By Jerry Van Marter
Harare, 9 December (ENI)--Barney Pityana, chair of the Human Rights Commission in South Africa, levelled unusually harsh criticism at African leaders yesterday, 8 December, 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 Programme 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 theatre 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 programme 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 programme 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". [509 words]

Photographs of the assembly are available from Photo Oikoumene

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WCC Assembly Web Site

Photo Oikoumene

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