Madrid, 10th of July, 2003
Q. Almost ten years after the end of the Apartheid era, how do you term your country’s development?

A. Looking back over the last nine years, since we held our first democratic elections, at the time there was a distinct possibility of the country collapsing as the result of the past. It is amazing that, thanks to the residents and other people in the world, we are proud to say that the country is one of the most stable countries in the world with an entrenched and properly functioning democratic system. Our economy is performing well and I think we can justly be proud of our achievements. I think that central to this achievement has been the understanding among all of our people, black and white, that Africa belongs to all. Let me just say that although that we have made tremendous progress in South Africa, there is still work to be done although we have made significant progress to build a new South African Nation.

It is a highly diverse country. It’s a highly complex country and one of the most serious legacies of apartheid is the poverty and the under development that is still to be found amongst a large percentage of our population. The closing of this gap, between the rich and the poor, is probably the single most important vital challenge for the South African government because without having closed this gap, you cannot have long term political and economic stability. And the most important way to address this challenge is to have strong economic growth and development of the country. On the whole however, I think we can be proud of the economic restructuring and the way that it has been done, which has contributed to the fact that in 2002 we had a 3 per cent growth and this year we are predicting an above 3 per cent growth.

Yesterday, the 8th of July, the results of the 2001Census that was conducted in South Africa, were published. The information obtained from that census makes for very interesting reading because it reflects a growing improvement in the quality of life of all South Africans. For example in the case of education, more and more people now have access to education. The people now go to University. Progress has also been made in access to basic services, access to electricity and to clean water. These are just a few examples of areas where very differently there has been marked progress between 1996 and today, and this progress is continuing.

Q. Unfortunately, the Aids epidemic has substantially marred the country’s workforce and is becoming a long term problem. How is the issue of HIV-Aids currently being dealt with?

This is part of the broader picture that I just outlined where the government strives to give increased priority to reducing poverty. A lot of emphasis has been placed on issues like investing in people, in education, in skills development, providing social assistance, social grants, municipal infrastructure. In terms of housing many people now have access to proper housing for the first time in their lives. This is part of the program of reducing poverty and creating economic growth. Health is vital and it is not only HIV/Aids that is a major problem. Health is a very important issue that has to be addressed by the government. About HIV/Aids, it is a problem not only in South Africa, it is a problem in the entire region and a lot of progress has been made in developing a comprehensive program to address HIV/Aids because there has been a lot of misunderstanding about South Africa’s position on this. We are looking at a comprehensive approach of combating Aids but it is not only a question of providing anti-retroviral drugs, which by the way has been approved by the government. That is very costly but it is a program that has to be administered properly, you cannot just hand out drugs to people without a proper administration. These are all elements that have to be taken into account and looked at in a comprehensive approach. There is also the question of poverty. If the people are not properly fed nor properly housed HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria and other illnesses can affect the population. I am happy because the government has, over the last years, devised and drawn up a comprehensive, integrated program to combat Aids which I think is genuinely recognised by international health institutions as a very comprehensive and powerful one. There are first signs that through this program of addressing the Aids issue through wide spread information and education we are beginning to see the encouraging results that amongst young people in South Africa, the rate of infection has started to stabilize. That is the first indication that the information and education processes are properly working. It is a long war and a complex problem. It is a costly situation, and as you know South Africa has been confronting and engaging pharmaceuticals and countries where these issues have to addressed. The bottom line is that South Africa has today a comprehensive and integrated approach. This has obviously far reaching implications for our economy. I think we are moving in the right direction in the sense that the number of infections has begun to stabilize. That is why I am saying it is an integrated approach where the government cannot act alone and therefore I believe the approach by the private sector and NGOs should all integrate themselves into this approach to make this a coordinated effort.

Q. There seems to be a current development as to International Affairs in the region and President Mbeki is currently moving towards more involvement in certain countries. Is this the beginning of a Mbeki doctrine regarding international policy?

A. I would not describe it as an embedded doctrine. I think that there is a realization, which is obvious, that we are an African country and our future prosperity and future stability is very closely interlinked to what happens to the rest of the continent. President Mandela actually started with the concept of an African renaissance. That process and that concept of the revival of Africa is an issue that was first talked about by President Mandela and given more substance by President Mbeki in cooperation with our region and with SADC. We are very keen on fostering close interaction with all the leaders of the South African Development Community. And on a continental scale with the African Union. Everything that President Mandela and particularly President Mbeki have been doing has been done to meet the challenges of Africa. But President Mbeki in engaged in the process, along with many African leaders, of making the African Union become a reality. This is a very exciting moment for Africa and one which underlines everything that South Africa does in Africa as it wishes to make the African Union a reality. This is vital as today we live in a globalized world. Therefore there should be an increased integration of Africa. Today we have various regional bodies like ECOWAS and SADC which will form the basis of this integration process. Whether it is political or economic it is important to strengthen the African Union through these regional bodies. A very important part of this process is the socio-economic program of the African Union called “New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)” which is linked to the African Union. President Bouteflika from Algeria, President Wade from Senegal and others have been very active in taking forward the African Union.

(continues)
Q. What progress has been made as to NEPAD so far?

A. I think a lot of progress has been made with NEPAD. Africa is saying: “we are going to take ownership of our problems. We want to embark on a road of good governance, of sound economic policies”. In other words Africa wants to create an environment attractive enough for the developed world in terms of investment. So it is a two way street. This process has picked up momentum and I think it will as well for the future social and economic development of Africa which will obviously impact the future of the continent’s political stability and vice-versa, you cannot have investment and economic growth unless you have political stability. All these things go hand in hand and I think that through the so-called African Peer Review Mechanism, which was also devised in concertation with the African Union and key players within NEPAD, Africa will review the process of countries in terms of governance, economic policies and democracy. If countries are not meeting the requirements in terms of economic policies and governance, the African Union, within the NEPAD context, will engage these countries in order to help them, to assist them to move towards the international best practices. By large, I think Africa is an exciting picture at the moment. There are problems but gradually we are seeing a new generation of leadership in Africa within an integrated Africa in charge of its own economic and political development and its conflicts. You need to get to a point where Africa has the capability and ability to take charge of conflict resolution without the assistance of Europe and USA. The ideal situation would be to develop this capability and ability through the structures of the African Union and this is being discussed now, and of course with the support of the industrialized community. This is the goal towards which we are heading.

Q. What is your impression concerning United States possible involvement in Liberia’s civil war?

I think because of the threat of wide scale warring, that involvement should be done in concertation with other African states is necessary. The ideal situation would be a situation where African institutions can work together. In fact in Maputo now, the discussions are focused towards the peace and security council which needs to be reinforced. It is not effective and not running. South Africa and the African Union are also talking about having rapid deployment forces. All this needs to be put in place so that Africa could eventually take the initiative in the first instance to address these issues, obviously with the support of the European Union and the United States. I am not saying that we do not want the United States to become involved in Liberia. But it is for Africa, and it is being discussed in Maputo now, to develop the capability and ability to take the initiative with the support of African countries to address these conflicts. That is very much the essence of what will be discussed in Maputo.

Q. How would you define the relationship between South Africa and the European Union and also with regards to Spain?

The European Union is of vital importance to South Africa. If you look at South Africa’s economic relations with the European Union you will understand its importance for South Africa. More or less 40 per cent of all South African exports go to the European Union and also 40 per cent and plus imports come from the European Union. Thus it is a vital partner. The European Union as an entity is the single largest trading partner for South Africa. Not only trading partner but also in terms of investments, finance, technology transfer and tourism. And of course our relations with the European Union in terms of common foreign policy which through the common agreement is of strategic significance due to the implications for both regions.

As far as Spain is concerned, obviously as a very active member of the European Union, relations are good in many areas, such as trade, both import and export with Spain and investment by both countries is also growing at an encouraging pace in sectors like the automobile industry and infrastructure. Also we have seen South African companies increasingly take an interest in Spain. Furthermore, I can say that our political relations are also very good. We recently agreed with Spain that we need to give practical content to some of the existing agreements. We are very keen to expand our relations with Spain in a number of areas where we can have a vital role.