Themba Gadebe
17 April 2007
With its experience in bringing together people from various racial and socio-economic and racial backgrounds, South Africa has offered to assist Bolivia in developing its constitution.
It is hoped that a new constitution will help integrate a divided Bolivian society, whose population comprises 30% Quechua, 30% Mestizo (mixed white and Indian), 25% Aymara and 15% white people.
South Africa has also offered to assist the Latin American nation to stabilise its economic, trading and land issues.
These and other issues were on the agenda during a meeting between Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and her Bolivian counterpart, Alvaro Garcia Linera, in Pretoria last week.
"We are interested in discussing the concurrence of powers at various societal levels, such as national and provincial," Linera said, adding he hoped to gain a better insight into land-related issues during his visit to South Africa.
"We also want to understand how the new constitution should address issues of wealth sharing and land distribution in Bolivia," he noted.
Bolivia, with a population of nearly 9-million, is one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, despite having reformed its economy after a serious economic crisis in the early 1980s.
Although democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, the country still faces the problems of deep-seated poverty and social unrest.
Bolivia's financial position has improved in recent years, with the country recording a 6% fiscal surplus for 2006, while the G8 announced a US$2-billion "debt-forgiveness plan" for the country over the next few decades.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank also cleared approximately US$1.8-billion of Bolivian debt in 2006.
Similar experiences
Mlambo-Ngcuka said the Bolivian situation was not different from South Africa's experiences during the transition
to democracy, especially with regard to the establishment of a constitutional state.
"We have, therefore, decided to make our own government, parliamentary experts, and those from the broader academic community available to assist the Bolivian government overcome its challenges," she said.
A South African delegation would be paying a visit to Bolivia, Mlambo-Ngcuka said, while a delegation of Bolivian experts would be invited to South Africa to share the lessons of the country's constitution-building experience.
There have been several official trips between the two countries, with a working relationship existing between the two countries' economic ministries, particularly with the Departments of Minerals and Energy and Trade and Industry.
The Bolivian government has expressed its intention to establish an embassy in South Africa.
Source: BuaNews
