26 June 2000
I am delighted to announce the appointment of Jay Naidoo as the new chairman of the Board of the Development Bank of South Africa. I believe that Jay Naidoo, by virtue of his experience both inside and outside of government, and of his commitment to delivery of services to our people, is ideally positioned to lead the DBSA in its mission to be a leading agent of change in the lives of the poor. The DBSA, which is wholly owned by the government, has positioned itself as a key agent in both infrastructure development and development finance in South Africa and the greater SADC region in the past five years. Moreover, it is now self-financing, which means it can add to delivery of services to the poor, without drawing on government resources. The Board and I believe that Mr Naidoo has much wisdom and insight to offer the DBSA in its task of helping to rebuild the country. As one of the country’s leading trade unionists in the apartheid era, he was a vocal activist on behalf of the disadvantaged who were denied political and economic rights. Naidoo was the first general-secretary of the Congress of SA Trade Unions and was re-elected for a further two terms. He played a leading role in the long negotiated transitions to democracy as co- ordinator of the ANC’s reconstruction and development program and was appointed to the first cabinet in the democratic government as minister responsible for the Reconstruction and Development Program. He was subsequently also Minister of Communications.
As the representative of the shareholder (government), I want to assure the new Chairman and the Board of government’s continued support for the role that the DBSA plays in driving development in the region and drawing the poorest of the poor in the economic net. We trust that the vision, prudence and discipline with which the Bank has been managed will continue to be a guiding feature as it tackles the ongoing challenge of leveraging greater investment in infrastructure, not least from the private sector.
I also wish to take the opportunity to thank Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu for the role he has played as Chairman of the Board, particularly in the transformation process over the past few years. His leadership has steered the Bank through a critical period as it faced the challenges of shaking off the legacy of the past and aligning itself with the new development priorities of government. We are fortunate that his skills and experience will not be lost to the DBSA as he will continue serving on the Board, following his stepping down as Board Chair at its August meeting.
I am also pleased to inform you that the entire DBSA Board has been reappointed and its term extended to July 2001.
Contact: Zaid Nordien 082 453 6224
E-mail: zaidn@dbsa.org
Pippa Green 012 315 5304
E-mail: green@finance.pwv.gov.za