Cape Town, 20 August 2008
South Africa currently finds itself facing some of the biggest and most interesting challenges since becoming a democracy.
We have a government in transition whilst our regional situation also begs for strong leadership and a deepening of the principles of democracy established here at home in 1994.
Mixed into that we have a number of challenges such as the so-called xenophobia phenomenon and a number of socio-economic challenge facing us a nation and as a government.
It is at a time such as this when leaders emerge, when entrepreneurs flourish and when the toughest of the tough seek opportunities to positively change the fortunes of a nation.
It is in times such us as this when we need leaders in business to come forward with innovative ideas on how to partner government to transform challenges into opportunities.
I am an eternal optimist and survivor. When I wake up to our democracy every day my starting point us: How do I make a difference, how do I give further substance to the gains of our democracy, how do I deepen social transformation, and how do I broaden the benefit of our economic programs.
It is a time for us to stay in South Africa, not to leave, it is time for optimism and not pessimism, and it is a time to put shoulder to wheel and seek and develop opportunities.
It is, in fact, a time to prove all our skeptics wrong.
In this environment I want to state clearly, we need the skills of both black and white South Africans, but we specifically need those much sough after skills that many South Africans want to take overseas and have already taken abroad.
We need you to make future planning a success, we need you to help us deliver on 2010, and we need you to assist us in fast-tracking government delivery systems.
As an elected leader of the ANC I want to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
One of the mistakes we made during the transformational process was to allow a process that resulted in too many casualties of well-meaning, skillful and patriotic experts in the public sector.
In addition, the exit of white persons from the civil service who had a contribution to make followed an unfortunate course that resulted in a skills vacuum in some areas of the public service.
It is something that we aim to correct over time to ensure that those experts who can add substantial value to public service delivery will be given a chance to return and make the contribution that they were trained to do.
It is no secret that we need such skills in financial management, in information technology, and in sensitive aspects of safety, crime and judicial management.
I need the help of the private sector in assisting the ANC to ensure that we develop a database not only of those experts that can assist our key public enterprises, but also a number of other state departments that need specialists to assist them in their quest for improved delivery.
I want to thank those hard-working white public servants who have, for the past 14 years, served our democracy with diligence, patriotism and expertise. Your dedication is highly valued. We look forward to your continued contribution.
It is not only in the public service where white and black South Africans have worked side by side to make South Africa a better place to live in.
We have many examples in the private sector of people from all persuasions who have crossed the divides of the past and made meaningful contributions to job creation, skills development as well as the very important principle of partnership.
I appeal to all such well-meaning South Africans, white and black, to contribute to the growth of our economy through creative partnerships that will, in time, pull our country into the future.
I often wander whether the withdrawal of the New National Party from the Government of National Unity in 1996 did not set in motion a negative train of events that led to an unnecessary loss of skills and a flight of white expertise from the public sector.
What is certainly true is that we should emulate the example of our founding President, Nelson Mandela and reach deeply across divides to ensure that we search for the very best in one another.
Such a search in the national interest should be devoid of prejudice and bitterness and should stem from an approach that says: What is it that I can do for my country?
In such a scenario, the revival of the work that the Missionary Schools did in establishing a strong moral leadership core amongst students is to be welcomed.
I want to congratulate Archbishop Ndungane and Investec for the initiative that they have taken to ensure that these schools again play their rightful place in developing strong young leaders who can strengthen the moral compass of our country in years to come.
We need to again find that much admired and principled approach to leadership and partnership that we had under the leadership of Mr Mandela in 1990s.
Only then, and when we look at each other as neither black nor white, will we enter the next phase in the development of our country.
South Africa currently cries out for leadership that is based on partnership, and is non-racial and non-sexist. I am honoured to ask for your help in this regard.
If we can take a leap forward in that process, we make the Freedom Charter the living, dynamic document it was meant to be.
I have every reason to believe that we share the dream that we can do so and emerge as the winners that we know we are.
Thank you.