Date: 10/10/2003
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: Molefe: Nafococ Annual General Meeting
WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE NORTH WEST PREMIER, DR POPO SIMON MOLEFE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE NAFCOC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Sun City, 10 October 2003
Programme Director,
Ministers from national government present today,
The President of Nafcoc, Mr Patrice Motsepe,
Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is an honour for me to welcome all of you to the 2003 Annual General Meeting of Nafcoc and to the North West Province. I trust that you will find conditions here at Sun City, one of our province's tourism icons, conducive to fruitful discussions by yourselves as delegates to this important gathering of black business.
The theme for this year's Annual General Meeting of Nafcoc is: "Partnership for empowerment, job creation and poverty eradication." This theme speaks of the need to build a partnership in order to facilitate black economic empowerment (BEE), job creation and poverty alleviation.
This theme confirms the strategic link between BEE, job creation and poverty alleviation. It confirms our long-held belief that empowerment should form a critical part of the national effort to banish poverty and joblessness.
In line with the theme of this meeting, we must recommit ourselves to the pursuit of BEE in its broadest sense. We must continue to ensure that our model of BEE does not have too narrow a base of beneficiaries, and that its reach extends even to the most vulnerable in our society, the poor and rural women.
In our pursuit of BEE, we must prioritise job creation and poverty alleviation over self-enrichment and uncontrolled greed. This we must do because, joblessness and poverty constitute the obstinate remnants of the apartheid legacy we all seek to undo.
One way of pursuing broad-based economic empowerment is to build a strong cooperative sector. Experience has shown that cooperatives can serve as an important vehicle to empower poor communities and other small-scale producers. They can also contribute to local economic development.
As a largely rural province, we have committed ourselves to the empowerment of small scale and community-based producers. Our successes in this regard include the fact we have facilitated access to finance by linking emerging farmers with financial institutions such as the Land Bank.
We also assisted emerging farmers with the preparation of business plans so as to improve their chances of accessing finance. In addition, we formed partnerships with private sector investors who are prepared to finance the input costs of emerging farmers and provide them with access to markets.
The lease of by the provincial government of the Vryhof, Kraaipan and Springbokpan silos to a group of emerging farmers is yet another milestone in our drive to bring economic empower to those previously marginalised.
We continue to pursue, aggressively, the policy of preferential procurement as part of our ongoing attempt to boost BEE and job creation. During the 2002/2003 financial year, we awarded contracts to the value of R142 million, out of a total of contracts worth R150 million, to business owned by historically disadvantaged individuals in terms of our school building programme.
The Provincial Department of Roads and Public Works is also seized with the strategic task of building capacity among emerging contractors in order to prepare them to take on bigger and more complex construction projects.
Our drive to bring about broad-based empowerment also includes the empowerment of communities around our game reserves. Notable among these, are projects currently ongoing to empower communities adjacent to the Madikwe Game Reserve by giving them a share in its running. In addition, the concession for the management and development of the Moretele and Phudufudu camps in the Borakalalo Game Reserve was awarded to a women empowerment consortium, Uniteam.
The pending sale of our transport parastatal NTI, also holds enormous opportunities for BEE companies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, these are some of the many empowerment initiatives we as the provincial government have undertaken in the recent past. There are many more. All of these initiatives point to the fact that we have approached the issue of broad-based economic empowerment with the seriousness it deserves. We pledge that we will continue on this path.
Consistent with our understanding that empowerment cannot be driven by government alone, we are encouraged by attempts by some in the private sector, including multinational companies, to contribute to the process.
The recent Brenthurst Initiative by the Oppenheimer family is a case in point. This Initiative has not only enhanced the economic transformation debate but also has demonstrated the willingness by some major players in our economy and the global economy to embrace transformation.
In our province, we are encouraged by the progressive strides made by the private sector to broaden access to economic opportunities to all through the use of affirmative procurement.
Just to illustrate the extent of the involvement of the private sector in empowerment, I wish to refer to the example of Implats, one of the leading producers of platinum with operations in our Province. In just three months, from January 2002 to April 2002, Implats allocated over R32 million to businesses owned by historically disadvantaged individuals in the North West Province.
This trend is not unique to Implats. We also note with appreciation that Angloplats and Lonmin are also aggressively engaged in black empowerment initiatives. The private sector in our province continues to set aside millions of rands every year for the advancement of businesses owned by historically disadvantaged individuals.
That a large number of private sector players have joined government in pursuit of BEE, is an indication that indeed a partnership for empowerment is taking shape in our country and province.
It is this partnership that holds the key to unlock our country's economic potential, thus affording us a golden opportunity to launch a sustained onslaught on poverty and underdevelopment.
Once more I wish you a successful Annual General Meeting and a pleasant stay in our province.
I thank you!!!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
10 October 2003
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: Molefe: Nafococ Annual General Meeting
WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE NORTH WEST PREMIER, DR POPO SIMON MOLEFE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE NAFCOC ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Sun City, 10 October 2003
Programme Director,
Ministers from national government present today,
The President of Nafcoc, Mr Patrice Motsepe,
Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is an honour for me to welcome all of you to the 2003 Annual General Meeting of Nafcoc and to the North West Province. I trust that you will find conditions here at Sun City, one of our province's tourism icons, conducive to fruitful discussions by yourselves as delegates to this important gathering of black business.
The theme for this year's Annual General Meeting of Nafcoc is: "Partnership for empowerment, job creation and poverty eradication." This theme speaks of the need to build a partnership in order to facilitate black economic empowerment (BEE), job creation and poverty alleviation.
This theme confirms the strategic link between BEE, job creation and poverty alleviation. It confirms our long-held belief that empowerment should form a critical part of the national effort to banish poverty and joblessness.
In line with the theme of this meeting, we must recommit ourselves to the pursuit of BEE in its broadest sense. We must continue to ensure that our model of BEE does not have too narrow a base of beneficiaries, and that its reach extends even to the most vulnerable in our society, the poor and rural women.
In our pursuit of BEE, we must prioritise job creation and poverty alleviation over self-enrichment and uncontrolled greed. This we must do because, joblessness and poverty constitute the obstinate remnants of the apartheid legacy we all seek to undo.
One way of pursuing broad-based economic empowerment is to build a strong cooperative sector. Experience has shown that cooperatives can serve as an important vehicle to empower poor communities and other small-scale producers. They can also contribute to local economic development.
As a largely rural province, we have committed ourselves to the empowerment of small scale and community-based producers. Our successes in this regard include the fact we have facilitated access to finance by linking emerging farmers with financial institutions such as the Land Bank.
We also assisted emerging farmers with the preparation of business plans so as to improve their chances of accessing finance. In addition, we formed partnerships with private sector investors who are prepared to finance the input costs of emerging farmers and provide them with access to markets.
The lease of by the provincial government of the Vryhof, Kraaipan and Springbokpan silos to a group of emerging farmers is yet another milestone in our drive to bring economic empower to those previously marginalised.
We continue to pursue, aggressively, the policy of preferential procurement as part of our ongoing attempt to boost BEE and job creation. During the 2002/2003 financial year, we awarded contracts to the value of R142 million, out of a total of contracts worth R150 million, to business owned by historically disadvantaged individuals in terms of our school building programme.
The Provincial Department of Roads and Public Works is also seized with the strategic task of building capacity among emerging contractors in order to prepare them to take on bigger and more complex construction projects.
Our drive to bring about broad-based empowerment also includes the empowerment of communities around our game reserves. Notable among these, are projects currently ongoing to empower communities adjacent to the Madikwe Game Reserve by giving them a share in its running. In addition, the concession for the management and development of the Moretele and Phudufudu camps in the Borakalalo Game Reserve was awarded to a women empowerment consortium, Uniteam.
The pending sale of our transport parastatal NTI, also holds enormous opportunities for BEE companies.
Ladies and Gentlemen, these are some of the many empowerment initiatives we as the provincial government have undertaken in the recent past. There are many more. All of these initiatives point to the fact that we have approached the issue of broad-based economic empowerment with the seriousness it deserves. We pledge that we will continue on this path.
Consistent with our understanding that empowerment cannot be driven by government alone, we are encouraged by attempts by some in the private sector, including multinational companies, to contribute to the process.
The recent Brenthurst Initiative by the Oppenheimer family is a case in point. This Initiative has not only enhanced the economic transformation debate but also has demonstrated the willingness by some major players in our economy and the global economy to embrace transformation.
In our province, we are encouraged by the progressive strides made by the private sector to broaden access to economic opportunities to all through the use of affirmative procurement.
Just to illustrate the extent of the involvement of the private sector in empowerment, I wish to refer to the example of Implats, one of the leading producers of platinum with operations in our Province. In just three months, from January 2002 to April 2002, Implats allocated over R32 million to businesses owned by historically disadvantaged individuals in the North West Province.
This trend is not unique to Implats. We also note with appreciation that Angloplats and Lonmin are also aggressively engaged in black empowerment initiatives. The private sector in our province continues to set aside millions of rands every year for the advancement of businesses owned by historically disadvantaged individuals.
That a large number of private sector players have joined government in pursuit of BEE, is an indication that indeed a partnership for empowerment is taking shape in our country and province.
It is this partnership that holds the key to unlock our country's economic potential, thus affording us a golden opportunity to launch a sustained onslaught on poverty and underdevelopment.
Once more I wish you a successful Annual General Meeting and a pleasant stay in our province.
I thank you!!!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
10 October 2003
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