Issued by: North West Communication Service
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY NORTH WEST PREMIER MR POPO SIMON MOLEFE TO THE CONFERENCE OF METRO CASH & CARRY MBABANE, SWAZILAND 14 OCTOBER 1996
Allow me to thank you very much for the opportunity to be here this morning and be a little part of this significant gathering. I certainly wish to express my personal appreciation and the good wishes of the government of the Republic of South Africa. I also bring special words of greeting from the people of the North West Province.
The month of October 1996 is the half-way mark in the scheduled lifespan of the first democratically-elected government of South Africa.
Against the background of a successful political transition, we have devoted the first half to the creation of a people-centred society by mobilising the whole nation and our country's resources towards the development of strong and stable democratic institutions and the creation of an environment that is conducive to a sustainable economic growth and development path.
The success or failure of our reconstruction and development framework is going to depend on the swift and decisive implemen- tation of our macro-economic development plan. We must continue to harness the resources of our country and forge a common approach towards building an economy that is vibrant and sufficiently competitive to absorb the mass unemployment that we have, facilitate the redistribution of wealth, income and opportunities and generally contribute to the maintenance of safety and security.
Our strength and hope lie in the national consensus we have forged with regard to the macro-economic strategy. The class foundation of that national consensus, business, the civic movement and the labour movement, has agreed with the fundamentals of the strategy, both in their own interests and in the common effort to ensure stability and sustainable economic growth.
Central to the task of forging this national consensus is the continuing need to democratise and modernise economic activity to allow for entry of both international investment and blackcontrol- led small enterprises. The expansion of the economy is critical to the strategic objective of meeting the related challenges of job creation, international competitiveness, equity and diversification.
PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT
Chairperson, the RDP is well aware of the complexities of our economic situation, and the government is under no illusion that we have all the answers to the problems of economic growth and distri- bution in our country. We believe that the real engine of growth and sustainable development is the private sector. And we also believe that the public sector too has a strategic role to play in the main- tenance of a stable macro-economic environment and in the develop- ment of both social and economic infrastructure that is necessary to the objective of meeting the basic needs of the masses.
We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that the public sector helps in the creation of that environment in which the business sector can flourish.
It is this context that we believe in a partnership between the public and private sectors, and we believe that we have to forge a common approach in grappling with the issues of restructuring state assets, the reorganisation and redirection of public expenditure to focus on the development needs of our country, and fiscal discipline.
Our approach to these matters is informed by our pursuit of the objectives contained in the Reconstruction and Development Programme. Our approach will also continue to be informed by the reality that certain types of commercial institutions and assets can only begin to grow and contribute substantially to the objective of achieving competitiveness, equity, modernisation and the creation of jobs if they are released into the hand of the private sector.
Our approach to the restructuring and privatisation of state institutions or parastatals and services is guided by these objectives including the very important one of attracting foreign capital investment.
As part of our offensive to attract foreign investment, we have lent urgency to the finalisation of a system of investment incen- tives, which has long been awaited by the business community and trade unions, to assist in industrial development towards achieving international competitiveness.
THE ROLE OF SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR
All over the world it has been recognised that the small business sector plays an important if not critical role in the economic and social development of a country. This also applies to South Africa, where the sector has been neglected due to the establishment of a modern capitalist economy with almost exclusive white control.
Given South Africa's legacy of big business domination, constrained competition and unequal distribution of income and wealth, the small sector is seen as an important force to generate employment, to activate competition, to exploit niche markets, enhance productivity and through all of this stimulate economic development.
The challenge is on all major players to address obstacles that prevent small enterprises from contributing to economic growth. It is important that these obstacles are addressed by a partnership of all levels of government, NGO's, parastatals and the private sector in order to promote and support this sector.
For its part, the government, through the North West Development Corporation, and the Local Service Centres of the Department of Trade and Industry, has designed support packages for the promotion of this sector, which include the following: - the provision of information and business advisory services - facilitating access to marketing and procurement - facilitating access to finance and venture capital - the provision of physical infrastructure - the provision of training in entrepreneurship, skills and management - the encouragement of joint ventures, and capacity-building and opening up access to technology.
The following are some of the target groups warranting support packages, with emphasis on enterprises owned or controlled by entrepreneurs form disadvantaged communities: - agro-business and small scale farming - small-manufacturers in clothing, carpentry, metal works - small builders/contractors - small scale tourism, and - rural businesses
CRIME
Our society is victim to unacceptably high levels of crime. Unarguably, high levels of crime pose a serious threat to democracy and has become one of the biggest threats to private investment in certain areas of the country. It has cast fear into the hearts of South Africans from all walks of life and prevents them from taking their rightful place in the development of our country. It inhibits our people from communicating with one another freely, from engaging in economic activity and prevents entrepreneurs and investors from taking advantage of the opportunities which our country offers.
The rights and freedoms which the constitution entrenches are threatened every time a citizen becomes a victim of crime.
1. The causes of crime are as many as they are varied. Our own rapid transition had the unintended results of breaking down the existing illegitimate mechanisms of social control, without immediately replacing them with legitimate and credible alternatives. 2. The political transition also generated substantial material expectations, many of which were largely beyond the immediate delivery capacity of the new government.
The resultant frustrations and very high expectations have contributed to the justification of crime. The historic marginalization of the youth as a consequence of school and family breakdowns, combined with the slow growth in the job market, has contributed to the creation of youth gangs.
3. The tendency of some political parties to use crime as a vote catcher by blaming it on the slowness of economic delivery, has contributed to the justification of crime. 4. The number and easy accessibility of firearms is a major contributor to the escalation of the levels of violence associated with robbery, rape and car theft.
The framework for the National Crime Prevention Strategy aims at the rapid and decisive application of downward pressure on criminality.
Obviously, the solution depends to a large extent on the trans- formation of the criminal justice system to make it more efficient and effective. It must provide a sure and clear deterrent for criminals and reduce the risks of re-offending. Also, it includes initiatives aimed at changing the way communities react to crime and violence, and public education and information to facilitate meaningful citizen participation in crime prevention.
Chairperson, while we are concerned with the level of criminal activity and will continue to do everything in our power to curb it, the fact of the matter is that crime is not as widespread as it is believed to be by certain sections of the population. If anything, serious crime appears to have engulfed the whole country simply because it happens to take place especially where the biggest concentration and focus of the media is.
While any form or level of crime is incompatible with the norms that make for a just, equitable and stable civil order, in much of South Africa crime levels are so low and unsensational as not to attract the attention of the media.
In conclusion, Chairperson, allow me to congratulate Metro for having brought so many of its clients and entrepreneurstful discussions, which should help lay the foundation of practical work to start in earnest.
South Africa's prosperity is not possible in a region that is afflicted by poverty and economic depression. We in South Africa have a continuing responsibility to make whatever contribution towards ensuring that democracy, peace, prosperity and equality, the cornerstones of our vision of reconstruction and development, thrive in the subcontinent.
Especially during President Nelson Mandela's chairpersonship of the South African Development Community, which he assumed last month, we have to play a leading role, but one which is devoid of arrogance and a complex of superiority, to build a regional common market.
I wish you all fruitful discussions, which should help lay the foundation of practical work to start in earnest.