Word: klerk
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...spite of the triumph of reform at the ballot box, De Klerk's main negotiating partner, Nelson Mandela, president of the African National Congress (A.N.C.), could not share the euphoria. The country's 30 million black citizens still suffer profound inequalities in housing, education, ( medical care and other basic necessities. As Mandela watched whites streaming to the polls, he said, "I still cannot vote in my own country." But when it was over, he smiled and said at last, "I am very pleased...
White South Africans voted their fears, their hopes and their wallets. Business leaders joined De Klerk's de facto alliance with the liberal Democratic Party, chipping in for a massive advertising campaign that predicted renewed international sanctions and economic disaster in the event of a no vote. One ad, recalling the cancellation of landing rights abroad for South African Airways, depicted a deserted runway with the caption, "Without reform, South Africa isn't going anywhere...
...absorb all those entering the labor market. But financial analysts in Johannesburg say growth of even 4% a year would demand about $7 billion a year in investment from abroad. It is slow in coming because of apprehension about the political future and how soon it will arrive. De Klerk wants to get to the future as soon as possible. "We should not waste any time," he says. "The uncertainty that bothers so many will only go away if you put a negotiated solution on the table...
Just how the interim authority will be created is still not clear. According to one scenario gaining currency, Parliament could amend the present constitution to transfer power from the all-white Cabinet to a government of national unity. De Klerk, however, has said he must retain control of the government until agreement is reached on the text of a new constitution...
...write the constitution, the A.N.C. is calling for a "constituent assembly," while De Klerk speaks of "a transitional parliament." If negotiations succeed, the two concepts could turn out to be roughly the same. The A.N.C. is hoping to come up with a constitution a year from now, while De Klerk says the parties have until 1994, when the next national election must be held under the present constitution...