South Africans V w h o r e f e c t the constitutional to to® conned. WITS STUDENT ADVERTISEMENT Bs there really any choice? APARTHEID CONSTITUTION NO THANKS! SIGN THE NUSAS PETITION T MS Features ie A tory •separation ol power’ lo ‘power sharing* with the incorporation ol Coloureds and InJuns mio I he propi*scd sirueiure. Botha Our New considers ih»s %o necessary. thal he is prepared lo spin his own party lor it. It is a last-ditch attempt to co-opt the middle-, class Coloured' and Indians. Model Army Despite this risk, he has tailed to convince the oppressed that ‘W in their hearts and inindsand their bodies will lollow. .This has this power sharing is genuine. gradually become the ethos ol the S A D K Krom 1977. in response I hey see it as an aitm pt to divide to the political and economic crises, the SADK began to intervene them along racial and class lines. directly in total strategy Its new role was to'guarantee the svstem I hey see it as an attem pt to o f free enterprise, not A lrikancrdom '. I hus the war was seen as divide them along racial and W ( socio-economic and only 10* i military’. As Major General class Itnev Bosholf declared: ‘II we lose the socio-economic struggle then we need not even bother to fight the iiiiliiu ry struggle'. I he dem and for real political power has always been the This attitude was endorsed in business circles. As Harry central point of the struggles ol Oppcnheimcr commented: 'II you arc going to operate a business the oppressed lull represen­ successfully you want to do si* in a /wih cIu I utnunphcrc and the tation on all levels ol govern­ only way lo have a peacelul atmosphere is to enable black people ment. on a onc-pcrson-one-votc to d o better jobs and leel part ot the economic system.* Ihus. not surprisingly the SADI- and business hase begun to basis. tn SA this would mean the intervene directly in key decision-making political bodies. Until now they have had direct representation on six non-parliamentary abdication ol power by the cabinet committees. W ithin the State Security Council they have ruling clavs. coordinated and participated in the activities ol 15 interdepart­ Basic Demands mental committees. It is the SSC. rather than parliament that has become 'the most influential decision-making institution . Ihe New Constitution contra­ This situation will worsen with the constitutional proposals. dicts the basic demands lo the T he structure of the proposals deliberately shilts power to a non- people: parliamcntary executive: accountable only to the State President, • It was . undcmocralically not the electorate. drawn up by unrepresentative The power of the SAl)l- is even more astounding, if we look at middle class conservatives ap­ its role in the economy. Undoubtedly the spiralling defence pointed by the government, and budget is a drain on the economy: the I9K2 Kj budget was KJ 06* it was b u lldo /cd through par­ m illion, ic about KX m illion per day. But this is offset somewhat liament. by the profitable arms industry. Armscor is the third largest • It excludes 8(K r ol the Black financial undertaking in SA. and in 19X2 it delivered arms worth population. How can it therelore R I 400 m illion. In 1976. 75', ol the government’sdelcnee budget be called rclorm ? was spent in SA. 90' i ol this in private industry. Armament • It maintains (hc (jroup related industries employ o ver 100 IKK) workers. The SADF can also control the economy through 2 major Areas Act. the community pieces of legislation. The National Supplies and Procurement Act councils, the bantustans. allows the SADF to order any person or company deemed to • Government repression will produce ‘vital goods' to supply the SADF. I he National Key remain unchecked. W e have seen Points Act permits the Minister to declare any building a ‘key evidence ol this with the recent point" and to force the owners to meet stringent security spate ol detent ions and the ‘the security ol the state*, to that conflict at Fort Hare last year, requirements. which a fleets ‘other interests of very important. This strategy has been introduced primarily where authorities responded toa the Republic* as well, it could be through the Civic Action Programme (CAP) whereby 'service­ peaceful student protest by order used to prevent the disclosure ol men' are seconded to bantustan government, black education the police to beat up. sjambok corruption (eg Inlo Scandal) or institutions, or as engineers and technical advisors. I he C A P has and arrest students. alleged government activity out­ met with resistance eg there have been several Soweto schools • The Constitution introduces side SA (lor example, in Angola, enormous centralization ol boycotts against the use ol S A D f teachers. in Mozambique, the Seychelles South Alrica's intensifying civil war and the Namibia stalemate power. have also forced the SADK to introduce more rigorous , coup. or arms sales to • It ignores the redistribution ol conscription. I hus the 1982 Defence Amendment Act increased Argentina): or to hush up land and wealth and the pro­ the pool ol conscripts and lengthened their call-up period. detentions. I he government can vision o f services which are It is not surprising that the intention to call up Coloureds and now act without lear ol dis­ called for in the Freedom Indians is now being expressed. Already Africans. Colouredsand closure. Charter. Indians constitute a suable 10^ of the Permanent Force and by V tr \cw»i>uf>rr RcgiMrulittn { Ami'iutimni Hill increases con- Genuine change 1982 40rc o f the forces in the operational area were black. But as Transvaal NP leader FW de Klerk commented: ‘You can't ask a ; trol over the press. ) If the government is seriously man to light lor his country ,1 he can't vote. Thus the inclusion ot Coloureds and Indians into a racially weighted, undemocratic : . I he relative insignificance ol thinking about change and needs parliamentary system must be seen as a means ol credibly h these reforms, and opposition proposals that all the people accept they need only look to extending ihe SADK conscription. The expectation ol Coloured from both poles of the political new harsh the Freedom Charter. It was and Indian resistance partially explains the > scene have brought ‘T otal draw n up from views collected conscientious obtcctor pcnalnes c Strategy to a standstill. / by 50 000 organisers from • The C onstitutio n is the stale's m illions o f people of all races v latest attempt at political and classes in South Alrica. Ha* T restructuring. It has been a risky a more democratic proposal lor c venture involving great ideo- change ever been drawn up in logical leaps and a shill Irom S outh AfricaT • Nusas I9H2. The reform-repression strategy of (he South African state, outlined in the feature, affects every aspect of life in South Africa. Those who are unemployed have been shunted off to the Bantustans, where they stand little or no chance of re- employment. The state m oon *relorms' In the areas of education, health and housing. But the effect o f these reform] is merely to shift the state's social responsibilities into the hands of the private sector. Moreover, the reforms which have been implemented do not even go a fraction of the way towards an alleviation of these ills to m ention but a few: • A housing shortage so drastic that at lean R] 700 million n necessary to meet the current needs. • Livint conditions which give rise to diseases — bubonic plague, cholera, malnutrition and tuberculosis — which are almost unknown in 'white' South Africa. Afarfn Jochelson and Matthew Kentridge - the 83/84 •Crossly inferior education for blacks, whose protests against this are answered with lockouts and detentions. Until this situation has been redressed, the very mention of BM nagHBaaaBgagaaaan^nnpw reform, let alone meaningful change, is laughable. Israel— Ciskei: Kar Niehaus and Jansie Lourens have been charged with treason ,,udem' *nd fiancee b a schoolteacher. Both have been detained in solitary confinement for almost two months. Katherine Hunter, who has not been 'barged, is also being held. SAUJS’ say Karl and Jansie are people who arc concerned about the The article headed ‘The Israel government plays no part in this injustice and inequality of their society. Link* on page 14 of W in Student and there is no Ciskei trade We extend our solidarity to them during their trial. Vol 35 No 17 combines fact and mission with official sanction in fiction to produce the usual Israel. Being a free and de m o­ Wits Student fully supports those journalists who came out in distorted picture of Israel. cratic society, private Israelis are protest against the actions of the East Rand Administration The thrust of the article is that free to conduct business w ith Board at Katlehong last week. links between the South African whoever they choose. and Israeli governments are not ERAB officials brutally attacked squatters, press and M ost am azing however is tnat only commercially sound but clergymen and ironically enough had to be restrained by the while the Ciskei is hardly recog­ ideologically bound through South African Police from further assault. nised by Win Student as being their mutual 'virulent anti­ credible on any other issue, their com m unism ’. This is a blatant This is the last edition o f Wits S tudent this year.