Programme director
Congresswoman, Diane E Watson
Congressmen and congresswomen present here this evening
Honourable members of the Congressional Black Caucus
The President for the Constituency for Africa, Mel Foote
The Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Africare
The Chairman and Founder of Operation Hope, John Hope Bryant
Members of the media
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good evening!
Today, 24 September 2009, marks a special historical record for the people of South Africa’s province of Mpumalanga, for being afforded such a rare opportunity to address the annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus. I stand before you this evening, to deliver a message of gratitude on behalf of Mpumalanga’s provincial Minister of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mr Jabu Mahlangu, who unfortunately could not be here, personally, due to unforeseen circumstances.
This day, back home, in our mother land, has been declared a Heritage Day and dedicated to celebrate our diverse heritage and cultures as South Africans. South Africa is a country with diverse cultures, diverse languages, which are enshrined in our progressive Constitution. “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in her diversity”.
The Heritage Day continues to remind us of who we are and the importance of where we all come from, where we are and where we should be. This day is particularly relevant to all of us present here, for the special relationship we all share with the African continent. Our past, our present and our future are so much interlinked, yet it is taking forever for us to find one another, to use our strength, our resources, innovations and the political will and create solutions for the benefit our people.
This day continue to inspire us to appreciate our level of interdependence from one another especially now during this period of global challenges. We are all encouraged to double our efforts to create an enabling environment for the benefit of all our people, the current generation and the generation to come.
The delegation from South Africa feel very special and honoured, for you have decided to create a special evening dedicated to pay a special tribute to the men of Africa who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in African affairs and to recognise South Africa as a premier business and tourist destination and as the home of the 2010 Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.
We thank you so much for making it possible to celebrate our heritage with you on this day, on an occasion, known as the 2009 Afri-Gala Celebration. Your warm gesture does not escape our attention. We will forever cherish this day. We remain humbled, ladies and gentlemen, for the recognition of the contribution we continue to make in facilitating economic growth in our country and our province in particular, and to attract foreign direct investment and trade for the benefit of our people. It is a cause we are committed to pursue and to see it realised.
It is the deep understanding we have that with the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus and the current administration as ably led by President Obama that it will be possible to open new chapters of business opportunities between the African Americans and the historically disadvantaged black majority of the South African population. That is why we are here today.
May we also take this opportunity, to pay our sincere gratitude to Congresswoman, Ms Diane E Watson for having invited us to come and share our experiences with you. We believe the invitation is a sign that as South Africans, as the people of Mpumalanga, we are an important player in the global community. It is our wish that the relationship we have started will grow much further than imagined. At this point, we would like to take this opportunity to reciprocate the gesture, by inviting you to visit our beautiful province of Mpumalanga.
Ladies and gentlemen, honourable members, I suppose you might be asking yourselves what the word “Mpumalanga” means. The word “Mpumalanga” originates from two South African languages, that is, IsiZulu and siSwati, and translates to “A place of the rising Sun.” As one of South Africa’s nine provinces, Mpumalanga is situated in the east of the country, bordering Mozambique and Swaziland. It is home to predominantly amaNdebele, vhaTsonga and maSwati, and has a population of more than 3.6 million people. Given that we receive our strength from the sun, we are therefore warm and welcoming people by nature. An experience we invite you to have when you arrive in our province.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, our country South Africa, is the powerhouse of Africa and one of the most sophisticated and promising emerging markets globally. The unique combination of a highly developed first-world economic infrastructure and a huge emergent market economy has given rise to a strong entrepreneurial and dynamic investment environment. South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the African continent is currently United States $283 billion and making it 30 percent of the entire GDP of Africa, which is four times that of its Southern African neighbours.
South Africa is ranked number 45 out of 134 global nations in terms of the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness report for 2008/09, even surpassing countries such as Hungary, Italy, Brazil and Thailand. Our country’s GDP grew at a healthy 5.2 percent in 2007 and at a slower rate of 3.1 percent in 2008, due to the impact of the global economic crisis. We lead the African continent in terms of industrial output, accounting for 40 percent of Africa’s total output and 45 percent in terms of mineral production. We generate most of Africa’s electricity, accounting for over 50 percent of the production.
We have achieved a high level of macro-economic stability not seen in the country for many years. Such advances create opportunities for real increases in expenditure on social services, and reduce the costs and risks for all investors, laying firm foundations for increased investment and growth. By 2007, the economy was stronger than at any time over the past 20 years.
Our government has achieved significant successes in ensuring macro-economic stability, via the implementation of macro-economic policies directed at promoting domestic competitiveness, growth and employment. However during the second quarter of 2009, the South African economy contracted at an annualised three percent compared to 6.4 percent in the first quarter. This is the first time since 1992 that we have experienced three successive quarters of negative growth. Things are starting to shape up now and this is attributed to our government’s commitment to spend over $1 billion on infrastructure over the next three years, along with increased social spending.
It is expected that South Africa’s economy will experience a negative growth rate of two percent this year and that of our province, Mpumalanga, a negative growth rate of three percent. Looking beyond the economic crisis, positive growth rates of two percent are forecast for the country and 1.6 percent for our province. Unfortunately, the effect of the recession continues to be felt as thousands more people join the jobless ranks every month.
More than 267 000 people lost their jobs as at the end of June 2009, with Mpumalanga’s share being 39 000. This brings South Africa’s official unemployment rate to 23.6 percent and Mpumalanga’s to 26.5 percent. Economists believe that the economy could shed up to 700 000 jobs before it starts to recover next year. This experience is what the world over is confronted with and is unique to South Africa. This is where we have a particular interest to learn how the people of America will derive from their economic recovery programme. This is where the financial literary and entrepreneurial development programme implemented by successful leaders such as Mr John Hope Bryant becomes important to us, which we hope to learn from and encourage in our own communities.
Ladies and gentlemen, South Africa as an investment host country offers a policy of openness which promotes direct foreign investment (DFI). It is also favourable to enacting investment legislation, Industrial development zone legislation and making Investment incentives available. In terms of financial infrastructure, South Africa is one of the world’s favourite emerging markets, offering investors sophisticated financial infrastructure and exceptional investment opportunities. This is made possible through the efficiency of the South African Reserve Bank, which oversees our banking services industry. Our non-banking financial services industry is governed by the Financial Service Board.
On transport and logistics infrastructure, South Africa boasts one of the most modern and extensive transport infrastructures in Africa. This infrastructure plays a crucial role in the country's economy and is depended on by many neighbouring states. Transnet, a state-owned enterprise, is South Africa’s main transport operator and the holding company for Spoornet (rail transport), Autonet (road transport), Petronet (liquid petroleum), Portnet (port authority) and Fast Forwards (container shipments). The national airline carrier, South African Airways (SAA), is an incorporated public company owned by the South African government. The airline serves more than 700 destinations globally and carries more than 7 million passengers a year.
Regarding our natural resources, South Africa produces 14 percent of the world’s gold, and has 41 percent of the world’s known reserves. It is estimated that 21 000 tons of undeveloped resources, about one fifth of the world’s not mined gold, still remains. The country’s diamond industry is the third largest by value, and the sixth largest by volume in the world, with Russia and Botswana leading in both categories.
Our agricultural sector is well developed, and secondary manufacturing in the agro-processing industries is pervasive, evidenced by many locally produced food items found in food retail outlets. Over the past five years, agricultural exports have contributed on average to about eight percent of the total South African exports. The sustainability of such important natural resources is however depended on best methods of utilisation. This is where innovations and green technologies would be crucial in the near future. There lies a huge business opportunity between us.
Our province of Mpumalanga, given its geographic location, bordering Mozambique and Swaziland, creates a unique positioning and strength for itself in comparison to the other provinces. This is in terms of opportunities it can offer to the investor community and tourists alike. These opportunities are in the areas of mining, agriculture, forestry, wood products and furniture, food processing, petrol chemical, sugar, art and entertainment and tourism.
The travel and tourism industry has both globally and nationally faced a series of challenges in recent years, more specifically in 2008. High cost of fuel and lower tourism demand linked to the current economic and financial crisis has had a major impact on the industry. However, the critical importance of the tourism industry should not be underestimated.
According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) international tourist arrivals reached 924 million in 2008, representing a growth of two percent compared to 2007. Estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are that this industry now accounts for 10 percent of the global national product, 10.9 percent of the world exports and 9.4 percent investments world wide. In South Africa, the travel and tourism industry accounts for eight percent of the GDP, sustaining about 1.1 million jobs and the value of the GDP is $27 billion.
In our province, Mpumalanga, the industry accounts for 4.8 percent of the GGP, sustaining about 130 000 jobs and the value of the GDP being $647 million.
Africa as a continent has only a market share of two percent of the global tourism arrivals. Only 45 million tourists arrived in the continent as opposed to 498 million who visited Europe last year. International tourists who arrived in South Africa totalled 9,6 million, of which only 2,2 million were overseas and the rest were from Africa. Mpumalanga in 2008 improved its position from the fourth to the third most visited province in South Africa by foreign visitors, with 1.3 million international arrivals. It is expected that international arrivals in the world will reach 1 billion by 2010 and 1,9 billion by 2020.
South Africa is well positioned now than ever before to benefit from global tourism, so is the Mpumalanga province. Mpumalanga is one of the most beautiful destinations in the world. It is the home of the famous Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon, and God’s Window. It is in Mpumalanga that the earliest phases of the history of our planet earth are evident, dated around 3,5 billion years ago.
It is in Mpumalanga that the microscopic traces of the world earliest life form has been discovered, thereby strengthening the argument that life began here in Mpumalanga. It is in Mpumalanga that some of the game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be played. The biggest event ever staged in the African continent. As we prepare to host the world next year during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we can assure you that we are more than ready as an African country to host the best ever soccer spectacular.
We are also delighted that our capital city, Nelspruit, under the Mbombela local municipality, has been chosen as one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We are almost ready as one of the host provinces, towards fulfilling the FIFA requirements prior to the staging of the world cup and can assure the world that we will be ready long before the deadline set by FIFA. Our country and our province in particular, has invested millions of United States dollars towards providing and upgrading the necessary infrastructure and promise the world the best ever African experience of a life-time. We commit that we will make your stay with us a memorable one. Come, visit us and experience Africa’s humanity and connect with your past and present history, your rich heritage.
Distinguished guests, allow me on behalf of the Provincial Minister, Mr Jabu Mahlangu to pass his sincerest gratitude for the honour bestowed on him, as a “Lion of Africa.” He is a servant of our people and this award goes to them. They are the real heroes, for they continue to believe and pin their hopes for a better life on the government, they have voted to power.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, the African continent is your home, our home. President Obama has inspired us that with the will power, we can, yes we can. With the combination of our natural resources in Africa and innovation and technologies from developed countries such as the United States of America, together with our African brothers and sisters in the world, we can create a better life for all. Yes we can!
I thank you.
Issued by: Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
24 September 2009
Source: Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Mpumalanga Provincial Government (http://www.mpumalanga.gov.za/dedp/index.asp)
