wfn.org | Root Out Corruption to Eliminate Poverty,' Says Human Rights

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Official 
10-December-1998 
 
    `Root Out Corruption to Eliminate Poverty,' Says Human Rights Official 
 
    by Jerry Van Marter 
    Ecumenical News International 
 
HARARE, Zimbabwe--Barney Pityana, chair of the Human Rights Commission in 
South Africa, leveled unusually harsh criticism at African leaders, Dec. 8, 
telling the eighth assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) that 
poverty could be eradicated across the continent "if corruption in the 
management of public resources is eliminated." 
 
    Speaking at an assembly plenary meeting on the subject of Africa, 
Pityana, a former director of the WCC's Programed to Combat Racism, said 
that poverty was not a natural condition of humanity. "It is man-made ... 
because poverty is the result of policy options that have been taken which 
impoverish some and enrich others. Inasmuch as poverty is manmade, so also 
do I believe that poverty can be eradicated." 
 
    Defining corruption as "theft from the poor," Pityana said poverty 
could be eliminated "if national priorities in the distribution of 
available resources are restructured so that there is evident bias for the 
poor in public policy." 
 
    But, referring to a theme frequently raised at the WCC assembly, 
Pityana said that debt forgiveness was needed, as well as controls on the 
free-market global economy, fairer international trade policies and changes 
in consumption patterns by most nations. 
 
    In addition to eradicating poverty, Pityana spoke of two other 
"challenges" faced by Africa -  on the one hand establishing democracy, 
human rights and good systems of government; and, on the other hand, 
setting standards for a moral universe. 
 
    "Corruption will not be eliminated except on the basis of truly 
democratic policies and sensitivity and responsiveness to human need," he 
said, "in short - good governance." 
 
    A commitment to root out corruption and ensure accountability to the 
people of those in power "will ensure long-term stability and prosperity 
for all [Africa's] peoples," Pityana said. 
 
    He concluded that firm moral values were required in Africa. "The moral 
regeneration of the continent and its peoples is fundamental to all our 
concerns. The cause of Africa," he said, "is never going to be served by 
prevailing moral relativism and selectivity." 
 
    The Africa plenary began with a dramatic presentation by a popular 
Zimbabwean theater troupe, ZACT.  Actors - portraying, poignantly and 
sometimes hilariously, an elderly  man, his middle-aged daughter and his 
teenage grandson - depicted the struggles of various generations of 
Africans to come to grips with their troubled heritage. 
 
    The programed also included the reading of "A letter to my ancestors" 
by Dr Mercy Oduyoye, a former deputy general secretary of the WCC, in which 
she tried to explain the pressures that have threatened African traditions. 
She also expressed her commitment to "never again walk on tiptoe around the 
globe which is God's world and our common heritage." 
 
    The programed concluded with a litany of "Commitment to a Journey of 
Hope" led by several dozen African children.  All the African delegates at 
the plenary -  "those in Africa and in diaspora around the world" - were 
invited to stand and vow "to work tirelessly for a future of Africa full of 
life in abundance." 

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