NEWS & MEDIA

'Political Will Can Change Lives'

by Nelson Mandela

The World Summit on Sustainable Development has taken place at a time when we as South Africans, and indeed the entire continent, are grappling with achieving development that is sustainable and at the same time not harmful to our people or our environments.

South Africa, like the rest of Africa, is plagued by vast inequalities between the very poor and the very rich.  Many of our people still live in abject poverty.

our natural resources are being exploited in a way that is not sustainable.  Our vast forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate, our water supplies are being depleted and what supply there is is being polluted in such a way that it hampers the overall socio-economic development of our communities.

The question then is: can a gathering like the earth summit actually make a difference in our lives?

Since the last earth summit in Brazil 10 years ago have we seen real and positive changes?

Let us look at this through the eyes of children, the most vulnerable and most needy in any society.

Are children in 2002 better off than they were in 1992? Some would say yes and some would say no. 

In fact it is a bit of both.

Clearly conferences such as the just-ended earth summit cannot bring about change.  They represent important beginnings but without action they remain empty promises and good intentions.

A child living in rural South Africa is in some ways better off but in many ways his or her life has not changed much.

In 2002 a child living in rural South Africa is more likely to be immunised against a childhood disease than they were in 1992.

They are more likely to have the opportunity to go to school and in their immediate community there is a greater awareness of their rights and that they need to be taken care of.

Efforts to improve their lives have vastly increased and in 2002 there is probably more political commitment to see a real improvement in any child's life, but particularly in the remote rural areas.

But much has not changed and in some cases the situation has in fact become worse.

For a child living in rural South Africa there is a very high probability that he or she will only receive one meal a day or not eat at all at any given day.

They will have to walk very far to get to a school or to get clean water for their families.  Some children are still being forced to enter into gainful employment at a very early age to help support their families.

One of the most critical issues affecting a child in 2002 is HIV-AIDS.  A child in 2002 will at some point be touched by HIV-AIDS either directly or indirectly.

Added to the burden of poverty and walking long distances to school, children in many parts of rural South Africa, and indeed most of the developing world, are becoming primary caregivers.

One of the most daunting challenges facing delegates and participants at the Johannesburg earth summit is the adverse effect that HIV-AIDS has on development.

In the months and years to follow Johannesburg 2002, HIV-AIDS is going to become the major issues affecting development.

The question then is: "What difference will the earth summit make in their lives In 10 years will they be able to look and say: 'The earth summit changed and improved my life'."

I can say that the earth summit can and will make a difference only if there is real commitment to actively implement the resolutions that are adopted.

The earth summit will then move beyond a mere talkshop and become something resulting in concrete steps that improve people's lives at all levels of society, and across all socio-economic and political barriers.

The earth summit was characterised by one unique feature: it was the first time that civil society groups were given the opportunity to participate in such an active way, and this is the key to ensuring that the earth summit makes a differences in people's lives because, essentially, that is what it was about.

It was about bringing positive and real changes to those people on the brink, those who live in abject poverty, and those who are barely literate and struggle to survive and provide for their families.

Summits such as this one can make a difference in educating and raising awareness among ordinary people about issues such as environmental degradation, poverty and economic imbalances.

Knowledge can be a powerful tool in bringing about change and ensuring that the earth summit makes a difference.

With this knowledge and commitment the profile of a child living in rural South Africa should be very different in ten years' time.

The implementation plan agreed upon in Johannesburg includes programmes to deliver water, energy, healthcare, agricultural development and a better environment for the world's poor.

If this plan is implemented by leaders at all levels a child living in rural South Africa should see the following improvements in his or her life in 10 years time.

• Easy access to clean drinking water.  Neither they nor their parents would have to walk very far to fetch this water;
• Children waking up on any given morning secure in the fact that they will not have to walk very far to go to school;
• Having at least one meal a day that will nourish them;
• Being able to finish their schooling or at least be given the opportunity to receive basic education, giving them the tools in life to be successful at whatever they do;
• Being secure in the knowledge that the water they drink is not polluted and will remain that way; and
• The air is clean and will remain so and that any kind of industrial activity will not be at the expense of the environment.

Provided there is commitment and political will the summit can and will make a difference.

(The writer is former president of South Africa)

--The Sowetan