AT THE LAUNCH OF M-NET’S PHUTUMA SHARE SCHEME
Westcliff Hotel, Johannesburg
February 24, 1998
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to be with you, particularly as this occasion highlights the efforts being made through companies and organisations, industry sectors such as broadcasting and all three spheres of government to spread economic wealth to those of our fellow beings who were deliberately excluded in the past.
I want to congratulate M-Net on its black empowerment efforts. In 1995, it placed 10 per cent of the equity of M-Net into the hands of almost 8,000 historically disadvantaged South Africans. This represents almost one third of M-Net’s total shareholding.
Today we are here to launch the Phuthuma Share Scheme which will bring the total shareholding by historically disadvantaged South Africans to a total of 20 per cent.
But black empowerment means more than owning shares in a dynamic company. It means having a stake in the decisions, which result in the dividend that, is paid out to shareholders. It means supporting black-owned and operated production companies. It means creating entrepreneurial spirit, which will allow people to drive their own enterprises. It means diversifying the economy to bring disadvantaged people into the mainstream.
Many studies around the world have shows the influence television and radio programmes have on people. Broadcasting is a high-profile industry and is it for this very reason that the broadcasting sector in South Africa should be leading charge in transforming our country.
We cannot ignore the past. It is true that black people were deliberately excluded from significant participation in the broadcasting industry in the past. Now is the time for us to acknowledge this and to deal with some of the underlying tensions of the Rainbow Nation in terms of access to wealth creation, in terms of resources and in terms of economic skills.
This is a challenge that faces all of us. We must put aside our fears and prejudices and, in some instances, vested interests, to create a new value system, one which recognises the urgency to balance past injustices.
M-Net’s challenge, then, is to continue to play an increasing role in the development of the broadcasting and production industrial sectors while maintaining investor confidence and its competitive role in the global pay television environment.
M-Net has already played a leading role in establishing South Africa as the hub of broadcasting in Africa and I support this and encourage their efforts to further strengthen their role in this regard.
In conclusion, we have a lot to do. The broadcasting industry has a big responsibility and I will be paying close attention to developments in the industry over the next year to ensure our challenges are met and even surpassed.