REMARKS BY PREMIER TSP MAKWETLA AT THE LAUNCH OF THE EQUITY FUND
Nelspruit, Wednesday 30 June 2004
Programme Director
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me begin by thanking everyone for joining us this evening as we launch what we believe will be an important vehicle in the economic development of our province. I am particularly pleased to learn that this event has attracted so much interest that the organisers had to put up the FULL sign more than a fortnight ago.
This is a clear indication that all of us have taken seriously the call to join hands in creating work and fighting poverty.
Over the past ten years, working together, we have ensured that Mpumalanga remains a province of expanding opportunities. We have built a stable and growing provincial economy.
Today we have economic links with the provinces of Alberta in Canada, Sichuan and Chong Qing in the People's Republic of China, Maputo in Mozambique and the State of North-Rhine Westphalia in Germany.
We have also done away with laws that previously restricted many people from doing business and from accessing education and skills.
Because of our political will, the country and the province is now able to provide housing programmes for the poor; equitable social security grants for pensioners, young children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
We have ensured that we build health facilities close to where people live; we have provided more households with water, sanitation and electricity.
We have ensured that we provide quality education that is open to all, while
creating new opportunities for the youth.
Workers' rights are protected, the trade union movement is playing an
important role in society, and employers and workers are increasingly finding
better ways of resolving problems and disputes as industrial relations improve.
Vulnerable workers such as domestic workers and farm workers enjoy greater protection.
More and more black people are becoming professionals, managers, technicians and engineers; laws have been put in place and funds made available for black people to own businesses as one aspect of Black Economic Empowerment.
The economy has created hundreds of thousands of new jobs. But the number of people seeking work has sharply increased; many workers have lost their jobs; and many have been negatively affected by casualisation and outsourcing.
It is this realisation that sees all of us hurdled in this room in this fashion because we want to take active and practical steps to create work and fight poverty.
I believe that all of us are aware that one of the things we need to do in order to grow the economy is to accelerate broad-based Black Economic Empowerment which must benefit broad sectors of our communities - including youth, women and people with disabilities.
We must also take more and more young people through learnerships so they can gain skills and work experience in order for them to access jobs.
Programme Director, we must ensure that those who wish to start and sustain their small businesses have access to credit, through dedicated funding to support micro-loan financing.
As government we are aware that local entrepreneurs, especially BEE companies, are unable to provide own equity or collateral to secure project finance. In its drive to promote investment and trade development, the Mpumalanga Investment Initiative was often unable to find local matching partners to investors.
Because as government we were determined that local companies participate in the broad economy, we deemed it necessary to set up a fund in order to make it possible for small and medium businesses to secure and finance projects.
The Equity Fund we are launching here today, may not be the ultimate solution, but it is, I believe, an important step forward. It remains the best available option to provide "own equity contribution" in loan financing.
My appeal to those with the resources today is to join us in this noble venture.
Many of the things that need to be done, such as job-creation and increased
investment, broad-based Black Economic Empowerment and skills development cannot
be carried out by government acting alone.
Government can create an environment for higher rates of investment. It can
create some employment in the public service and public works programmes; and it
can encourage labour-intensive methods in parts of the economy.
But long-term employment depends largely on higher rates of private
investment; it depends on strategies for growth in key sectors of the economy;
it depends on joint skills development and learnerships in both the public and
private sectors to provide work experience.
It requires the co-operation of business, workers and all South Africans to
ensure that we get our economy right. All of us have to work actively in
creating opportunities of income for the millions of people so that we can
together tackle the problem of poverty.
It requires the co-operation of all of us to cultivate a good image of our
province. We must provide good service to investors, tourists and everybody
else.
This is the contract that we should all enter into as South Africans - as
people of this province, each of us with one another; government and each
citizen, community and sector of society - together to build a better South
Africa.
This government commits itself, working within communities to play its part in
forging this People's Contract for a Better South Africa, inspired by its
commitment to democratic consultation, mass participation and volunteerism,
Moral Regeneration as well as people-centred and people-driven development.
I believe that as we leave this gathering tonight we will be united in our determination to involve communities in local economic development initiatives to provide work.
We will indeed go out there and build community infrastructure and provide access to local economic opportunities to many citizens in our province.
We must also consolidate the partnership of government, business, trade unions and community organisations to implement agreements of the Growth and Development Summit which are aimed at creating work and fighting poverty.
I believe we can all unite in creating a better province where all work towards creating employment opportunities that will ensure incomes and prosperity for our people.
Once again we must intensify efforts aimed at building a spirit of community, good citizenship, social activism, moral regeneration and solidarity at the local level.
I now declare the Mpumalanga Equity Fund officially launched
I thank you.