Programme director,
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) Vice President, Ms Brenda Madumise,
Ms Nkosazana Tengimfene,
Representatives from various organisations,
Ladies and gentlemen
Let me first thank you for honouring our invitation, so that we can collectively explore and ultimately find workable solutions to the pressing challenges facing our country.
This meeting provides us with an opportunity to look at the role that the business sector plays, or can play, to advance the development agenda of our country.
The rights of all people are enshrined in the Constitution, ranging from the right to equality, freedom and security. Therefore, government is obliged by this Constitution to take reasonable measures to ensure that all South Africans have access to various services such as education, food, social security and healthcare.
However, this is done mainly with the limited resources at the disposal of the state. In this regard, much of our work as government is already geared towards addressing these pressing developmental challenges, in particular the twin challenges poverty and unemployment.
To this effect, anti-poverty initiatives have been mainstreamed into the planning and implementation processes of government programmes and in financial allocations. Our presence here today concedes that this is not enough. It is for this reason that we have primarily converged, to find ways of filling the gap that government is unable to bridge.
We share the view that the corporate sector can play a significant role in society “as a force of change”.
In the main, I hope all of us will agree with Christan Noyer, the Central Bank Governor of France, that “corporate social responsibility is a concept whereby companies and financial institutions not only consider their profitability and growth, but also the interests of society and the environment by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on stakeholders, employees, shareholders, customers, suppliers, and civil society represented by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)”.
Ladies and gentlemen, the majority of our people continue to live under harsh conditions of poverty. These include millions of young people who continue to swim in the pool of unemployment, many women and children and their families. Trends also show growing inequalities between the rich and the poor, associated by race, gender and location.
As part of our priorities for this financial year, we announced in Parliament last week that we will through the National Development Agency (NDA) reach out to the poor and vulnerable members of society in their communities by focusing on the following:
- rural development to achieve sustainable livelihoods
- granting funds and providing quality capacity building support to Civil Society Organisations to enable them to effectively contribute to poverty eradication initiatives and improve social cohesion
- support organisations dealing with vulnerable groups (especially those against gender-based violence) and Early Childhood Development (ECD) to foster social cohesion and create safe and prosperous communities.
To this end, the NDA will liaise with other local and international donors, including yourselves, to raise more funds for these sectors. We are therefore readily available to work with the corporate and business sector to advance these plans.
We also seek to venture into areas and nodes where people are mostly poor and reliant on social assistance from the state. Government currently provides social grants to 15,3 million beneficiaries. This constitutes about 30% of the total population.
It is necessary and important that we respond to what President Jacob Zuma said in the State of the Nation Address, about able-bodied people who rely on social grants that we need “to enable short-term beneficiaries to become self-supporting in the long run”.
Using the NDA as a vehicle, we will ensure that the projects it funds target communities which seek to establish for themselves a place within the economically active sectors. These projects will take into consideration the number of job opportunities being created as well as the long-term sustainability of the project and the overall wider impact of the project within the community.
We appeal that you, as corporate citizens, work with us in this regard to expand our scope of reach to the many needy people, families and communities.
It is important to highlight that corporate citizens must at all times act responsibly as part of its social responsibility, to act in compliance with the law and make a positive impact in the lives of consumers, employees and communities.
Among others, this means that businesses must pay tax as required by law and understand clearly the developmental priorities of our country. For instance, with the economy having shed more than 1 million jobs as a result of the global economic meltdown, it is important that the sector find ways of maintaining and retaining more jobs to avoid further job losses.
As government, we are aware that many companies have been involved in national efforts to respond to the needs of communities. This includes during the recent floods disasters. We want to thank all those who assisted many affected communities in their time of need.
Government is committed to working together with you to address the many problems facing our nation. This is inspired by our collective knowledge that government alone does not have the capacity to meet all the needs of the people.
The reality is that the people of South Africa play an important role in the growth of the business sector. It is in that context that the sector itself should be alive to the needs and plight of these people.
I look forward to fruitful discussions. Let us join hands for a more prosperous South Africa!
I thank you.
