Stiffer South Africa Sanctions to Go on Ballot

A measure that would broaden Los Angeles’s anti-apartheid policy by giving lawmakers the power to deny contracts of $25,000 or more to companies with ties to South Africa has been placed on the November ballot. The City Council voted 12-0 Wednesday to place the proposal, an amendment to the City Charter, before the voters.

The city’s current anti-apartheid policy, enacted in 1986, only applies to contracts worth between $500 and $25,000 and excludes contracts that are competitively bid. The proposed charter amendment would apply to all contracts, regardless of their value or whether they were subject to the bidding process.

The council hurried to approve the charter amendment during the recent visit to Los Angeles by South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. At the time, Councilman Michael Woo suggested that amending the city’s contracting policy would be a better gift to Mandela than a key to the city.