TOM COHEN, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
04-11-2004
Dateline: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Ten years after what was called the miracle of South Africa's first democratic vote, the former apartheid pariah still struggles to assume the prominent global role envisioned then.
The promise and hoopla surrounding Nelson Mandela's ascendancy as president in 1994 have given way to a sober, trudging advancement by the country in African and international affairs.
Hopes for a U.N. Security Council seat have stalled, along with immediate prospects for leading an African trade bloc capable of competing with North America, Europe and Asia.
Instead, South Africa has quietly but effectively grasped a major political and economic role in Africa while working to forge a bloc of developing nations including Brazil and India to push their agenda with the world's industrialized powers, led by the United States.
It is far from the dreams of 1994, but still an accomplishment in a geopolitical order skewed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and subsequent U.S.-led global campaign against mostly Islamic terror groups.
"It's a very, very protracted business to build a modern state, and not for the faint of heart," noted analyst Richard Cornwell of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.
Mandela faced overwhelming social demands when he led the African National Congress to electoral victory a decade ago. His government spent five years focusing mostly on internal needs _ providing water, power and housing to impoverished millions _ while slowly expanding business ties in southern Africa and beyond.
Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki, is expected to be re-elected by lawmakers after a new Parliament is chosen in elections Wednesday. Mbeki has proposed ambitious international programs intended to lift South Africa and the rest of the continent from a legacy of instability and poverty.
"Our immediate challenge is how do we get Africa out of this present situation in which statistics show our continent is getting poorer," Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That is our primary objective _ how do we turn things around in Africa."
The most visible progress has involved South Africa's role in southern Africa, with South African companies dominating regional markets. Economic policies limiting debt and spending have brought consistent growth averaging close to 3 percent, despite unemployment as high as 40 percent and an HIV/AIDS epidemic ravaging the work force.
That pleases global markets, with South Africa considered en route to achieving the label of "economic engine of southern Africa" predicted 10 years ago.
"I think you have to give them a straight A" on macroeconomic policy, said J. Daniel O'Flaherty, executive director of the U.S.-South Africa Business Council in Washington.
The microeconomics _ overcoming such problems as unemployment _ have been hindered by difficulties in moving quickly or decisively, O'Flaherty said.
"They've got a real bad case of the slows," he said. "This is a business problem, because (U.S.) companies, they're used to fairly timely decision-making, and they don't get that often in South Africa."
Politically, Mbeki has proven adept at providing different constituencies with messages they want to hear while trying to make African states more accountable and responsible for themselves.
The New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) he helped spearhead envisions African states showing the industrial powers that Africans can manage their own continent, making them worthy of increased investment.
One example has been South Africa's willingness to send troops to help quell unrest in Lesotho, Congo, Burundi and elsewhere.
At the same time, Mbeki wants to band together with emerging states to put Third World issues before global forums such as the World Trade Organization.
"We live and work in a world in which the dominant are determined to use their power to determine the shape and direction of the modern world, regardless of the aspirations of the billions who are poor and weak," Mbeki said in a recent speech.
Cornwell said such language plays to the developing world, while the NEPAD proposal gives Mbeki leverage to challenge the industrial powers to compromise.
"He's able to say, right, even if we fulfill out part of the bargain and do our best, what are you doing about it?" Cornwell said.
Harming South Africa's reputation are its delay in providing AIDS drugs in a nation where one in three people is believed infected, and Mbeki's reluctance to condemn human rights abuses in neighboring Zimbabwe.
"I think Zimbabwe is a pretty dark cloud hanging over, probably the single darkest," said Walter Kansteiner, an Africa specialist with the Scowcroft Institute in Washington.
Mbeki avoids criticizing Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, a black liberation hero despite his destructive policies, and says he is trying to arrange talks to end Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis. Few believe that likely, though.
Copyright 2004, AP News All Rights Reserved
Ten years after democracy, South Africa playing broad role in Africa's politics, economicsTOM COHEN, Associated Press Writer
AP Worldstream
04-11-2004
Dateline: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Ten years after what was called the miracle of South Africa's first democratic vote, the former apartheid pariah still struggles to assume the prominent global role envisioned then.
The promise and hoopla surrounding Nelson Mandela's ascendancy as president in 1994 have given way to a sober, trudging advancement by the country in African and international affairs.
Hopes for a U.N. Security Council seat have stalled, along with immediate prospects for leading an African trade bloc capable of competing with North America, Europe and Asia.
Instead, South Africa has quietly but effectively grasped a major political and economic role in Africa while working to forge a bloc of developing nations including Brazil and India to push their agenda with the world's industrialized powers, led by the United States.
It is far from the dreams of 1994, but still an accomplishment in a geopolitical order skewed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and subsequent U.S.-led global campaign against mostly Islamic terror groups.
"It's a very, very protracted business to build a modern state, and not for the faint of heart," noted analyst Richard Cornwell of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.
Mandela faced overwhelming social demands when he led the African National Congress to electoral victory a decade ago. His government spent five years focusing mostly on internal needs _ providing water, power and housing to impoverished millions _ while slowly expanding business ties in southern Africa and beyond.
Mandela's successor, Thabo Mbeki, is expected to be re-elected by lawmakers after a new Parliament is chosen in elections Wednesday. Mbeki has proposed ambitious international programs intended to lift South Africa and the rest of the continent from a legacy of instability and poverty.
"Our immediate challenge is how do we get Africa out of this present situation in which statistics show our continent is getting poorer," Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That is our primary objective _ how do we turn things around in Africa."
The most visible progress has involved South Africa's role in southern Africa, with South African companies dominating regional markets. Economic policies limiting debt and spending have brought consistent growth averaging close to 3 percent, despite unemployment as high as 40 percent and an HIV/AIDS epidemic ravaging the work force.
That pleases global markets, with South Africa considered en route to achieving the label of "economic engine of southern Africa" predicted 10 years ago.
"I think you have to give them a straight A" on macroeconomic policy, said J. Daniel O'Flaherty, executive director of the U.S.-South Africa Business Council in Washington.
The microeconomics _ overcoming such problems as unemployment _ have been hindered by difficulties in moving quickly or decisively, O'Flaherty said.
"They've got a real bad case of the slows," he said. "This is a business problem, because (U.S.) companies, they're used to fairly timely decision-making, and they don't get that often in South Africa."
Politically, Mbeki has proven adept at providing different constituencies with messages they want to hear while trying to make African states more accountable and responsible for themselves.
The New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) he helped spearhead envisions African states showing the industrial powers that Africans can manage their own continent, making them worthy of increased investment.
One example has been South Africa's willingness to send troops to help quell unrest in Lesotho, Congo, Burundi and elsewhere.
At the same time, Mbeki wants to band together with emerging states to put Third World issues before global forums such as the World Trade Organization.
"We live and work in a world in which the dominant are determined to use their power to determine the shape and direction of the modern world, regardless of the aspirations of the billions who are poor and weak," Mbeki said in a recent speech.
Cornwell said such language plays to the developing world, while the NEPAD proposal gives Mbeki leverage to challenge the industrial powers to compromise.
"He's able to say, right, even if we fulfill out part of the bargain and do our best, what are you doing about it?" Cornwell said.
Harming South Africa's reputation are its delay in providing AIDS drugs in a nation where one in three people is believed infected, and Mbeki's reluctance to condemn human rights abuses in neighboring Zimbabwe.
"I think Zimbabwe is a pretty dark cloud hanging over, probably the single darkest," said Walter Kansteiner, an Africa specialist with the Scowcroft Institute in Washington.
Mbeki avoids criticizing Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, a black liberation hero despite his destructive policies, and says he is trying to arrange talks to end Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis. Few believe that likely, though.
Copyright 2004, AP News All Rights Reserved
