As South Africa celebrates 10 years of democracy, Roelf Meyer looks back at the progress made since apartheid was ended and forward to the challenges ahead.
A decade ago South Africa became a fully democratic nation after more than three centuries of white minority rule. This was the result of four years of negotiations between the leaders of the black majority and white minority, culminating in a peaceful transition, something deemed impossible during the apartheid era.
Ten years onwards, the question remains whether the South African miracle is still holding and whether the country has performed according to expectation. As someone who was intimately involved in the negotiating process, I remain fully convinced that our negotiation ideals were indeed realised. We successfully eliminated the core of South African conflict by replacing minority rule with an all new paradigm based on equal rights for all, and by safeguarding those rights through constitutional institutions. As a result, we witnessed a continuation of the reconciliation process and an ongoing decline of the influence of radical elements in society.
The political stability in the country contributed to economic growth and the capability to redistribute resources to previously disadvantaged communities, such as supplying infrastructure and services to areas that previously had none. South Africa also made significant progress in establishing its international influence, both inside and outside of Africa, bilaterally and multi-laterally. South Africa can rightfully be described as one of the leading developing countries in the world today. Bearing in mind the country’s pariah status a mere decade ago, this fact gains significance.
Total restructuring
Apart from the metamorphosis of the constitutional and political landscapes, both the economic and social environments have undergone a total restructuring since 1994. At the public sector level, a barely noticed revolution took place, while services continued smoothly and uninterrupted. The changes were initiated through affirmative action programmes, creating opportunities for hundreds of thousands of South Africans, who had earlier been prevented from working in this sector because of apartheid policies.
In the private sector, black empowerment policies were gradually introduced and applied, shaping this environment as well. This process is generally and quietly managed by way of agreements and understandings between government and the corporate sector. In certain sectors of the economy, such as mining, banking and services, the process has progressed quite efficiently to the extent that significant shareholding and ownership have been transferred to black empowerment groups.
More to do
On the whole, however, there is still room for major improvements. The previously disadvantaged masses have to be truly empowered, steering clear of a system where only some individuals benefit.
On the level of civil society, the picture is not as clearly defined. Civil society had been extremely well-organised and effective in the struggle against apartheid, especially towards the end of that period. In the years before the reforms started, many organisations and structures supporting government and apartheid policies began to play a constructive role in persuading the government to accept change.
By the time of the transition, civil society had almost become redundant in the minds of many. With the struggle behind them, many activists had joined the government, whereas others became involved in business. The cause that had driven so many suddenly ceased to exist as former activists became members of the new establishment. On the other hand, organisations supporting the former government’s cause were left uncertain of their future role. Consequently, civil society generally faded into obscurity.
The scene remained unchanged until the arrival of the new millennium. As South Africa evolved into a genuine democracy, civil society re-emerged in a more apparent manner, albeit transformed in many ways. Clearly not an overnight process, this essential facet of the country’s national life has started to play its rightful role in ensuring South Africa’s status as a vibrant democracy.
The most significant factor in this regard is that civil society has spontaneously started to focus on issues related to the new South African environment. It has begun to define its new cause in terms of a responsibility to raise living standards for all South Africans. Until now, it has not been possible for civil society to fulfil its proper role. Together with the government and organised business, civil society can for the first time work towards ensuring the complete democratic dispensation in South Africa.
New role for civil society
While it could be argued that the absence of significant opposition in the political arena undermines the status of our democracy, the presence of an active civil society could provide the necessary checks and balances. The main actors in this field have changed their strategies: the unions have turned from the struggle for liberation into organisations attending to the interests of their members; churches and religious organisations currently focus on health, education and other special needs, in addition to their religious objectives.
At present, the dominant issue facing civil society is the Aids pandemic. It has taken a distressingly long time before the gravity of the situation and its specific needs have hit home. Thousands of organisations are involved in all aspects and on different levels of the issue. It seems that civil society has realised and accepted that it has to take on the leading role in the campaign to create awareness, distribute information, as well as treating and caring for victims of the disease.
Fulfilling potential
Any reflection on the period since the transition cannot avoid the shortcomings, raising questions and speculations. Can South Africa perform better and what is required to allow for improvement?
Unfortunately the country is not fulfilling its potential. There is a need for more growth to create work opportunities. Unemployment is far too high and so no significant decline in poverty levels can yet be reported. This feeds a high level of crime, causing prospective investors to hesitate. Hence the negative impact on growth, which continues the negative pattern.
Pondering on the way forward, one wonders how the next 10 years will take shape. Different scenarios can be projected, but the key factor in all the scenarios seems to be poverty. An upward development curve could be predicted if the level of poverty could be effectively reduced, allowing an abundantly positive scenario to emerge.
The other extreme predicts a negative, or possibly devastating, result if the level of poverty remains as high or even increases, leaving South Africa as just another under-developed country.
Accordingly, the main concern is how to address the issues of poverty. Apart from all the usual factors, such as education, health, Aids and the social environment, which need to be addressed to enhance overall participation in the economy, the issue of slow economic growth compared to the country’s needs remains of the utmost relevance. The current growth rate of 2.5%-3% will not allow for a significant decline in the level of poverty. A rate of 5% and upwards is required to make an actual difference. The earlier statement regarding South Africa’s failure to reach its full potential is based on these factors.
More time needed
A number of explanations can be given for the under-performance of the country. It is indeed true that much had to be done in order to correct the wrongs of the past and not all of that could have been done in a mere 10-year time span. The huge imbalances left by apartheid need even more time for them to be addressed: in order to eradicate poverty, and to deal with the backlog in education, health services and housing, mammoth budgeting provisions are required. South Africa is still a young democracy.
However, the main factor regarding growth is foreign direct investment. Significantly higher levels of FDI are required to realise the country’s full potential and to enable it to meet its needs.
Sadly, the economy has not recovered from the immense foreign de-investments during apartheid years. The new post-apartheid government has successfully implemented sound macro-economic policies, but has been unable to attract a significant flow of foreign investment.
It is in this arena that specific strategies will have to be set for the immediate future. A thorough interaction is required between government, the South African business environment and the international community, with the aim of growing the South African economy so that it becomes the main force in the eradication of poverty in the country. Once this aim is achieved, South Africa can position itself as a bastion of development and stability in the rest of the African continent and in the world at large.
Roelf Meyer is involved in the Civil Society Initiative, and acts as a consultant on conflicts all over the world. He was the De Klerk government’s chief negotiator at the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, working towards a new South African constitution and the historic elections of April 1994.
