D.Litt. et Phil. / The international and national historical realities triggered the fragmented white South African business community to unite. These realities also influenced the National Party (NP) government to consider the views of business people with regards to the impact of apartheid politics on the South African economy. South African business people, and especially the Afrikaner business people, exploited the access that they had with Afrikaner political decision makers by influencing them through business organisations such as, the Urban Foundation. The united South African business people took on a leadership position as a result of their increased influence on the political decision-makers. As the leadership group with an inclination towards a non racial democracy, the business community soon found themselves at loggerheads with the NP government. The enlightened Afrikaner business persons refrained from criticising government openly, and supported government’s reform strategies in order to keep debate on reforms alive. The Afrikaner business community shed their ‘passive resistance’ and legitimisation role after the Rubicon speech in August 1985. From thereon, they openly played a role of bridge building by reaching out to anti-apartheid movements and to identify common areas of interest within the society. Towards 1987 enlightened Afrikaner business people were active in the broader South African business community and they were able to mobilize the Consultative Business Movement (CBM) to participate in the dismantling of apartheid. The vision of business was to establish a free market system through broad base consultation. The business community actively supported the democratisation of South African businesses, the redistribution of wealth, the active participation of blacks in a free market economy, as well as the advancement of growth in black communities. The Enlightened Afrikaner business people adopted a social involvement strategy that piloted Black Economic Empowerment transactions, such as Sanlam’s initiative to broaden black equity share ownership. Broad based consultation also cultivated a practical approach to the economy and established a framework for debate that incorporated socialist and capitalist ideas. This compromise strategy was aimed to counter non-viable socialist options regarding redistribution of wealth and the opening up of the economy to previously disadvantaged groups. After 1990, when the NP government accepted that the political landscape must change, the business community embraced a change role, a bridge building role, a facilitator role and a catalyst role to usher in a New South Africa with a bigger middle class and acceptable free market principles as government policy. Accordingly, the enlightened Afrikaner business people actively participated in the negotiation for a political future of South Africa. However, they always remained politically neutral during the actual political negotiation process.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:1894 |
| Date | 12 December 2011 |
| Creators | Hoogenraad-Vermaak, Salomon Cornelius Johannes |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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