P Mlambo-Ngcuka: India-South Africa Chief Executive Officers'
Forum

2 October 2006

Programme Director,
Prime Minister of India, his Excellency honourable Shri Manmohan Singh,
Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad,
Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mandisi Mpahlwa,
Co-Chair of India South Africa CEOs' Forum, Mr Patrice Motsepe,
Co-Chair of India South Africa, Mr Ratan Tata,
Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) � Africa Committee, Mr
Syamal Gupta,
Esteemed members of the India South Africa CEOs' Forum,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to address this high-powered gathering
of captains of industry in South Africa and India. South Africa has a historic
relationship with India dating back to when Indians went to South Africa as
indentured labour to work in the sugar plantations.

Today, South Africa has the highest population of Indians outside of India.
They have played a significant role in the struggle for liberation and the
economic development of South Africa.

Satyagraha

Mahatma Gandhi, of course, is the most prominent Indian to ever walk on the
shores of South Africa.

This year we celebrate 100 years of Gandhi's Satygraha and we are honoured
that the Indian Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh is visiting South Africa to
celebrate this very important and historic contribution to peace and
liberation. Indeed, through our years of struggle for liberation India was one
of our formidable allies.

South Africa and India gave the world an alternative to war and violence
wherein the means and the end are principled, notwithstanding our armed
struggle here in South Africa. South African struggle icons such as Nobel
Laureate Albert Luthuli, our former President Madiba, Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu, the 1956 women marchers such as Lillian Ngoyi, Amina Cachalia and
Helen Joseph are true examples of South Africans who practised the concept of
Satyagraha.

The fact that South Africa has the highest number of Indian people outside
of India provides a special relationship as first cousins. We therefore need to
continue the legacy that our Gandhi left us by giving Satyagraha a contemporary
meaning. It is indeed encouraging that young Indians are making efforts to
integrate the teachings of Gandhi into their modern and sophisticated
lifestyles. In his simplicity and exceptional intellect, Gandhi was able to
explain vexing questions about life values to mere mortals.

Gandhi listed seven so-called social sins and in this catalogue of seven
social sins, number one was 'politics without principles.'

Economic relations

- South African and Indian Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have a massive
task ahead clearly outlined by the pragmatic challenge placed by President of
India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. President Kalam's challenge is that trade between
South Africa and India should have increased five-fold by 2010. This means that
trade between the two countries should increase from US$2,4 billion in 2005 to
US$12 billion in 2010.

- To achieve this there needs to be a significant mind shift in way South
African business conducts its business.

- We can perhaps also learn from the Indian example of how Gandhi promoted
their fabrics industry by promoting the wearing of traditional dress.

- Having the ability to differentiate between needs and desires. Gandhi had
very little yet he gave some much to India-South Africa and the world.

- South Africa and India today have so much. The question is how should we
be giving of ourselves and of our resources?

- Contribution of Indian expatriates back to Indian's Gross Domestic Product
(GDP).

- The US$12 billion challenge is very achievable. Opportunities for closer
co-operation in the following sectors have been identified:

* capital equipment (construction and related infrastructure)
* agro processed products
* auto and components
* services
* information and communications technology (ICT)
* science and technology
* health
* small medium and micro enterprise (SMME)
* education and training (skilling for Joint Initiative on Priority Skills
Acquisition (JIPSA))
* beneficiation, mineral, chemical and ceramic industries.

Creating conducive conditions for trade

Department of Home Affairs

- In the past six months 40 000 Indian entrants entered South Africa for
work or for pleasure.
- The duration of the Intra-Company transfer permits has been extended from two
to fours years.
- We are increasing personnel in Mumbai to help in the processing of visas. We
have issued over 2 600 visas and work permits per month since June 2006.
- Business people can apply for a business permit instead of visitor or work
permits to facilitate their stay here.
- There have been 106 Indians caught in the past six months with fraudulent
visas.
- We have good relations with the Indian anti-fraud unit and they have played a
great role in terms of verification of these documents.
- Because we share the Indian Ocean, there is a lot more that we can do as
countries in Indian Ocean Rim.
- We thank India for the Indian Ocean: "Story about Strini Moodley and Lionel
Mabaso at the beach during apartheid time".

Targets to work towards

- Transport, airlift: In October the South African Airways (SAA) will
increase the direct flights between Johannesburg and Mumbai from four to five
flights a week
- capacity to do the work
- South Africa needs skills while India has skills
- South Africa's need to fast-track skills.

Acknowledgement of progress to date

- we acknowledge with appreciation what is already happening in improving
the situation
- we thank companies such as Tata and other institutions that have offered
training to South African candidates
- as we invest in people, we need to improve on our skills for us to
invest.

Some critical lessons

- we urge co-operation on skills transfer
- Tata's Afghanistan School lesson.

The need to ensure the placement of graduates in South Africa and India

- South African companies should take advantage of this situation to provide
basic start-ups to young people who need skills.
- We will send more advanced candidates who need more intensive mentoring
abroad.
- In JIPSA mass placements of matrics and unemployed graduates is meant to
primarily happen in South Africa. While the training of the trainers can happen
in India and at other foreign places. Those who get placed in India will be
those identified as excellent candidates for being mentors, academic trainers
and tertiary educators.
- Where South Africa companies are leaders, we also want to offer Indian
candidates the same opportunities to learn here in South Africa.

The growth opportunity sectors:

- infrastructure collaboration with South African companies
- the development of support industries
- tourism infrastructure
- business process outsourcing (BPO)
- we need 30 000 people for ICT
- trainers are in short supply in South Africa
- India can relocate some of her BPO companies here, we have the Germanic
languages advantage here
- the training of BPO and ICT as cross cutting sectors
- the importance of the full utilisation of ICT and the application of ICT in
the economy and socially.

Projects to roll out in South Africa

- 'hole in the wall' concept
- the need for South Africa to make use of universal access to ICT and the
benefits of technology to leapfrog our people to ensure that ICT is basic in
addressing under-development.

India-Brazil South Africa (IBSA) trilateral

We share a lot of similar concerns within IBSA
- Energy security:
* we need to diversify our energy sources
* the value chain of bio-fuels
* we can nurture new industries in South Africa
* this is crucial for the South Africa as you look at the percentage of
imported crude oil and the hole this creates in our foreign exchanges
* South Africa posses the technology to turn coal to liquid and gas to liquid
fuels, which we are willing to share with India.

Contribution of South African companies

We want to acknowledge; Sasol and KPMG, some big South African companies
that are supporting the Accelerated and Shared growth Initiative for South
Africa (AsgiSA) and JIPSA.

South Africa challenges/opportunities

Infrastructure

- South Africa has to address public transportation challenges before
2010.
- We wish to congratulate these Indian companies that have invested in South
Africa: Dunlop, Foscor, SAHARA and TATA.
- Further congratulations go to the TATA group for making great strides in the
South African market in their automobile business.
- We are told that South Africa is now the largest customer outside of India of
TATA vehicles.

Indian partnership

- We regard India as a crucial player in the development of SMMEs.
- We therefore want to develop through JIPSA and AsgiSA, young people who will
learn entrepreneurship for them to move from being job seekers to job
creators.
- Expectations of people with a tertiary education will be much higher. They
are expected to form SMMEs that will produce and create wealth and jobs, at the
moment this is rather the exception and not the norm.
- Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) now has a new concept of
Expansionary Black Economic Empowerment (EBEE) which pushes Black Economic
Empowerment (BEE) companies to add value in the creation and manufacturing of
products.
- We have to do more in manufacturing, especially some of the manufacturing
where the entry level barriers are not very high.
- Indian companies invest in community based SMMEs and hand hold them as they
realise that when the SMMEs grow this grows the entire economy to the benefit
of all.

Winning nations adding value

- The Indian example in this regard is that very senior executives take a
great interest in the development of SMMEs in their field of work. They do not
relegate this function to the social investment division of the company which
is handled by a very junior employee. It features very high on the agenda of
progressive and successful companies.
- Ireland is also a very good example of this kind of approach.
- Racial bias is still a major barrier to achieving this in South Africa.
- "Chicken and pig story".

Indian growth statistics

Recent economic indicators:
Real GDP growth
2005(a) 8,3
2006(b) 7,3

Clothing and textiles

- Our agreement with the Chinese allows us to limit the amount of clothing
and textile imports on 31 product categories as from 1 January 2007. We are
still in consultation with key stakeholders on some of the crucial
implementation issues.

Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA)

- AGOA allows South Africa, among other African countries, to have a mostly
duty free and quota free access to the US market in a range of identified
products. (in partnership with South African BEE companies you can take
advantage of this opportunity).

Conclusion

- Reincarnation story "some here want to be women but I want to be an Indian
in my next life".

Issued by: The Presidency
2 October 2006