Presentation by Gay Seidman, graduate student in Sociology at UC-Berkeley, at a Public Hearing on University of California Divestment. Seidman's testimony discusses the crisis of South Africa's economy. It is in its deepest recession since the 1930's, the national debt has topped $20 billion, inflation is in double digits, unemployment--especially among blacks--has soared, and twelve bankruptcies are filed every day. Most of this crisis is caused by South Africa's own apartheid policies. The government spends over $1 million daily on its war in Namibia and Angola, on top of its spending to control and repress its black majority. Estimates of U.S. holdings in South Africa (direct...
Presentation by Gay Seidman, graduate student in Sociology at UC-Berkeley, at a Public Hearing on University of California Divestment. Seidman's testimony discusses the crisis of South Africa's economy. It is in its deepest recession since the 1930's, the national debt has topped $20 billion, inflation is in double digits, unemployment--especially among blacks--has soared, and twelve bankruptcies are filed every day. Most of this crisis is caused by South Africa's own apartheid policies. The government spends over $1 million daily on its war in Namibia and Angola, on top of its spending to control and repress its black majority. Estimates of U.S. holdings in South Africa (direct holdings, bank loans and portfolio holdings) vary from $2.6 to $14 billion. U.S. investment is crucial to running South Africa: U.S. firms control nearly half South Africa's oil, 70 percent of its computers, and a third of its auto industry. At least 350 American companies own South African subsidiaries, and another 6,000 engage in significant trade. U.S. companies are feeling the heat from the divestment campaign, which, along with the intensified struggle inside South Africa, is making South Africa less attractive, and more risky, to investors. If U.S. companies withdrew or reduced their holdings, no one else would rush in to fill the vacuum - until there is majority rule. Worrying about a potential crisis if companies withdrew begs the question of what is happening in South Africa now. Violence in South Africa is systemic, and U.S. companies, including those in the University of California's portfolio, all either directly or indirectly contribute to that violence. The testimony mentions strategic industries, Burroughs, Ambassador Brand Fourie, Ford Motor Company, IBM (International Business Machines), Hewlett-Packard, Caterpillar, Eastman Kodak, government-owned parastatals, pass laws, ARMSCOR, the international embargo on arms sales, former South African prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd, Caltex, General Electric (GE), lobbying, the migrant labor system, influx control, Dow Chemical Company, Gatsha Buthelezi, the KwaZulu Bantustan, the United Democratic Front (UDF), African National Congress (ANC), Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), Black Consciousness Movement, independent black trade unions, Cyril Ramaphosa, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Joe Foster, FOSATU (Federation of South African Trade Unions), Chrysler, the Sullivan Principles, Nobel Peace Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Africa Resource Center, and the UC-Berkeley Graduate Assembly.
