Date: 17/10/2002
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Imbizo Week Business Banquet
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT, MR JACOB ZUMA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE GOVERNMENT IMBIZO WEEK BUSINESS BANQUET, Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, 17 October 2002
Programme Director,
The Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana,
Representatives of the business community,
Members of the Diplomatic Corp,
Esteemed Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed a pleasure for me to join you on this occasion, in which we together celebrate the achievements made in the struggle to improve the quality of life of people in this region.
I am particularly pleased to be here on a day designated as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which was declared by the United Nations in order to give focus on poverty and monitor, polices and programmes of government to tackle it.
The United Nations Human Development report 2002, estimated that over 2, 8 billion people live in conditions of extreme poverty throughout the world with no less than 1, 2 billion living on less than one dollar a day, in our currency, about ten Rand a day. The African continent is one of the worst affected by this scourge. It is therefore appropriate for us to be together this evening, to take stock of what we have done up to now, in this drawn-out process of tackling poverty.
Distinguished guests, since 1994, as you are aware, the focus of the Government's economic policy has been on bringing macroeconomic stability. We have pursued a tough anti-inflationary policy and maintained tight fiscal discipline.
The results have been impressive, with sound fundamentals confirming our proficient handling of the economy. But there has been a realisation that we need to do more to meet our objectives of alleviating poverty or eradicating unemployment.
That is why we are emphasising the need to work together in alleviating poverty and suffering. The main target of our poverty eradication strategy is the most vulnerable in our society, including the elderly, the disabled, women and young people.
You will have heard that Cabinet has held extensive discussions on the issue, and that of social security.
We are looking at the issue of social security both in terms of what we can do to make food affordable in the short term as well as providing a long-term safety net for the most affected.
The total budget for Government's Poverty Relief Programme for this financial year is R100 million. This programme targets HIV/AIDS, women's income-generating projects, food production clusters, youth empowerment and social clubs for the elderly. Our intervention also includes taking government to the people as part of the Imbizo programme, where the President, Deputy President and Ministers leave their Pretoria offices to go to the people to get a first hand account of what is happening on the ground.
On Sunday, I was in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape with the Minister for Social Development, to see for ourselves the challenge facing the community there and how government and its partners can assist.
Earlier today, as part of the same Imbizo programme, our Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, visited a number of projects and interacted with participants in government's poverty alleviation projects at four sites in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, Somkhele, Nhlohlela, Mkuze and Ndumo rural areas.
These projects clearly meet the objective of the National Skills Development Strategy whose mission statement is, "to equip South Africa with the skills to succeed in the global market and to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement to enable them to play a productive role in society".
As you are aware, the Department of Labour and the Danish Government have jointly implemented a programme targeting job creation and skills development in this province.
The project is also aimed at creating sustainable income projects for rural women, and 85 women have benefited from it.
I must use this opportunity to thank the Danish government for its financial as well as technical assistance. A total of R7, 9 million of the overall budget of R11, 9 million for the Provincial Skills Development Pilot Project (Phase II) was funded by the Danish International Development Agency.
In addition, we truly appreciate the support that we received from Richards Bay Minerals, through the role they played as the leading Service Provider. I must also thank the local community especially the local leadership, for allowing government to use their facilities as training venues in order to be able to deliver this programme.
Because of this, we were able to touch the lives of 85 women, their community and their families. There are many more communities, which need such interventions. In our struggle to push back the frontiers of poverty, I appeal to the business sector and key economic as well community development role-players to lend a hand.
Some of the key challenges faced by women who participated in this project are issues like access to finance and finding viable markets for their products. I therefore urge the business sector like banks, game lodges and corporate business to take interest in the project and provide assistance as well as support to overcome these challenges.
Together as government, business as well as community sectors, we have the joint responsibility of ensuring the success of socio-economic upliftment within these disadvantaged communities.
You would agree with me that the ideal is not to simply empower people to make a living from day to day, living from hand to mouth. Rather, our biggest challenge is to tap into the vastness of hidden talents and creativity inherent in our people, and provide adequate opportunities through which these could be turned into tools of economic advancement.
I say this is our biggest challenge because in this globalising world people will need increasingly specialised and technical skills. We need to work towards ensuring that more and more ordinary South Africans have the skills to compete and succeed in both the domestic and the global markets.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me emphasise once again the value we place on contributions from the business sector and the international community. Such partnerships will assist us to make an impact in alleviating the difficulties facing many of our citizens who live below the bread line.
When working together, we can indeed make a difference.
I thank you.
Issued by The Presidency
17 October 2002
Source: The Presidency
Title: J Zuma: Imbizo Week Business Banquet
ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT, MR JACOB ZUMA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE GOVERNMENT IMBIZO WEEK BUSINESS BANQUET, Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, 17 October 2002
Programme Director,
The Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana,
Representatives of the business community,
Members of the Diplomatic Corp,
Esteemed Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed a pleasure for me to join you on this occasion, in which we together celebrate the achievements made in the struggle to improve the quality of life of people in this region.
I am particularly pleased to be here on a day designated as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which was declared by the United Nations in order to give focus on poverty and monitor, polices and programmes of government to tackle it.
The United Nations Human Development report 2002, estimated that over 2, 8 billion people live in conditions of extreme poverty throughout the world with no less than 1, 2 billion living on less than one dollar a day, in our currency, about ten Rand a day. The African continent is one of the worst affected by this scourge. It is therefore appropriate for us to be together this evening, to take stock of what we have done up to now, in this drawn-out process of tackling poverty.
Distinguished guests, since 1994, as you are aware, the focus of the Government's economic policy has been on bringing macroeconomic stability. We have pursued a tough anti-inflationary policy and maintained tight fiscal discipline.
The results have been impressive, with sound fundamentals confirming our proficient handling of the economy. But there has been a realisation that we need to do more to meet our objectives of alleviating poverty or eradicating unemployment.
That is why we are emphasising the need to work together in alleviating poverty and suffering. The main target of our poverty eradication strategy is the most vulnerable in our society, including the elderly, the disabled, women and young people.
You will have heard that Cabinet has held extensive discussions on the issue, and that of social security.
We are looking at the issue of social security both in terms of what we can do to make food affordable in the short term as well as providing a long-term safety net for the most affected.
The total budget for Government's Poverty Relief Programme for this financial year is R100 million. This programme targets HIV/AIDS, women's income-generating projects, food production clusters, youth empowerment and social clubs for the elderly. Our intervention also includes taking government to the people as part of the Imbizo programme, where the President, Deputy President and Ministers leave their Pretoria offices to go to the people to get a first hand account of what is happening on the ground.
On Sunday, I was in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape with the Minister for Social Development, to see for ourselves the challenge facing the community there and how government and its partners can assist.
Earlier today, as part of the same Imbizo programme, our Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, visited a number of projects and interacted with participants in government's poverty alleviation projects at four sites in the Umkhanyakude District Municipality, Somkhele, Nhlohlela, Mkuze and Ndumo rural areas.
These projects clearly meet the objective of the National Skills Development Strategy whose mission statement is, "to equip South Africa with the skills to succeed in the global market and to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement to enable them to play a productive role in society".
As you are aware, the Department of Labour and the Danish Government have jointly implemented a programme targeting job creation and skills development in this province.
The project is also aimed at creating sustainable income projects for rural women, and 85 women have benefited from it.
I must use this opportunity to thank the Danish government for its financial as well as technical assistance. A total of R7, 9 million of the overall budget of R11, 9 million for the Provincial Skills Development Pilot Project (Phase II) was funded by the Danish International Development Agency.
In addition, we truly appreciate the support that we received from Richards Bay Minerals, through the role they played as the leading Service Provider. I must also thank the local community especially the local leadership, for allowing government to use their facilities as training venues in order to be able to deliver this programme.
Because of this, we were able to touch the lives of 85 women, their community and their families. There are many more communities, which need such interventions. In our struggle to push back the frontiers of poverty, I appeal to the business sector and key economic as well community development role-players to lend a hand.
Some of the key challenges faced by women who participated in this project are issues like access to finance and finding viable markets for their products. I therefore urge the business sector like banks, game lodges and corporate business to take interest in the project and provide assistance as well as support to overcome these challenges.
Together as government, business as well as community sectors, we have the joint responsibility of ensuring the success of socio-economic upliftment within these disadvantaged communities.
You would agree with me that the ideal is not to simply empower people to make a living from day to day, living from hand to mouth. Rather, our biggest challenge is to tap into the vastness of hidden talents and creativity inherent in our people, and provide adequate opportunities through which these could be turned into tools of economic advancement.
I say this is our biggest challenge because in this globalising world people will need increasingly specialised and technical skills. We need to work towards ensuring that more and more ordinary South Africans have the skills to compete and succeed in both the domestic and the global markets.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me emphasise once again the value we place on contributions from the business sector and the international community. Such partnerships will assist us to make an impact in alleviating the difficulties facing many of our citizens who live below the bread line.
When working together, we can indeed make a difference.
I thank you.
Issued by The Presidency
17 October 2002
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