5 October 2001
Cabinet colleagues;
Provincial MEC's;
Denel Board Members;
Members of the Denel and Kentron Executive Management;
Principal and staff of the Kentron Bridging School;
Members of the Media;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Thank you very much for inviting me to such a wonderful and informative occasion.
I am always searching for good news and I certainly found it here, on seeing the extent to which Denel is committed to contributing meaningfully to the development of our country and our people.
Most importantly, I am impressed by your focus on education and the investment in the youth of our country, through the Kentron Bridging School.
Indeed, you have sought to provide youth from
under-privileged communities with life skills and technical education required in this modern age. Through this intervention, our youth can reap the benefits of training as engineers, scientists and accountants.
Given the serious shortage of black engineers, your programme will definitely make an impact.
Developing the skills of our youth is key to the country's development, especially in this millennium in which we are determined to lift our continent out of its developmental stagnation, and achieve sustainable development.
Our objectives are clearly spelt out in the New African Initiative, also known as the Millennium African Recovery Programme (MAP).
Through the Initiative, African leaders would like to achieve and sustain an average gross domestic product growth rate of above seven percent for the next 15 years, and to ensure that the continent meets the agreed International Development Goals, which include the reduction by half, of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015.
We stand a chance of achieving these goals if we focus on human resource development, particularly in key areas such as science and technology, an area that Denel is focusing on through its bridging programme.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have also noted that Denel has made an impact in the export market, and capabilities developed in this company are certainly second to none.
We should be proud of the fact that our country has indigenous capabilities that can be mobilized to the benefit of our people. For example, the high technology resources developed here can be utilized to combat crime.
Among these is the "Seeker" unmanned aerial vehicle, equipped with day-night observations equipment, whose crime fighting capabilities were recently shown publicly for the first time.
I am informed that the Seeker and the LEO observation system have been exported even to developed countries, where they are utilized in crime prevention, border control and other forms of security operations.
I would like to congratulate the engineers, technicians and scientists who develop these military products, which can be adapted for civilian purposes. We believe that ordinary people will only appreciate technology if it can bring a change for the better in their lives.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me reiterate that as Government, we support all initiatives aimed at socio-economic development, and which seek to contribute to the eradication of poverty, development of skills and improving the quality of life of our people.
Your contribution to education and human resource development, as well as the use of technology to benefit society, are indeed in alignment with our priorities and we commend you.
It was a privilege to spend this time with you, and I wish you all the best in all your future endeavours.
I thank you