Greetings to all.

Perhaps this is a good time to climb on the soap box again. After watching TV news last night, (22 May 2000) I felt like climbing into my car and performing some acts of civil disobedience reminiscent of the the good/bad old days. Only this time the Democratic Party, our very own official opposition, was to be the target.

Tony Leon (leader of the DP) and his cohorts, added their voices in parliament to the growing chorus of unhappiness (from outside) against the slow pace of land restitution and restitution to victims of human rights (HR) abuses. In fact "adding their voices" is very much an understatement. The railed against the ANC in a manner that made one wonder if the DP remembers that it was a part of the very system that caused all the problems in the first place.

At this stage, I must add that fundamentally I agree that the pace at which reparations are taking place is indeed slow. I understand the constraints within which government is acting.

Lack of financial resources.
Which is essentially why there is a lack of human resources.
Trying to apply the "lets get it right first time" approach.
Grappling with the concept of placing a monetary value on an HR abuse and
Carefully redistributing land or finances as the case may be.
I understand this and I am not even in government. What the DP fail to see and hear, is the cry that has been echoed by the masses for the past few years. "We are the ones applying the reconciliation, we are the ones who are still sacrificing and we are the ones who are still forgiving" While white South Africa has taken the stand, "well democratic elections have come and gone and you now have your majority rule. We don't mind, we will show that we can live with it, now let's get back to normality".

Tough shit I say! Normality comes at a price. After what we've been through (and in some cases, still are) I think it is pay back time. The ANC undertook to address the imbalances of the past. It even, as part of the "Sunset Clauses" at Kempton Park, agreed to settle Apartheid South Africa's debt legacy. (a very necessary concession to try to lure and keep investor confidence). That foreign debt has all but been paid back. Government's largest debt is to South African financial institutions who hold onto pension schemes and the like.

The actions of the DP is all too reminiscent of current Zimbabwe. The murder and mayhem currently visited upon that country is not something that I would wish for ours. By creating a rallying point around the land issue the DP is playing with fire. But as I said, I think it is pay back time.

If the DP wish to employ these tactics then maybe white South Africa must start to feel the pain in an area that has kept them in relative comfort even after the 1994 elections. Their pockets need to be drained, perhaps then they will understand the sacrifice that goes with reconciliation and forgiveness. The majority are still suffering albeit that their pain is not legislated as it was in the past. We still see the privileged of the past drive by in their fancy imported cars. Their laughing faces still adorn the social pages of the newspapers and magazines while the stories of unemployment, rape, murder and poverty still plague the townships.

I say government should renege on the debt owed to those South African corporates. The R46,5 billion rand paid to SERVICE DEBT (for the year 2000 alone) should go a long way to settling part of the land question as well as providing restitution to the victims of HR abuses. Those corporates should be bound by legislation that ensure that they do not put up their costs to the end-users in order to recover these moneys. Instead, this reduction in profit, (note I did not use the word LOSS) should be carried by their shareholders who are majority white South Africans in any case.

Tony Leon and his cohorts should be very careful of what they say on the matter of restitution. A healthy democracy needs a strong opposition. An opposition which is mischievous and bent on political point-scoring serves no purpose other that to exacerbate already-sensitive situations.

Give the ANC a chance, offer creative and constructive alternatives. If not you could well be steering us towards the apocalypse that we fought so hard to avoid leading up to 1994.

Clive Newman - 25 Mayn 2000

For more expansive and analytical detail on the debt issue, visit Alternative Information Development Centre at www.aidc.org.za

Next Soap Box – The issue of Gun Control.