U Magazine, Spring 1986

repres ent a n effort th a t is too little. too late. Indeed . they are seriously Oawed– to da te. there have been no meaningful discuss ions rega rding political powe r– sha ring wilh the blac k m ajority. a nd the essentia l fra mework of a pa rtheid still exists. The reforms have ge nerally s e rved to quicken the pace of blac k protest, most of it now a rising in s egregated townships. The Fren chma n Al exis de Tocquevill e. writing in 1850. ide ntified this phenomenon in a no the r conlex l: Ex pe rie nce teaches that . . . the mos t pe rilous m om ent for a ba d government is when it seeks to mend its ways. Only consumma te sta tecraft can ena ble a king to save hi s throne whe n . a fter a long s pell of oppressive rule. h e sets oul lo in tolera ble once t he possibility of removing it crosses m en's minds. The mos l imporla nl question rig ht now is wha l the South African gove rnme nt can do to avoid revolution . Three prelimina ry s teps seem esse nti a l in fulfilling this objec tive : 1) to release Nelson Ma ndela (currently imprisoned and lhe former leader of lhe ANC) a nd negotia te with him and othe r credibl e blac k leade rs like Gatsha Bulhelez i. chi ef of the Zulus : 2) lo pla ce s uch negotia tions in a na tiona l convention whi ch se ts as one of its m ajor goals the tota l a bolition of a pa rtheid : and 3) lo grant full c itizen s hip. unde r one cons titu tion . to South Afri cans of a ll col ors. Un fo rtuna tely. it m ay well be lha l the lime h as passed for peaceful cha nge in Sou t h Afri ca. Four decades ago. Ms ima ng u . a blac k charac ter in Al a n Pa ton's classic nove l. Cry . the Beloved Coun try . said: "I have one great fear in m y heart. lha t one day when lhey turn to lov ing th ey will find we are t urn ed lo ha ling." We may be c urrently witness ing Ms ima ng u ·s worsl fea r. Fo r lhe sake of a ll South Africans. le t us hope not. improve lhe lol of his s ubj ec ts. Pa ti ently endured so long as il seemed beyond redress. a gri eva nce comes lo a ppear

rese rves to more e ffi cie ntly utilize bl ack labor. These reserves form ed the basis for wha t a re known today as the Homela nds . The poverty-stricken Homela nds. comprising less than 13 pe r cent of the country, today represent the most tragic face of apa rtheid. The hopelessness of Homela nd life has forc ed millions of blacks to se ttle. often ill ega lly. into segrega ted urban townships in " white" a reas. And it is from these urban townships that the system has encounte red its mos t system a tic challenge. In fac ing this cha llenge, th e Afrika ne r ruling elite has been pragmatic. The mos t s ig nificant cha nges in apa rtheid bega n with the Sowe to uprising of 1976. These riots deepl y shook both lh e Afrika ne r intelligentsia a nd the whi te business community. The so-called ve rligtes or Afrika ne r " free thinking" academics a nd politic ia ns bega n arguing for a n ove rha ul of a partheid. eve n if s uch a restruc turing required powe r-sha ring. Out of this climate of opinio n a rose a committee chaired by the then ministe r of defense. P. W. Botha. lo conside r a cons lilutiona l powe r-sha ring model for lhe whi te. Coloured a nd Asia n communities. Th e proposa l called for a n executi ve preside ncy a nd a tripa rtite legis la ture. orga ni zed in a m a nne r lo s a fegua rd while powe r a nd privilege. Wilh subsequent modifications. lhe constitutiona l power-sha ring model was put to a n a ll-white elec torate in a refe rendum in Novembe r 1983. a nd a pproved two to one. The business community sought ins tead economic reform. fearing tha t massive foreig n disinves lm enl would follow in lhe wa ke of the Sowe to riots. The gove rnmen t responded by granting permane nt s ta tus to selected black worke rs residing in urba n townships. a nd by regis te ring African tra de unio ns. These re forms a nd othe rs building upon them have a li enated one-third of lhe Nati ona l Pa rty a nd have clearly fa il ed to sa tis fy the blac k m ajority. By Afrika ne r s ta nda rds. these re forms a re radica l. To Africans. lhe reforms

To Africans, the reforms represent an effort that is too little, too late.

Dr. James Gump is an associate professor of history in the Co llege of A rts and Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. at th e Unive rsi ty of Nebraska.

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