Opening speech by HE Ambassador W Makanda

An opening speech by Ambassador W Makanda delivered during South Africa Week, reflecting on South Africa's transition to a non-racial democracy and advocating for negotiation and intellectual discourse over armed conflict to resolve political challenges in Africa and globally.

• South Africa's transition to a non-racial, non-ethnic, and non-sexist democracy was achieved through negotiation, compromise, and consensus, which were chosen as alternatives to a catastrophic armed conflict.
• Ambassador Makanda argues that negotiated settlements are superior to bloody revolutions or military interventions, as the latter cause destruction and create more problems than they solve, whereas negotiations allow for orderly transitions.
• The speaker calls for a renewed culture of intellectual discourse and the development of new philosophies to address modern challenges, stating that neither orthodox free market economic policies nor the Marxist concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat provide complete solutions for the current global economic order.
• The speech urges governments and peoples in Africa and elsewhere to utilize international conflict resolution instruments provided by the United Nations and the African Union.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Opening speech by HE Ambassador W Makanda. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2006-cd-rom-sa-trans-process/Opening address.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Opening speech by HE Ambassador W Makanda. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2006-cd-rom-sa-trans-process/Opening address.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Opening speech by HE Ambassador W Makanda |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2006-cd-rom-sa-trans-process/Opening address.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforsecuritystudiesndopening, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Opening speech by HE Ambassador W Makanda}}, publisher = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2006-cd-rom-sa-trans-process/Opening address.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }