Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government
19 November 1999, Cape Town
Madam Speaker,
President of the Republic,
Deputy President,
Chairperson of the NCOP,
Honourable members
The sun of our new democracy continues to rise as more than ten billion eyes prepare to point their gaze towards the distant horizon where the sunset will give birth to a new millennium.
The advent of this new millenium abounds with anxiety. Many people have so many questions about what the next millenium holds in store for its inhabitants. Some even think the coming of the next millenium will herald the beginning of the end of the world, while others believe that the world will be plunged into darkness.
As public representatives of the people of South Africa, we must correctly identify the hopes, expectations and aspirations of our people. This will allow us to take advantage of the possibilities the next millenium brings to turn these hopes and expectations into reality.
Despite the scientific, technological and philosophical advances made during this millennium, the benefits thereof have remained but a dream for the majority in our country and in the developing world.
As we remember the gains of freedom in many countries during the current millenium, we must be alive to the fact that the nightmare of children who die of hunger and diseases for which there are cures is the only reality known to most members of the human race who watch helplessly and wistfully as a minority continues to reap a rich harvest sometimes at their expense.
For many who live under conditions of abject poverty the advent of the new millenium means an end to poverty and the beginning of a better life.
For many of our people who suffer from epidemic diseases, the advent of the next millenium brings hope that a cure will be found for their ailments.
For those of our people who are without jobs and therefore no source of income, the advent of the new millenium brings hope that they will find jobs and work.
For many of our people who live under constant fear of crime and insecurity, the advent of the next millenium brings hope that they will live in safer and secure communities.
For many of our youth who face an uncertain future, the advent of the new millenium will open many opportunities for them to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills they require to become more worthier citizens of their country and the world.
For those living with disabilities the advent of the millenium brings hope that things will change for the better.
For many women and children who are subjected to abuse by those who do not recognise their human dignity, the advent of the next millenium brings hope that their rights and dignity will be respected.
For many that live in squalor conditions, the advent of the new millenium brings hope that this will change and that they too will like others live in decent conditions.
For many of our people who do not benefit from the modern technology such as IT the new millenium brings the hope of the possibility to benefit from such technology.
Indeed every single South African has high hopes that the advent of the next millenium brings many possibilities to change things for the better.
One of the biggest questions being asked everywhere in the world is whether the modern technology, which almost every one depends on today, will function at the beginning of the year 2000. Governments and private companies have spent trillions of rands to ensure that their technology is Y2K compliant.
While we have done everything to ensure that all the electronic gadgets we use are Y2K compliant, this will not be enough if we do not make all South Africans to be Y2K compliant. How do we make South Africans Y2K compliant? The answer I think lies in turning their hopes on the millenium into reality.
The challenge facing all of humankind as we enter this new epoch is that of dealing decisively and effectively with the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Our ability to breathe life into the noble ideal of human solidarity depends solely on our capacity to define globalisation in terms broader than the pursuit of profit and wealth for a minority of individuals and developed countries.
In his book Economic Globalisation and Fiscal Policy, Iraj Abeidin, quoting the Human Development Report of 1996, paints a bleak picture that shows that: "over the past 30 years the global growth in income has been spread very unevenly, that between 1960 and 1991 the share of the richest 20% rose from 70% of global income to 85%, while that of the poorest declined from 2.3% to 1.4%.
This coincides with what Abedian and Biggs meant when they said: "a sophisticated, globalised, increasingly affluent world currently co-exists with a marginalised global underclass." This is an indictment against all of us as we commit ourselves to human development.
Human development is, among other things, the function of increased access to knowledge and information and communication technologies. These are the ploughs, rakes and tillers of the new millennium which people need to empower themselves as they prepare for the next millenium.
Because communication technologies are going to drive the expansion of the world economy, we must fight to reverse current levels of access. It is estimated that 700 million people will have access to information and communication technologies in the year 2001 and almost all of them will be from the advanced economies.
A genuine reversal of this disturbing trend will, however, result only from our ability to produce forms of knowledge that will place us firmly as producer of technology instead of consumers who are dependent on the technological products of other continents.
We can only meet this challenge if we succeed in the project of making this coming century an African Century. At the same time we must be aware that noting the impositions of a number of harsh realities on Africa and the entire Third World is not sufficient.
We can only set the agenda for development if we are able on our own to deal with various internal problems. Our internal endeavors to ensure equitable wealth distribution patterns must find expression in many of our policy positions and programmes. We are the ones who must end conflict that sometimes seems ubiquitous across our continent.
We cannot ignore that the scourge of HIV/AIDS seems destined to decimate our population. With the alarming rate at which people are infected, we are duty bound to do everything in our power to arrest it. This must be based on credible and sustainable ways of obliterating the disease.
Honourable members, these problems notwithstanding, the green valley of hope and global prosperity beckons in the horizon. There is reason for humanity to hope for a better existence. However, it is our practical actions not the noble words contained in eloquent speeches that will make us turn the hopes of our people into reality. A reality of peace, freedom, economic development and economic justice.
Let us respond positively to the plaintive cry of the poorest of the poor who are looking forward to the dawn of the new millennium in the hope that the joy and celebrations at the stroke of the last midnight will rekindle the spirit of human solidarity.
In this way even those who are skeptical about the ability of the new orthodoxy of globalisation to deliver a better life for billions of people around the world, will not rush into repudiating the ideas of those who argue that, " an open world is the best hope, even with its flaws, for a better life for billions of people."
Njengekhwezi lokusa, lona elinika ukukhanya kulolo nalolosuku, isintu sisonke sinesizathu sokubanethemba lokuthi lelidlelo esizowelela kulo liluhlaza, linjalo nje libika ukuphela kobubha nenhlupheko ebisingethe isintu sonkana.
Thank you
Issued by Thabo Masebe
Office of the Premier
Gauteng Provincial Government
Tel 082 551 4945