3 Council Members Urge New S. Africa Sanctions
Three Los Angeles City Council members Tuesday praised South Africa for releasing anti-apartheid activist Nelson R. Mandela, but called for still more sanctions against firms that do business with the racially divided country.
Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky joined council members Joan Milke Flores and Robert Farrell in asking for a Charter amendment to allow expansion of the 1986 ordinance prohibiting companies that do business with South Africa from contracting with the city. The ordinance, Yaroslavsky said, affects only 9.4% of the city purchasing agent’s expenditures because the city Charter restricts it to contracts of less than $25,000.
Other contracts must be put out for bids, with the lowest bid accepted even if the firm does business with South Africa. Flores introduced a motion last year to have the Charter amendment placed on the ballot in November to allow the council to circumvent the competitive bid restriction, but the motion has languished in committee.
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