South Africa still has to overcome the enduring legacy of Thatcherism

[Baluarte]

South Africa still has to overcome the enduring legacy of Thatcherism

Not all black South Africans at the time were opposed to Thatcher, but her economic policies helped sustain apartheid

Depending on which side of South Africa's struggle for liberation one wason, one either loved or loathed Margaret Thatcher. Her legacy, particularly the question of whether she prolonged apartheid or brought the system to an earlier end, still continues to deeply divide the Rainbow Nation.

This dividing line was immediately clear in public responses in South Africa after her death. FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, and personal friend of the former British prime minister, was effusive in his praise of her, saying she had played a "positive role" in supporting non-racial constitutional transformation in South Africa.

Pik Botha, South Africa's longest serving foreign minister during apartheid, claimed Thatcher "did more to help South Africa to get rid of apartheid" than any other foreign leader in her time.

It would be an over-simplication to say that all black people during the apartheid era were opposed to Thatcher. She supported black Bantustan leaders and movements which operated within the apartheid system – and which were labelled "puppets" of the apartheid regime by its opponents – as an alternative to liberation movements, such as the ANC and leaders such as Mandela.

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the leader of the Inkatha Freedom party, now a small regionally based opposition party, was a particular favourite of Thatcher. He met Thatcher in Downing Street in 1986, to protests from anti-apartheid activists. Buthelezi this week called Thatcher "a voice of reason", and said he was "devastated" by her death.

The governing ANC, a fierce opponent of Thatcher, respecting the diplomatic etiquette, issued a rather polite statement, given her fiery opposition to the liberation struggle – in 1987 she called the ANC a "terrorist" organisation. ANC president, Jacob Zuma, only said she was a "formidable" opponent. The ANC, in its statement, said Thatcher's "unfortunate policies did not assist in expedite [sic] the demise of apartheid, but rather gave it a leash of life."

Yet, for the ANC and anti-apartheid activists there cannot be any doubt that Thatcher, through her cosiness to the apartheid regime, prolonged its life. After Mandela's release from Robben Island in February 1990, the party leadership stopped Mandela from meeting Thatcher in April – and even when Mandela eventually met Thatcher three months later, many ANC leaders and supporters were angry.

Individual ANC leaders were harsher in their judgment of Thatcher this week. Pallo Jordan, a minister in Mandela's cabinet, said "good riddance" on hearing of her death.

In addition, one of the key impacts of Thatcher in South Africa, and perhaps one of the least understood, is her lasting economic legacy. A key pillar of the basic business model of apartheid rested on cheap black migrant labour, strong opposition to black trade unions, and a deep opposition by business leaders to train black workers.

Thatcher's argument in the 1980s for a narrowly defined Anglo-Saxon economic model of capitalism – as opposed to the European "social market" model, where there is a co-operative partnership between labour and capital, or the Asian capitalism model, where the firm is a key social unit of which individuals are members, rather than simply workers.

Thatcher's capitalism – which believed relations between workers and suppliers should be mediated solely by price – and therefore firms must maintain low overheads to maintain their competitive position – found huge appeal among South Africa's corporates. In fact, it provided a moral justification for the dominant business model of cheap black labour that they could argue was not based on apartheid.

Thatcher's economic legacy still dominates South Africa's mainstream business, especially the mining sector. Yet, for the country to prosper, its economic model of low wages, migrant labour, minimal skills and few basic amenities for ordinary workers – along with huge remuneration and benefits for executives – are never going to be sustainable. The explosion of workers' anger at Lonmin's Marikana mine last August, and the unrest on the Cape wine belt, highlight the failure of this model.

A post-apartheid South Africa needs a pragmatic and co-operative relationship between business and government, and the end of the enduring negative influence of Thatcherite economic thinking.

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[Grumpy Cat]

I was watching a thing on BBC about how Thatcher helped to end apartheid. I was laughing so hard I think my neighbours called animal control thinking there was a hyena in my place and it got into my pot.

It's like Canadians thinking Canada was involved in ending it when the truth is, the dude who came up with the idea of apartheid was inspired by Canada's Indian Act.