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1. Countries which fall within the CPSA
Angola, Namibia, St.Helena, Ascension Island, Swaziland, Mozambique, Lesotho, and South Africa.
2. Geographical area: 41/2 million square kilometres. 22 dioceses.
Peace and Justice Issues in the Region
About 10 years ago the whole of this area was caught up in wars and political unrest of one form or another. (This is with the exception of St.Helena and, to a lesser extent, the Swaziland dioceses). Within the same period Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa have attained democracy. Perhaps a brief resume of the political situation in each country would help:
St Helena. Not much of the political situation is known except that as an island it is run from the United Kingdom. It participates actively (whenever it can) in the affairs of the CPSA. There seem to be some people in the diocese who wish to be part of the Church of England - in England.
Swaziland. As a country, it is run by a monarch and does not have a multiparty democracy. At the present moment, there are tensions as a result of a division among the AmaSwazi - those people calling for a constitutional monarchy like that of England, where the ruler is a head of state who lets the elected government run the country. That group has not been successful. There are also tensions between the government and the trade unions, as they are not recognised officially.
Lesotho. Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty democracy. In Lesotho, the monarch, constitutionally, does not take sides in party politics. There are going to be parliamentary elections early in 2000. This comes after a very major uprising in the country as a result of dissatisfaction on the part of opposition parties, who felt that the 1998 election results were not a true reflection of the way the people had voted.
The 1998 election issue resulted in a violent uprising, major destruction of property, and subsequent intervention of South African Development Council (SADC) forces. Even now some BaSotho see the action of the SADC forces as constituting an army of occupation.
In the peace efforts brokered by South Africa, the warring political parties agreed to have an election within 18 months; that is the election scheduled for next year.
The damage and destruction of property, estimated at millions of Rands, is still causing problems for businesses; insurance companies are not willing to pay as the buildings and shops destroyed did not have risk coverage. Of course, this is understandable if you consider that Lesotho had hitherto been a peaceful country with no history of political uprising that had at any time become violent. This is a very serious problem for this little ÒMountain KingdomÓ which is completely surrounded by South Africa.
Namibia. The church is very much alive in this country which until about 10 years ago was occupied by South Africa and its defense forces. Presently, there are some serious negotiations underway as a result of a misunderstanding between Namibia and its southeastern neighbor, Botswana.
Recently, Namibia's debt to South Africa was written off. Namibia has a constitution according to which the current president's term of office should come to an end with elections due to take place shortly (either this year or early next year). However by 'popular' demand, the constitution has been or is being amended to enable President Sam Nonjoma to have another term of office. Some people see this as a travesty of justice, or as the ruling Swapo party shifting the goal posts, or as the President actually refusing to go - unlike his neighbors in Botswana (a few years ago), and South Africa (this year), where the presidents willingly retired from political office to give a chance to 'younger blood.'
Angola. The CPSA had hoped that part of the millenium celebrations would be the founding of a missionary diocese in Angola. However, the seemingly abating civil war in that country started with such vigor that we have to monitor the situation quite closely and consult seriously with the church in Angola before moving forward with the missionary diocese. Incidentally, Angola is an archdeaconry of the Diocese of Lebombo in Mozambique. The main reason for this arrangement is that both countries are former Portuguese colonies, and Portuguese is the official language in both.
Both countries boast having more landmines per square kilometer than anywhere else in the world. In fact the late Princess of Wales visited Angola on the 'Landmines Ticket,' her worldwide appeal for the banning of landmines, just before her tragic death.
Until recently, the church in Angola enjoyed relative peace thanks to the sense of mission on the part of the church leadership within Angola itself, as well as within the CPSA as a whole.
Mozambique. This country needs to be congratulated for pulling itself together from a state of 'civil war' which included its southern neighbor, to a point where reconstruction and development are there for all to see. The Bishop of Lebombo has played a particularly prominent role in the ending of the war and in the ensuing reconstruction process. Clergy stipends, by the way, in both Mozambican dioceses of Lebombo and Niassa are the lowest in the CPSA, and probably in the world.
Like Angola, Mozambique (until recently) had more or less the same number of landmines as the number of its inhabitants.
South Africa.
Here the first democratic elections took place in 1994 and Nelson Mandela became President. The man who was a political prisoner for 27 years became the head of state. MandelaÕs statemanship, his almost saintly ability to forgive, his talent for turning foes into friends, as well as his establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as chair - all of these qualities and accomplishments turned a potentially disastrous situation,a potential nightmare, into everybody's dream state.
Several factors, though, are threatening this good work:
a) The gangster element, mainly in the Western Cape.
b) The threat of Islamic fundamentalism related to (a) above.
c) The feeling of the black masses that although political power was won in 1994, economic power is very much in the hands of the whites.
d) The belief that the whites, on the whole, do not want transformation of the country.
e) The concern about the history of some African states after gaining independence. Is South Africa going to follow the same path as the countries of the Great Lakes region and the Sudan with Mandela going and Archbishop Tutu gone?
Take heart, both the 'next' President of South Africa and the present archbishop, Njongonkulu Ndungane, have shown themselves to be men of gifts and insight - real Africans. Deputy Thabo Mbheki's major contribution to Africa is his unswerving conviction about the 'African Renaissance.' Archbishop Ndungane's heart is in Africa, as well can be seen in the line he has consistently towed, as to the writing off of the international debt and in his chairing of poverty hearings.
What About the CPSA?
The spirit of good neighborliness has been seen not only in President Mandela's marriage to Mrs. Machel, wife of the late President of Mozambique, but also in cooperation among SADC countries e.g. the building of the Maputo corridor between South Africa and Mozambique; the writing off of the debt owed South Africa by Namibia. And we hope more such gestures are on the way.
The CPSA as a whole, and South Africa particularly, has decided to disengage the 'against' mode and engage the 'for' mode - this refers to positivity rather than negativity. This is shown in the recent work of its two commissions.
Mission and Ministry Commission 1994. This commission has been working with three focuses:
a) Healing, reconstruction and development of the nations of the CPSA.
b) Renewal and empowerment of the local church as an agent for healing, reconstruction, and development.
c) An engaged and authentic spirituality which undergirds the first two focuses.
In 1995, in pursuance of the second focus or its spirit, the Archbishop (through the synod of bishops) convened a meeting of the Black leaders of the CPSA. The major outcome of that was a resolution taken to, and passed by, the Provincial Synod in 1995Ñnamely the appointment of the Transformation Commission by the Archbishop. This commission has identified four main things for the CPSA to realise:
1. A transformed church for a transformed people.
2. Ministry and leadership which is both effective and tranformed
3. The church and Society. Here we are talking of 'a church without walls,' a church which is involved in the society and vice versa.
4. Structures of the church that will be understandable and user-friendly.
The CPSA is working very hard within the dioceses to realize this dream, which is definitely within reach. Some financial support has been forthcoming and more may be on the way.
Finally, on behalf of the CPSA and its countries generally, and the Republic of South Africa in particular, I would like to thank the APJN for all its support and encouragement during the dark days of apartheid. South Africa is enjoying its democracy and is dealing with the 'teething problems' that any young democracy has to deal with. We thank you one and all.
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