Remarks by the MEC for Finance, Mrs YN Phosa during ABSA corporate social investment stakeholder dialogue, Emnotweni Arena, Riverside Part, Mbombela
08 September 2011
Programme Director
Regional Executive, Ms Happy Radinala
Corporate Social Investment General Manager, Ms Mihloti Mathye
Chief Executive Officer of Thembalethu Home Based Care, Ms Sally Mackibbin
Business leaders
Esteem guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning, Sanibonani!
Before addressing the important issues that brings us here today, let me first convey sincere apology for the Honourable Premier, Mr DD Mabuza for not being able to attend this stakeholder engagement session due to other unforeseen pressing government commitments.
On behalf of the Honourable Premier, we would like to express our appreciation to the organisers of this stakeholder engagement dialogue. We would also like to wish you well during the course of the discussions on this important issue of growing local economy through valuable partnerships.
We also wish to see all citizens and corporate SA and
Mpumalanga reaching a consensus on the best possible way of channelling some of
our resources to improve the socio-economic situation of the rural poor in the
province.
Programme director, ladies and gentlemen;
It is my privilege to be given this opportunity to address
you during this important engagement on corporate social responsibility in the
province.
I am pleased because ABSA chose to bring all like-minded
leaders of business to share ideas on building and nurturing sustainable and
valuable partnerships.
This is something which is in sync with our rallying call
to all partners to work together to change the face of our communities.
This important gathering takes place during the focus month of tourism and heritage in the province.
Later this month, the province will host the national
celebration of the Heritage Day to remind and reconnect the nation with its rich
and diverse collective liberation heritage.
We will also celebrate and showcase the myriad of global attractions and experiences of the province through targeted tourism month campaigns.
We invite you to join us in the planned activities that
are meant to celebrate our cultural, heritage and tourism endowments in the
province.
Ladies and gentlemen
The provincial economic growth prospects appear to have
improved during 2011 and therefore growth forecasts have been revised upwards to
3.6 per cent this year in line with national growth expectations.
There is however a concern about the impact of current developments in
the world economy on the national and provincial economies.
These growth rates, whilst they indicate an improvement, are unfortunately still too low to have a significant impact on the high unemployment rate. We have to increase our economic growth rate to levels of at least 6 – 7 per cent.
The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition
(including the discouraged workers) decreased slightly to 43.8 per cent at the
end of the second quarter of 2011, down from 45.2 per cent at the end of the
first quarter 2011.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey of Statistics South Africa, the rate of unemployment among females is greater (at 52.6 per cent) when compared to the males which is at 37.7 per cent.
The youth unemployment rate is very high at 58 per cent. The youth’s share to the total number of unemployed is almost 75 per cent.
This statistics pose a big challenge to all of us as we ponder ways in which we can address the critical question of proposing the sustainable and mutual beneficial approaches to implementation of the Corporate Social Investment programmes.
One thing is clear; business needs to find a common and
sustainable approach of channelling the CSI programmes in a way that contributes
to improved socio-economic situation of the rural poor in the province.
Ladies and gentlemen
Poverty, unemployment and inequality remain the biggest obstacles to the course of building a prosperous society that equally enjoys the fruits of a democracy and citizen’s rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
We need to find a solution together as the government, civil society and business that will help us to confront and overcome these challenges.
This is the first step that all of us must take in order to realize the kind of society that we want and that which the rural poor in the province wants to live in.
As the father of the economics, Adam Smith said “what improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconvenience to the whole. No society can surely flourish and be happy, when the far greater part of the members is poor and miserable.
Ladies and gentlemen
This stakeholder engagement dialogue also takes place during a time
when we are concluding our consultation processes on the Province’s New
Mpumalanga Economic Growth and Development Path (MEGDP).
The growth path focuses on the development of priority sectors in a
manner that is inclusive and shared and redresses the imbalances between urban
and rural areas with regards to spatial development.
These focus areas, including on sustainable human development in skills
and health; regional cooperation and environmental sustainability anchors the
direction which the MEGDP follows.
The new growth path defines a set of job drivers within the following framework:
- Infrastructure for employment and development;
- Job creation in the strategic priority economic
sectors such as agriculture, agro processing and forestry; mining and
mineral beneficiation as well as energy; tourism and cultural industries,
and manufacturing;
- Developing new sectors of the economy in the green economy and Information Communication Technology;
- Investing in social capital and the public service;
- Rural development, and
- Regional and international cooperation.
Let me take this opportunity to invite business to align their corporate social investment programmes to this framework; for we know it is only through valuable partnerships that the noble goals that we have set in the MEGDP can be achieved.
Programme director
We are informed that South African companies spent about R5.4-billion on corporate social investment (CSI) in the financial year 2009/10.
However, there are indications that these large sums of money that are invested through CSI programmes reach those who have the means to access information and in some cases those who are closer to the cities and business.
I believe that South African and Mpumalanga companies can realise a greater impact of their CSI spent if more of these funds are directed to programmes that benefit many of our people, especially those in the periphery.
Earlier this year, the honourable Premier DD Mabuza announced a flagship programme whose objective is to intervene in the municipal areas with high poverty and unemployment rates.
As a direct response to this challenge, the provincial government committed about R1 billion to fund the initiatives in various municipal wards in the Mkhondo; Nkomazi; Chief Albert Luthuli; Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme; Dr JS Moroka; Thembisile Hani and Bushbuckridge.
We believe that valuable partnerships on programmes such
as Comprehensive Rural Development will result in better outcomes for these
communities.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again invite
business to partner with the government to ensure that, as a province, we change
the face of the communities in the identified CRDP areas in Mkhondo; Nkomazi;
Chief Albert Luthuli; Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme; Dr JS Moroka; Thembisile Hani and
Bushbuckridge.
We believe that, if we are to make a significant change in society, the corporate social responsibility programmes in the province must be geared towards making tomorrow better for the province and for the majority of our people, including women, youth and people with disabilities living in these CRDP areas.
We envisage the CSI programmes that will assist or support organised groups and in particular the public sector programme that are aimed to improve the quality of life of the majority of our people.
Ladies and gentlemen
We have seen in the recent times a significant number of initiatives in different parts of the province whose objectives tie with the goal of improving the quality of life in the province.
The significance attached to Corporate Social Investment
programmes indicates the seriousness with which corporate South Africa link
their business outcomes to the project of building a better Mpumalanga province.
The provincial government wishes to commend all the organisations and companies that continue to make the difference in the communities through their CSI initiatives.
In particular, the provincial government wishes to thank ABSA for advancing skills development agenda in the province through community projects such as:
- Topsy Foundation at Dipaleseng Local Municipality;
- Desmond Tutu Centre for Leadership in White River; and
- The projects in Victor Khanye and Lekwa Local
Municipality wherein the focus is on equipping Early Childhood Development
practitioners with teaching and management skills; including Thembalethu
project from Nkomazi Local Municipality.
Ladies and gentlemen
Working together we can do more to improve local economies
and thus contribute to making Mpumalanga a better province in which to live and
work.
The challenge is for business to find a niche within this
vast and rich province with the purpose of helping build a lasting legacy,
premised on change that we want to see in the communities.
There is great potential for this change if we can pair the CSI programmes with the priority sectors that have potential to take the economy to a new and high trajectory.
Investments and support in infrastructure development and community upliftment projects which have potential to create decent jobs for the rural people are the sure way to help improve the local economy.
I strongly believe that the potential to increase the markets for corporate’ services and products will be enhanced when the infrastructure and potential of rural areas are improved to attract more people and business back to the communities.
Let’s explore ways of hand picking and supporting the SMMEs, emerging businesses and cooperatives in the rural areas in particular, to ensure that the province attains economic growth that help create more jobs for our people.
In conclusion, we invite all stakeholders, SMMEs, cooperatives and progressive corporate citizens to partner with government through CSI initiatives in turning the tourism sector around, precisely because the sector is central in growing our provincial economy.
I thank you.
