African Activist Archive

Testimony of J. N. Musto, Executive Director, University of Hawaii Professional Assembly before the State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System. The testimony says on September 14, 1985 our Board unanimously carried a motion requesting that the State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System divest itself of investments and securities of corporations doing business, and/ or operating, in the Republic of South Africa; the UHPA Directors arrived at this decision after careful and deliberate consideration of the impact of divestiture both on the Retirement System and on South Africa. The testimony says obviously, we have been motivated to make this request because of the continued application of the system known as apartheid in the Republic of South Africa; we seek divestiture both as a method to end this practice, and as a statement on behalf of the faculty and other public employees that such a system is repugnant to our principles of human treatment; we are particularly sensitive to the fact that the State of Hawaii represents one of the most diverse and integrated societies in the world and that as such it represents the antithesis of the political structure in the state of South Africa. The testimony says the subject of divestiture in South Africa has been a major issue at universities throughout the United States; students and faculty have organized in demanding that there be action on divestiture; the Stanford University Commission on Investment Responsibility, through its chair, Richard Brody, is looking toward a plan to be accepted by the end of the year which would withdraw Stanford's investments in stocks of companies doing business in South Africa. The testimony says universities are also recognizing the potential threat that the current political climate has on the stability of economic: holdings of companies doing business in South Africa; just last month, the Columbia University Board of Trustees voted to sell virtually an $39 million of the institution's Investments in companies doing business in South Africa. The testimony says there are examples of investment portfolios which have done well without Investing in companies doing business in South Africa; these include the Calvert Social Investment Fund and the Pax World Fund. The testimony includes EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS IN AMERICAN FIRMS OPERATING IN SOUTH AFRICA. The testimony discusses the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession (WCOTP), Motorola, Rutgers University, Willie Brown, the California State Assembly, the Employees Benefits Journal, the Dreyfus Third Century Fund, Joseph Lelyveld, Nadine Gordimer, and sanctions.

African Activist Archive

SUBJECT: DIVESTMENT OF INVESTMENTS IN ENTITIES CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

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