South Africa would not break down into a one-party state after majority rule, like other African states, according to visiting South African journalist Allister Sparks.
He said yesterday that the country had a strong base of independent institutions, including the media, whereas when colonial powers withdrew from black African countries they left an institutional vacuum. This was invariably filled by the single independence political party which took over everything, including the media.
South Africa, however, had strong unions, strong professional groups, including human-rights groups.
Mr Sparks, a former editor of the Rand Daily Mail and founder director of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, is in Australia as guest of the ABC and Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad. He is looking at the functioning of a free broadcast media and seeking help and information to set up training courses.
He said that in wake of the assassination of Communist Party leader Chris Hani, there would be a lot of rhetoric demanding an early election, but it was not practicably possible to bring it forward from its present date of March next year.
Electoral rolls had to be prepared and the broadcast media had to be changed from an arm of government propaganda to an independently functioning part of society.
The unrest resulting from the Hani assassination, however, meant that “”the sense of urgency will reduce the possibility of filibustering and frigging around and delaying the thing unnecessarily”.
“”I think they’ll get cracking on what has got to be done,” he said.
The new independent board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation had to be in place by the end of May.
At present there were few black faces on television. With a 60 per cent illiteracy rate radio was very important. It was important to ensure a distance between the government and broadcasting.
The Hani assassination required some movement to ease tension.
“”I thing what they need is a sense of momentum,” Mr Sparks said.
The first phase in the whole transition has got to be the appointment of what is called the Transitional Executive Council. This must be speeded up. All parties would be represented on it. It would take key decisions.
The Cabinet and President would stay in place because the nation was still under the old constitution until a new one replaced it. Cabinet, however, would confirm and give legal effect to decisions made by the council.
The council should be in place by May or June.
“”To have some visible sign of progress; that’s what they are really after,” he said.
It worried him, however, that the West might lose interest after an election.
“”After an election with a predominantly black government in place I can see the Americans saying, “we’ve solved that one’ but that is when the real problems begin,” he said.
Getting exiles back was a difficult task.
“”There’s huge unemployment and a housing shortage,” he said. “”Exiles are reluctant to come back to join those queues. A lot of those people have been in exile for 20 to 25 years. Spouses and children don’t want to come. They say “we are now little Scandinavians or something like that’.”
He hoped there would be an equivalent to the US constitutional guarantee of free speech and was reasonably hopeful of a free media after majority rule. But whatever structure was set up, whatever constitutional guarantees, there was no guarantee of a free media in the face of a government determined on a dictatorial way.
“”The ANC is strongly committed to free media,” he said. “”Most participating parties speak the language of democracy, but we have to put that to the test. When the first sharp criticism of the new regime comes out, that will be the testing time. At the moment we have a lot of verbal commitment.”
He was optimistic because of the institutional base. He said the press had survived a lot of pressure during the apartheid years.
“”Taken overall I think we have a fair chance of having a free media,” he said “”Of course, that’s absolutely crucial to having a democracy. If we fail on that front then we will not be a democracy.”