Our host, Minister of Mineral Resources, Susan Shabangu,
Minister of Energy, Dipuo Peters,
Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Godfrey Oliphant,
Former Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Captains of Industry,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the media.
I am very humbled to be here today as the guest speaker during the Annual Women in Mining Lekgotla. I am overwhelmed by your good wishes on my election as the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission.
This being Women’s Month in South Africa and a Women’s Decade on our continent makes this Lekgotla even more significant.
Mining is historically a male dominated occupation and the opportunity for women to actively participate, or choose mining as a viable career option, was restricted both legally and through societal norms. Today, however, although the conditions you find in the industry, both at management and at operational levels are far from optimal, they are better today than those your predecessors found and barriers to entry are significantly reduced.
It was also unheard of that women could be captains of industry, including in the mining sector. Although things have improved, women should however have more access to training, finance and technology to further advance their conditions.
These changes have resulted from the liberation and democratisation of South Africa – and the recognition of men and women as equal before the law. More importantly, it has come about because of the struggles led by women for a non-sexist South Africa. All of us owe these positive developments to the galaxy of heroines and heroes that have come before us.
Distinguished guests,
Although strides have been made in the emancipation of women in our country, we still face challenges with the promotion of gender parity and empowerment. This is of course a global phenomenon, which the United Nations has identified for redress by 2015, through the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 3.
Goal 1 is the halving of poverty by 2015 - 70% of the world’s poor are women so to halve poverty, we have to decrease the number of poor women.
Goal 3 is to achieve a representation of 30% of women in decision making by 2015. It means that even in this industry – the mining industry- we must eventually work towards achieving up to 50% of women in decision making.
Since this is the Women’s Decade, the Minister and yourselves might want to set a target for 2020 when this Women’s Decade will end. It should not just be a Women’s Decade by declaration. It should have meaning and tangible outcomes.
South Africa has an added challenge of an unemployment rate of about 25%. Employing women in the industry therefore assists us to address all these challenges.
Mining has been identified as one of the key industries in efforts to advance the global economy. Africa continues to have positive economic growth despite the global economic crisis because of the resource boom. Mining will therefore make a significant contribution to economic growth and employment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Indeed, the African continent, the second largest in land area and the third largest in population (about one billion people of which approximately 50% are women), possesses a generous endowment in natural resources, namely hydrocarbons, minerals and timber. Our natural resources also include: diamonds, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum, but also woods and tropical fruits.
South Africa itself sits on one of the world’s richest mineral beds. Among other minerals, our country is the leading producer of platinum (80% of total production and 90% of world reserves) and manganese (75% of world reserves), and the world’s second largest gold producer (overtaken by Australia in 2007).
Africa as a whole contains 30% of global mineral reserves.
Achim Steiner, Under Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, wrote and I quote:
“Report after report is now demonstrating that sustainable management of Africa’s natural resources is one of the keys for overcoming poverty. Sensitively, creatively and sustainably harvested and fairly shared, these resources can assist in meeting, and going far beyond, the internationally agreed development goals.”
Indeed in February 2009, in Addis Ababa, the following vision was adopted by Heads of State and Government:
“Transport, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development.”
Our forebears, in light of the continent’s vast and generous mineral resources, desired that Africa would be free, united and prosperous, so that it could assert itself as a collective force, so our people would know better lives than we found.
One of our most celebrated statesmen, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah said:
“Political freedom is essential in order to win economic freedom, but political freedom is meaningless unless it is of a nature which enables the country which has obtained it to maintain its economic freedom.” Indeed, Africa should be able to project its “personality” and as a force “important to be reckoned with.”
Leaders that followed were also of the same mind in their adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action in Nigeria in 1980. Heads of State and Government therefore committed themselves,
"… individually and collectively, on behalf of our governments and peoples, to promote the economic and social development and integration of our economies with a view to achieving an increasing measure of self-sufficiency and self-sustainment … to [promote] the economic integration of the African region in order to facilitate and reinforce social and economic intercourse … to [establish] national, sub-regional and regional institutions which will facilitate the attainment of objectives of self-reliance and self-sustainment.”
Our leaders further committed to, amongst others, co-operating in the field of natural resource control, exploration, extraction and use for the development of our economies for the benefit of our peoples and to set up the appropriate institutions to achieve these purposes; and develop indigenous entrepreneurship, technical human resources and technological abilities to enable our peoples to assume greater responsibility for the achievement of our individual and collective development goals.
The Lagos Plan of Action also recognised that:
“Africa's huge resources must be applied principally to meet the needs and purposes of its people; Africa's almost total reliance on the export of raw materials must change. Rather, Africa's development and growth must be based on a combination of Africa's considerable natural resources, her entrepreneurial, managerial and technical resources and her markets (restructured and expanded), to serve her people. Africa, therefore, must map out its own strategy for development and must vigorously pursue its implementation;
Africa must cultivate the virtue of self-reliance. This is not to say that the continent should totally cut itself off from outside contributions. However, these outside contributions should only supplement our own effort: they should not be the mainstay of our development;
As a consequence of the need for increased self-reliance, Africa must mobilise her entire human and material resources for her development;
Each of our States must pursue all-embracing economic, social and cultural activities which will mobilise the strength of the country as a whole and ensure that both the efforts put into and the benefits derived from development are equitably shared;
Efforts towards African economic integration must be pursued with renewed determination in order to create a continent-wide framework for the much needed economic co-operation for development based on collective self-reliance.”
Distinguished guests,
Research has proven conclusively that, despite our great mineral wealth, Africa has not used its resources as effectively as it should. This is attributed to amongst others, political instability, insufficient investment and an absence of infrastructure that connects us as countries and as people.
In fact, Ethiopian President Haile Selassie, in 1963, described our glorious continent as the “slumbering giant of Africa.”
We now find ourselves in 2012, with African citizens still not benefitting optimally from our continent’s resources. It is time therefore that we as African citizens unite to ensure we drive the awakening of the slumbering giant of Africa.
We should be emboldened by the mandate given to us by our continental organisation, the African Union, through its mission to become:
“An efficient and value-addinginstitution driving the African integrationand development process in closecollaboration with African Union MemberStates, the Regional EconomicCommunities and African citizens”.
In addition to the Lagos Plan of Action, the African Union, following its succession from the Organisation of African Unity, adopted the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) as its socio-economic development plan in 2001.
Let us remind ourselves of what was said at the launch of the Organisation of African Unity by President Selassie:
“Today, travel between African nations and telegraphic and telephonic communications among us are circuitous in the extreme. Road communications between two neighbouring States are often difficult or even impossible. It is little wonder that trade among us has remained at a discouragingly low level. These anachronisms are the remnants of a heritage of which we must rid ourselves, the legacy of the century when Africans were isolated one from the other. These are vital areas in which efforts must be concentrated.”
NEPAD has therefore put in place the Programme of Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) which is a long term infrastructure strategy for African transport, energy, trans-boundary as well as information and communication technologies intended to guide the continent’s infrastructure projects.
By 2030, the program, agreed between NEPAD and the African Union Commission, hopes to have a fully integrated infrastructure for the whole of Africa. A connected Africa will encourage intra-regional trade, as well as people to people relations. It will also create an enabling environment for investment within the continent and beyond.
However, in order for NEPAD to succeed, we must begin to look at creative sources of funding for projects. The Lagos Plan of Action, as I have already alluded to, said that while Africa should not, “totally cut itself off from outside contributions, these outside contributions should only supplement our own effort [and] should not be the mainstay of our development.”
This would require the support of member states and well as business. Africa presents numerous opportunities for the business sector. It is after all the only continent that continues to grow in the face of a dire global economic outlook.
In addition to our abundant resources we also have a vibrant population of young people. Again, where other continents are grappling with an aging population, Africa currently has a population of 200 million young people aged between 15 and 24. This number is expected to double by 2045. If we create the proper conditions, these young people will be able to drive our economies and become a market for our goods.
As a continent of such diversity - geographical, social, cultural, and political – we are unique. Our opportunities are endless, the benefits for our people limitless. What we need to do now, is to unite – as governments and citizens, for our own development and progress and more importantly, for the benefit of Africa’s people, especially women.
It is going to be important that African citizens play a more important role in driving the African union.
Business is an important constituency of our citizenry. They could support the African Union Commission in its effort to strengthen its capacity, its efficiency and its effectiveness generally. I therefore call on industry to look at what support it could provide individually and collectively.
I therefore welcome further discussions with yourselves as representatives of this industry on how we can better co-operate for Africa’s success. And Africa’s success is our success!
Distinguished guests
I would like to conclude by again evoking the spirit of Ethiopian President Haile Selassie who said in 1963:
“History teaches us that unity is strength and cautions us to submerge and overcome our differences in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to the true African brotherhood and unity.”
The 21st century has been described as the African century. Working together, it is us as citizens who must move this from a concept to reality. We cannot be a generation of missed opportunities. Future generations should salute us for bequeathing to them a better Africa than the one they found.
I thank you!
