The National Executive Committee of the South African Council of Churches met in Bonaero Park on 2-3 October to take action on a number of important issues:

The NEC expressed its continuing concern about the political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. The SACC is therefore organising a pastoral visit to members of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches to learn more about the current situation in the country, to strengthen and encourage our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe, to share in the vision and plans of the Zimbabwean Churches and to discuss ways of addressing the current food shortages in the country. The SACC’s priority is to work with our counterparts in Zimbabwe to identify ways to promote peace, dialogue, human rights and food security.

The NEC affirmed its desire to listen to a broad range of voices in Zimbabwe. In this spirit, it received a delegation from the Movement for Democratic Change - the National Co-ordinator, Mr. Isaac Maposa, and the South African Information Officer, Mr. Nicholas Dube - who urged churches to maintain an impartial profile and use their moral authority to ensure that the distribution of humanitarian relief is not politicised.

With respect to Angola, the NEC committed the SACC to working with the South African government to revive the humanitarian assistance programme to provide relief and reconstruction resources in a non-partisan manner.

The NEC also heard the report of an ecumenical delegation that travelled to Burundi at the invitation of the SANDF Chaplain-General to minister to South African peacekeeping forces engaged in the region. The visit provided an additional opportunity to meet local church leaders in Kigali. The NEC emphasised the need for ongoing dialogue with the SANDF and the SAPS concerning the provision of pastoral support to uniformed personnel and, in particular, to clarify questions related to the accountability of police and military chaplains to their respective denominations.

The NEC objected strongly to plans to introduce a daily lottery draw and emphasised the potentially harmful effects of this move. It appointed a delegation to meet with the management of Uthingo and made plans to coordinate the efforts of church leaders to speak out against the move.

The SACC congratulated the organisers of the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Global Civil Society Forum for the successful completion of these events. During the Summit, the SACC hosted 120 members of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Team who played an active role in the proceedings. The NEC emphasised the need for churches to be involved in publicising and monitoring the implementation of the agreements reached at the Summit. To that end, it called for an ecumenical meeting to assess the outcomes of the WSSD and plan further follow-up.

The NEC expressed reservations about recent international class-action lawsuits undertaken in the name of victims of apartheid-era human rights abuses. In order to prevent further victimisation of those affected by apartheid violence, the NEC insisted that any legal action should have the full and informed consent of those named in the case. Furthermore, these individuals must share fairly in any benefits accruing from a settlement.

The NEC also reaffirmed its view that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process should not preclude the possibility of further pardons. Furthermore, NEC members felt that, if others are to be considered for pardon, no individual should be categorically excluded, no matter how heinous his crimes.

At the same time, the NEC recognised that the issue of pardons is an extremely painful one, especially for the families of victims. It acknowledged the need for the Church - and SACC leaders in particular - to approach the matter sensitively and to minister to those in pain. It also called for an ecumenical conference to discuss the unfinished business of the TRC and to identify strategies for dealing with the Commission’s final report.

The NEC reaffirmed the call of the 2001 SACC Triennial National Conference for the introduction of a universal Basic Income Grant of not less than R100 per month and urged government to establish a broadly consultative mechanism to identify and address unresolved issues associated with the implementation of the grant. It also announced that the SACC’s annual Christmas Campaign would be focused on educating South Africans about the Basic Income Grant and its capacity to overcome poverty, promote human dignity and stimulate broad-based economic growth.

The NEC received the World Council of Churches’ Statement on the Threats of Military Action Against Iraq and officially endorsed the recent statement of the SACC General Secretary calling on the United States to use diplomatic rather than military means to resolve its differences with Iraq.

Issued by
Fr. Joe Mdhlela
Head: Communications
Contact: 082 456 5548