The importance of Ubuntu in the strategies for addressing economic development
It is indeed our pleasure to be part of this groundbreaking conference, organised under the auspices of the Moses Kotane Institute, wherein we interact with leaders from various sectors to unpack the concept of ubuntu and define for ourselves what it means for our growth and development and its practical application in our day to day existence.
Almost everywhere one goes, both locally and internationally, one hears various people singing the praises of the concept as, perhaps, the answer to the world’s social, political and economic ills. Critically, we decided that, since this concept originates from our country, we should be the ones who lead the path in its further definition and unpacking and ensure that it is, in the first instance, recognised as our continent's offering to world progress and, also, that we harness it for the growth and development of our continent.
We believe that there is an undeniable connection between a country's philosophy and its progress and the stature that it enjoys among the nations of the world. The Germans are famous for their never-say-die attitude and obsession with precision. The Americans are famous for being enterprising and for their unyielding drive. The Japanese are famous for diligence, honour and a high level of application in all that they do. Indeed, these definitions might just be nothing more than stereotype, but, interestingly, all these countries have traded on how the world views them and have gone on to conquer the world based on the philosophies associated with them.
We believe that the philosophy of ubuntu is our compass and, also critically, is uniquely African. It, therefore, is more than just a nice-sounding slogan but a way of life that makes us competitive and enterprising while ensuring that we retain our humanness and real regard for our fellowmen. It emphasises the collective approach that we have always had towards life.
It is because of this understanding that, when we conceived this Conference, we decided on the theme: "Humanity, Development, and Prosperity". We argue that the path to prosperity does not have to be inhumane. We argue that development does not have to happen at the back of wanton destruction of the environment. Indeed, through this theme, we argue that growth and development do not have to be skewed in favour of the filthy-rich minority at the expense of poor-as-a church-mouse majority. With this theme, we argue for a new world order characterised by peace, equality and prosperity.
The first President of a democratic South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, himself a living proponent of this philosophy, states: "As a uniquely African moral philosophy, Ubuntu belongs in business life on this continent, just as it does in our political and social lives." Indeed President Mandela had to drive home this point because, unfortunately, business has always been viewed as interested in nothing else but generating more and more profits.
Almost 40 years ago, the New York Times magazine published an infamous article written by economic guru Milton Friedman, entitled "The Social Responsibility of
Business is to Increase its Profits." The then future Nobel laureate in economics had no time for those who claimed that "business has a 'social conscience' and takes seriously its responsibilities for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, avoiding pollution and whatever else may be the catchwords of the contemporary crop of reformers."
In Friedman's view, the only social responsibility of a law-abiding business was to maximise profits for the shareholders. However, we have learnt form our history which was characterised by, among other things, a skewed distribution of economic resources that the role of business cannot be only to increase its profit margins but to actively work at redressing the economic imbalances of the past while remaining competitive. Indeed, as we speak the world is emerging from the worst economic meltdown since the 1930s. This downturn was triggered by lending excesses in the US which had a spill over effect to the rest of the world. Put crudely, the downturn that has seen long established businesses folding and millions of people losing their jobs and families go hungry, was as a result of greed. We argue that if business had adhered to the ubuntu concept, we could have avoided this tragedy.
Programme director, it is in the interests of business to ensure that, among other things, it looks after the environmental impact of its activities. Indeed, all of us know that these days we have to put up with erratic weather patterns, owing to the destruction that has been wrought on nature by mankind. The issue of climate change is no longer a subject for hard-nosed scientists but it is something that affects all of us. For a long time, our continent has been a dumping ground of toxic waste from the industrialised and moneyed nations of the world.
The talks about climate change and global warming would have not been necessary because the ubuntu philosophy holds that man is one with nature. Again we argue that ubuntu provides a basis for a better and long-lasting solution to global warming than any mechanical and short term solution that does not look at the root cause of the problem. Obviously, we do not argue for a green world at the expense of growth and development. What the ubuntu concept says is that we must strike a balance between the needs of human beings and the responsibility to ensure that our environment continues to provide a basis for human advancement.
Programme Director, a lot is made of the social responsibility programmes of business. Indeed, we cannot dismiss the expansive initiatives of business to make a difference in our people's lives and for these we are grateful. However, we believe that socio-economic development and its corporate social initiatives imply business decision-making based on ethical values, compliance with legal standards and respect for communities, their citizens and their environment. Business for Social Responsibility defines it as "operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical, legal, commercial and public expectations that society has of business, a comprehensive set of policies, practices and programmes that are integrated throughout business operations and business decision-making processes."
Companies exist in order to generate profits, and that is an undeniably fact. From a social perspective, those profits are a means to an end. Within an Ubuntu framework we should be more mindful of the social significance of what we do; more alert to the ethical principles that influence our day-to-day decisions and more committed to our social responsibility. The King Codes for Corporate Governance have made this point vigorously and abundantly clear.
In fact, the King 11 Report on Corporate Governance defines governance as 'the building of a balance between economic and social goals and between individuals and communal goals, with the aim being to align as closely as possible the interest of individuals, organisations and society."
As we say in isiZulu:
"Umuntu ngumuntu ngabanye abantu" ('A person can be a person only through the help of others)"
Corporate governance
The Wikepedia Encyclopedia describes corporate governance as "a set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the many stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed. The principal stakeholders are the shareholders, management, and the board of directors. Other stakeholders include employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, regulators, and the community at large." In our case, we believe that it is "the community at large" that is our principal stakeholder and to whom we should account.
Adherence to corporate governance first emerged after the downturn of the 1930s. The drive to have corporate governance as a critical business principle found fresh impetus after the Enron scandal. The point is that it is the excesses of business that have always triggered a re-visit to this concept because it has become increasingly clear that business, without a moral compass, is easily sidetracked. Ubuntu is such a compass. From this conference, we expect our scholars and business people to concretise approaches on how we can leverage the concept of ubuntu for the benefit of business.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
During the dark days of apartheid, non-governmental organisations played a leading role to dismantle the rule of a minority over a majority. Indeed as we rebuild our country, the non-governmental organisations (NGO) sector continues to play a telling role in assisting and conscientise the democratic state on the perceived trajectory towards equality and development. As we build our democracy, we need an NGO sector that is not driven by seeking personal glory at the expense of the greater good of our people.
We need an NGO sector that partners with a democratically-elected government in ventures to bring a better life to our people. The concept of ubuntu asserts that "I am, because you are". Nothing therefore, including our perceptions of reality, must come before the interests of our people. It is in fulfilling the aspirations of our people that our reason for being is satisfied.
Media
One of the most powerful role-players in the evolution of our democratic state is the media. Possessing the power to alter perceptions, it is a potent weapon for building a nation. However, even the media does not operate in a vacuum but shares a context similar to the one shared by millions of South Africans, a context where the voice of the majority was silenced. Within the context of ubuntu, the media needs to continue playing its watchdog role on behalf of society but critically, it must accord those who have been voiceless for so long, a platform to voice their opinions.
In essence, the media is an enabler for a country to converse with it. Unfortunately, at times, the media mistakes the power that it holds and the role that it plays on behalf of the people as its own. As much as government cannot afford to forget that it holds the power at the will of the people, so must the media understand that it does not exist for itself but to serve the greater interests of the people of our country.
Labour
We owe our freedom and our prosperity to the women and men who toil day in and day out to ensure that our economy remains among the most competitive in our continent and indeed the world, the workers. Despite their undisputed contribution to the growth of our economy, their relationship with the employer is, at times, still characterised by disagreements. Theorists will call it inherent contradictions between labour and capital and that these must be taken as a standard feature. This may well be the truth but we feel that within the philosophy of ubuntu, which professes dialogue and negotiation as opposed to confrontation, the relations between workers and the employers need not be characterised by confrontation.
On 6 and 7 August this year, we proved this when we came together as social partners, government, labour and business, during the KwaZulu-Natal Economic Recovery and Jobs Summit and collectively plotted the way out of the economic rut. This proves that, using the negotiating and mutual respect principles contained within the ubuntu philosophy, we can ensure that all of us pull in the same direction.
Critically, programme director, we must state that social and political justices are not possible without economic justice. The existence of the former means nothing in the absence of the latter. Peace can never thrive where there are economic inequalities. Our approach is embracing ubuntu as a way of life will speed up our march to economic justice. Economic justice is about policies and resources that generate wealth for the country, and how the wealth is distributed among its people.
The South African government, at all levels, seeks economic justice through various policies, systems and initiatives. While our economy has been affected by the global economic turmoil, we have no doubt that once we have turned the corner, we will once again put our economy on a growth trajectory. Our contention is that individually as partners, we have done really well in our areas of operation. We believe that we have a business sector to be proud of. We believe that our labour remains patriotic and dedicated to growing the economy. We believe that the academia and our media play their role as expected. Also our NGO sector remains vibrant. However, we have a slight discomfort when it comes to all the various sectors of our society engaging with one another and generally agreeing on the trajectory that we need to take with our reconstruction and development project.
We believe that we will be a step closer to attaining social cohesion if we embrace and practice the principles of ubuntu. Ubuntu is the glue that will bind us together. However, for it to be that glue, it must cease to be only a philosophical concept but must find practical expression in our day-to-day life. This conference is the first step towards that direction. From this conference, therefore, which is a platform for exchanging views and opinions and plot the way forward, must emerge a clear programme of action of how we will, working together, elevate this concept to its rightful place and ensure that we can share it with the rest of the world on our own terms.
This conference provides us with an opportunity to take ownership of this universal philosophy coined by those who walked this land before us. It is a defining moment in history and in particular for our continent because it is about Africans digging into the deep well of their resources, packaging that resource and presenting it as a weapon to make the world a better place. This, therefore, is not about a debate on semantics but a platform for Africans to practically work at defining their destiny.
No honour can be greater than contributing to the well being of the nations of the world. To paraphrase Steve Biko, who was one of our country's foremost intellectuals, the West might have given the world all the technology, but it is Africa and us which will give the world its greatest gift – a human face. Today's deliberations will therefore go down in history as a contribution towards building a just world characterised by equality and prosperity.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Economic Development and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
7 December 2009
Source: Department of Economic Development and Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kznded.gov.za)
