Special Hearings — Business Hearings — 1997-11-12

CHAIRPERSON: Dr Boraine?

DR BORAINE: To you and your delegation  - and I must say at the very beginning that I regret very much that not everyone who cannot understand Afrikaans has had access to your presentation, because I think what you've stated towards the end of your presentation, is a word that needs to be heard by all in South Africa.  I think it's a fact that you have so generously referred to the past, is the key to the future ...(tape ends)  ... say right at the very beginning that I regret very much that not everyone who cannot understand Afrikaans has had access to your presentation, because I think what you have stated towards the end of your presentation is a word that needs to be heard by all in South Africa.
 I think it's the fact that you've so generously referred to the past is the key to the future.  I think you yourself recognised that we cannot be captive to the past;  we need to be freed for the future.
 Our main members and chambers and whatever and they mandate it.  So, it means it must be something that has very broad support before you find that it becomes an AHI viewpoint or whatever.
 So, to the extend that favouritism took place outside of that, that obviously is a possibility.  All that I can say is our structures were not used.
 The impression though that we have is that, that there were things like tender boards and whatever.  So, there were probably limited opportunities for that type of thing to happen and I think that is why there should be structures to ensure that there are by enlarge level (indistinct), which is a requirement for free enterprise really to flourish.
 But the main difference was - wasn't Afrikaner businesses versus the rest.  I think it's White business versus Black business.  That we very clearly conceit.
 We make the submission.  We say Apartheid was bad for business and then I talk about the business sector as a whole, because the business sector is the business sector of South African society and Apartheid want - takes it that if you assume you had sound policies and you had a peaceful transition, then we would have created much more wealth. 
 We would have had much more development in this country than we have now.  I think that that is the price that we're all poorer to that extend, but the difference between the way Black business and White businesses were treated;  that is a fact we say it is - it cannot be debated.  It is undeniable.
 I think we gave a few examples.  I think they - that community can explain it better than we can.

DR BORAINE: Thank you.  I have only - I would love to have asked you many more questions, but this man on my left, he won't allow me to.
 So let me conclude by asking one final question;  something which you didn't refer to in your oral presentation, but which is in your written presentation and which has caused a great deal of excitement amongst the TRC people, particularly those who are involved directly with Reparation and Rehabilitation.
 That of course was your reference in you written submission to the possibility of the so-called SASRIA funds, totalling about 9 billion rand being used in part towards Reparation and the reparation programme of the TRC.
 Now, when we read that we immediately wanted to know more about that.  We talked to the Minister of Finance about that as a possibility and having trying to take advice from a lot of people, because clearly this would be an enormous help.
 I wonder if you've had time to think a little more about this?  Where you see the possible down side or the up side or whether you still feel that this is fund that could be used in this way?  Thank you.