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Date
: 16/11/2004
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: S Ndebele: Launch of Investing in South Africa
publication
ADDRESS BY THE PREMIER OF KWAZULU-NATAL, MR SBUSISO NDEBELE, AT THE
LAUNCH OF THE 'INVESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA' PUBLICATION, South Africa
House, South African High Commission, London, 16 November
2004
Your Excellency, South African High Commissioner, Ms Lindiwe
Mabuza;
The Deputy South African High Commissioner, Mr Cyril Ndaba,
The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Arts, Culture and Tourism, Mr Narend
Singh;
The officials of the High Commission;
Captains of industry and potential investors to South Africa;
Ladies and Gentlemen
In 1984, the President of the African National Congress, then a
banned movement, Mr Oliver Tambo, said this of London during a
meeting to declare the year 1984 as the Anti-Racist Year.
This is the London that first forged links with the African
National Congress seventy years ago, when it sheltered our then
Secretary-General Solomon Plaatje. This is the London of Fenner
Brockway, who met and welcomed Solomon Plaatje at the time. It is
the London we have known as the birthplace of the British
Anti-Apartheid Movement, which this year celebrates its 25th
anniversary, and one of whose most prominent founders is its
current President, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston.
By declaring 1984 Anti-Racist Year and adopting the Anti-Apartheid
Declaration, People's London has become a formidable ally of all
those who are engaged in combating racism throughout the world and
especially in South Africa. As citizens of an anti-apartheid zone,
more Londoners will be mobilised into action to isolate the
apartheid regime. Many have already responded to the campaign of
the Anti-Apartheid Movement by boycotting South African wines, Cape
grapes and Outspan oranges; by cutting sports and cultural links
with racist South Africa; by contributing money to the British
Defence and Aid Fund, and support to the ANC and SWAPO of Namibia
for their humanitarian needs. They have spoken out against
apartheid at schools and universities, within the trade union
movement, the political parties, the church, inside Parliament and
indeed even at annual general meetings of leading British companies
with investments in South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, it was exactly two decades ago, at the height
of apartheid repression when our leaders were hounded out of their
own country and others, like Nelson Mandela, were languishing in
jail that Oliver Tambo stood up to utter these words.
It was at a time when it was not very popular to stand side by side
with South Africa's foremost liberation movement but indeed the
People's London, as Oliver Tambo affectionately referred to it, had
dared to stare the apartheid beast in the face, and choose the side
of the people.
We are gathered here today, ten years after South Africa attained
its freedom, to again meet up with our fellow combatants in
People's London and declare that Oliver Tambo's dream of a free and
democratic South Africa is being realised but we still need the
support of our battle-hardened allies to reconstruct and develop
our country and to consolidate our fledgling democracy.
I am humbled, High Commissioner, that I, the Premier of
KwaZulu-Natal, have been given the honour to say a few words at the
launch of this catalyst publication - 'Investing in South
Africa'.
Mr James Lennox the Chief Executive Officer of the South African
Chamber of Business (SACOB) hits the nail on the head when he says:
'We can't get the trading environment right until we get the
political environment right'. No country can hope to attract
investors if it cannot guarantee political stability. In South
Africa, we are acutely aware of this and indeed, a glance at the
profile of our country shows that we have a stable government under
the stewardship of President Thabo Mbeki.
South Africa - Gateway to Africa
South Africa has worked its way towards being one of the major
countries and a voice of authority in Africa. Even before the
attainment of freedom, leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Dr Yusuf Dadoo
and many others were highly-respected statesmen. Mr Nelson Mandela,
when he became the President of South Africa in 1994, continued in
the same vein, leading the way and ensuring that South Africa
contributes meaningfully, not only to its own development, but the
development of the whole African continent.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African
Union (AU) and latterly the Pan African Parliament (PAP) are some
of the tools that have a broader vision, a vision to develop
Africa. President Thabo Mbeki is at the forefront of this campaign.
Needless to say, South Africa has played a pivotal role in the
conceptualisation and the running of these structures.
In the publication it is said that if African countries have to
choose between doing business with South Africa and other countries
outside of the continent, they are most likely to opt for South
Africa because of geography, identity and self-interest and also
because of the view that South African companies are more likely to
take a long term view, boosting fixed investment and local sourcing
in African markets, than overseas companies.
It is for this reason that our government has set itself a goal of
beefing up diplomatic representation - an embassy or high
commission in every African capital by 2007 - in order to
strengthen trade links as well as political ones. These steps are
aimed at further improving South Africa's exports to the rest of
the continent.
South Africa: an investor-friendly country
Our government understands that it is not enough for us to urge
investors to choose our country over others without actually
spelling out what the monetary advantages are like.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has assured us that beneficial
investment and export opportunities will arise as the South African
government finalises its four designated industrial development
zones which are located in Richards Bay, the Johannesburg
International Airport, and the Coega Deepwater Port.
However, our government has also announced that a suite of new
investment incentives totalling more than R500 million has been
allocated for investment incentive programmes in the current
financial year. These will focus mainly on Small and Medium
Enterprises Development Programme, the Skills Support Programme,
the Critical Infrastructure Programme and the Strategic Industrial
Programme.
The Minister of Trade and Industry has also confirmed that
exporters from South Africa will be assisted via the R200 million
allocated to the Export Credit Insurance Corporation, while R112
million will be made available to exporters via the Export
Marketing and Investment Assistance.
Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, it is in the interest of anyone who
wants to do good business to head to, to paraphrase Oliver Tambo,
the People's South Africa and help redevelop and reconstruct that
country through investment.
KwaZulu-Natal
The story of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, like the story of South
Africa, sounds like fairytale. When the rest of South Africa was
celebrating the attainment of freedom in 1994, political violence
was at its zenith in that province.
But, just when everybody had given up on KwaZulu-Natal, the
ordinary people of that province came together and proclaimed that
they were tired of violence and they wanted peace. They had
realised that in other provinces work to reconstruct and develop
was under way and they were getting left behind. They had come to
the realisation that peace and stability ware pre-conditions for
development and prosperity.
Today, I stand in front of you to invite you to a People's
KwaZulu-Natal, to exploit investment opportunities that exist and
to help in the reconstruction and development of our
province.
Nature of our economy
Our province, just like our country, is characterised by two
parallel economies, the First and the Second. The First economy is
modern, produces the bulk of our country's wealth and is integrated
within the global economy.
The Second economy is characterised by underdevelopment and
contributes little to the Gross Domestic Product. It also contains
a big percentage of our population, incorporates the poorest of our
rural and urban poor, is structurally disconnected from both the
First and global economy and is incapable of self-generated growth
and development.
Of the 9, 6 million people we have in our province, only 2, 86
million is defined as being economically active.
While state intervention is necessary to address this challenge,
there is a need for foreign investment to flow into our province in
order to bridge the existing gap and to exploit the opportunities
created by this scenario while helping to address the
problem.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal contributes 12, 4 percent of South
Africa's gross domestic product. Its main economic sectors are coal
export, commerce, forestry, fruit, manufacturing, steel, tourism,
transport and communications.
We share borders with three countries, Mozambique, Lesotho and
Swaziland. We also boast the two largest harbours in South Africa -
Durban and Richards Bay. In fact, Durban is the busiest hub port in
Africa, handling 55 million tons of cargo per year while Richards
Bay specialises in bulk exports.
If South Africa is the gateway to Africa, then KwaZulu-Natal is the
gateway to the rest of South Africa and the Southern African
Development Community (SADC) countries.
The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy The ANC-led
KwaZulu-Natal government only came into power following this year's
general election in April. Before this, that had never happened in
KwaZulu-Natal.
When I delivered my State of the Province Address, I promised that
our government would, as a matter of urgency, develop a Provincial
Growth and Development Strategy - foundation and framework for any
development initiative in the province. Indeed, last month we
launched this Strategy.
Key among the initiatives listed in this strategy are:
* Developing an international relations strategy maximising trade
and donor funding benefits
* Activation of the KwaZulu-Natal Growth Fund to expand public and
private investment in local job creation opportunities
* Development and implementation of an aggressive growth strategy
to fully unlock the province's massive agricultural and
eco-cultural tourism potential.
Obviously, our Provincial Growth and Development Strategy is a
living document and will also be influenced by the obtaining
material conditions at a particular time but it remains the core of
our programme of action as a government. Our hope is that through
your investments, both in terms of new ventures and expertise; you
will help breathe life to this document.
We, as the government of KwaZulu-Natal, are confident of our
ability to sustain and manage any investment that could be made to
our province. That is why on 16 July 2004, I wrote to the President
of our country as follows:
We are formally requesting that we be given the honour to become
the home of the Pan African Parliament. Our economy can support the
Pan African Parliament and its location in Ethekwini will ensure
that our economy grows and secures, beyond any doubt, peace,
stability and social development for the people of
KwaZulu-Natal.
It is the same challenge that I pass on to this august
gathering.
Investment Opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal to realise our goal of
making KwaZulu-Natal a winning province, we need the support of
business, especially international investors.
Our province is famous for its tourism appeal to foreign visitors.
We currently enjoy 25 percent of the total foreign tourism market
and attract the largest portion of the country's domestic market
currently valued at R4 billion. In 2002, tourism contributed 36, 2
percent to the province's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, ladies and gentlemen, we feel we are still scratching the
surface. The tourism potential existing in our country has not been
exploited to its fullest potential. The area eco-cultural tourism,
for example, has not been exploited to its fullest potential.
With South Africa winning the bid to host the 2010 World Cup,
opportunities to invest in tourism, construction and
telecommunication industries have been opened.
Other investment opportunities that exist include the areas
of:
* Aluminium conversion and fabricated products
* Automotive components
* Electronics
* Engineering
* Metal works
* Petrochemicals as well as
* Wood and wood products
Ladies and gentlemen, our country is hard at work engaged in the
task of developing and reconstructing our country. Our province
specifically, which has lagged behind in terms of development, is a
province that is trying to catch up with the rest of the
country.
We have enormous potential. Our government is committed to turning
that potential into real growth for our country, our province. All
we ask of business is to become government's meaningful partner to
achieve a People's South Africa, a People's KwaZulu-Natal.
I thank you
Enquiries: Harry Mchunu
Cell: 082 883 6698
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
16 November 2004
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