The Limits Of Social Cohesion by Peter L. Berger

Author:Peter L. Berger [Berger, Peter L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sociology
ISBN: 9780429975950
Google: cVJPDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 1427213
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Business, Apartheid, and the Urban Foundation

In 1976 South African business came together to form the Urban Foundation. In the words of H. F. Oppenheimer, head of South Africa's largest corporation, Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, speaking at the Founding Conference of the Urban Foundation in November 1976: "We in South Africa are going through a very critical time and of all the difficulties we face one of the most serious factors, perhaps the most serious factor, is the quality of life in our urban communities. Business people have a very important role to play and it is in order to organise business people that this conference has been arranged."

This organization was to perform a remarkable and unique role over the next fifteen years. There are separate business organizations in South Africa for English and Afrikaans business, and one of the unusual aspects of the Urban Foundation was that it was the first time that English and Afrikaans businessmen had come together in the same organization. Thus indirectly the organization was to play a "mediating role" between these two historically estranged and sometimes antagonistic groups.

Originally set up "to improve the quality of life in urban black communities," the Foundation's role grew far beyond this initial idea. By the end of the 1980s the organization was the country's leading development agent, demonstrating through practical projects innovative ways of tackling the massive development challenges that would face a government committed to housing, educating, and servicing all the country's citizens. The organization was also leading the business sector in its opposition to the country's key apartheid laws. Thus it was the Foundation that educated and informed business leaders about the negative ramifications of influx control on the economy and all South Africans; mobilized the international and domestic research evidence and arguments to counter government and conservative thinking on the necessity of retaining controls over black movement to the cities; mobilized business resources and influence to persuade the government that influx control must go; publicly lobbied and galvanized others to join in this campaign; and then, having obtained government support in principle for the abolition of this key pillar of the apartheid system, ensured that the actual legislation came to parliament as quickly as possible and that it carried through the intentions of abolition in all respects. With this victory under its belt, the Foundation then embarked on a five-year campaign to educate and mobilize business and then other interests around the removal of the other key pillars of apartheid, namely, the Land Acts (dealing with rural segregation—ownership of land), the Group Areas Act, and the enforcement of segregated local government.

Through its work the Foundation became an institution in apartheid South Africa where black and white South Africans could come together to discuss issues of national concern in an open and constructive environment. It was a place where projects could be initiated and then jointly managed by black South Africans and Foundation staff. Through the support of key business leaders and their organizations the Foundation could play a leadership role with respect to ideas, development programs, and policies.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.