WASHINGTON — "Out of Africa," said the ancient Romans, "there is always something new." Recently, the news from Africa has been almost all bad. Famines in Ethiopia, genocide in Rwanda; chaos in Somalia and AIDS spread ing everywhere. At times, it seems that all of Africa south of the Sahara is headed toward a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.
The only exception to the dismal trend has been South Africa, where the transition to non-racial democracy in the richest sub-Saharan country has given new hope for the whole region. Though last week's resignation of South Africa's respected finance minister, Derek Keys, shows the new government will not escape severe tests.
The conservative, pragmatic Keys was a major figure in South African politics. As a member of the formerly pro-apartheid Nationalist Party, he served as finance minister in South Africa's last whites-only government as well as in its first multiracial one. In the tough, behind-the-scenes negotiations over the budget, he is credited with putting together a tight budget that nonetheless increased social spending for South Africa's poor. His continuity in office reassured local and foreign investors that President Nelson Mandela's government would pursue sensible, pro-business policies--that although South Africa was under new management, it was still open for business.
His sudden resignation--for unexplained "personal" reasons--left Mandela with a problem. The president quickly appointed leading banker Christo Liebenberg to Keys' post. But even naming the former CEO of South Africa's fourth-largest financial-services company couldn't quite calm investor jitters.
Yet, this shouldn't overshadow the main story in South Africa: After decades and, in some cases, centuries of conflict, the many ethnic and racial groups in the country have reached the conclusion that their common interests are more important than grievances and ancient hatreds.
Only a few years ago, South Africa was at war with itself. Whites, in general, hated and feared blacks, and vice versa. But each camp was divided within itself as well. Afrikaans-speaking whites and English-speaking whites didn't trust one another. Indians and people of mixed racial backgrounds were not fully accepted by either whites or blacks. Among blacks, tribal rivalries and political infighting divided the liberation movement and created opportunities for the government to pursue a policy of divide and rule. As recently as last spring, many South Africans feared their country was headed down the road of Bosnia and Rwanda.
