21 November 2006
Despite the many impressive gains made in the first economy, many of the
benefits of growth have yet to reach those in the second economy even though
there are a number of interventions that have been made in this regard.
This was the prevailing sentiment of partners present at the National
Conference on Second Economy Communication. The conference was held on
Wednesday, 21 November, at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
headquarters in Midrand.
The conference brought together stakeholders to deliberate on how to scale
up second economy communication in a way that would create more awareness and
access to economic opportunities for the poor.
There was recognition of the need to work together to achieve the common
goals of shared growth and development. To this end, a communication
partnership which seeks to expand access to information is being built, to
focus on expanding access to information that those who are economically
marginalised can use to improve their lives. Stakeholders came from all the
spheres of government, print and broadcast media, development finance
institutions, National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) as well
as non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Inputs were made by the Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, Elizabeth
Thabethe, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NEDLAC, Herbert Mkhize, who
chaired the conference.
In the keynote address, Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, pointed
out that our economy is growing and will continue to grow but the challenge is
in ensuring that growth is shared by all. People without access to information
are disempowered and excluded, she said, pointing out that "we need to talk
about large scale interventions to make a large and sustainable impact and
communication is part of such interventions."
The Deputy President called for a buy-in from the private sector and the
media to assist in getting information across to the rightful recipients. It
was against this background that the partnership was initiated and to also
ensure a collective effort in bridging the gap between the poor and the
well-off.
Enquiries:
Tony Trew
Cell: 082 555 8346
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
21 November 2006
