It is a great pleasure for me to address you today on the topic of South Africa’s transition to democracy. This is now my ninth visit to Taiwan and with each visit I have admired the manner in which your country has progressively consolidated and deepened your own democratic system.
I have learned with great sadness of the death of Pik Botha.
He was one of the leading personalities in South African politics from 1970 until his retirement from active politics in 1996. He served with great distinction as South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1977 until 1994 – and was one of the world’s longest-serving foreign ministers. During this period, he resolutely defended South Africa against growing international isolation.
The recent Jeppe High School for Girls controversy has forced many in the country to look afresh at issues of religious and cultural inclusion.
The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the fact that President Ramaphosa, in the interest of good governance, accepted the resignation of Mr Nhlanhla Nene as Minister of Finance. As stated in a CFCR article yesterday, it was the right thing for Mr Nene to offer his resignation, and it was the right thing for the President to accept it. This presents the country with a rare case of accountability and ethical conduct at senior government level, especially in the last number of years. Too often, as in the case of SASSA and Life Esidimeni, politicians and senior officials shirked their responsibility and denied accountability – and in so doing, acted unethically.
The FW de Klerk Foundation and former President De Klerk would like to congratulate fellow Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, on celebrating his 87th birthday tomorrow, Sunday 7 October. We rejoice in his life and achievements, and in the relative good health he has been enjoying. He has, throughout his life, fought for justice and reconciliation. He has consistently spoken out against injustices and wrong actions, irrespective of who the perpetrators were. In all of this, he has remained a humble servant of God, in service of his people. May you have a blessed day and a good year, Arch!
Heritage Day has come and gone, events have been held and budgets spent, until next time.
The leaked 30-page document of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation (TMF) caused a storm on social media, within African National Congress (ANC) circles and other political and civic organisations. It is not difficult to understand why. In a time when President Cyril Ramaphosa supporters and the Zuma-ites are still at odds, the Foundation of a former ANC and country president takes a strong view against one of his party’s important recent decisions – expropriation without compensation (EWC). The TMF believes that EWC is possible without an amendment of Section 25, but the emphasis of the document is on the fact that the process is race-based. The key issue is that of how this recent ANC decision impacts the national question and scuppers attempts at building a non-racial society. It touches a nerve by stating that the ANC had departed from non-racialism by taking the decision on EWC and criticises Zuma directly because he effectively turned the ANC into a “black party”. The view of the TMF is that as a result of this, the ANC can no longer be seen as representative of all South Africans. Harsh words from loyal ANC supporters, in a difficult time for the party…
In his SONA earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that a national Jobs Summit would be held this year. This is now planned for 4 to 5 October. All constituencies represented in Nedlac will be present. In his statement leading up to the conference, the President highlighted the need for “creating decent work and building an inclusive economy”. So far, so good.
The critical premise for this Jobs Summit is the following. What can a Jobs Summit achieve in a time of deep recession when the economy is in a slump, when there is almost no economic policy certainty and when the cornerstone of the economy, property rights, is perceived to be under threat? Additionally, the presidential drive for international and national investment has been lukewarm at best. This despite Ramaphosa having lined up a dream team in April 2018 to sell SA Inc.
In a 30-page leaked document on land and the national question, titled What Then About Land Expropriation Without Compensation, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation (TMF) elucidates both historic context but crucially an analysis of a resolution of the ANC’s 54th National Conference in December 2017 on “land expropriation without compensation”.
