Methodist Panel Approves Plan to Sell Holdings With Ties to S. Africa

A plan to sell holdings in companies that do business in South Africa, starting with those that fail to meet the Sullivan Principles, has been approved by the United Methodist Board of Pensions.

The 30-member panel, which manages one of the country’s largest church pension funds, voted Thursday for immediate divestment of $25 million worth of holdings in six companies that had not signed the principles as of Thursday, three of the trustees said in a telephone interview.

They said they could recall only four of the six: Clark Equipment, Arvin, Pacificorp and Schlumberger.

The board also voted to sell “as soon as practicable” any interest in an undetermined number of companies that fail to achieve a Class I or Class II rating as of June 30 under the principles, which cover American corporate conduct in South Africa.

Last month the author of the principles, the Rev. Leon Sullivan, repudiated them and called on all U.S. companies to leave South Africa within nine months. He also has called for divestment to bring further pressure for an end to apartheid, the country’s strict laws of racial segregation.