Honourable Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces,
Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces,
Honourable Members of the NCOP,
Premier of Gauteng,
Mayor of Ekurhuleni,
MECs and Provincial Speakers,
National and Provincial Chairpersons of SALGA,
Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders,
Religious, community and traditional leaders,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
It is my privilege to address this special sitting of the National Council of Provinces, which is a vital part of our democracy and which gives voice to the diverse views, needs and interests of the South African people.
 
The NCOP is one of the most important instruments of the Constitutional principle of cooperative governance, linking the national, provincial and local spheres of government.
 
It is in our provinces and municipalities that we are charting the course for our country’s development by providing water, electricity, housing, health care and other services to our people.
 
Most of the work of improving people’s lives happens locally.
 
The drafters of our Constitution recognised that a strong, effective and capable local government system is necessary for meaningful transformation and progress.
 
The Constitution clearly outlines not just the developmental duties of municipalities, but also places an onus on national and provincial governments to support and strengthen them to enable them to perform their functions.
 
As such, the NCOP can be justifiably proud of its innovative programme of Taking Parliament to the People.
 
Every year, our MPs conduct oversight activities to identify challenges with government’s service delivery programmes, and make recommendations on how these can be resolved.
 
We are striving to consolidate the gains of our democracy and chart a new trajectory for development in difficult times.
 
In the past few years, we have seen a rise in service delivery protests across the country.
 
What is troubling is that these protests have become increasingly violent.
 
Municipal IQ, an organisation that monitors local government, noted earlier this year that 94% of the service delivery protests recorded so far in 2018 involved elements of violence.
 
In some instances, people have resorted to the wanton destruction of public property.
 
While there can be no excuse in a democratic society for violent protest and the destruction of property, it is necessary that we own up to some of our own failings in government.
 
When citizens complain about lack of services and are treated with condescension, indifference and sometimes arrogance by officials, they resort to other, unacceptable, methods.
 
This tells us that we have sometimes strayed from the principles of compassion, service, accountability and transparency.
 
We have sometimes strayed from the principles of Batho Pele.
 
The levels of disaffection and dissatisfaction highlight a growing impatience at the slow pace of service delivery and unhappiness with the quality of services provided.
 
We are not meeting the expectations of our citizens.
 
It is not acceptable that communities can be left without access to water for months, even years.
 
It is not acceptable that sick and dying patients are left languishing in waiting rooms at clinics and hospitals before they are attended to by a health professional.
 
It is not acceptable that victims of crime are unable to obtain recourse because their police stations are poorly-run or poorly resourced.
 
What is most unacceptable is that some of our people have become resigned, so accustomed to poor levels of service delivery, that they believe that the abnormal is normal.
 
The role of our MPs in providing oversight and in holding organs of state accountable for service delivery is therefore vital.
 
At this time, we have to face up to a number of sobering realities.
 
We need to face up to the fact that, despite improvements in some areas, the vast majority of our municipalities continue to achieve poor audit results.
 
This points to a lack of compliance and internal controls, and, in some cases, the outright abuse of state funds.
 
We need to face up to the fact that many municipalities find themselves in a protracted financial crisis, unable to properly fulfil their responsibilities to residents.
 
The reasons for this range from financial mismanagement and non-payment for services to the absence of a meaningful revenue base and a weak economy.
 
This requires the attention of all spheres of government and it requires the close attention of the NCOP.
 
We need to face up to the fact that unless we are able to bring our economy out of this period of stagnation, we will be unable to create a better life for our citizens.
 
When our economy is strong, when our people have jobs, when government has more resources, our ability to deliver good, quality services is vastly improved.
 
We have embarked upon a new path of growth, renewal and transformation.
 
Our economy has faced a number of challenges over the past decade, resulting in slow growth and deepening unemployment.
 
This has constrained our ability to increase social spending, build and maintain infrastructure, and above all, to create a conducive environment for the creation of jobs for our people.
 
However, we have taken decisive steps to start to turn this around.
 
In an improved political environment, and through a combination of economic recovery measures and policy reforms, we are working to restore the economy and capacitate the state to fulfil its developmental mandate.
 
We are working to ensure more effective delivery of houses, of social security, of education, of health care and other essential services.
 
We are doing everything within our means to ensure that the growth of the economy benefits all, especially society’s most vulnerable.
 
In September this year, we announced an economic stimulus and recovery plan containing a range of measures to ignite economic activity, restore investor confidence and create new jobs.
 
It also included measures to address challenges in education and health care and improve municipal social infrastructure.
 
We are reprioritising public spending to ensure that resources are directed to activities that have the greatest impact on growth and jobs.
 
In his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, the Minister of Finance announced that an amount of R50 billion has been reprioritised to address infrastructural and other challenges in our public health care and education systems, and to bolster the Expanded Public Works Programme.
 
It is a priority of this government to improve ageing, dilapidated and outmoded social infrastructure, whether they are hospitals, clinics, schools, water and sanitation facilities or police stations.
 
If we are to industrialise as a country, we need reliable, world-class infrastructure that ensures greater integration, connectivity and development.
 
We are therefore establishing an Infrastructure Fund to coordinate infrastructure initiatives across government.
 
This fund will be capitalised by government, but will also draw in resources from the private sector and international financial institutions.
 
The economic stimulus and recovery plan also focuses on unlocking the potential of key growth sectors such as agriculture.
 
We are increasing resources to provide support to black commercial farmers to increase their entry into food value chains.
 
We are facilitating the signing of leases to enable farmers to mobilise funding for agricultural development.
 
We are only too aware of the legacy of apartheid spatial planning that has resulted in the neglect of both township and rural economies.
 
That is why we have earmarked several industrial parks in these areas for revitalisation.
 
This will go a long way towards providing opportunities for entrepreneurship and job creation.
 
We are clear that employment and economic opportunities must be created where people live.
 
Honourable Members,
 
Getting our people working, and providing a favourable economic climate for jobs to be created and sustained, is the greatest task of the present.
 
In October this year, we convened a successful Jobs Summit, which agreed on a range of measures to create more jobs, to avoid jobs being shed, to facilitate more investment in black-owned enterprises and to support companies in distress.
 
The summit was a collective show of strength of the partnership between labour, business, government and communities – and we look forward to the implementation of a framework agreement that has the potential to create around 275,000 jobs annually.
 
We are immensely encouraged by the commitment made by the financial sector of R100 billion to support mainly black-owned businesses over the next five years.
 
South Africa has also successfully hosted two landmark investment summits in the past two months – the South Africa Investment Conference and the Africa Investment Forum.
 
The overwhelming consensus at both of these events was that our country, despite recent challenges, is a favourable destination for investment.
 
Several companies, many of them international, announced investments in the country, either to establish new operations or to expand existing ones, confirming South Africa’s global competitiveness.
 
These announcements, together with the many other investment pledges we have received, underline the critical importance of well-run and capable provincial and local governments that are able to sustain the pipeline of investment.
 
Whether it’s a factory or a mine, a call centre or a shop, every investment is located in a municipality.
 
It is therefore vital that municipalities create an environment where businesses are able to operate without difficulty, with access to reliable services and efficient regulatory processes.
 
There needs to be effective coordination between municipalities and provincial and national government bodies to remove obstacles to investment.
 
Ultimately, our ability to deliver on our commitments – to fight poverty and inequality and grow our economy – rests on making the most efficient and effective use of limited resources.
 
The people of South Africa have entrusted us with the responsibility of leading them and improving their lives.
 
We can and must attend to the core business of government and not allow ourselves to be distracted from carrying out this responsibility.
 
We have registered significant gains in our quest to deepen democracy, to strengthen the capacity of the state to deliver, and to deliver a better life for all.
 
We are emerging from a period of turbulence that we must now put behind us.
 
Now more than ever we must send a signal that ours is a government committed to openness, to transparency and above all, to accountability.
 
The National Council of Provinces, and indeed our entire Parliamentary system, is constitutionally and ethically bound to these principles.
 
When local and national government is not working, it is Parliamentary oversight that will put us back on course.
 
We must work with our municipalities to ensure greater levels of compliance.
 
We must dutifully fulfil our functions as MPs to ensure that policies are being implemented at a local government level.
 
Shortcomings must be identified, remedied and resolved.
 
We must take seriously and act upon information concerning corruption in our municipalities – where political patronage is being dispensed in return for favours, or where service delivery is suffering because a few, well-connected individuals are the beneficiaries of state largesse.
 
We must find lasting solutions for the many problems in local government – for when local government fails, South Africa fails.
 
Over the past year, you have traversed South Africa as part of bringing Parliament to the People.
 
You have conducted oversight visits, held public hearings, conducted monitoring and evaluation, and made recommendations on how we can improve our programmes.
 
These recommendations must be acted upon by all those responsible.
 
South Africans expect of us that we are in government not for personal material gain, but to improve their lives.
 
There can be no higher calling than being of service, and we are duty bound to ensure this is done with diligence and humanity.
 
In this spirit of selflessness exemplified by the likes of Tata Nelson Mandela and Mama Albertina Sisulu – whose centenaries we observe this year – let us take forward our task to correct past mistakes and build a better society.
 
The time you have left as the Fifth Parliament is brief.
 
So use it well and use it wisely.
 
Let unfinished business be concluded, and let the concerns raised during this year’s Parliament of the People be resolved.
 
We are united in our commitment to cooperative governance.
 
Although we may have political differences, we share a common sense of purpose and have a common duty to serve our people.
 
It is when we work together – as different parties, as different spheres of government, as different sectors of society – that we make the greatest progress in transforming our society and building a new nation.
 
I thank you.

Your Excellency President Temer,
Your Excellency President Putin,
Your Excellency Prime Minister Modi,
Your Excellency President Xi, 
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, 

It is my honour to once again have the opportunity to meet with you on the margins of the 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit to coordinate our common positions in the international arena and to build further on the discussions that we had during the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in July.

The Johannesburg Declaration that we adopted in July is a culmination of the more than ten years of successful BRICS cooperation. 

Importantly, this cooperation has steadily become more practically oriented.

Through various mechanisms, working groups and constructive dialogue, we are pooling our resources and capabilities towards developing and implementing practical solutions to many contemporary challenges. 

One of these challenges is in the area of peace and security.

We should, as a collective, be at the forefront of solution-seeking interventions and move towards more pro-active approaches to maintaining peace and security. 

In this regard, more needs to be done to address the conflicts that persist in the Middle East and Africa, and the resulting humanitarian crises, abuses of human rights and social and economic disruption. 

As we have consistently reiterated, multilateral efforts should be supported as the primary approach to deal with terrorism and conflict. 

The United Nations should be the primary forum for such interventions.

On the African Continent we have seen the positive effects of cooperation between the UN and regional organisations such as the African Union. 

In view of the ongoing challenges in Syria, Yemen, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, South Sudan and the Central Africa Republic, we should continue to support cooperation between the UN, the AU and others. 

In the economic sphere, as we note that unilateral tendencies seem to be gaining traction, we should uphold the principles of multilateralism. 

The increasingly inward-looking and bilaterally-oriented approach to trade agreements is of concern. 

Coupled with the evident rise of trade protectionism, these factors are directly undermining the multilateral trading system as agreed in Marrakesh in 1994 and again in Doha in 2001.

The current challenges in global trade necessitate that we use all available policy tools, in accordance with our commitments in the multilateral trading system, to achieve the goal of sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. 

We must hold steadfast to the objective of creating a world that is conducive for sustainable development and shared prosperity, not only for our own nations, but also for the broader community of emerging markets and developing countries. 

While our meeting takes place in an environment of uncertainty and growing unilateralism and protectionism, this Forum has demonstrated its capacity to make our voices heard in the international arena. 

We must continue to leverage our position on the global stage as a means to continuously reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism and to a fair and just rules-based, transparent and inclusive multilateral trading system.
 
We reaffirm our commitment to financial cooperation and to furthering the prospect of financial integration, which will help address the development needs of BRICS countries and other emerging markets. 

As we approach the G20 Leaders’ Summit, South Africa stands ready to work closely with its G20 partners to ensure the implementation of G20 commitments, particularly with regards to the development aspirations of Africa and least developed countries. 

Like the majority of G20 members, South Africa seeks language in the G20 Leaders’ Communique that reflects a strong commitment to the Paris Climate Change Agreement and a sense of urgency for its implementation, especially around financial commitments, technology transfer and means of implementation support. 

Global trade is at the core of the G20’s mandate and we expect the G20 to show leadership in light of current global trade tensions. 

South Africa stands ready to work together with BRICS to ensure a trade outcome that shows a strong G20 commitment to a multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation as the premier body in international trade. 

South Africa seeks BRICS’ support for the implementation of previous commitments of the G20 to support industrialisation in Africa and least developed countries as agreed in 2016 at the Hangzhou Summit.

We seek support for the G20 Partnership with Africa, the Compact with Africa and previous commitments on support for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa, among others.

South Africa seeks BRICS’ support for the G20’s continued prioritisation of efforts to address illicit financial flows as a developmental issue for Africa. 

To this end, the G20 Hangzhou Summit in China in 2016 agreed that there should be continuous work on addressing cross-border financial flows derived from illicit activities, which hampers the mobilisation of domestic resources for development. 

South Africa will continue to support further G20 consideration of the report by the World Customs Organisation on this matter and a reflection of this important issue in the Leaders’ Communique. 

The G20 needs to discuss growing levels of inequality within and among countries, and the widening developmental divide between the global North and South. 

South Africa looks forward to working with other BRICS countries to ensure the G20 demonstrates leadership in preventing a global economic crisis. 

There is therefore a need for the G20 member countries to play a role in unlocking resources needed for inclusive growth and sustainable development for all countries and peoples.

There is much that the BRICS forum – with its shared outlook and a decade of effective cooperation – can do to advance this agenda and encourage all G20 countries to play a positive and meaningful role in building a better, safer and more inclusive world.

I thank you. 

Minister of Energy, Mr Jeff Radebe,
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Adv Michael Masutha,
Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele,
Members of the NDPP Advisory Panel,
Members of the media,
Fellow South Africans, 
 
Today, I am announcing the appointment of a new National Director of Public Prosecutions. 

 This follows the order of the Constitutional Court on 13 August 2018 that the President appoint an NDPP within 90 days. 

In making this order, the Court highlighted the severe challenges that have confronted the National Prosecuting Authority in recent years, including leadership instability and a decline in public confidence in the institution.

Among other things, the Court said: 

“The rule of law dictates that the office of the NDPP be cleansed of all the ills that have plagued it for the past few years.” 

The court was concerned about the dysfunctionality of the NPA when it said: 

“With a malleable, corrupt or dysfunctional prosecuting authority, many criminals – especially those holding positions of influence – will rarely, if ever, answer for their criminal deeds… 

“If you subvert the criminal justice system, you subvert the rule of law and constitutional democracy itself.”

In appointing a new NDPP, we are addressing the state of dysfunctionality and deficiencies in the NPA that were identified by the court. 

The National Director of Public Prosecutions occupies a vital position in our democracy, and makes an essential contribution to upholding the rule of law and ensuring the efficiency and integrity of law enforcement. 

At this moment in our history, as we address matters that South Africans are most concerned about – such as state capture, corruption and widespread crime – our country needs a National Prosecuting Authority that is above reproach in the performance of its mandate and that enjoys the confidence of the public. 

The NDPP must ensure that the National Prosecuting Authority exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice and should not be beholden to any vested interests, whether in politics, in business or elsewhere. 

The NDPP needs to be able to take decisions independently and impartially. 

In appointing the new NDPP, I decided to depart from previous practice. 

While recognising that the Constitution requires that the NDPP is appointed by the President as head of the national executive, I sought the assistance of a panel of individuals from the legal fraternity and Chapter 9 institutions in recommending suitable candidates. 

The members of the panel were Minister Jeff Radebe, as chairperson, and Auditor-General Kimi Makwethu, South African Human Rights Commission Chairperson Bongani Majola, Jaap Cilliers from the General Council of the Bar of South Africa, Richard Scott from the Law Society, Lutendo Sigogo from the Black Lawyers Association, Lawrence Manye from the Advocates for Transformation and Mvuzo Nyotesi from the National Association of Democratic Lawyers. 

Following a process of nominations, shortlisting and interviews that were open to the media, the advisory panel proposed five candidates for the NDPP position. 

After consideration of their recommendations, I have decided, in terms of section 179 of the Constitution, to appoint Adv Shamila Batohi as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions. 

I am confident that Adv Batohi possesses all the attributes of a capable NDPP. 

Throughout her extensive and distinguished career, and in the course of the selection process, she has shown herself to be a fit and proper person. 

She started her public service as a junior prosecutor in the Chatsworth magistrates’ court in 1986 and steadily rose through the ranks to become the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu Natal. 

She was seconded to the Investigation Task Unit established by President Nelson Mandela in 1995 and later served as the first regional head of the Directorate of Special Operations based in KwaZulu-Natal. 

For much of the last decade, she has served as a Senior Legal Advisor to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. 

As the NPA Act requires, she has the experience, conscientiousness and integrity to be entrusted with the responsibilities of this office. 

Despite the many challenges the NPA has faced in the past, we know that there are women and men of great ability, experience and commitment within the NPA who are dedicated to doing their job and doing it well. 

It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the conditions exist for them to effectively serve the cause of justice and to meet the great expectations that the South African people have of them. 

As this administration, we stand ready to provide whatever assistance necessary to the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that it is able to fulfil its constitutional mandate without let or hindrance, fear or favour.
 
In conclusion, I would like to thank the members of the advisory panel for the diligence and care with which they undertook their task, and to thank Minister Radebe for chairing the panel. 

I also wish thank all the candidates who made themselves available for appointment to this important position. 

I wish Adv Batohi and the entire leadership and staff of the National Prosecuting Authority well in the work that lies ahead. 

Advocate Batohi will commence her duties in February 2019 after serving her notice as Senior Legal Advisor at the ICC.

It is now my pleasure to call on Adv Batohi to make a few remarks. 

I thank you.

Programme Director, Minister Lindiwe Zulu,
Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Rob Davies,
Minister of Economic Development, Mr Ebrahim Patel,
Premier of the Western Cape, Ms Helen Zille,
City of Cape Town Executive Mayor, Mr Dan Plato,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be here today at the dawn of a new era for the community of Atlantis.

The Atlantis Special Economic Zone, which we are launching today, is an integral part of our effort to reignite economic growth by attracting investment and creating jobs. 

We know that without significant economic growth, we will not be able to create work for the people of the province and the country, and without substantially higher rates of investment, we will not achieve growth.

We have therefore embarked on a range of measures to mobilise investment into our economy.

And we are working to direct that investment to those industries that have the greatest potential for sustainable growth and to those parts of the country that have the most to benefit.

The Special Economic Zone programme has been identified as one of the critical economic policy instruments for promoting industrialisation. 

The nine SEZs that have been designated as part of this programme have several important features.

They are located in areas both of need and opportunity.

They are being established close to where our people live, where there is often deep poverty and where there is a great demand for jobs.

At the same time, these sites have been selected for their proximity to ports, logistics hubs, related industry or raw materials.

Most of the SEZs focus on a specific industry, encouraging the development of clusters of suppliers and service providers.

By concentrating industrial value chains in these areas, collaboration is encouraged and costs are significantly reduced.

These SEZs can contribute much to reshaping the spatial landscape of the apartheid economy.

Importantly, these SEZs attract foreign and domestic direct investment into the productive economy through a range of benefits.

The SEZ programme is supported by a competitive incentive package, which includes, among others, a 15% corporate tax incentive, employment tax incentive, accelerated depreciation allowance, VAT and customs exemption, and infrastructure support. 

The special economic zones are key to unlocking the country’s competitive and comparative advantages.

The programme has so far managed to generate R11.6 billion worth of private investments into the SEZs. 

There were 115 operational investors in the SEZs at the end of the second quarter.

As we develop these special economic zones, we need to be expanding the range of our ambition.

We need to see these zones as manufacturing hubs for the entire African continent, capable of reaching and servicing a rapidly growing market for goods and services.

We need to seize the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area and by the continent’s need for massive infrastructure investment.

The Atlantis Special Economic Zone was conceived as an integrated and sustainable economic development intervention in a region with both great promise and several social challenges. 

Atlantis used to be an area designated for special tax incentives, and was successful in creating industries and jobs. 

We are certain that these successes can be repeated and surpassed.

The launch of the Atlantis SEZ is the culmination of an extensive process of consultation and technical evaluation.

It is the product of close cooperation between different spheres of government working together towards the realisation of a common goal.

The public consultation process involved stakeholders such as organised labour, business and the broader community.

In giving approval for the designation of this SEZ, Cabinet set out two main conditions.

Firstly, the Zone must have community and organised labour representatives on the entity’s board. 

Secondly, the local community and SMMEs must be prioritised in the SEZ’s job creation and empowerment programme.

This is part of our commitment to put people first as key drivers of the economy.

I am pleased to note that the process of ensuring community representation and promoting SMMEs is at an advanced stage. 

The fundamental premise of the Atlantis SEZ is to unlock the underlying economic value of existing and underutilised infrastructure through the creation of a green tech manufacturing hub. 

This includes exploiting its strategic location with its access to major national roads. 

Its proximity to two ports, in Cape Town and Saldanha, provides advantages for exporters.

The Atlantis SEZ is expected to grow the green tech sector in the Western Cape more broadly and revitalise Atlantis as a key industrial node in the region. 

The Atlantis Zone has already attracted four large green tech investors, which are fully operational. 

Gestamp Renewable Industries, which we visited this morning, was the first of these investments. 

The company invested R300 million and has created about 220 jobs in Atlantis. 

The other investors are Resolux with an investment of R25 million, Kaytech with an investment of R130 million, and Skyward Windows with an investment of R50 million. 

In addition to secured investments, The Atlantis Zone has an investment pipeline valued at R2.4 billion. 

In the short to medium term, the zone is projected to create over 1,400 jobs in Atlantis. 

Through manufacturing, job multipliers are estimated to rise to about 4,500 for the West Coast region. 

The Atlantis Zone programme clearly demonstrates what we can collectively achieve when we take an integrated approach to economic development. 

We must continue to harness the power of initiatives such as the Atlantis Zone, which bring together business, organised labour and government in a single marketplace.

It is only through partnerships like this one that we can succeed in building an enduring economy.

It is only through mobilising our collective resources that we can have the financial means to invest in businesses and jobs.

It is the interests of our people that we must promote above all else.

It is their wellbeing and their prosperity to which we must dedicate our every effort and our every capability.

That is why we need investment across South Africa, why we must work together, and why we are launching this Atlantis Special Economic Zone today for our people. 

I thank you.

Programme Director,
Minister of Labour, Ms Mildred Oliphant,
Premier of Gauteng, Mr David Makhura,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Nedlac Executive Director, Mr Madoda Vilakazi,
Representatives of organised labour,
Representatives of business,
Representatives of the community constituency,
Workers of South Africa,
Compatriots,

It was here, in Kliptown, in 1955, that the Congress of the People declared, for all our country and the world to know, that there shall be a minimum wage for all workers.

Now, over six decades later, we have gathered at this historic place to sign the proclamation for the introduction of the country’s first national minimum wage.

We have gathered here to declare that from the 1st of January 2019,  no worker may be paid below the national minimum wage.

This is a great achievement for the working people of South Africa, who have had to endure generations of exploitation.

It is a great achievement for the labour movement, which has placed this fundamental demand at the centre of its struggle for better conditions for workers.

The national minimum wage should also be seen as an achievement for business, for it demonstrates the commitment of employers to fairer wages and better working conditions.

It is a great achievement for a young democracy that is striving to overcome a legacy of poverty and severe inequality.

Today’s signing ceremony is the culmination of several years of intense deliberations among the social partners.

There were many areas of divergence, several disagreements, many setbacks.

Yet, even at the most difficult of moments, the parties were united by a shared desire for a more equal, more prosperous South Africa.

In this sense, the national minimum wage represents the triumph of cooperation over conflict, of negotiation over confrontation. 

The national minimum wage does not stand alone. 

It is an important part of a broader engagement among social partners on how to reduce wage inequality and promote labour stability in South Africa. 

It is a decisive step towards the achievement of a living wage and a more equal distribution of income and wealth. 

We have heard the voices of those who say the starting minimum wage level of R20 an hour is too low. 

We agree. It is far below what we would want workers to earn. 

But we must understand that in setting the starting level, the social partners sought to strike a balance – between the need to measurably improve the income of the lowest paid workers and the need to sustain and increase levels of employment. 

The social partners agreed on this starting level because the available evidence showed that it would not lead to widespread layoffs, but at the same time would increase the earnings of as many as six million working South Africans. 

It is structured to make a real difference in the lives of ordinary South Africans without negatively impacting the economy. 

We should expect that this additional income will contribute to greater consumption and higher demand, contributing in turn to greater economic growth and more jobs. 

If implemented comprehensively, with appropriate use of exemptions and other safeguards, we see the national minimum wage as an instrument of economic stimulus. 

The national minimum wage takes effect in the 25th year of our democracy – a quarter century in which the rights of workers have been progressively enhanced and entrenched. 

In giving effect to the Freedom Charter, we have put in place legislation to provide for trade union workplace organisation, collective bargaining, the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, improved health and safety, affirmative action, skills development, the right to strike, and the right to peaceful protest. 

These achievements fulfil a global commitment to the achievement of fundamental rights and freedoms. 

Earlier today, at Constitution Hill, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

This Declaration, which binds all humanity to a common set of values, holds that: 

“Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.” 

And, importantly for us today: 

“Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity...” 

As we gather here in Kliptown, let us reaffirm our shared commitment to ensure that all the people of this land may achieve an existence worthy of human dignity. 

Let us do so mindful of the past that we are working to correct and the future that we are working to build. 

For as we celebrate the great achievement of a national minimum wage, we need to acknowledge that the world of work is being transformed. 

Technological advances are having a profound effect on production, employment, governance and social relations. 

Many of the workplaces of tomorrow will be unrecognisable. 

Occupations that have been around for decades will cease to exist. 

These changes are also being driven by forces like climate change and demographic shifts within and between countries.

These changes present significant risks for a country like South Africa, with high unemployment, low skills levels and widespread poverty.

Unless we respond appropriately, this 4th Industrial Revolution could deepen the inequality in our society at the very moment we are introducing measures like the national minimum wage to reduce it.

It could deepen unemployment and leave those without appropriate skills languishing on the margins of the economy.

Yet, the 4th Industrial Revolution also presents great prospects for progress and inclusive prosperity.

It holds the promise of new and better jobs – jobs that are more fulfilling, better paid, safer and healthier.

It presents countless opportunities to deploy technology to address social problems and solve developmental challenges.

It could reshape the relationship between work and life, between learning and earning.

If, as South Africa, we are to avoid the risks of the changing world of work, and instead seize the opportunities, then we need to start immediately to ready ourselves for these changes.

We need to approach this challenge as we have approached so many others – through collaboration and partnership.

In the same way that we worked together to introduce a national minimum wage, we need to organise ourselves as social partners to prepare for the new world of work.

We should not allow technology to determine our future.

Instead, we should use technology to shape the inclusive, prosperous and free society that we seek.

This means that we must adopt policies and build institutions that can direct, regulate and mediate the uncertainties of a rapidly changing economy.

It means that we must invest in the capabilities of our people, providing them with the means to acquire skills, to reskill and to upskill.

We must give real effect to the notion of lifelong learning, because the skills you acquire in your 20s may be different from those that you will need in your 40s.

We will need to assist people through several periods of transition, as established industries are disrupted and as occupations disappear. 

This demands the undivided effort of government, business, labour and various structures of civil society. 

It demands that we act decisively and that we act with urgency. 

Fellow South Africans,

With the introduction of the national minimum wage, we are establishing a firm platform for a social pact on the future of work.

We must sustain the momentum of this moment, not only to address the very pressing economic challenges of the present, but to ready ourselves for the economic opportunities of the near future.

Allow me in conclusion to thank all our partners in NEDLAC, whose hard work breathed life into the national minimum wage.

Most importantly, I want to acknowledge and appreciate the contributions made by South Africans from all walks of life during the extensive consultation on the national minimum wage. 

Today, we are fulfilling a promise that was made over 60 years ago by the representatives of our people on this very ground.

Today, we are making a new promise, as the representatives of the social partners, to build a new world of work in which all may realise their potential and none are left behind.

I thank you.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Michelle Bachelet,
Ambassador of the European Union to South Africa, Mr Marcus Cornaro,
Members of the diplomatic community,
Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Advocate Michael Masutha,
Justices, Ministers and MECs,
Members of the Mandela and Sisulu families,
Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, Advocate Bongani Majola 
Chairperson of the Board of the Foundation for Human Rights, Ms Thoko Mpumlwana,
CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Mr Sello Hatang,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour and a privilege to be here this morning as we join countries around the world in marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

I would like to particularly welcome the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Michelle Bachelet, and congratulate her on her appointment. 

We look forward to working with you in advancing the aims of your office, and to playing our part in entrenching a culture of human rights not just in South Africa but across the globe.

Today, we stand on ground heavy with history, a place of both tragedy and triumph. 

Once a prison where the apartheid regime enforced control and terror, this is now the seat of our Constitutional Court. 

Constitution Hill is more than a monument to the past, it is testament to the resilience and unshakeable strength of the human spirit.

The founder of democratic South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, was incarcerated twice at the Old Fort in the early 1960s. 

When he returned decades later to open the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and Commemoration he spoke poignantly of his experience, and of the former jail being turned into a place of commemoration “so that future generations will remember what their freedom has been built on”.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted at a time when the nations of the world were etched with the scars of war. 

It too is a reminder to current and future generations of what our freedom has been built on. 

The values it espouses – of equality, freedom and dignity – bind us together as the universal fellowship of humanity. 

They commit us to building a world free of oppression and discrimination. 

The Declaration is an implicit rejection of movements, ideologies and doctrines that seek to divide us.

It is a rejection of racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and all other forms of bigotry and prejudice.

This historic declaration, this manifestation of humanity’s common conscience, significantly influenced the development of South Africa’s constitutional order. 

It is no coincidence that our Constitution was signed into law by Nelson Mandela on the same day that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had been adopted by the UN General Assembly 48 years earlier.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Twenty-four years since the birth of democracy in South Africa, our constitutional order is vibrant, dynamic and in good health. 

Our Constitution, with its Bill of Rights, underpins all our actions as a government working hard to improve the material conditions of our people, uphold the rule of law and safeguard fundamental freedoms. 

It was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that contributed most to entrenching human rights principles into our law, perhaps more than any other international legal instrument.

I had the privilege of being part of the team that was given the momentous task of drafting South Africa’s first democratic Constitution. 

It was a heady and exhilarating time, but a daunting responsibility. 

Across the table were some of our former enemies, representing political parties still firmly stuck in the past – a past where a racial minority enjoyed rights and freedoms to the exclusion, and at the expense, of the majority. 

There we were – revolutionaries, communists, white supremacists, nationalists, religious parties and the like – each bringing a particular world view, and a particular set of interests, to the negotiating table. 

We heard from delegations representing business, labour, traditional leaders, gender activists and many other interest groups who wanted to have their say on a range of issues, from labour rights, to land and property rights, to reproductive health, to minority language protection. 

Foremost among our concerns was that the voices of the South African people should be heard. 

The Constitution was anchored in 34 constitutional principles agreed to in the multi-party negotiations that adopted the interim Constitution. 

They were the foundations of the Constitution’s architecture, and form the bedrock of the constitutional order we wanted to realise.

Principle Two was a practical expression of the values that underpin the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

It said that everyone in South Africa would enjoy all universally accepted fundamental rights, freedoms and civil liberties, which would be provided for and protected by the Constitution. 

The centrality of human rights in our law, and the importance of having a Bill of Rights included in our Constitution, is in no small part thanks to the enduring impact of a declaration that has proven to be as relevant as it is timeless.

Seventy years since it was adopted, South Africa reaffirms its commitment to upholding this pact between the peoples of the world. 

The same collaboration and consensus that defined the period during which we drafted our first Constitution, is what we seek to harness now. 

While we have one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, particularly as it relates to socio-economic rights, there is a great deal of unfinished business. 

There is a disjuncture between what the Constitution promises and reality.

For example, the right to gender equality promised by our Constitution is rendered meaningless unless the state and all social actors fulfil their obligation to put instruments in place to support the advancement of this right. 

Whether it is with the setting up of specialised Sexual Offences Courts, or repealing laws that uphold discrimination against women, there must be a practical manifestation of this right.

Similarly, outlawing discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation is only effective if action is taken against those who continue to use discrimination as a means of exclusion, be it in schools, in the workplace or in places of worship.

The burning issue of land – of access to land and ownership of land – has brought into sharp focus the reality that we still have to extend the property rights enshrined in the Constitution to all South Africans. 

It has also raised the issue that in order to fulfil the obligations contained in the Constitution, it may be necessary in certain circumstances to amend certain provisions of the same Constitution. 

We will all be aware of the robust and welcome debates that have been taking place around land and land ownership in South Africa. 

It is a sign of the health of our democracy that an extensive and wide-ranging process of public participation preceded the decision of our Parliament to adopt the recommendations of a committee with regards to land expropriation.

At the same time, this process has been a barometer of public sentiment and an affirmation of the resilience of our constitutional order. 

Our citizens have participated with enthusiasm, showing that across the length and breadth of the land, they still retain the utmost faith in our Constitution as the primary means by which their rights can be promoted, advanced and enforced.

South Africa is a relatively young democracy. 

The gains we have registered are all the more extraordinary when considering the legacy we have been tasked with correcting.

But we know that for those who are still afflicted by poverty, by the legacy of dispossession and by underdevelopment, our progress has not been fast enough. 

We know that transforming our economy, that transforming patterns of ownership in South Africa, is an imperative. 

We recognise that whether it is access to land or the provision of basic services, we have to give expression to the rights of our people as entrenched in our Bill of Rights. 

For a Constitution to be relevant, it has to live and breathe. 

It is neither static nor sacrosanct. 

It can, and indeed it must be, responsive to the circumstances and conditions of the day – while remaining true to the principles and values that underpin it.

We are proud of the human rights culture that prevails in South Africa today, and which guides all our endeavours. 

Our constitutional order was won through the sheer determination of our people, and many paid a harsh price to see it realised. 

We owe it to the memories of Nelson Mandela, of Albertina Sisulu and of the many other freedom fighters of our country, to keep the faith in constitutionalism alive. 

Far too many of our people still live in squalour and misery, denied opportunity and a chance to better their lives because of poverty, lack of education and other forms of disadvantage.

In delivering the landmark Grootboom judgment 18 years ago, which concerned a group of people who occupied private land earmarked for low-cost housing, Justice Yacoob wrote: 

“The issues here remind us of the intolerable conditions under which many of our people are still living….it is also a reminder that unless the plight of these communities is alleviated, people may be tempted to take the law into their own hands to escape these conditions.”

This is a reminder that our Constitution is the most potent instrument we have to change the lives of our people.
 
It is the means through which we protect the vulnerable against the abuse of power.

The Constitution must never be seen as a constraint to progress or a barrier to transformation.

The Constitution is a means by which we maintain our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The need to protect the inalienable right of every human being to live a life of freedom and of dignity is what brought the nations of the world together 70 years ago. 

It was also the fibre that connected the drafters of our Constitution. 

It is what energises and motivates us today as we seek to advance these rights not just for our own people, but for all of humankind.

We should take great pride that a culture of human rights continues to take root across the globe, even in parts of the world once associated with repression. 

Human rights are universal, they are not relative. 

For as long as only some enjoy them, and others don’t, our task is not over.

For as long as some still face discrimination, oppression and exploitation, none of us can be truly free.
 
Let us join hands in promoting human rights across the globe, so that all people can enjoy the freedoms that we so dearly cherish, and so that we can bequeath a better, fairer world to the generations that will follow.

Today, we celebrate a great moment in the history of humankind that took place 70 years ago.

At its essence, however, this occasion is not so much about the past. 

It is about the future.

I thank you.

Programme Directors,
Former President Kgalema Motlanthe,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers,
Premiers, MECs,
Members of the Judiciary,
Members of the Msimang family,
Comrades,
Friends,
Fellow South Africans, 

We are gathered here in solemn mourning to pay our last respects to a great South African whose life was dedicated to the cause of freedom. 

Mendi Msimang was the embodiment of an idea that is simple in conception, but revolutionary in application – the idea that one’s purpose in life is to serve others. 

Throughout a rich and meaningful life, wherever he found himself, whatever responsibilities he was given, he was bound by a determination to serve others. 

He had no need for riches. He had no need for recognition. 

His only need was to break the shackles of the oppressed; to feed, house and comfort those who had nothing. 

His only need was to forge unity where there was division, to bring calm where there was chaos, and to promote understanding where there was intolerance. 

His only need was to liberate his people from the bondage of apartheid and the enduring tyranny of poverty. 

Mendi Msimang was one of a remarkable generation of freedom fighters, a generation whose deeds will reverberate across the ages. 

It was a generation that transformed the national liberation movement and changed the course of our struggle, a generation that endured the hardship of exile and prison and banishment. 

It was a generation that not only held the liberation movement together as the forces of apartheid sought to dismember it, but which built it into a formidable mass movement at the head of a global campaign for a democratic South Africa. 

It was this generation that was prominent among those who led the country to democracy and freedom. 

Today, as we mourn the passing of one of the great leaders of that generation, it would be a mistake to relegate them to history. 

Certainly, most of the members of that generation may have exited the political stage, but the principles they fought for, the values they lived by and the means by which they sought their objectives still find resonance at this moment in our history. 

As we confront new and daunting challenges, as we attend to the erosion of the revolutionary morality that long defined our struggle, we must draw strength and inspiration and guidance from the deeds of those leaders. 

The time for leaders like Mendi Msimang has not passed. 

It has barely begun. 

The material temptations of political office have never been greater than they are today. 

As our people have realised, and as our movement has acknowledged, there are those among us who seek positions of authority not to serve the public good, but to advance private interests. 

There are those who are prepared to undermine the institutions of our young democracy, to subvert the rule of law and to steal from the people to enrich themselves. 

This cannot be countenanced and this cannot be allowed to continue. 

It is at precisely this moment that we need leaders, cadres, public servants and business people of the calibre of Mendi Msimang. 

We need people who, like him, are truly selfless in their service. 

We need people like him, with an abiding honesty and an essential integrity. 

For 10 years, he served as the Treasurer-General of the African National Congress, a position more difficult and more hazardous than any other in the movement. 

In that time, he was scrupulous in his determination that not one cent go missing, that no resources meant for the transformational programmes of the organisation be misappropriated or wasted. 

It is this quality that we seek in our leaders today. 

Comrades and Friends, 

Mendi Msimang was an envoy for freedom. 

As the chief representative of the ANC in the United Kingdom, he was a dedicated and capable advocate for the cause of the South African people. 

Especially when faced with hostile opinion, he sought – patiently and with deliberate care – to explain the positions of the African National Congress. 

He was not one to dismiss others because their views may be reactionary or ill-informed. 

He sought to persuade them, understanding that it was the responsibility of his revolutionary movement to win to its cause the broadest possible range of social forces. 

But that was not the only reason. 

He sought to persuade others because he was not prepared to give up on another human being. 

He was driven by a firm conviction that every person has the capacity to do good, to see sense, to make a meaningful contribution to society. 

He had a remarkable ability to see beyond their prejudice, their anger, their frailties and to recognise their essential being. 

For that, he was much loved and widely admired. 

When he returned to London, this time as the democratic South Africa’s first High Commissioner to the Court of St James’s, he did so with a completely different mandate, but employed many of the same methods. 

While it is certainly true that he no longer organised protests outside South Africa House, he used his good offices within the building to advance the cause of a free and democratic South Africa. 

He argued with great eloquence and conviction that while it was true that the South African people had achieved the overthrow of apartheid and established a democratic state, the legacy of centuries of dispossession and exploitation endured. 

He sought the support of the British government and people – and indeed the broader international community – for the reconstruction of South Africa, for the growth and transformation of its economy, and for the empowerment of its people through skills and jobs. 

Over two decades later, these remain the most important tasks that we, as a nation, must undertake. 

We must attend to these tasks with the same vigour and application that Mendi Msimang did. 

We must seek, as he always did, to build consensus on the measures we must necessarily take to transform our economy and our society. 

We must confront, as he would have, the difficult choices that need to be made to turn around an economy that has faltered and to fix the public institutions that have been weakened. 

We must retain, as he would have, our focus on the overriding task to create jobs and tackle poverty. 

We must forge a social compact that is founded on the incontrovertible reality that none of us can prosper unless we all prosper. 

We must forge a social compact that recognises that the enormity of the challenges ahead of us require that we all pull in the same direction. 

This is what Mendi Msimang was good at, building bridges, forging alliances and resolving differences. 

That is why we say that the time for leaders like Mendi Msimang has not passed. 

He was a person of great modesty and dignity. 

He treated others with respect, was moderate in demeanour and measured in his address. 

These may be commendable personality traits, but they are also profoundly political. 

They are among the qualities that we should seek in a revolutionary. 

One cannot be a revolutionary if one does not respect others. 

One cannot be a revolutionary if one is intolerant of other views, or if insult and invective are the only means of persuasion one can marshal. 

Those who worked with him remember both fondly and sometimes with frustration how meticulous he was. 

They recall his commitment to proper syntax and correct spelling and his ability to debate the placement of a comma. 

This was a sign not only of a sound education, but also of a rigorous discipline that extended from the writing of a letter to the prosecution of the struggle. 

Like many of his generation, Mendi Msimang paid a heavy price for his commitment to the struggle. 

The nation owes his family a debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they made and the absences they endured. 

We extend to the family our deepest condolences for their sad loss and their selfless sacrifice of giving up their parental claim to their father, grandfather, brother, and patriarch to the service of the people of South Africa. 

The family, like all of us, assume a great responsibility to carry forward his legacy, characterised by a deep sense of loyalty, commitment, love and selflessness to all the people of our country, especially the poor. 

Mendi Msimang, stalwart of our movement, giant of our struggle, unassuming hero of our people, is no more. 

As we mourn his passing, we commend and we celebrate a life lived in the service of others. 

As we bid him farewell, we repeat that the time for leaders like Mendi Msimang has not passed. 

In his memory, let us pledge, as our forbearers did in Kliptown, that we will strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until we reach our goal of a united, free and prosperous South Africa. 

May his soul rest in peace. May his abundant legacy endure. 

Hamba Kahle, Qhawe lama Qhawe. 

I thank you.

Programme Director,
Your Excellencies, High Commissioner and Ambassadors,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
 
It is my singular honour to welcome you to the Republic of South Africa as Heads of Mission charged with the responsibility to strengthen the friendship that exists between our countries.
 
We are officially welcoming you to South Africa as the centenary year of the founding President of our democratic nation, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, draws to a close.
 
Together with many across the world, we have used this year to reflect on the values by which President Mandela lived and the ideals for which he was prepared to die.
 
We remain inspired and guided by his vision of a better world that is more inclusive, more democratic and more humane.
 
It is a vision of a world that is built on social justice and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all.
 
We are welcoming you to South Africa as part of a progressive humanity that observes and respects the equality of all people and of all sovereign states.
 
We are firmly committed to the pursuit of global peace and properity through cooperation and partnership, through multilateralism and through the consistent and fair application of a rules-based global architecture.
 
We maintain this position at a time when unilateral action is threatening to undermine this multilateral architecture.
 
The emergence of unilateralism is taking place against the backdrop of rising nationalism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.
 
It takes place at a time when the problems facing the world – from climate change to terrorism, from migration to poverty – require ever-closer collaboration among the countries of the world.
 
We should not abandon the institutions that have been set up over the last 70 years to mediate and manage international relations.
 
Rather we should strengthen them and, where necessary, reform them to become more effective and inclusive.
 
While we have a responsibility to advance and protect the national interests of our respective countries, we must work together to discharge such responsibility without arousing animosity among nations.
 
Like Nelson Mandela, we must strive always for the peaceful resolution of conflict and improve our capacity to prevent conflict.
 
We must work collectively to address the leading causes of conflict: poverty, inequality and political marginalisation.
 
We must accept that lasting peace and security will not be achieved unless we create a world that is conducive to sustainable development and shared prosperity.
 
Your Excellencies,
 
We welcome you to our country at a time of renewed hope. 
 
We are emerging from a period of stagnation and strife.
 
Over the past few years, our economy has performed poorly relative to others of the same size. 
 
Policy uncertainty, the weakening of public institutions and high-level corruption undermined investor confidence and public trust.
 
We are now firmly on the path of renewal and rebuilding.
 
We have acknowledged the errors of the past few years and are working hard to correct them.
 
We are restoring trust in public institutions by appointing the right people for the right jobs, by tackling corruption and holding those responsible to account.
 
Our economy is showing signs of recovery, having just emerged from a technical recession with 2.2% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2018.
 
We are working with our social partners – business, labour and communities – on a range of measures to significantly increase employment over the next few years.
 
We held a highly successful investment conference in October, at which several companies announced new investments in the economy.
 
It was a clear indication that investors have confidence in our economy and are excited about the opportunities it offers.
 
We have moved with speed to resolve many of the concerns of investors.
 
These concerns include policy inconsistency, the cost of doing business, labour instability, a burdensome regulatory framework and limiting visa regulations.
 
At the same time, we are working to address some of the structural challenges in our economy, specifically the extremely unequal distribution of skills, land, assets and opportunities.
 
We have a higher education enrolment of nearly a million students and almost universal school attendance, but there is much more that needs to be done to improve the quality of our educational outcomes and ensure that graduates are prepared for the workplace.
 
We are accelerating land reform to unlock the economic potential of this important asset and bring more South Africans into the productive economy.
 
In approaching this issue, we are determined to adhere to the rule of law and the principles enshrined in our Constitution.
 
We want to use this process to stimulate economic growth, reduce rural poverty, increase agricultural production and give poor urban dwellers ownership of homes close to economic opportunities.
 
It is our sincere hope that you will convey to investors in your countries that South Africa is open for business.
 
We are keen to work with you to ensure that South Africa becomes known as an investment destination that offers great returns.
 
Let me thank you for the role you have played and will continue to play in strengthening the relations between South Africa and your respective countries.
 
I wish all of you well in the execution of your duties to your countries and to the betterment of all peoples.
 
Working together, and in memory of Nelson Mandela, let us spare neither effort nor strength in our mission to make the world a better place for all to live in.
 
I thank you.