New meanings of Panafricanism in the era of globalisation

assist the democratic state in its efforts to heed its pledges
towards the African majority. (Marais 2002:98)
It is in this context that Mbeki’s Bukharinist call on black entrepreneurs not to be
ashamed of becoming rich and to help to establish a “patriotic bourgeoisie” makes sense.
It also explains why the bourgeois press delights in pointing out that the “utopian”
precepts of the Freedom Charter have been ditched for the “realism” of the (black)
empowerment charters and that taking control of the “commanding heights of the
economy” will come about “… not by nationalisation but by ownership and the conscious
creation of a capitalist class in the first instance, a sizable middle class in the second”
(Financial Mail 2002)
The objectives of NEPAD are the same as those of GEAR, except that they apply across
the length and breadth of the continent. The most ambitious aspect of these is the desire
to reform the institutions of global governance, i.e., the WB, the IMF, the WTO and the
UNO. This is deemed to be essential if Africa, as part and parcel of the Third World, is to
have its debt reduced or written off, obtain increased development aid grants as well as
more equitable access to the lucrative markets of the North and attract what is considered
by the orthodox economic strategists its decisive portion of foreign direct investment.
The ruling party realises that this is a strategy of desperation. Finance Minister, Trevor
Manuel, said as much as far back as 1999 already. According to him
The biggest problem that confronts us in relation to the Bretton
Woods Institutions is that you need an 85 per cent vote to effect any
change. With the United States holding about 17 per cent of all
shares, no reform can take place without its agreement. Therefore,
the kinds of reforms we are hoping for are not going to happen
unless the world takes a very different approach to these institutions.
(Cited in Marais 2002:67)
The tone of pessimism and desperation has become ever more audible after the collapse
of the Cancun talks and as the incidence of “IMF riots” increases in African countries and
in South Africa itself. In his most recent statement on the matter (at the United Nations),
Mbeki even threatened the possibility of uncontrollable violent action. (See
Katzenellenbogen 2003)
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