ANC to Urge Lifting Sanctions Against S. Africa

The African National Congress moderated its hard-line stand on most remaining sanctions Saturday, promising to relinquish its historically potent and controversial weapon against apartheid as early as June, even before blacks cast their first democratic vote.

The decision, reached by the ANC’s 86-member national executive committee, represents a significant retreat from its previous insistence that sanctions remain in place until a democratic government is elected in South Africa.

And it reflects growing concern in the ANC that the sanctions campaign is damaging South Africa’s already staggering economy, creating widespread joblessness and economic stagnation that will bedevil any future black-controlled government.

“We call on the investor community to respond to the positive climate that will be produced by the lifting of sanctions by initiating an investment program that will create new jobs and enable the country to address the urgent socioeconomic needs of our people,” the ANC said.

The ANC said it would recommend that foreign restrictions on diplomatic relations, trade, new investment, loans and even the sale of Krugerrand gold coins be lifted as soon as black and white negotiators agree on a date for democratic elections and set up a multi-party transitional executive council to monitor key government functions.

That could be as early as June, months before the election that ultimately will force President Frederik W. de Klerk’s white-minority government to relinquish power.

Multi-party talks are expected to resume within weeks, and ANC and government negotiators already have agreed on the need for a transitional executive council to monitor the security forces and other government bodies to ensure that the playing field is level before elections. The government has said those elections could be held as early as March or April, 1994.

Anti-apartheid groups in the United States and Europe have urged the ANC to hold the line on sanctions, arguing that the penalties remain the most effective way of ensuring that De Klerk follows through on his reform promises.

In the United States, federal sanctions against South Africa were lifted by President Bush in July, 1991. But more than 70 state and local entities--including Los Angeles and California--still impose sanctions against Pretoria. Those laws prevent states, counties and cities from granting contracts to companies that do business with firms in South Africa.

South African economists, including those in the ANC, have expressed concern that U.S. cities and states may be reluctant to remove sanctions, even when the ANC gives the go-ahead. One reason would be inertia, which economists blame for the continuing sanctions against Namibia, which has been independent from South Africa for three years.

“A lot of those sanctions are just lingering on,” said Derek Keys, De Klerk’s finance minister. “There’s no great force arguing for the removal of sanctions--at least nothing comparable to what got them on the statute books in the first place.”

Economic analysts in South Africa say the lifting of sanctions is unlikely to result in a rush of foreign investment in the country, partly because many of the world’s sanctions already have crumbled.

Nevertheless, analysts predict that the removal of sanctions would be a shot in the arm for the economy, encouraging South African firms to reinvest their money here rather than abroad.

“Sanctions aren’t a serious hindrance to our trade at present, although they have a depressing effect upon South Africans contemplating investment,” Keys said recently.

The most biting sanctions are those that have prevented South Africa from securing loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. And many countries follow the World Bank and IMF guidelines in deciding whether to lend money to developing countries.

South Africa’s inability to borrow money abroad, and companies’ unwillingness to reinvest in the country, have severely depressed the economy, which has seen three consecutive years of decline in domestic production. The government estimates that more than 20% of the country’s economically active population is unemployed.

Last year, the ANC called for the lifting of sports, educational and cultural sanctions against South Africa, allowing the country to participate in the Olympic Games.

The ANC’s new sanctions policy was disclosed Saturday to more than 500 foreign and local delegates attending an “international solidarity conference.” The goal of the conference, which ends today, is to consult foreign allies and seek financial and moral support for the ANC’s election campaign.

In the ANC executive committee’s resolution, the organization said it would recommend that most economic and diplomatic sanctions be removed when multi-party agreement is reached on an election date. However, the arms and oil embargo on South Africa would continue until a democratic government is installed.

The ANC also recommended that representatives of the white-minority government not be recognized by any international organizations until a new interim coalition government is in place. And it urged foreign governments and businesses to negotiate any agreements with the transitional executive council, which will be made up of representatives from the ANC, the government and other important black and white groups in the country.

In a brief appearance at the conference, Nelson Mandela sought to dispel growing concern about his health. The 74-year-old ANC president said his doctors have given him a clean bill of health but have ordered him to rest for two weeks because of exhaustion and flu-like symptoms.