by Charlie van Gelderen "WE MUST have democracy which protects minorities."
So said Stotte! van der the newssee Seneral of the ruling National Party, speaking about the government's proposals for a constitution for post-apartheid (sic) South Africa. There die drineate (is) to create a true will prevail, but not at the expense of the minority.
of Orwellian double-talk, Mr van der Merwe said that the proposals are based on some rundamen to not or minor at tal principles - the minority parties, at every level of government, a manifesto on human rights; an independent judiciary: and investing the constitution with the greatest How will legitimacy be established? Van der Merwe is quite clear about this The legitimacy. constitution is of cardinal imortance, re nave sari opera hat there is a white referen dum. There must be a vana testing of the will and wishes of Voting in the referendum you corate the because legitimacy of the constitution, it must be shown that it is sup ported by all But it you can t minorities. can't show that a majority of whites support it, how can you liv inder the same roof as the righ wing?
Superficial break Superficially, the proposed constitution appears to make a complete break with the apartheid past. The word 'race does not appear once in the entire document.
The concept of 'homelands' as a principle is abandoned. Rost those torritories like the Transkei, Ciskei and which have been recognised as pendent by Pretoria if no-one Ase, would have to agree to be re-incorporated in a unitled about race. It was a society which established the unequal division of wealth. As Allister put it in the Observer, Apartheid has produced the most unequal society on earth and this constitution would set those inequalities in concrete.
The government's constitutional lawyers have drafted an ingenious aocument, whose main design is preventing the ANC from coming to power.
La maze of 'checks and balances' powers devolved from centralauthority to the regions. This will ensure that in a areas with a predominantly white population, they will be able to retain their privileged way of But the key to the proposed constitution is the proposal for two-chamber government. One chamber, the lower house, will anglese The franchise. second chamber would have equal representation from all constitutionally acceptable parties, with the power of veto • over legislation from the lower De Kierk and Mandela: ANC react strongly to post-apartheid The government will consist of a multi-party cabinet, and the overinte Presene w be replaced with a three person executive council. could tive troika consisting of Mandela, De Klerk and Buthelezi.
Constitutional Affairs Minister, Gerrit Viljoen, was quite frank about what this could mean when addressing a press conference in September.
He said that the ANC could conceivably win an election with an 80% majority and still find itepit ostnumbered two to in the troika presidency and the multi-party cabinet.
Mandela and the ANC have reacted strongly. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Witwatersrand. Mandela characterised the covernment proposals cheme to prevent the will of the people being realised ment - a system that will entrench minority privileges by ensuring that any matons party is powerless to make any significant changes, powerless to remove minonty envilexe and, in many ways, powerless The ANC has renewed it: demand for a multi-party conference and for an interim government to 'oversee transition period No. 9 Oct. 12, 1991