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Opening address to members of the Eastern  Cape Council of Churches
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Speeches and Media Releases
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EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

OPENING ADDRESS TO MEMBERS OF THE EASTERN CAPE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

BY THE PREMIER, REV MA STOFIILE

16 FEBRUARURY 2000

After more than three hundred years since the arrival of people from Europe, South Africa continues to display disparities among her people 
which tend to co-incide with race. Whether it is the Khoi, the San or the indigenous African, all of them continue to be at the bottom of 
the economic ladder. The advent of a democratic government has not changed this situation. The new South Africa faces a serious problem : 
it is still harassed by the legacy of its past.

I am acutely aware that many people do not want to hear this reference to the past. But the truth of the matter is simple, what we have 
today is part of the heritage from the past. It is easy for the world to accept the hunting down of Nazis after more than 50 years after 
the holocaust and more than twenty years after Pinochet. But no one must refer to apartheid. The victims in South Africa were black, not 
white.

It is common to single out the old DRC as the church that colluded with apartheid. This is correct only if we look at overt supporters of 
apartheid policies. Though the mainline English-speaking churches did not have a stated racial policy, they nevertheless practised 
segregation in their schools, hospitals, seminaries and congregations. Bishop Reeves pointed out that the churches had control over these 
institutions long before the laws forbidding integration were passed. Indeed the churches did all too little to encourage such institutions 
to become integrated.

As a result of the way powerful institutions like the state and the church conducted their affairs, South Africa continues to be a country 
of two Nations. The nature, quality and ideology of the moves of the society have been left untouched. Deprivation, want, alienation, 
illiteracy and ill-health continue. Using the-once-and-for-all argument, commentators on these problems dismiss the colonial and racist 
past’s contribution. They all clamour for redressal for the present Government.

Our view is that Human Rights and their protection and enhancement are concerned with human dignity. Human well-being is indivisible as are 
human rights. Current disparities within and between nations are a flagrant affront to the restoration of human dignity and the enhancement 
of human rights. We also believe that the formal act of the transfer of power to the majority must not simply mean the change of faces in 
office. There must be fundamental changes in how things are planned, done and preserved. There must be a radical transformation.

But the real question is : whose problems are these? Who should confront these issues, if possible to end them? Naturally the answer to the 
question is : All of us. But Government must lead the way. In doing so, government must also try to take along as big a majority of the 
country as possible. If good laws are passed and no one supports or obeys them, their impact on good governance and transformation is 
negative. Whilst it is relatively easy to attain Democracy, retaining it and making it work is not very easy.

Key to the Government’s success to carry out its programmes is a vibrant economic situation. It is common knowledge that the South African 
economy has been declining since the 1980’s and job losses have been increasing since then. It is also common knowledge that the economy of 
the Eastern Cape was systematically ruined since the late 1970’s as apartheid tried to break the back of what was perceived as a backbone 
of the liberation struggle. It is also common knowledge that although our economy is picking up, it is not growing fast enough to provide 
the required jobs.

When these facts are raised in Conferences of economists, they are believed by all. When we say them, they are lame excuses by an 
inefficient, corrupt and to-be-expected-to-be such government. Because it is a Black Government. What can you expect from them, as the 
saying goes. In the world of instant communication, ills that went unnoticed and unpublicised before have become daily news. The impression 
being that we have never had it so bad before. Maybe not in some communities. But where I grew up, a number of these things have been 
there, including corrupt and disrespectful civil servants. I also remember how I took meals to my "aunts" (oomakazi) who were at Empilweni 
Hospital and at Elizabeth Donkin Hospitals in 1962 and 1964. I also remember how my grandfather died on the way to hospital after 
travelling for 60 km to the nearest Hospital. My paternal grandmother died in Hospital not having been attended to for 3 days after being 
taken there. No, these events did not happen in 1994. They happened in the 1960’s and the 1970’s. I am sure there were many others like 
them elsewhere.

The Bill of Rights is what the whole of Chapter 2 of our constitution is about. Section 27 (2) has this to say about social and Health 
rights:

"The state must take reasonable legislative measures within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of 
these rights."

Within limited resources and with competing priorities facing us, we are doing all we can to improve the situation. Of course there are 
many letters to the editor that complain. But there are many other letters to my office that express appreciation when long-awaited 
services get addressed with our intervention. Unfortunately villages are always informed when a hen lays ONE egg. But mother fish lays her 
thousands of eggs per day without a sound to the neighbourhood.

The churches can play a role in the reconstruction of South Africa. The prophetic mission of the church cannot remain only at the level of 
criticism. It must go beyond that. The hungry must be fed and the wounded must be healed. Our people are poor and hungry. Their spirits are 
terribly wounded. The church has land which is not producing food. There are buildings that could save the aged and disabled from scorching 
suns and biting rains as they queue for services. The church has professionals who could make an impact in any field of life one can think 
of.

Another Challenge, which the church can deal with, is the rise of right wingism within its members. If it is not taken seriously, this 
could lead to our own Bosnia. It is a powder keg because religion is the very fibre of the human being. Discrimination on the basis of 
religion is prohibited by the Constitution we all fought for as well as by the Equity Bill passed this year by Parliament. Let us not leave 
God’s flock to the whims of populists.

Lastly, the church can assist our people to get to grips with reconciliation and nation building. We would be naïve to think that the TRC 
has achieved that. Indeed the process has many flaws. Reconciliation is fragile and vulnerable and needs to be nurtured. No institution is 
better placed than the church for this. But the eradication of poverty and the closing of the socio-economic gap are very essential to the 
success of reconciliation.

In 1985, the Kairos Document had this to say: "to develop an alternative biblical and theological model that will in turn lead to forms of 
activity that will make a real difference to the future of our country." We believe that this task is as urgent to the church now as it was 
then.

The message of love among neighbours can only mean something when it is translated into acts of justice in our lives. For love is the 
reverse side of justice and Human Rights is the end product. The affluent white families belong to the same faith and denominations as the 
Black poor. As such, the church (if we take it in its broader meaning than just leaders and the institution) is well-endowed to make a 
difference in our societies. This cannot depend on getting project funding from the state or being employed by government. Yes, the Church 
is not of this world. But it is in this world. Let us work together where we can. Let us talk less this century and do more.

Thank you

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