P Mlambo-Ngcuka: World Newspaper Association Congress

5 June 2007

Programme Director
Chief Executive Officer of the International Marketing Council
Esteemed guests
Ladies and gentlemen

You are welcome to South Africa and thank you for holding your 60th
international gathering of the World Association of Newspapers the very first
in Africa. There are many reasons for welcoming you, but high on the list is
the fact that during our long years of struggle for freedom, the newspapers of
the world and other media played a crucial role in keeping citizens informed of
what was happening under apartheid. And so as a representative of the South
Africa's democratic government, I say ngiyanamukela. Welcome to you all!

Although our peaceful transition confounded expectations of destruction, and
made South Africa a symbol of hope some even called it a miracle. We are aware
of negative international perceptions that persist despite the advances we were
making and the need for us to project our successes much better and continue to
deal with some of the real and perceived problems.

Hence the establishment of the International Marketing Council, our hosts
today, hence too our appreciation that you have taken time out at a congress so
full of interest, to let us tell you a little about how we are using our
freedom to build a new and better life for all. A better South Africa, Africa
and the world!

South Africa has achieved much since the dawn of political freedom thirteen
years ago. The first decade of freedom for us was about reconstruction and
development. It was also about bringing large numbers of historically excluded
people into a net of the serviced population. What was very definite about
Apartheid was its exclusion and discrimination of the largest and poorest
numbers of citizens from receiving services. Hence our post 1994 Programme of
Action (POA) of the State focussed intensively on providing access. The
Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) had six pillars:

1. Access to basic services
* energy
* water
* houses
* sanitation
* rural roads
* schools
* clinics

But so low was the base we started from that we broke the back of access but
have not reached universal access. This means that the system is bursting at
the seams. We also need to enlarge staff and other inputs to keep up with
demand.

2. Human Resource Development
3. Building democracy and one country
4. Peace and Stability
5. Build a better Africa and a better world
6. Building the economy

To the extent we have made advances, we did so as a nation of many sectors
working together towards common goals. The short time we have today allows us
to share with you the approach we have adopted. We are now in the second decade
of our democracy. We are focused on universal access of basic services and
improving quality which demands infrastructure and human resources.

Economy

Our economy has grown at around five percent since 2004; in the past
five-years Gross National Income per capita has risen from under $3 000 to over
$5 000. During the same period we cut taxes several times; reduced the budget
deficit to virtually zero; reduced government debt to one of the lowest levels
in the world; reduced inflation to three to six percent and reduced poverty
through a system of social grants, which now reaches 11 million beneficiaries.
For three years in succession we have created over 500 000 additional jobs in
the economy.

However, though the political fundamentals are in place and the economy is
performing above expectations, this is not yet sufficient to meet the great
social and economic challenges that remain, in particular to meet the 2004
electoral mandate of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. It is for that
reason that we adopted the accelerated and shared growth. It is a correctional
intervention to link growth to the reduction of extreme inequalities.

In the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) we
are focussed on dealing with:
1. Infrastructure
2. Capacity of the state
3. Macro economy
4. Second Economy
5. Skills
6. Industrial sector development

AsgiSA in review

Since AsgiSA was launched just over a year ago, much has been achieved.
Government has allocated R415 billion over the 2007 to 2010 Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) to investment in infrastructure. Gross fixed
investment has risen from 14 percent of GDP to 18,5 percent and is growing at
an annual rate of over 11 percent.

Some of this investment will meet the demands created by the 2010 FIFA World
Cup, which we are treating as a catalyst to accelerate some of our major
infrastructure projects. We have decided the most critical legacy for South
Africa in 2010 has to be public transport infrastructure. In AsgiSA that gets a
high priority. A large part also goes to energy infrastructure being spent by
Eskom and to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure to
improve access and affordability of Broadband.

In the sectors, new investment opportunities are being developed in sectors
that offer promise for faster, employment creating growth, business process
outsourcing and off-shoring tourism and bio-fuels. We have a large initiative
on skills development focussing on scarce skills that are needed in a short
space of time and support for a reliable supply by schools and universities in
the medium to long term.

Shared growth

The millions of, especially, young people who are unemployed and poorly
skilled make what we call the second economy and a critical target group to
reach out to and to ensure the economy is truly being shared. The second decade
of democracy will be about sharing the growth with these citizens the
following:

* universal access to infrastructure
* quality education and skills
* spatial development
* facilitation of millions of young people, especially, to enter the labour
market
* continued support through poverty safety nets correctly provided to 11
million extremely poor as grants
* dealing with the burden of disease especially HIV and AIDS

So, we have made progress in the first decade but have equally big
challenges in the second decade. We have many problems. We also make mistakes
just as we make some groundbreaking advances. You have to decide whether you
see the glass that is perpetually half full or half empty. But that is also not
good enough as there are many complexities in our reconstruction path.

HIV and AIDS have a challenge in our outstretched health system. We have
been hard at work over the years mobilising society across all sectors, raising
education levels and developing pertinent strategies, uniquely tailor-made to
address the peculiar conditions South Africa is facing regarding HIV and
AIDS.

We have made great progress on this account. The partnership against AIDS
was launched in 1998 by then Deputy President Mbeki and in 2000 we adopted a
comprehensive five-year plan comprising prevention, treatment and support. We
have just emerged from a period of renewing and strengthening the partnership
in the course of reviewing the plan. A few weeks ago the South African
National
AIDS Council, made up of stakeholders from every sector, and our Cabinet
endorsed the National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS and the sexually
transmitted infections (STIs) for 2007/11, setting the stage for a united and
intensified national effort of government and civil society working
together.

Ladies and gentlemen, shortly and sadly, I will be leaving this conference
to deliver a key note address at the third national HIV and AIDS Conference in
Durban in my capacity as the chairperson of the South African National AIDS
Council.

We are making a concerted effort to upscale our crime fighting strategies
and to mobilise partners in the big challenges including the media. People have
a right to accurate information this remains a murky area. Africa continues to
be reduced to a problem.

In socio-economic development, there is scope for a greater media role in
helping access to economic opportunities by carrying more information about how
especially the poor can access these prospects. Government struggles
significantly in that regard and depends on partnerships. Once more the African
story is not a simple story.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, South Africans united to overcome the obstacles to
freedom, and to start transforming a society torn apart by racial hatred and
economic disparities to a nation that is stable and at peace with itself. South
Africans are today working together to confront and overcome some of the
greatest challenges that face not only ourselves but millions across the
globe.

It is our hope that this conference, in reflecting on the media as part of
society, will help ensure that the media continues to play a critical role in
the elevation of human condition.

I thank you

Issued by: The Presidency
5 June 2007
Source: SAPA