Sheila Sisulu, 50, represents a nation on the verge of its second democratic presidential election since apartheid. She spoke at the South African Consulate about her hopes for the future of that infant democracy and what the world can expect post-Nelson Mandela. Her visit to Chicago in advance of Wednesday’s election was intended to calm any jittery investors who fear that the projected winner, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki of the African National Congress, might shift South Africa back toward a one-party system.
Q: Tell us about your childhood, growing up under apartheid.
A: My mother was a factory worker, a seamstress. My father was a salesman. They eventually started a Mamma’s and Papa’s (corner store) and on that basis one could say we were reasonably comfortable relative to some whose parents did not have jobs.
I consider my life to be that of a typical South African child. I started school in Western Native Township, near Sophiatown (a Johannesburg suburb), at a time when the then-government introduced `Bantu education’ for black people, inferior to anybody else’s education. The African National Congress campaigned against it, including boycotts by teachers. One day my brother said, “Police are going to come to school, soldiers are coming with tanks, police all over the place, so stay home.” It was in fact the day that the government had decided that any teacher or child who was not at school would be expelled or fired. I wasn’t allowed to return for six months.
Q: Your father-in-law, Walter Sisulu, was jailed alongside Nelson Mandela for 26 years. What is it like to have that sort of political pedigree?
A: If I focus only on my in-laws, it gives one quite a challenge. Now that they have served their country so well, one is almost obliged in their honor to, if not exceed the standard that is set, at least to emulate it.
Q: What did you feel on Oct. 15, 1989, when Sisulu was freed?
A: It was the most moving moment in my life, less for the fact that he was freed, but more for the joy that it brought not only into the family but to the nation. Our house (in Soweto) was almost under siege for days on end. What the people were expressing was hope. It was the beginning of hope for our future.
Q: Speaking of the future, after Wednesday’s election, Deputy President Thabo Mbeki is likely to succeed Mandela as president. Will he be able to hold together the electorate as well as Mandela?
A: During his exile in Europe, under the (ANC) presidency of Oliver Tambo, Mbeki helped strengthen the ANC into an international force on the basis of diplomacy, by influencing people in various countries. In this time of globalization, he is more than qualified. And in the past five years he has in fact been running the country. The ANC sometimes is referred to as the `broad church.’ He has kept the coalition together.
I think what a lot of people would worry about is whether he’s going to change anything.
Q: One stated goal of the ANC is to have a two-thirds majority in Parliament. This raises fears the ANC wants enough power to change the constitution.
A: The ANC says there’s no need to change it because it was the ANC that championed the writing of this constitution–it’s already a product of ANC wishes and vision. It is a good constitution. It protects what we have. We like it. It works for us. No changes. No surprises.
Q: You call this transition `almost boring.’
A: In most countries with infant democracies, the second election has everyone biting their teeth, going through a dramatic change. But no, there won’t be a dramatic change. It is exciting in the sense that we do have a feisty opposition. It’s not numerically strong in terms of the polls, but it is loud, it is strategic in the way it makes the government uncomfortable.
We have the Democratic Party, a main opposition party with a great deal of experience. Then the New National Party, which is under new, youthful leadership and wants to make its marks in the new South Africa.
On the state level, the results are not such a foregone conclusion. In two provinces, the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, the contest is very tight for the ANC.
Q: But some observers fear, because the ANC is so strong, authoritarianism is going to replace democracy.
A: Absolutely not. Mbeki . . . has said that, in order for Africa as a whole to experience a second renaissance, we have to have zero tolerance for dictatorships.
Q: You spoke to businesses here and urged them to keep investing. Do you fear Mandela’s retirement will weaken foreign financial interest?
A: I have one message for the U.S. business community and it is this: Chill. That the transition is going to be smooth, that it has actually happened. That we are going to continue all the policies that the world has applauded, economic policies, policies on education, policies on the judiciary, monetary assistance. We have set the stage for business. This boat is leaving. Don’t miss it.
Q: With majority rule, some might mistakenly think the race issue is `solved.’ Is it difficult to get along with imprisoners of your family?
A: Our constitution has `solved’ the issue of race on one level, saying it’s illegal and unacceptable to relate and provide services of any kind on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and so forth. The law has solved the discrimination. But attitude cannot be legislated and it is people who have to change. I think we are moving forward at a faster pace than most expected.
Q: So what’s the next big problem?
A: In one word–economy. It’s a challenge because we have placed every priority from now on on that. Initially we had placed everything on reconciliation, nation-building, putting in place the policies that would benefit all of the people of South Africa. Now we have decided that the improvement of the quality of life for the majority has to be done with people working and growing the economy. Then the government will have more resources to provide the infrastructure and jobs that people need to improve their quality of life.
Q: You list milestones of the Mandela administration as providing electricity for 1.5 million people who didn’t have it, clean water for 3 million people, 700,000 new homes, free health care for kids under age 6. Are those homes really built?
A: The 700,000 homes are built. If not everybody has moved into them they are moving into them now. The water definitely, but there are still many people who don’t have clean water. These milestones are real. These are the milestones that make the election so predictable. These are the needs of the people who don’t analyze the newspapers. Instead, they say, “I didn’t have water. Now I have water. I have water since ’94. In ’94 I voted for a particular party, and they did something right.’ “
Q: Like in Chicago, where people have voted based on whether the snow was plowed.
A: Exactly. It’s as simple as that.
You’ve been ambassador since January; before that consul general in New York. It’s an interesting time in U.S.-South African relations: President Clinton last year became the first U.S. president to visit. How would you characterize our relationship?
A: The best it has ever been. What makes it that way is the commitment on both sides and the structure and relationship provided through the Binational Commission (handling issues such as trade and investment).
Q: I opened my fridge last night, pulled out a guava juice carton and saw something I’d never seen– `Product of South Africa.’ What else is coming?
A: Fresh fruit: grapes, apples, oranges. And our wine. You will be serving a lot of South African wine to your guests.
We are beginning to export jewelry and we hope that there will be an increase in textiles.
We import a lot of manufactured goods, machinery from you. What it translates to is that we import from the United States the capacity for us to produce things we then export to you.
Q: Sara Lee is the biggest U.S. employer of South Africans, with 5,000 workers. Companies such as Motorola and Coca-Cola say they are proudest of their investments in human capital. What does this mean to an individual in South Africa?
A: I think the Motorola example is a good one. The issue of students graduating high school continues to be one of the big bugbears for our education system. Many 12-year schooling periods have passed since apartheid was introduced and the effect of that has been felt greatly in the graduates of the system. Even among those who passed their final exam to graduate, but particularly among those who failed. Motorola is assisting with the Rewrite School, helping students prepare to retake their exams, to come up to par to the challenges of graduating high school. It’s important for the individuals and also for the psychological message that it sends to those who are coming. What the failing of so many black students has done over the years is to make other black students feel they are not intelligent. By turning that around, what Motorola is doing is showing that, given the different input, different opportunities, anyone–including black kids–can pass these exams. When it comes to the number graduating it might be small, but in terms of the message, the impact is great.
Q: You speak of expanding the economy from the bottom up as being `critical.’
A: Yes. The majority of our people are poor. The majority of those who are poor are women. When women are unemployed, families suffer. We must eliminate poverty from the bottom, addressing the poorest and most discriminated in the community, which are women.
Q: A study released in March said about 1 million South African women are raped each year. What can be done?
A: It doesn’t require a rocket scientist to realize this is a serious problem, so serious President Mandela himself led a march of men against rape. He was livid that only 2,500 as opposed to 10,000 men took part. For us it’s a painful reality check. But we have to get to the cause of this in order to eradicate it. We don’t know whether it is entirely the function of people trusting the judicial system more and reporting the crime. Or if it’s a function of women taking their rightful place and being assertive and men not knowing how to deal with it. We think it’s all of that and we need to find ways of combating it.
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An edited transcript
