Issued by: SA Communication Service
Dear Sir
At your first meeting with the Leadership of the Dutch Reformed Church you expressed the wish that the Dutch Reformed Church would give its co-operation in building a new South Africa in which reconciliation, peace and prosperity could be a prospect for everyone.
We deeply appreciated your most positive and reconciliatory approach, and extended our hand of co-operation in the same spirit.
Since then we have met again, and have been able to discuss matters frankly in pursuit of our common goal of reconciliation, peace and justice. We, for our part, wished to serve as an honest sounding-board for you so that you could gauge the thoughts and feelings of our members.
The success which has been achieved in fostering a positive spirit of co-operation among our members - who are, for the most part, Afrikaners - has exceeded our best expectations. Your own contribution in bringing this about is acknowledged with grateful appreciation. If we may continue to be your sounding-board, we would like to discuss the following matters with you:
1. THE TASK OF THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
The task of the Dutch Reformed Church is to proclaim to all the people of South Africa, by word and deed, the Triune God's plan of salvation. The church is thankful for the degree of freedom with which it can carry out this task.
It is furthermore the calling of the church to strive, in all spheres, for a Christian society in which freedom, justice and human dignity are recognised. Here the church accepts only the guidance of the Bible, the Word of God. In this regard there are those who feel that Christians and the Christian church are now being disregarded in many areas. Attempts to entrench Christian values - such as those relating to abortion, the death penalty and pornography - in the Constitution appear not to have been successful.
The Dutch Reformed Church Strives to ensure that its members are obedient citizens of the state. Hence our unceasing appeals to members to pray for the government, to pay taxes and service fees, not to participate in strikes or boycotts and to treat everyone with dignity. The church is grateful for the way in which its members contribute to reconciliation, reconstruction and a peaceful society, and continue to build upon this.
2. VIOLENCE AND CRIME IN SOUTH AFRICA
We wish to express our grave concern at the current level of violence and crime prevailing in our country. The widespread sense of insecurity among our people is evident from the large amounts of money which, according to media reports, are spent on security measures. Two leading figures in the Dutch Reformed Church family have been killed violently in the past few years - Prof. Johan Heyns in 1994 and Ds Esegi'l Mataboge only last week. For the church, these deaths have very starkly brought home the horror of the current situation.
In your very first opening address to Parliament as president you stated unequivocally that your Cabinet should see it as a priority to declare war on criminals.
Since then you have confirmed this view repeatedly. We also appreciate you initiatives to bring the violence in KwaZulu-Natal under control.
We would like to point out that, in view of the violence in our country, the Dutch Reformed Church held a day of prayer and that the Dutch Reformed Church family held a conference on the subject addressed by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, among others.
However, it remains a cause of concern to us that there seems to have been no progress to speak of in the fight against crime and violence. We are gravely concerned about the culture of lawlessness and the apparent perception among some people that crime can be a profitable occupation.
Aside from the detrimental effects of this situation on all the law-abiding people of our country, we have noted a growing feeling in important industrial countries that South Africa is an unsafe destination for their products and tourists. The USA has already issued a warning to its citizens that visits to South Africa entail certain risks.
While not presuming to prescribe to the state, the Dutch Reformed Church does feel that the following should be considered in this situation:
2.1 Much stricter penalties in cases of armed robbery
2.2 Stricter penalties for the possession of illegal firearms
2.3 The death penalty in cases of murder with aggravating circumstances
2.4 Organised neighbourhood watches under the guidance of the SAPS
2.5 An enliargement of the SAPS
2.6 The curtailment of an individual's rights commensurate with his conviction for serious crimes.
3. DEATH PENALTY
The Dutch Reformed Church was, at that time, in favour of the moratorium on the death penalty. But the Church did not support the total abolishment of the death penalty. We believe that it should be available as a form of punishment when the judiciary have to make a decision in severe murder cases.
The Official decision of the DRC on the death penalty, is as follows:
1. On Christian ethical grounds one cannot dispute the right of the authorities to impose the death penalty in some cases. Bearing in mind the worth of human life and a human being in the eyes of God, it may however be applied in the most extreme cases.
2. Deciding on the imposition of the death penalty as well as on the nature of those crimes for which it may be applied, is the task of government. The ultimate penalty is indeed as extension of the power of the sword which has been given to government and is indeed an extension of that power. It is therefore the task of government to decided on suitable forms of punishment in the execution of its duties. Government does not operate in a cultural vacuum. Therefore the sensibility and suitability of different forms of punishment should be compared from time to time.
3. When a suitable form of punishment is decided on, the Christian witness concerning the preciousness of human life should be taken into account.
4. Concretely, what is said above means that the imposition of the death penalty should never be mandatory. It could however, be one possibility when somebody if found guilty of certain crimes.
4. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Our view on affirmative action is that it can, in fact, be a wonderful thing if it is approached in the right way. We see it as a programme designed to develop the potential of people who have fallen behind economically, educationally and socially.
We believe that affirmative action should be part of a total development strategy contributing to the welfare of society as a whole.
Where people's rights come into conflict, the church would wish to involve itself in the fair balancing out of rights.
It would appear, however - there is ample evidence of this - that many people are unhappy because justice has not been done to the aspect of fairness.
Unsubstantiated dismissals and new appointments which frequently do not pass the test of merit aggravate this discontent. As a result, the willingness of people to work together in building the new South Africa, to share expertise freely and to prepare the disadvantaged for new responsibilities has been dealt a serious blow.
The positive acceptance of affirmative action is now turning into a negative perception that discrimination is simply continuing, only now in reverse.
We are deeply concerned at the fact that such a negative perception is increasingly taking root among our members.
The church cordially request:
4.1 that policy in this regard be clear and its application transparent;
4.2 that new appointees first be properly equipped, so that they can all accept their new responsibilities with self-worth and skill, without having to feel inferior;
4.3 that merit be taken into account in promotions, so as not to harm the country's economy;
4.4 that affirmative action be seen as a temporary measure to be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible;
4.5 that consideration be given to ways in which the expertise of people currently idle and unemployed can be utilised to the benefit of the country.
5. EDUCATION
The Dutch Reformed Church is conscious of the tremendous challenges confronting the management of education, as well as the country's financial resources. In view of this, and also by virtue of its involvement in education over many years, the church offers its assistance in:
In the interests of its members the church cordially requests:
The church is disturbed by the fact that:
6. LANGUAGE
The Dutch Reformed Church is glad that the Constitution provides for more official languages than in the past. The church is con- cerned, however, at the fact that having eleven official languages is, in practice, evidently an unworkable arrangement and that one language is increasingly dominating. In government the tendency to give English precedence is being promoted, instead of opposed. The trend, as it appears from the outside, is towards one state language, rather than eleven. English also predominates on the public broadcaster, the SABC, to an unacceptable degree.
The Dutch Reformed Church, whose members are mostly Afrikaans- speaking, is concerned about this trend and would be grateful to hear what your views are as president.
7. WELFARE ISSUES
1. We are deeply concerned about the financing of welfare in South Africa. This does not only concern the Dutch Reformed Church, but all the stake holders. Due to the increase in social security, the remaining funds for welfare services, are inadequate. This can result in the collapse of existing services and inhibits the launching of new projects aimed at alleviating poverty. The Dutch Reformed Church is committed to be involved in uplifting the poor and is participating in various poverty alleviating projects. Unless the welfare budget is increased to accommodate the existing welfare services and provide funds for new developmental projects, the aims of the RDP will not be met.
2. Furthermore there are insufficient funds in the Welfare Budget to finance the developmental social service approach, as emphasised in chapter two in the White Paper on Welfare as well as funding the existing welfare services. Our humble opinion is that the way the RDP funds was initially allocated was less successful. This resulted in the poor performance of the RDP projects. Any remaining RDP funds should be allocated to launch developmental projects.
3. Consistent subsidy cuts, especially in institutional care of welfare organisations, is threatening the existence of these important services. This is especially true for Old Age Homes and Children's Homes where community orientated programs are being run with the aim of reaching the underprivileged. If these services should be terminated, due to a lack of funds, it will seriously harm the infrastructure of welfare in the country. Developmental programs should not be promoted at the cost of existing specialised welfare services.
4. There is a growing disparity in the salaries of professional personnel employed by Private Welfare Organisations and those employed by the state. The state has for example approved an average salary increase of 40% for Social Workers in their service, but the subsidies to private organisations has been adjusted in such a way that it only allows a maximum salary increase of 8,7% for their personnel. These inequalities create tension in labour relations.
11 September 1996