Kentron, 12 August 2000
Mr Flip Botha
Mr Van Biljon
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is indeed a pleasure for me to be here today to participate in the Denel Bridging Programme Open Day with all the distinguished guests, parents and students. What is really pleasing is that today is a day when we focus all our attention on the students, their parents and families, and the success that awaits you all in the future.
As we enter the new millennium we face many challenges. In South Africa, although we enjoy the benefits of a rich industrial base and high levels of technology, we are part of a large African continent that thirsts for development. In particular, appropriate technologies and more important, people with the skills, commitment and vision, are critical to the success of all our development efforts. You will have heard that recently our President Thabo Mbeki joined President Olusegun Obasanjo in Tokyo to make a call to the developed countries of the world to take active steps in the fight against underdevelopment.
In particular these African leaders raised the point that a major problem is the increasingly wide divide between the developed world and ourselves in the arena of information and communication technologies in particular.
If we are to succeed in our aim to make the new century an African Century, then we must be able to interact with the rest of the world armed with the most potent forms of technology and enterprise.
In this New Economy, telecommunications, information technology, engineering, environmental resource management are the main instruments we must use to create more opportunities and wealth. These technologies enable companies and countries to be competitive in the global markets of today and the future.
Eventually the basis or foundation for all these new fast growing and competitive industries are to be found in school subjects such as Mathematics, Science and Technology. But the hard sciences alone don't create opportunity and wealth. The knowledge we gain there must be harnessed towards practical application. Even then, that is not sufficient. We also need the business principles and skills such as accountancy and financial management to turn creative scientific ideas into wealth creating ideas and products.
Now the question is, do we have the potential and the resources to do this? At first look the answer is bleak. For example, two recently published research findings that were widely reported in the press paint a sorry picture of South Africa's proficiency levels in school maths and science, on the one hand, and also point out the fact that the enrolment of black students at higher education institutions, especially in the sciences and related disciplines, remains alarmingly low.
Another factor that concerns us is the so-called brain drain, whereby young people with skills developed here emigrate to seek employment overseas. In some ways this is a natural development of our new relationship with the world. But we must ensure that we build and train a cadre of people who are prepared to remain in South Africa and make a positive contribution to the future of our country and our continent. After all, the success of the country depends on the success of its youth and children.
We must also ensure that universities and technikons must improve the way in which they relate to schools, to ensure that the gap between schools and tertiary institutions' levels are closed. This requires a serious rethink on the part of all concerned in the education field, and my colleague Minister Kader Asmal's department is working hard to implement appropriate strategies. Besides these moves, industry also has a role to play in addressing the skills shortage not only on the factory floor but also in the institutions and research bodies.
Yesterday Government launched the Policy Framework for the Accelerated Restructuring of State Owned Enterprises, and this of course includes Denel. One of our objectives with this programme is to ensure that Denel and other SOEs attract investment in technology and people, making sure that these entities are globally competitive, promote black economic empowerment in the broadest sense of the term, contribute to the development of our country, and provide opportunities for our youth to build constructive futures.
Denel's Bridging Programme falls squarely into this equation. The cooperation between Denel and the Office of the Auditor General in this important arena is not well known, and we should do more to make the news heard everywhere.
Although, this is a small project given the size and context of our South African challenge, it is an example of a proactive initiative to contribute to the challenges we face. The results of the Denel Bridging Programme are extremely encouraging, and we would like to congratulate everyone that has been and is involved with this programme. We need many more initiatives like this one in our country, if we are to keep South Africa competitive out there in the Global Economy.
Well done to Denel and the Office of the AG for joining hands and working together to support this programme. Keep up the good work and make sure that you influence your business partners and colleagues to duplicate your programme. We need many more of them.
I wish to thank the teachers and staff of the Programme for your commitment and dedication. May your commitment and dedication become the student's commitment and dedication.
To the parents of the students, and their families, I am extremely proud and grateful that you have taken the decision to use the opportunity this Programme offers your children. I am confident that their participation here will contribute not only to their own advantage in the future, but also to the general development of our economy. The impact of their work will be felt far from the corners of this establishment. We will continue supporting you and their development.
Finally, I have a message for the students. You are participating in a project that people of my generation never had the chance. This afternoon, President Mbeki will present the Oliver Tambo Memorial Lecture in Johannesburg. The legacy that great leaders of the liberation movement have presented you is the political liberation of the country. The task to carry out its economic emancipation rests with the younger generations. You are part of that generation. As my generation grows older we will but marvel at the achievements you make. There is a huge backlog to eradicate. Become pioneers on the frontiers of the African Renaissance in these very specialized fields.
You can all be assured of our full support and we wish you all success for the challenging road ahead.
Thank you