Black empowerment is vital to inclusive economic growth

Dear Fellow South African,

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Freedom Charter. We are reminded of its aspiration that the people shall share in the country’s wealth.

Our Constitution reflects the promise we made to one another and to future generations to redress the injustices of our past and realise the full potential of our country.

For this reason, we reaffirm that broad-based black economic empowerment is not just a policy choice but a constitutional imperative. 

In recent months, the world has entered what many now term a “poly-crisis” where global conflict, economic stagnation, mistrust in institutions and environmental degradation are challenging even the most resilient of nations.

These are conditions affecting many countries and South Africa is no exception. It is now imperative that we use the lessons that we have learned over the past three decades to make our empowerment policies more meaningful.

Now is not the time to abandon the measures that we have put in place to drive transformation. To the contrary, it is the time to move forward with greater purpose and raise our ambition.

Since 1994 we have built a robust legislative framework to advance the transformation of our economy, anchored in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and the Employment Equity Act.

The progress we have made is undeniable. We have seen real changes in ownership patterns, including more businesses owned by women. We have seen changes in management control, enterprise development and skills development. 

According to Statistics SA, between 2006 and 2023, black African households experienced real income growth of 46%, coloured households of 29% and Indian households of 19%. 

Despite this progress, the average income of white households is still nearly five times higher than that of black African households. This is the gulf we must close through deliberate and sustained efforts to expand opportunity.

Transformation is not a favour. It is a necessity. The inequality of our past continues to shape the lives of millions of black South Africans. And yet many who continue to benefit from the legacy of exclusion continue to decry black economic empowerment and are even challenging it in our courts.

We must dispense with the false notion that we must make a choice between growth and transformation. Economic growth without transformation entrenches exclusion, and transformation without growth is unsustainable.

We also need to challenge the notion that broad-based black economic empowerment is a cost to the economy. It is actually an investment in the economy.

Our task is to ensure that we pursue both growth and transformation in concert, with more vigour and with greater effect. 

That is why we continue to strengthen initiatives like the Black Industrialists Programme, which is building successful, competitive, black-owned enterprises in manufacturing and other sectors. 

That is why we are establishing the Transformation Fund to support a new wave of emerging, innovative businesses that can create work opportunities for our people. 

We must open the levers of funding for black-owned businesses. There is a critical need for black-owned businesses to access funding on affordable terms. While much of this funding should come from the development finance institutions, it is the private banks that have the resources to make the greatest impact. They need to review their lending practices to unleash the potential of black business.

Through mechanisms like the Public Procurement Act, we must ensure that businesses owned by women, young people and persons with disabilities enjoy expanding opportunities. We must ensure that transformation reaches into every sector, whether it is mining, construction, energy, IT or agriculture.

The private sector should use their supply chains far more deliberately to empower many more black-owned businesses, not just to improve their BBBEE scorecard, but to grow and diversify their supplier base.

As we develop our infrastructure, grow new industries like green hydrogen and electric vehicles, and drive localisation and reindustrialisation, we will continue to ensure that transformation is our guiding principle.

The transformation we seek is not about ticking boxes. It is about building a resilient, just economy for generations to come.

I call on all South Africans, and in particular the private sector, to recommit to economic transformation.

Let us move forward with greater urgency, unity and ambition, to build a South Africa where all can truly share in the country’s wealth. 

With best regards,
 

Over 200,000 young people start work in schools today

Dear Fellow South African, 

Today marks the ‘first day at school’ for about 200,000 young people at over 20,000 schools nationwide. This time, however, they are not arriving at school as learners, but as working adults. They are participants in the fifth phase of the Basic Education Employment Initiative, the largest youth employment programme in South Africa’s history.

After a year’s pause, the initiative returns to townships, villages, inner cities, farms and special needs schools, bringing hope, energy and incomes to places where opportunities are too often out of reach. 

The initiative is a flagship programme of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which has, since its inception in 2020, supported the delivery of jobs and livelihood opportunities in our country. The Basic Education Employment Initiative is implemented by the Department of Basic Education and by provincial education departments. It is now funded by the UIF Labour Activation Programme and national government.

This programme is designed to develop the work skills that employers say they need, such as time management, task management, teamwork, problem solving, IT, admin and much more. 

In the process, participants undertake roles aligned to school priorities to ensure these young people add real value, enhancing the learning environment for learners and strengthening learning outcomes. 

The Basic Education Employment Initiative offers opportunities for young people at all skills levels. Graduates are prioritised for work in the classroom, where their tasks allow teachers to spend more time on teaching and lesson preparation. Curriculum Assistants support maths, science and technology. Reading Champions promote literacy and a culture of reading. Lab and Workshop Assistants support technical subjects. Others support IT and school administration. 

They also tackle essential maintenance, such as fixing doors, painting peeling walls, maintaining school vegetable gardens and playgrounds. Care and Support Assistants work with School Support Teams to identify and support children at risk. Still others spark life into sports, art and music, activities that inspire learners, uncover their talents and build pride in communities. Together, these roles provide real work experience to young people and vital support to our education system. 

The best possible advice to the young people starting at schools this week comes from a former participant in the programme. In 2023, Sibongile Joni was a Curriculum Assistant at Emsengeni Primary School in the Eastern Cape. She has since been employed in an NGO called Masinyusane. 

She has this advice for participants now starting in the programme: “Be reliable: your consistency builds trust. Be willing to learn, ask questions, accept feedback and grow daily. Take initiative: if something needs to be done, do it without waiting to be told. Treat every task as important, no matter how small, because excellence in the small things builds your reputation. Always be professional: your attitude, respect and conduct matter. Build strong relationships with staff and learners. People open doors for those they trust and enjoy working with. Lastly, make the most of the trainings offered, they equip you with the skills you’ll need for your next step.”

She says this journey has taught her that growth doesn’t come overnight. She says: “Start strong. Stay consistent. You’re building your future today.” 

Every participant has their own hopes and dreams for their future beyond this programme. Whether they pursue a career in education, undertake further studies, search for a job or embrace self-employment, they won’t be starting from scratch. From this programme, they will carry invaluable skills and experience. Yet, in a tough labour market, they will each need to tackle their next chapter with creativity and initiative. 

As a society, we cannot leave young people to navigate the transition into work alone. Together, we need to step up to assist them. 

These young people will leave the school environment having shown up, contributed and made a difference. They will have worked in high-pressure environments with limited resources and will understand deadlines and responsibility. 

To employers, we say: give them their next opportunity, mentor their enthusiasm, help take their potential to the next level. 

We also need to reach those young people who want to be entrepreneurs. We need to find new ways to support those who want to create their own jobs and local value, to connect them to finance, training, markets and networks. 

Today we celebrate this cohort of young people beginning meaningful work, many for the first time. But let us also not forget those who applied for these posts but who weren’t selected. 

Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, we have demonstrated the government’s capacity to address the youth unemployment problem. Through this programme we have been able to give young people work experience and a pathway to formal employment or even further education. 

We do believe that this will have a much longer term benefit for the employability of young people. This is but one initiative that seeks to address the youth unemployment challenge. We still have much more to do to address the plight of young people. 

These young people are showing us what they are capable of. It is up to all of us in society to give them the opportunities they need to thrive.

With best regards,
 

We must honour those who suffered for our freedom 
 

Across the world, countries are having to grapple with their past as they confront the challenges of today. The past that countries deal with is often about atrocities that were committed against sections of their people.
 
Dealing with the memory of past atrocities is one of the most difficult and delicate tasks a nation can undertake. This can be a cathartic process but is vital if a country is committed to enhance national healing, cohesion and unity. The way a country remembers its painful past can shape the character of it democracy, the legitimacy of its institutions and the resilience of its people.
 
As a country, we have had to contend with our past in the interests of social cohesion and nation-building. We have advanced policies of restitution and redress to both acknowledge and correct the historical injustice of apartheid. 
 
We remain equally committed to restoring the dignity of apartheid’s countless victims and to bringing closure to their families. 
 
Over the past weekend we reburied the remains of Adv Duma Nokwe, a hero of the anti-apartheid struggle and former Secretary-General of the African National Congress, who died in exile in Zambia in 1978. 
 
Nokwe was the first black advocate to be admitted to the Johannesburg Bar, and both a defendant and a member of the defence team in the treason trial of 1956. In recognition of his contribution to the legal fraternity, we conferred him the status of senior counsel posthumously.
 
Duma Nokwe was one of 42 former liberation heroes and heroines who passed away in exile whose remains were repatriated from Zambia and Zimbabwe in September last year. We are grateful for the countries that gave our people shelter and support in exile and provided a resting place for those who died before they could return home.
 
Many families in this country lost their loved ones to apartheid brutality and live with these scars. The apartheid regime even pursued activists that had fled the country and their whereabouts remain unknown.  
 
In 1994 we chose a path of national reconciliation. We established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to shed a light on the atrocities committed during apartheid.  
 
Even as democratic South Africa attempted to unearth what happened and to hold those accountable to account, many apartheid-era security officials either refused to appear before the TRC or did not fully disclose their actions. Others resorted to delaying tactics and obstruction to evade trial. 
 
As we recently announced, I am in the process of establishing a judicial commission of inquiry to look into allegations of interference in the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes referred by TRC. 
 
As government we remain steadfast in our commitment to restoring the dignity of activists who died and were buried abroad, and to our country men and women who were subjected to indignities in foreign lands. 
 
This is being done within legal frameworks such as the National Heritage Resources Act. This framework facilitated the repatriation of Sara Baartman’s remains for burial in South Africa in 2002. We have also developed a draft National Policy on the Repatriation and Restitution of Human Remains and Heritage Objects which will guide our efforts going forward. 
 
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and other government institutions continue to engage with several countries to facilitate the return of human remains. 
 
Even today some museums and universities in western Europe have collections that contain human remains of South Africa’s Khoi and San people. In 2012, South Africa facilitated the return of the remains of a Khoi couple dubbed Klaas and Trooi from a museum in Vienna, after they had been illegally exhumed and smuggled abroad more than 100 years earlier.  
 
The American novelist William Faulkner once wrote: “The past is never dead, it’s not even past.”  
 
For the many families and communities across this country who never got the opportunity to lay their loved ones to rest or to even know how they died, the past will continue to cast a long shadow. 
 
In the interests of national reconciliation, in the interests of moving forward, we will continue with our efforts to restore dignity to all those who were denied it in life.  
 
A heavy price was paid by many for the democracy we have today. This should continue to inspire us as we work together towards a shared future. 
 
With best regards, 
 

South Africa and the US have much to gain from working together

Dear Fellow South African,

Last week, I undertook a successful working visit to the United States at the invitation of President Donald Trump to strengthen relations between our two countries.

The delegation that accompanied me included a diverse range of South Africans, with representatives from Government, business, labour and the sporting fraternity, all united in advancing our country’s interests.

South Africa has always regarded the United States as a strong investment and trading partner. Our countries and our economies are bound together in many ways. We went to Washington to establish a basis for greater economic cooperation and to address some of the challenges that have recently arisen in relations between our two countries.

Our visit came at a time when US-SA relations have come under increasing strain, largely as a result of misinformation peddled by fringe groups in our two countries, including a false narrative about a so-called genocide and an orchestrated campaign of violence against white farmers.

In this context, it was critical for us to engage directly with the US administration to correct misinformation and provide a true account of the progress we have made as a democracy and the many and complex challenges we still face.

While this was a necessary conversation, the overarching aim of our visit was to deepen our strategic economic partnership with the US as our second-largest trading partner.

The US is a key export market for South African goods, products and services, including motor vehicles, agricultural products and, increasingly, critical minerals. At the same time we buy many goods and services from the US.

There is potential to increase and diversify trade between our two countries in areas such as gas, mining and critical minerals, agriculture and nuclear products.

The US is a major source of investment in South Africa. There are over 600 US companies, many with a long-established presence here, who continue to expand their investments.

By way of example, earlier this year tech giant Microsoft announced plans to invest an additional R5.4 billion in expanding its cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa over the next two years. Last week, there was a strong showing of US companies at an important energy conference in Cape Town.

According to data from the US Department of Commerce, these South Africa-based US companies employ around 148,000 South Africans. South Africa continues to be a tourist destination to many US citizens. Last year close to 400,000 American tourists visited South Africa.

South Africa and the US have for many years had a longstanding development partnership in critical areas such as health, education and environmental conservation and protection.

One of the key outcomes of the substantive discussions we had with President Trump was agreement on an economic cooperation channel between the US administration and South Africa to engage further on tariffs and a broad range of trade matters.

President Trump agreed that the US should continue playing a key role in the G20, including attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg later this year, where South Africa will hand over the presidency of the G20 to the US.

We also discussed exploring new opportunities for companies from South Africa and the US in each other’s markets. We were able to update US officials on the ongoing structural reform process underway to improve the ease of doing business and facilitate a favourable investment climate.

We are operating from a firm base. Last year’s country Investment Climate Summit published by the US State Department highlights South Africa being an attractive investment hub, citing key factors such as deep and well-regulated capital markets, strengths in manufacturing stable institutions, an independent judiciary and robust legal sector, respect for the rule of law, a mature financial and services sector, and experienced local partners.

We have extended an invitation to President Trump to send a government and business delegation to South Africa to explore opportunities for deepening investment and trade.

In 1990, soon after his release from prison, Nelson Mandela addressed the US Congress. He spoke of the envisaged economic cooperation between a democratic South Africa and the US as “not a relationship between donor and recipient, between a dependent and a benefactor”, but one of mutual benefit.

This spirit of cooperation remains firmly in place more than 30 years later. 

Our successful working visit to the US reaffirmed the importance of keeping the channels of dialogue open. The willingness of the US to engage with South Africa on resetting our relationship is testament to the strength of the bilateral relationship.

We need to work together as Government, business, labour and all of society to overcome our domestic challenges, including the high rate of crime, if we are to attract investment that advances economic growth and creates jobs.

As South Africans, as a sovereign and independent nation, we are always ready to acknowledge and address our problems, just as we are always ready to engage our critics in meaningful discussion.

We are pleased that our visit to Washington established a basis for greater engagement and cooperation. Our two countries have everything to gain from working more closely together.

With best regards,