab equality, and the a.c.ll'a ncem ent. o{'/w dulah Omar and Human Righ ts The Department of .Ju stice has man ri p,· hts and freedoms. " Commission Chairperson Barney now integrated t.h e judicial sys 13ut. it. is on t !t is point. t !t a t. sontc Pityana were guests of Toronto's tem. T he eleven ethnica ll y a nd un co mforta ble quPstions enw rge. Osgoode Ha ll Law School on July raciall y based depa rtments of jus some of t hem fro m Pityana and t he 8, 1998. There, they spoke about tice, each with di fferent laws, per Huma n Ri ghts Commission itself. t he new government's co nstitut ional sonnel rules, fin ancial m anagement. achievements and real world chal stru ctures and practices were di s Pit.ya ua. uo t. ed that. t he l.lill of lenges to achi eving the basic huma n ma ntled . A sin gle department a nd ri ghts li sts t he ri ghts to be achi eved 24 december 1998 Southern Afri ca REPORT ------~@~~lli ~~~~©~------non-hiera rchi call y. T his implies tha t statutory, independent institutions t.inue to h ave the freedom to produce economic ri ghts are as important as that would s up por t constitut ion a l s uch reports. Despi te t he indepen poli ticn l a nd civil righ ts. Enumer dem ocracy. The I-I uman R.igh Ls den ce g uara nteed to these bodies in ating s uch rights a lso imposes du Commission (HR.C ) is o ne of thos<, the cons t.i t.ution, such concerns m ay t.ies upon government. ''If 1re are to institu tions. Its role is to encotlrage no t. be too fa r fetched . The I-IR.C carry out our m a.ndate wi U1 re.gard the government to wo rk to achieve is presently fin a nced by the govern to social and economic righ ts, em ·i the cit izen ri ghts ou t lin ed in the m ent t hrough the budget of the Min ronm en tal rig hts, fJ I"Otect in8· IVOm en constitution . ister of Justice. This led Pityana to and children, and creating er1u ality Under the constit ut ional provi suggest t ha t the government could for the first time in o ur land, this s ions , the HRC is empowered to re restrict t he scope or a utonom y of 1rill require a developmen tal state, a quest reports from government de the body through budgetary all oca state that needs to be int;erven tion part m ent.s as t.o what measures were tions. Som e day, this could compro ist t.o the exten t necessary t. o imple taken to reali ze ri ghts to food, wa mise t he HR.C's independence. cll ent t.he values or the constit;ution , ., Ler , bea.lth care. housing, social se Economic rights argued Om a r. curity, ed ucat.ion , a nd t he environ T herein . precisely, li es t he cOII m en t . l t a lso has the power t. o take Bu t. it is the first question that t radiction . If t hese ri ght s ar c to steps to secure a ppropria te redress is reall y tricky. "Surely ihe eco mean a nythi ng, government po li cy where human ri ghts, in cluding eco nomic resl.nrcturing program ap m ust. conform to t.hem . Bu t. wo uld nomic ri ghts, have been viola ted. p ears destined to j eopardize the so C:EAR. pass the t.est.? P itya n a a rgued t ha t "un til the st,iJ./,e cial auJ economic rights of poor South Africans, as has been the case Here, a difficulty for GEAR's of poverty of a large num!Jer of peo in so m any places wh ere neo-liberal n it ics, is that socio-economic a nd ple in t. he couniry is a. ddressed. for program s have spelled disaster for cultural righ ts do not appear to CJ Ja.IJ.I', the rights in the f,i/J of rip;!Jts the poor," York University P rofes he legall y en forcea.b le in t. he same are p;oing to be w eaning,· fess. ,. sor J ohn Sa ul asked the speakers . way t l1 at civil a nd political ri ghts Coul d this extend t.o m acro are. [n line wit h t he Interna Pityana. noted tha t. t here is a econ OJ uic poli cy itself? Or at tional Covena nt on Socia l, Economic li vely debate in Sout h Afri ca o n m os t. , coul d one m erely hope t.o call and C ul t ural Rights, on key socio t he GEAR . lle also suggested t hat the vari ous servi ce- prov iding govern economic ri ghts, the governlllen t. is the government accep ts that p ovPrty m e nt dep a rtments t.o task if they obli ged merely "take reasonahle lep; and human rights issues are as real fail to develo p effect.i ve p rogra m s t.o islat.il·e and other measures. within as the pressures from the global am eliorate t he impact o f neo-li bera l iis available resources. t.o achie1·e ecoll omy. "Even though there is restru ct. uring, a nd instead perpet.u the progressi 1·e rea li zation of ea rh of G EA R , from wh ere [ sit, I also see ate, perha ps even in crease, t.he im these righ ts.·· a real sensitivity to the needs of poveri shmen t created by coloniali s m the people and to improve the basic \'\' hen the const.i tu t.i ou was a nd a par t. l! eicl ? s tandarc/.5 or li ving . 1 am suggesting d rawn up, som e legal experts a r ,\ controversial report., ,'J'PEA A that. there is an mrareness. and a gued t hat. soc ial, economic, cul t. m a l o nt Again8/ Po cc ,., y, was recently commitm ent to try to address the a nd environmental rights s lw ul d he released by t. lt e llRC, t. he Gellder implications or poverty,. left. off the li st. 'entirely, precisely Equi ty Com m ission a nd t he So ut h lwcau:;e t hey can not. lw lega ll y en In fact , Mbeki 's offi ce an d Afri can NGO Coali t io n forced . 13ut. t.l 1e co nst.it. ut.ionalnego t he Inter-Ministerial Committee fo r (SANGOCO ). O ne of t.he report's t.iat.ors rejected the suggestion. "'T'\ 'e Poverty a nd Inequali ty recen tly pro cent ral recommendations was to re arg ued t;h at the issue of rip,·hts is duced the report P overty and In verse t he c;E A R. economic progra m , for fJ('O[J/c." said Omar, ·'and should equality in South A f rica. It a r a rguing t. hat GEAR clearl y h ad include those CJJ attcrs 11· hich repre gues that GEAR. is a tool to ad fail ed Lo create jobs. The report was sen t the iiSpirations o f thf' fJOO rf'st dress p overty and therefore eco based on t he inp ut o f 10,000 p eople, of t.he people of o ur co untry. t.hose nom ic rights, rather than a threat to wit h three months of hearings held ll'ho have brought. Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 25 the report. a rgued, should occ ur be a critical underst.anding of t.hc Do<•s llris sig11al a. clra11ge uf fore Lhe medium-term growth st. ra.t.e prohleins of gloiNli ization by the hea rt. on t.lw pa rt. of Mll<'ki <1 11d gws. governmenL" t.h e twxt. AN< '- l<' d governtrwnt? It .J ust.ice Minister Omar res!'.rict.ed M bek i rec.e u t. ly reHectecl upon appears unlikely t.lrat. Lir e neo- lilwra l his comments on the GEAR to its some of' t.hese pro blems. "One of the inspin·cl <'cottotrt ic st.rakgy will IH' budgetary dimensions, concluding r esu/t;s of the current intern ational abandoned i 11 su bst.a.mc, al t.houglr that. the economic strategy was a fin ancial crisis has ueen that. it. has politicians tt my be n' lu ct.anL t.o justifiable short-term measure. "We lllade it necessary 26 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT Education on Trial The Poor Speak Out BY SALIM VALLY in a manner which seem s to sug African Municipal Workers Union gest. we are alienated fr om t.he revo Salim Val/y is a policy analyst /;a.sed (SAI'vl\IVU) as ''ultra- left." because of lutionary challenge of the ed ucation in the Education Policy Unit at /.he their ca mpaign again st. the privat.i of om youth a nd m asses aud great.ly U1Jive1·sity of /.he ltVitH·atersmnd and is za tion of wat.er and municipal ser inspired by the value system which convenor of the Poverty and In equality VIces. motivates the traitor a nd the crimi HeMing on Ed ucation. Changing discourses nal." Why this kind of attack 1n the ed Over t.h <> past few weeks tlw me At the same SA DTU congress, ucat.ion ::;p h e r e'~ Education policy, dia. i11 South Africa ha.vt' had t.hf' newly elect.ecl secretary-general like poli cies in other sectors, has a fi eld clay engaging in wha t. of t.he SACP, Blade Nzimande, s il i fted fr o m (.he discourse favour can only bf' described as t. t>a.c her echoed Thabo MbPki 's sentiments in g equity, redress and access to union hashing. Ta king their when he warned SADTU t.o avoid o ne which stresses budgetary con cue froll1 Deputy Preside nt. Thabo "the ultra-leftist recklessness" which s(.raint.s, corporate manageri a li sm Mlw ki 's address t.o tile SADTU sought to ·'b reak" the tripartite al and fiscal austerity. Despite the de (Sout.h African Demona.tic Teac h liance of the ANC, Cosatu and velopment of numero us policy doc Prs' Union) congress 0 11 Se pl< 'lll the SACP. This charge o f "ultra umen(.s intended to provide a scaf bcr 1:( newspaper headlines sc ream ed leftism'' is regularly used by cab folding for schools, districts and "Drunken Teachers Lashed" and inet ministers against workers a nd provin ces to begin to address imme ·' Lazy Teachers Warned." Mbcki . other m embers of grassroots orga diate problems and the demands for wh o as one unio nist explained "has nizations who express their increas social justice, the language in which made it his hu siness to bring ing frustration with the policies of policies a re d iscussecl bas cha nged. unions into line [ll' ith the gov the government. For instance , Derek In response teacher unions such a.s ernment's C: I ~ AR (Growth, Em Hanekom , the land affairs minis SADTU have deno unced the na pl oyment and Redistributive Sta.t. ter, recently launched a stinging at tionn.l and provin cial departments egy) policy)" scathingly admonished tack on the 1 at. ional Land Com for ··not promoting the interests of teachers said t.o b t> dereli ct. in pursuit. mittee (NLC) after the organiz~tt.ion work in g class c.ommnnities by ad of their professional d u t.i es. More called for the scrapping of the prop dressing inequalities in the educa over, his a ttacks were not only a imed erty rights clause in the constitu t.i on system." Besides resisting the at "drunken" and ·'lazy'' tPachers tion. The NLC an umbrell a organi ret.renchment. of teachers (which the but also at. teacher miiitants. Th ~ zation which champions farm work unions have temporarily stalled by a following extract. from hi s belli ger ers ' and dispossessed communities near strike in mid-June) such unions <-' nLiy sarcasti c speech convevs the rights to the land was dismissed by have criticized the government. fo r essence of his t.one (not.P too t.h e dis Hanekom as "stubbornly frivolous'' fa iling to prevent overcrowding in fi rming use of t.lw associa t.ive '"we," and "ultra-left." Its crime? The schools; fai ling to prevent ad eli tiona! t'vlh eki apparently seP king in t.his NLC in their presentation to the costs of fin ancing education being ll'ay to signal his affinity with t.h e parliamentary land committee had passed on to schools and conse lf'ac hers Pven IYhil e mercilessly cas insisted that the property clause quently parents; failing to create a. tigating t he1nl) : .. . .. t.he members was an impediment to the process funcliu g mechanism to address the of SADTll, stand out. as competent, of land restitution. (Since HJ94 disparities bt>(.ween the previously practit.ioners of tlw (.oyi-t.oyi. We less than 1% of South Africa's to advantaged and clisaclvautaged ; and conw across as militant. fighters for tal farmland area has been redis failing to provid e textbooks a nd a better pay cheque a ( the end or tributed to the land reform's target ot.her educational resources. the month. We are seen as excell ent. group, poor, black, rural households: t.a ct.icians as to \\'hen t.o disrupt. t.h e this contrasts starkly with the RDP Most. ana lysts of the schooling school programme so t.hat. we can ex promise to redistribute :30% of the system in South Africa agree with tort from the Government the grt>al. country's land to black hands in its SADTl T that manifest and mass ive <,s l material benefit for ourselves and first five-year terml) Similarly, the in equalities remain despite m a rginal n ca L<' space for oursel vcs t.o improve constitutional affairs minister Valli intprovem ents to facilities, a nd at. o ur ow n qu ali fications. 'vVe behave Moos a has also labelled the Son th t.em pts to instill a democrati c et.h o,.; Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 27 and to increase access. Differentia aggravated the apartheid legacy of ity of schools. Note in this regard tion in schooling increasingly occurs a shortfall of classrooms, an absence that the Education Laws Amend along class rather than racial lines. of basic utilities and infrastructure ment Act allows governing bodies There see ms to be an expansion in such as electri city, water , toilets, fur to employ ad eli tiona! teachers from stead of a diminution of the resource niture and libraries, and continues their own funds: in an apparent con gap and education quality indicators the paucity of training for eel ucators, text of market competition among between richer a nd poorer schools. managers, governing body m embers schools this can only further the dif Many ha.ve also expressed con and district officials. Moreover, such ferentiation between schools. cern that the rapid growth of pri apartheid inherited inequalities have Poverty and inequali ty vate schools, colleges and companies been further exacerbated not only providing private eel ucation poses by underfunding but also by mis As one of several related initiatives a growing challenge to public edu management, improbity, new forms (including the Poverty and Inequal cation. The extent to which ed of wastage, lax administrative and ity Report - PIR - prepared for ucation has become a commodity financial mechanisms and the un the office of the deputy-president to be paid for by those who want availability of reliable data. and the inter-ministerial co mmit and can afford it, and from which Such school funding policies are tee on poverty and inequality and companies can profit, is seen by seen to contradict previous commit the Poverty Summit convened by the phenomenal growth of corpora ments to fr ee pre-primary, primary Archbishop Ndung~ne) , the above tized ed ucation and training co n and secondary education. While de m entioned Poverty and Inequality cerns listed on the Johannesburg centralization allows local commu Hearings have highlighted, in recent Stock Exchange. For instance , nities a greater role in schooling, months, the extent of poverty and in this quarter the South African it paradoxira.lly also forc es them t.o inequality in South Africa. and pro owned Education Investment Corpo carry the fin a ncial burden of etluca vided some clearer sense of the con ration (Educor) acquired four co l tion costs. Although the argument text within which education issues leges in Canada for the sum of is made that the payment of school should be vi ewed . about $1.4 million. In South Africa, fees by some communities will fr ee Educor provides services to 300 ,000 up resources for poor schools , many Convened jointly by the South students through schools and col observers feel that, in conditions of African NCO Coa.l itiou leges like Damelin, Allen by, Midrand already existing disparities, this will [SANGOCO], Ll1e South Africa n lfu Campus , Academy of Learning and tend to perpetuate inequality in ed man Rights Commission [SA llllC] others. By March of this year, the ucation, with poorer communities a nd the Commi::>s ion for C: c• nd Pr market capitalization of Educor ex who desperately req uire quality ed ! ~ quality [CCE] , th e Hea rin gs drew ceeded R2 .5 billion (not co nsidering ucation on ly able to aff"ord rudimen ro vidence primarily fr om peo pl e's the Canadian acquisition). Educor's tary provision. li ved experi ence of poverty. BP education arm has 160 branches Recently, the Poverty a nd In twee n 3l March a nd l9 J UII e ovP r and franchises, employ ing 4,000 aca equality Hearings have shown that 10 ,000 people participated in t.lw demics, lecturers and t.rainers. m embers of many impoveri shed campaign by either at.t. ending the hearings, mobilizing communities or R ich over poor communities cannot even afford fees of less than R.100 per year, a nd this ma king submissions. Not sin ce Small wonder critics contend t.hat. does not in clude out-of-pocket ex the Workers' C ha rter Campaign he the government's macro-economic penses such as uniforms, transport., twee n 1989 and 19\J l have so n1a11v policies, specifically GEAR food and school initiated sporting peopl e expressed their views in ::>neil (Growth, Employment and Re and educational excursions. Al co mpelling ways. While thousand>< distributive Strategy), strengthens though it is true that legislation pro of people related stories of impov market forces and therefore richer hibits schools from denying admis eri shment., dismal drudgery, dashed constituencies over poorer commu sion to pupils whose parents can expectations and an un caring, aloof nities . And yet the latter communi not pay, and allows for the par and often call ous bureaucracy, there ties, as many analysts have pointed tial or total exemption of parents was little evid ence of su ll e 11 apa out, require resolute state involve who earn below a certain income thy or hopeless resignation. N a t.u ment in social sectors in order to threshold (parents who are not ex rally, the lethal mix of brutalizing rectify historically accumulated in empted from paying fees can be sued co nditions peopl e find themselves in equalities. by governing bodies), various strate provides the ideal in gredients for Thus, in schools, the impact gies can be employed to prevent ad anti-social behaviour such as rape, of fiscal a usterity measures has re mission to pupils from poorer fam child abuse, gangsterism and general sulted in cuts in textbook supply, ilies, not least because a prepon cnme. the removal of transport subsidies derance of non-fee paying parents And yet, while such morbid and cleaning services. It has also will affect the revenue-raising a bil- symptoms were evident, so too 1rere 28 december 1998 Southern Africa REPOR T nu merous examples o f ini tia.ti ve, cre tributes to improved conditious o r Sekhn t he testified t hat.. after losing ativity and courageous attempts a t aggravates poverty and inequa lity, her j o h as a domestic worker , s h<:> mere survival against t he severe la ck and recommendations on the m ea is no longer a ble to afl'o rd the bus of resources a nd other odds stacked sures required to assist gro ups to ac fares for transporting her children to against peopl e. It becarn <:> clear cess t heir socio-econo mic ri ghts. Not school. And Noel J(ok o f Prieska, that, instead of being defensive, gov :;urprisingly, t he education sector described how he a nd his wife sold ernment o ffi cials need to !wed the was am ongst t hose focussPd upon fo r t heir cupboard in ord er to pay their st>ntiments of ordinary people who a. specia l sub-set o f hearings daughter 's examination fees. s poke wit.h passion, often usin g the t> loquence of local idiom born of A number o f' peopl<, hi ghlightPd li ved experi ence and struggle. T he The Education H earings t.he shortage of schools wit hin a eviden ce ga.t herf' d from the dusty The E ducation Hearings, as o ne part. reasonable distance, as we ll as t he townships, sprawling inform a l set of t he overall hearings process, were lack o f' transport, while others spoke tl ements and neglect.ecl backwaters held fr om t. he l Ot h to the l:l t h of school fees that we re unafforda hl e. has more au thority than t he glossy. J uue in Thabong, f\1 a nguang a nd While many school govP rning bodies are sympathetic to t hese parents, others are not, aud have illega ll y excluded pupils or withheld exam results if pupils did not pay fee:;. As Violet Nevari observed: '·Our new government promised us fr e<' Pducatio n b ut to our s urprise. when ~ we go t.o :;chool, t he ki ds do n't hav< ' ~ books or tlw whole package. 'l'IH' Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 29 .;,£ 0 2 D ~ ...,(]) Vl 0 0 1\:onela Lekhafola , spea king for co m <:> to the rea li zation that "It is Many of these suh111i:;s ions pro Lhe Free State llnemployPd C:radu not tts that rauS<' t.lw prohlettl hut vid P tww in sight::; int o t.lw proh a.te lnit.i at. iv <" (FS1_1( :l), soberly r<' government. polic i<·s and d< ·ri cit.s." IPms COil fronLing ed uration i 11 Sou tIt m inded those assembled at. t.lw Hear He challenged govern nw nt to :;e l up Africa.. The N<' t.work },gaittsl Chil d ings that thousands of graduates arP a co mmission for un employ<·d peo La l>o ur for iust.ance :;h011· that t.lw un employed a nd have no entploy ple: "If we as gradual<'" can ' t. find vast llt ajorit y of child wor k<•rs at ment. opportunities. Many tWo pl e work then what. about those without tril.)l[\.c tlwir ::; uspcnsion or :;t ud y to like .Johanna Sebet lcla ex pressed the degrees. . . . \ \ "e n<•e d to lw in vol vee! the pOV<,rty or t.l wir pa rent.:; aud c\ll fear that her younger brother would in finding the solut.ion ... <'V<' II gr<'ate r nt ajoril y arlw t.o re cl rop ou L from school lwca us<' ·· so t.um to schooL It is tt ot. lt o\\"('l.<' r. Golf cou rses many standard tens have passed llut. o ttly the <'X[l<'llSc,; itiCLILT<'d to pa.y they a. re just roaming around he lu addition to tl w w rhal t<":;ti sc hool l"ces t"lt al indue<' par<•nts to cause there are no jobs.'' While monics, the Cducalion Tlwnte co withdraw their children l"ro111 ,;cl10ol. FSUG I aims to discourage anti ordinators receiv<··d scores of IV rit. lt is also the pot.e ntial or til<' chil social acts by getting '·young gradu t.en submissions from parents. teac lt dren to help the family wit.lt sottl<' ates t. o assist with vo luntary sen·irl's ers, school governing hody tncm ea rnings. lt o\\"('Ver slttall I hes<' ttw y in the co mmunity," l\: onela [Pit a\. hers, l.CCD and adult edu cation and ::;ee m. Bes id es school f< '<' ::>. the midi the ve ry minimum they require :;onw training providers a ucl learner:;. stu tiona! costs o l' t.ransporl . staL iotwry form of basic subsistence a nd train dent a nd youth orga ni za. t.io n,; , trade and lltJifonn:; 30 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT of children for many year:; during m en t. 's own Poverty and Ineq ua l t.o provide resources for t.l1e effec Iri s stint as a poli tica l prisouer 0 11 ity Report (produced by a. gro up t.ive training of educators, governing Hohlw n Island a nd uow working for led by Julian May of the Uni ver body m embers a nd officials with re t.lw Chi ldre n's Hesource ( :e nt.re. ar si t.y of Natal) itself registered the sponsibilities at. a ll levels of t.b e sys gues !.hat children lea. r11 pri1n a rily fact that So uth Africa's distribution tem. Obviously, it. is not. a ques t.hrougll play a nd y<'l that. acl. iv of income a nd wealth is among the t.ion of merely throwing money at it.v "whi ch is e:ose nt.ial for t.be dP most unequal in t.he world, with over t.h e problem . lt. is also necessary V<: Io pnwnt of t.h e child is, for t.l1 e 50% of households, or 19 million to a. ug n1 ent. t.he info rllmt.i on sysl'.<~ m s majority of the children iu So 11t.h people, being classified "poor." The with reli abl <> data in order to make Afri ca , e~ . cco ruplish e d i11 t.lw lll OS t. PIR also specificall y criticized the info rmed policy decisions. (For ex unhea lthy, iu creasingly dangero us assumption that economic growth ample, at. present few provinces can and most. unst.imula t.ing o f e nviron would, t.hrough a. trickle down pro give precise figures as to t he number m ents.'' Solomons points o ut. t.hat cess, reach l.he poor and t hat all of t. ea.rhers in their provinces, a nd Cape Town has twf'lve impeccably that is required is a. freeing np of yet we are told , the teachers who re groomed a nd ma.uicmed golf courses markets a nd the removal of state sist. retrenchment say that there is ranked as amongst. the best in the controls. However the compile rs of an excess of teachers I) world. Yet there are no parks for the PIR report attempt. to dem on children on the Cape Flats which strate that. government policies a nd !\-lore generally, it. became ev i even com e close to the quality a nd programmes do refi ect a. broad com dent. t.ha.t. school reforms ca nnot be facilities of the golf courses. He in mitment to reducing poverty - even successful unless th e n~ is a. concomi dignantly cone! ud es that "what. this while suggesting t.hat. more of the t.a nt. a.t.t.t•mpt. t.o uplift. t.hc impover in effect means is that the average current. expenditure needs to be tar ished socio-economi c status of t.h e white South Africa n male (with a geted specifically towards the poor. rommu11iLi es most schools are lo few black ones joining them of late) (and suggest.ing, too, that severe cat.<'d iu . For n1auy t.h e social cost has much more playing space than weaknesses in planning and imple of privileging deficit. reduction above the average black South African m entat ion exist) . P erhaps the ma t.lw goal of providin~ 4ua.lit.y edu child. V\11.' cannot think of a bet. j or limitation of the PIR, however, rat.iou and other bas ic needs is too t.Pr example t. o demonstra. t<, t he im is that it. recommends a repri ori high . ln any case, t.he assumption m orality of t he situation in t.his tizat.ion of expenditure within the that resources are just not avail country at present.'' given budgetary limitat.ions without. able needs to be questioned . It can exploring the possibilities of going be a rgued instead that this is in Test.imony a ft er t<'s t.inl o ny J'<' beyond these limits. deed obtainable but that it. requires lllinded us o f t.lw sanifi ces 1wopl e firm political will to cha llenge dom 1n ade t.o eud ,\part.lwid and how at. In t.lw Povf'rt.y and Inequality inant interests. Small wonder that t.h e point of vinory t.l w fruit.s of Hearings t.he poor identified for the Hearings convenors suggested a t heir labour a r<> '·s uat.ched away hy themselves a ra nge of obstacles pre broad programme for government a new e li te.·· This viell' \\'as <>x venting t.lw e radication o f' pov<' rty. officials and politicians tha t would prc'ssed by a rather o l' t hree chi ldren At t. ll e conclusion of these nat ion include: reversing GEAR; increas at. a t.ime when his childreu 's school wide hearings tlw convPnors ar ing social spending and m eeting ba he~cl l.wt> u closed beca use o f "llnh v ranged a. list o f rcspo nsibilitiPs for sic needs: renegotiating the Apart gieni c co nditi o u ~" resulting fro m t l..w politicians. gove mme nt. o fTi cia.ls , the heid debt; and treating the poor ret.renchn wnt. of cleaning staff'. This private sector and civil societ.y in or and their concerns with far more re parent.. a lso t. lw cl1 a irpe r:o o n of Lhc der t. o ensure t.hat the fight. t. o <' lid spect and dignity. Would such a pro Phoeuix ComJnunity Educati on Fo povert.y lwcomes t.lw 1mt.ion 's prior gramme of creating the resources for rum , declared t.hat. "toget.her with ity. genuine equality not. a lso have t.o in thousands of other people [ picket.Pd volve such things as cutt.ing down on In the education sector t.his must. demanding ·fr et> education.· ·acces the unnecessary annual expenditure i nvol V<> an increase in the a. ll ocat.ion sible educat.ion uoll' ,' ·equa l educa of RlO billion on defense, and reduc o f' resources to poorer schools. a re tion ,· · h o u s in~ for a ll.' hcf'or<' t.ll<' ing tax concessions to big business? visiting of the school funding wodel lV \H <' IPet ions. I 1\'iiS arn•st.<' d 111auy And isn't it just a. little t.oo glib and t.lw elin1in a.t ion of the wa.st. e t inl<'s. The lc' Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 31 0 ------~®Wdl@Wlfl~------=--- Apartheid in South Africa is offi cia ll y over, but t he violence that underpinned the white regime fo r nearl y !)Q yea rs li ves on. Today, how ever, it is as likely to ravage the li ves of middle-class whites as a ny o ther citizen. Nadin e Gordimer's T he Ho use Gun, a story of a white. middle class family changed forever by violence, doesn't attempt to create a n allegory of life in Sout h Africa today. But in her unfolding of this private tragedy, a ll the t hemes of a nger , guil t, truth and reconciliation t.lulL dominate the public scene are just as centra ll y located. The fam il y a re the Lindgards. Jla ra lcl a nd C la udi a Lindgard are ' li beral' whites he a senior insurance exec utive involved in tlw housing sector, s ite a doctor 11·lw for years has worked one clay a week at a clinic that provides the on ly health services avail able to poor blacks. Their only chil d is 20-sometl1in g Duncan, an architect. in volved in a vo latile relationshi p with a s ui cidal young woman, Natal ie. One unremarkable even 1u g, a m essPnger com es to Lurn ll arald a ud C laudia's calm , pro tected life inside o ut. T lw m essengPr is fr o m Dunca n 's ho usehold \\"here lt e Ii v<'S' comm una ll y wit h a handful o f young whit e and black men. An10ng the things t hey sha re is a gun that \\"a s "always sonw11· lw re about, 11 0 tiS <' havin g it for p ro tection if when the lime came no o ne 1\·ould renwmher where it ~Yas safely stashed a11·a.y." Duncan, t lwy <11'<' told. has lwe 11 a rr<'st<'d for using that. gu n to murder one of his housemates. r\lt l! o ug h a lllurder is at the The House Gun hear( of the s t. o ry, t he re is no who dun-it m ystery. There is never a ny doubt t hat Dunca n pulled t hP A REVIEW BY LOIS BROWNE trigger. There is not even a mystery about. Duncan's m otiv<', a lt hough Lois Browne, a Toront.o based writer , Na din e Gonlimer. The Ho use Gun. that revea ls itself m o re :; low ly. B ttt is a member of tl1 e SAR editorial Farrar, .':/tra1ts and Giro uJ:, New there is a mys te ry fo r the Liudgarcl s collective. York, 1988. 29 -)Jip. ISBN O-:J7.j - who cann ot understand how it is 1TJ 07-9 t hat t heir in tellige nt a nd ca nng 32 december 1998 Southern Africa REPORT 0 ------~®\Wn®ww~------son can lw brough t. to kill anol It er by a kn owledgea ble whit.e fri end o l' dura bl e p wvoca t.i on a nd tlw prox human being. Ha ra ld ·s. as .. eminently capa bl e'' o f imity o f ti l<' g un . Jyin g Oil a II C CII'I l~ sav iJJ g Dunca 11 l'ro m a lengthy prison t. a bl e thro ugh CCl relessncss a ttd co iu Overnight., Ha ra ld i111d ( :Ja udi a se ntence o r wo rse. cid ence, th a t. d rove Dunca n t.o kill . become co nsumed lly t.hi s qu t>s l.i o n. Dttnca n ·s ru r. ure depronds 0 11 wlwtl wr Iro ni ca ll y. the Lindga rd s find o r no t. t.h e judges lw lit0 V<' (.!t a l lw did During t.he pre-tri a l JWri o d , co mfort and ;; upporl Southern Africa REPORT december 1998 33 CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN STUDIES/ ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES ETUDES AFRICAINES 1999 CONFERENCE OF THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN STUDIES Universite Sherbrooke/Bishop's University Sherbrooke /Lennoxville Quebec, Canada June 4- 7, 1999 "DEMOCRATISATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: HISTORY, PRESENT STATE, FUTURE PROSPECTS" The Canadian Association of African Studies The organisers are planning to .reinstate the invites proposals for papers and panels for its graduate student workshop next year and to integrate annual conference. it into the conference rather than to hold it as a Our statement of the conference theme addresses separate event. There will be roundtables on subjects a major contemporary issue, but we do not intend it to of special interest to students, such as preparing be restrictive. For instance, historical papers that manuscripts and theses for publication, and analyse the social impact of earlier political transitions, opportunities to present their research-in-progress, such as the onset of imperial rule or decolonisation, thesis proposals or other work for interdisciplinary will certainly be welcome. comment and assessment by specialists in their fields . We will be especially interested in presentations that The Fraser Taylor Prize will be awarded for the best try to get below the surface of political transitions (of paper presented by a graduate student at the whatever kind) to analyse their underlying socio conference. To be eligible for consideration, papers economic contexts and effects, for example: their must be complete, including notes and be of near impact on poverty and inequality; their sustainability publishable quality. given the state of civil society; their likely implications Students may elect to offer either a full paper for for public and welfare services (health, education, presentation in a regular session or a shorter work for infrastructure development). presentation at a research-in-progress session. The Proposals for papers and panels on any latter will not be eligible for consideration for the Fraser subject of interest to Africanists are welcome, Taylor Prize. whether or not they relate to the conference theme. Travel Subsidy Limited travel funds are available for graduate students. Eligibility criteria are the following: 1. CAAS membership. Students receiving travel monies who are not already members of CAAS will be asked to join at registration. Paper or research-in-progress proposal and abstract submitted by the deadline, January 29, 1999. Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities dues paid. Two copies of the paper or research-in-progress proposal submitted at registration. Original travel receipts, excluding meal expenses, to be sent to the CAAS secretariat by June 30, 1999 (Students billing CAAS for accommodation will be reimbursed on the basis of shared residence accommodation) For Further information, please contact: Ms Loy Denis, CAAS Secretariat Centre d'Etudes de l'Asie de l'Est,Universite de Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre Ville Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7. Tel: (514) 343-6569 Fax: (514) 343-7716