ANC Today --------------------------------------------------------------------- Volume 6, No. 50, 22-28 December 2006 --------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS WEEK: * Letter from the President: 2006 - some milestones during the Age of Hope! --------------------------------------------------------------------- LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT 2006 - some milestones during the Age of Hope! The celebration of our Day of Reconciliation on 16 December represents the last major event of the year in terms of the public national calendar. It therefore also serves as a barometer, indicating whether or not we end the year on a good note or not. As over the past few years, this year we celebrated our Day of Reconciliation with an address to the nation delivered from Freedom Park. However, what made our pilgrimage to Freedom Park memorable this year was the fact that the leadership of the Park handed over to the nation the Isikhumbuto precinct, which includes the Wall of Remembrance on which are inscribed the names of our heroes and heroines. This communicated the good news that we are indeed well on course towards the projected completion of the Park in 2009, the national monument that will for all time, and among other things, serve as a tribute to all who sacrificed their lives for our freedom, as well as symbolise our commitment to the objective of national reconciliation. Even now, when only Isikhumbuto and Isivivane are nearly complete, it is clear that when it is finished, Freedom Park will stand out as a truly outstanding monument incorporating many extraordinary features. One of the things that will surely inspire everybody working on Freedom Park to strive even harder to build an excellent monument, will be the good news we also received this year, 2006, that the Red Location Museum of the People's Struggle in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth had received an international prize for outstanding architecture. Conferring the accolade, the Lubetkin Prize awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) "to the most outstanding work of architecture outside the UK and the EU by an RIBA member", RIBA said: "This is the most evocative of locations and symbology for a museum of apartheid and its struggles. It is situated in the oldest township in Port Elizabeth where the first act of defiance occurred, when non-white railway workers refused to show their 'passes' to enter railway property. To build a museum of the apartheid era in the midst of the township that acted as a crucible for the struggle is an extraordinary achievement. The Red Location Museum brilliantly rises to the challenge, using architectural skill of the highest order to produce an unforgettable experience that is both viscerally and intellectually moving." In the field of the creative arts, emphasising the depth of talent among our people, 2006 also brought the good news that productions by two of our musical groups, the Soweto Gospel Choir and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, (the latter for the third time), had been nominated for Grammy Awards. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles, USA, in February 2007. The world of knowledge The capacity of our people to stand in the global front ranks in the world of knowledge was demonstrated by the adoption of other decisions by the international community relating to our country. The first of these that we would like to cite concerns the exciting area of space science. In September this year, our Minister of Science and Technology communicated to the country the exciting news that our country had been short- listed with Australia to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope. He said: "Our country's short-listing as one of two possible sites for the SKA is indeed a tremendous step for South African science. We were among the four countries, including Australia, Argentina and China, to have submitted bids to host the SKA, which is predicted to be the largest telescope in the world. The final decision on the location of the SKA is expected to have been taken by the major international science funding agencies by 2008... "The SKA will be unique. Not only will it be the biggest telescope ever built, but it will also be the only one of its kind in the world. It is the only instrument which can solve the most basic questions relating to the origins of the Universe, and the birth and evolution of stars and galaxies. The SKA is also expected to solve the problem of the Dark Energy, which has recently been found to fill the Universe, as well as test Einstein's Theory of General Relativity to greater precision than any other instrument can do. "Further, it will investigate the origin of magnetism in the Universe and will be the most powerful instrument ever to search for extra-terrestrial intelligence...I venture to say that Nobel Prizes will come from the research done with the SKA, and this immense telescope will undoubtedly bring great prestige to the host country. "I have it on good authority that the technology to be used for the SKA is at the cutting edge. It will have the fastest and largest data transport and computing capacity anywhere in the world, and will use new and exciting wireless and digital signal processing technologies. This in itself will generate very exciting opportunities for technology development and research, including the development of new high-tech industries in the host country." Some time ago, our Ministry of Science and Technology had also entered the international race to host a laboratory focused on the cutting edge science discipline of biotechnology. Earlier this month, the announcement was made that South Africa had won the bid to host a laboratory of the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). This means that South Africa will be the first country in Africa to host this laboratory and only the third in the world. One report noted that the "ICGEB is an international organisation dedicated to advanced research and training in molecular biology and biotechnology, with special regard to the needs of the developing world. The ICGEB laboratory has been described as one of the most important in the world and will be housed at the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine. "The laboratory will be dealing with many scientific issues such as better disease control and the management of crops. Hosting this laboratory in South Africa is expected to strengthen our scientific community and attract many scientists from all over the world to Cape Town. There are only two other ICGEB laboratories in the world, situated in New Delhi, India and Trieste, Italy." The third international accolade we would like to mention concerns the application of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance our capacity to confront the challenges of education and health. Earlier this month, the good news was communicated from Hong Kong that, "Mindset Network of Johannesburg has been chosen from a group of over 160 nominees as the winner of the 2006 Development Gateway Award. The Development Gateway Foundation awarded $100,000 (R716,000) to Mindset Network, a non-profit organisation, in recognition of its developing and providing educational materials on a mass scale through information technology. "The 2006 Development Gateway Award was on the theme of youth and was presented today at (the) International Telecommunications Union Telecom World 2006 in Hong Kong. Mindset Network provides assistance through a satellite-based technology platform that distributes high-quality multimedia educational content...Mindset provides educational materials as well as training in the use of the associated technology. The organisation has installed receiving equipment in more than 1,500 schools and 250 hospitals and clinics. Content is also available in over 1.5 million homes via satellite broadcast." Good news on governance The 2006 catalogue of good news about our country has also encompassed the important area of governance. Here we cite two examples affecting the issues of human rights and public finance. Earlier this month, it was announced that the University of Pretoria's Centre for Human Rights has been named the winner of the fifteenth edition of the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education (2006). The Centre for Human Rights received this Prize "in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the cause of human rights in South Africa and to the advancement of a human rights culture by means of education and training of professionals in South Africa, other countries of the continent and beyond... "The two flagship programmes of the Centre are the Master's Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa, established in 2000, and the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition, launched in 1992. The Master's Programme is a joint project of the Centre with seven other African universities. It is an intensive one-year course which offers knowledge and invaluable practical experience to 30 highly qualified individuals from African countries every year. It is the only course of this kind in Africa. "The Centre's African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is a unique project which gives African lawyers the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and its implementation. The Moot Court Competition has so far brought together 708 teams from 111 universities representing 43 African countries." With regard to the issue of public finances, in October the US non-governmental organisation, Open Budget Index, having conducted a study of 59 countries, ranked South Africa in the top four countries worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding our national budgets, relating to the quantity and quality of information provided to citizens. New Zealand scored the highest on the index, at 89 points, followed by France with 87 points, Britain with 86 points and then South Africa with 85. The Open Budget Index report made particular mention of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and the People's Budget, which is a newspaper-sized, summarised version of the budget designed to enhance accessibility. With regard to all this, our Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, said: "One of the things that (the Open Budget Index rates) very highly is the amount of transparency and the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement is a very important part of this." During 2006 our country continued to generate good news even in the area of sport and recreation, whose importance to the maintenance of human dignity has grown with the impact of technology on social development in general, the high- tech mechanisation of work processes, the fragmentation and global integration of the production processes, and therefore the alienation of human beings from the product of their physical and intellectual labour. Most beautiful country on earth The "Good News" website reported that, "The locals have long known it, and now UK visitors agree: South Africa is the most beautiful country on earth. In the 2006 Reader's Travel Awards by UK magazine Condé Nast Traveller, South Africa's scenery scored 97.8% - the highest in the world - with the country being voted the world's fifth-best tourist destination. "Now in their ninth year, the awards come out of a comprehensive survey of readers' favourite hotels, spas, cities, countries and more, based on a range of criteria that are then compiled into a score out of 100. In the country category, South Africa's overall score was 94.2% - putting it ahead of other destinations such as Thailand, France, the US, Greece and Malaysia. "This is the sixth year in a row that South Africa has been ranked as one of the world's top 20 destinations. In 2005 the country came in at ninth place, up from 13th place in 2004. The top country in 2006 was Italy, with a score of 95.57%, followed by New Zealand (94.81%), Australia (94.44%) and India (94.42%). "South Africa's hotels and spas were also rated among the best in the world, with six establishments making it onto the top 20 list of leisure hotels in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Clinching second position in this category was the multi-award-winning Singita Private Game Reserve, with an overall score of 95.6% and a top score of 97.95% for service and staff." The same "Good News" website also reported that, "the Garden Route has been named the 2006 Golf Destination of the Year for Africa and the Middle East on Thursday, 23 November 2006, at the International Golf Travel Market held at Marbella, Spain. "The award is made annually by IAGTO, the Global Trade Organisation for the Golf Tourism Industry and is a milestone for golf tourism in the Garden Route and Western Cape province. IAGTO's membership comprises more than 900 accredited golf tour operators, golf resorts, hotels, golf courses, operators, airlines and tourist boards in 72 countries worldwide. "The Cape Garden Route walked away with the grand prize, beating top destinations like Dubai and Mauritius amongst others, after more than 200 golf tour operators in 38 countries worldwide cast their vote based on the quality of golf courses and accommodation, customer service, professional conduct of suppliers, support from the local tourism authority, value for money and accessibility of tee-off times." Good news on economic performance Of course, the performance of our economy produced some of the best news about our country during this year, 2006. Consistent with the good news that our economy produced throughout the year, one of our business leaders, Bill Lynch, CEO of Imperial Holdings, became the first South African ever to win the "prestigious Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Award at a ceremony in Monte Carlo", in June. At this ceremony, Bill Lynch said: "Our country has much to offer the world in terms of expertise, capability and commitment to getting a job done well. While it is me standing here tonight, I believe this award belongs to every employee of Imperial Holdings; without our dedicated management and staff it would simply not be possible for the company to have achieved the sustained growth and performance we have delivered over the years." Earlier this month, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in South Africa reported that the majority of American companies in South Africa see the South African business climate as excellent or good, with more than 90% planning to increase investment and hire more staff. Roger Crawford, President of AmCham, said, "The results (of the survey conducted by the Chamber) show that US companies are strongly committed to South Africa, and that the level of US business confidence in South Africa is increasing." Another December report said: "The shares of SA's leading construction companies look set for further growth in the new year amid the rising momentum of infrastructure expenditure, a construction analyst said last week. Murray & Roberts' share price increased 93%, Group Five's 88%, Aveng's 79% and WBHO's 65%, said Feroz Basa, equity analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers on Friday." Feroz Basa, equity analyst at Old Mutual Asset Managers, said: "The irony is that many analysts, including me, thought that these shares were already fully valued at the beginning of the year, yet we have seen these steep price rises anyway and they look like they are going higher, mostly on sheer hype. Normally construction shares trade at a discount to the FTSE/JSE industrial index because of the risk associated with their large projects, but currently they are trading at premiums of between 20% and 30%, illustrating how high the prices are." Commenting last month on the inaugural PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Private Company Business Insights Survey, PwC economist Dr Roelof Botha said, "The experiences of private companies should ideally be considered in the future formulation of government economic policy as these entities contribute significantly to formal sector job creation. Their current confidence reflects the general mood of growth and optimism we see throughout the country and their perceptions of improved market share support the signs of an expanding economy." One of our newspapers also reported that: "The Dubai consortium that bought the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront says it disagrees with the high political risk assigned to South Africa by international rating agencies, and is looking at making substantial investments across a range of economic sectors. "Dubai World Company Nakheel Hotels & Resorts CEO James Wilson, who spearheaded the R7bn acquisition, said: 'We believe quite strongly that the risk that international rating agencies give SA is too high. There is a crime issue, but employment will solve that.' Dubai World has committed an additional $1bn for further development of the V&A Waterfront. "'The investment returns here are what attract us. The costs of entry are lower here than in the rest of the world. With the price of entry being low, obviously the investment return is higher for us,' said Wilson. Wilson said SA had a sophisticated economy with a proper legal system and a good banking system similar to those in the US and UK. The country had huge, largely untapped investment potential, he said." Addressing the important issue of the fundamental strength and capacity of our major national companies, the quarterly magazine, "strategy+business", published by the well-known US global strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, said that Eskom, Africa's largest electric company, has shown the world how to combine social leadership and business success. In this regard, the observation was made that: "Without electricity, educating children is difficult; families must heat their homes with coal or wood, a major cause of respiratory diseases; and new businesses and employment opportunities can't grow. Eskom receives 80% of its revenues from industrial customers, but the company also has a self-imposed mission: to deliver electricity to all individuals, especially those who, in every sense, have lived without power." Cees Bruggemans, Chief Economist of First National Bank (FNB) commented last month that: "As has become a regular feature in recent years in late November, StatsSA has once again blown the lights out with substantial upward data revisions to the GDP growth data, for the past three years as well as the first half of 2006. "The overall impression is that of an economy making 5% GDP growth its standard reference. When allowing for the underperforming sectors which are expected to do better in times ahead, the underlying GDP growth performance is already 5.5% plus, edging towards 6%. During this year to date (1-3Q2006), GDP averaged steady 4.4% growth year-on-year. If we exclude agriculture, GDP growth was 5%. "When allowing for the upward revisions to 2004 and 2005, some 97% of the economy has been running at 5% growth already for three years now, an impressive output performance. When we take only the top five sectors, with a weight of 70% in the economy, the growth this year has been 6%." Earlier this month, StatsSA reported that employment in the formal non- agricultural business sector increased between the quarters ended June 2006 and September 2006. The September 2006 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that the number of people employed in the formal non-agricultural business sector of the South African economy increased by about 73,000 persons or 1,0% from June 2006 to September 2006. An estimated 7,358,000 people were employed in this sector at the end of September. The survey also showed that the number of people employed in the sector had increased by 193,000 - or 2,7% - from the same quarter last year. The FNB Chief Economist, Cees Bruggemans, also drew attention to the infrastructure deficit that had arisen as a result of our general failure to foresee the strong economic growth that our country has experienced and would continue to experience. However, he expressed his approval with regard to how the nation had responded to this national mistake. In this context he said: "Just because we were slow in taking off shouldn't be taken as confirmation that we can't and won't re-establish a much higher public capital spend as a matter of course. The ball is rolling, projects are being approved, the construction industry and material supply industries are gearing up, foreign contractors are streaming on board, and the great effort of engineering this structural shift is very much proceeding. "Therefore, stand by with stopwatch and measuring instruments to monitor our progress as we gradually re-establish our abilities in this crucial area of our general development effort. Don't just assume we can only fail. Far too much is going on for that to be inevitably the case." Reflecting this same confidence in our country, the leading aluminium company, Alcan, entered into an agreement about the supply of electricity that would make it possible for it to construct a huge aluminium smelter at the new Port of Ngqura/Coega. This was indeed another important piece of good news during 2006, given the sustained campaign that some in our country had conducted to present the new Port of Ngqura/Coega as the outstanding symbol of the failure and folly of our democratic government, led by our movement! New benchmarks in 2010 preparations Despite everything we have said in this Letter so far, during the year we are concluding, some in our country and others elsewhere in the world did their best to convince our nation that we would fail to create the conditions for a successful 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, which FIFA had agreed we should host. Media suggestions were floated liberally that some countries were already standing by to take over this responsibility from us, since it was certain that we would definitely fail to do the things FIFA required of us, to ensure that the 2010 Soccer World Cup would actually take place in our country. Most fortunately, consistently, the President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, insisted correctly that our country was perfectly capable of hosting the World Cup, and would indeed do so, setting new benchmarks in terms of the success of this most important global sports tournament. As the year came to a close, our 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) conducted a thorough audit review to assess where our country stood with regard to the progress we have made, properly to prepare for the unqualified success of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Arising from this process, I am happy to report that the joint efforts of FIFA, the Local Organising Committee and the South African government, have established solid foundations for what will be an exceptional event. This year, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Special Measures Act has made its way through Parliament, progressing from its promulgation on 26 May to its passing into law on 30 July 2006. This Act forms the centrepiece of the legislative programme, and will provide all stakeholders with the necessary protection to stage a successful event. It was encouraging to hear FIFA's legal experts declare that, in all their experience of preparing for World Cup tournaments, they have never known such a comprehensive piece of legislation to have passed into law at such an early stage of the process. The Local Organising Committee has committed a substantial amount of time and effort this year to concluding detailed agreements with the nine Host Cities and each of the respective owners of the 10 Match Venues (stadia). These discussions were intense and complex, but the signed contracts were delivered to FIFA on time, on 15 March 2006 - one year ahead of schedule! Of great importance, the contracts give the Host Cities - Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Polokwane and Nelspruit - a framework on which they can advance their respective preparations for 2010. For those six cities planning major stadium construction or renovation projects, the appropriate authorities have been able conduct tender processes and appoint construction companies. On 26 October 2006, in a statement to Parliament, the Minister of Finance announced that government has made available a total sum of R15.1 billion for the upgrading of stadiums and support infrastructure. These projects will provide not only an outstanding stage for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, but also a sustainable national infrastructure. Construction will start at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg early in the New Year, and earth moving and piling operations are underway at the new venues in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit. Again doubts have been raised whether the stadia will be completed on time, and South Africans have been famously urged to start work with their picks and shovels, but it was imperative that the processes were conducted properly and transparently, and that the construction contracts were awarded following structured tenders. The LOC has adopted a 'belt and braces' approach to the construction programme by assembling a Stadium Oversight Committee, which has been charged with the task to monitor the projects, ensuring that the stadia are built and completed firstly on time, and secondly on budget. It is also important note that the LOC has taken care to adopt best practices drawn from previous events, seeking to build on past successes. A full debriefing session was held with the organisers of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and this process of effective communication and consultation was sustained with the successful staging of the FIFA Kick-Off Workshop at Cape Town in October. Substantial progress has been made in other key areas. For instance, government, at national, provincial and city level, is working hard to create conditions where small companies are able to benefit from the hosting of the tournament, either through the provision of bed-and breakfast establishments or various other services and products required for the event. The details of an African Legacy Programme, conceived and approved to ensure the tournament leaves a measurable and sustainable legacy throughout our continent, has been developed and will be announced at a meeting of the African Union early in 2007. The LOC has delivered to FIFA a comprehensive proposal regarding the organisation of Public Viewing Areas, reflecting the importance of creating safe and secure Fan Parks where South Africans and visiting supporters alike can gather to enjoy the tournament. It is envisaged that these Fan Parks will be organised in the Host Cities, across the entire country and region and, indeed, at various locations, throughout the African Diaspora. Officials of the LOC have also prepared detailed plans for an effective Volunteer Programme, where 15,000 people will be recruited and trained to provide ancillary services to the tournament and also put a welcoming African smile on the face of the event. The Board of the LOC has already approved a draft match schedule for the tournament, and this will be finalised and presented to FIFA early in 2007. This is another assignment completed by South Africa 2010, well ahead of the schedule established during the preparation of previous World Cups. The precise dates of the tournament have already been announced, with the Opening Match to be played on 11 June 2010, and the FIFA World Cup final to be played on 11 July 2010. Planning for the Confederations Cup in 2009, involving the champions of the six Confederations plus Italy, as world champions, and South Africa, as hosts, is well advanced. Match venues have been confirmed, and a draft match schedule has been agreed with FIFA. Perhaps the highlight of the coming year will be the staging of the Preliminary Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban, when more than 200 national teams will be drawn into qualifying groups, which will produce 31 sides to join hosts South Africa in 2010. More than 3,500 delegates, representing virtually every country in the world, will gather in Durban, and the ceremony will be broadcast live to a global television audience of billions in over 200 countries. This will be a major occasion, when the attention of the entire world will be focused on our country and our continent. Lastly, as South Africans, we also hope that the forthcoming year will see an improvement in the fortunes of our national team, Bafana Bafana. The appointment of a new coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, is an opportunity to leave recent disappointments behind and make progress towards a successful campaign in 2010. History suggests that an uplifting performance by the host country is often an integral element in a successful FIFA World Cup, and we are confident that the hope of the nation, Bafana Bafana, will rise to the occasion in 2010. The truth is that with regard to 2010, we have beaten all previous records with regard to the preparations for the successful hosting of the FIFA Soccer World Cup, including the benchmarks set by the highly successful 2006 German FIFA World Cup. This includes the financial sponsorships without which it would be impossible to hold the tournament. The work done to prepare for 2010 represents one of the most prominent items of good news of which we must be proud, and from which we must draw inspiration as we work in the New Year further to accelerate our advance towards the realisation of the goal of a better life for our people, and the peoples of our continent. In this regard, we must continue to believe in and strive to ensure the realisation of the noble goal that in 2010, the peoples of the world will win in Africa, with Africa! Like many other years since our liberation in 1994, the Year 2006 has, in reality been a Good News Year. It is most inspiring to all true South African patriots that we and they have been blessed with the opportunity to play a role, however small, as midwives to the birth of a winning nation. As the year began, we said that everything pointed to the reality that we had entered our Age of Hope. Our overwhelming practical national experience during the year that is about to close, whatever the few negatives that might have raised their ugly head, communicates the unequivocal message that the nation remains firmly on course towards the realisation of the goal it has set itself, of doing everything necessary to achieve its renaissance as a winning nation! We wish all our people a Merry Christmas, a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year, and Happy Hanukkah! Let all of us respond to the appeal to Drive Safely, and Arrive Alive! Thabo Mbeki --------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the last edition of ANC Today for 2006. The first edition of 2007 will be published on 12 January 2007. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of ANC Today is available from the ANC web site at: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/2006/at50.htm To receive ANC Today free of charge by e-mail each week go to: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/anctoday/subscribe.html To unsubscribe yourself from the ANC Today mailing list go to: http://lists.anc.org.za/mailman/listinfo/anctoday