A turnaround beckons

TODAY, the activities of thousands of people, many from other parts of the country, will be concentrated on the precincts of Parliament and in the National Assembly, where President Jacob Zuma will be delivering the State of the Nation address.

Towards the Foreshore, meanwhile, close to 7 000 delegates will be wrapping up the African Mining Indaba, which started at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Monday.

We wish all our visitors the warmest of welcomes to our city.

Although Cape Town is the birthplace of colonialism in southern Africa, it was the discovery of gold, the development of gold mines and the industrialisation that followed which helped to build the economic powerhouse that South Africa still is today. Of course, it must never be forgotten that the infant mining industry, prompted by, quite frankly, an evil assortment of mining magnates and their hangers-on, had much to be ashamed of in the way it treated the indigenous black population of the region.

The advent of democracy brought about change in the industry, even though this was too slow perhaps for many people, with the tragedy of Marikana still fresh in our minds.

But it has been change nonetheless. Today, mining has committed itself to spreading knowledge, expertise, experience and wealth to communities that have previously been denied these opportunities. This can only be good for South Africa.

The one thing that is certain is that our country will never return to the excesses of apartheid.

Our democracy is strong – even stronger than it was in 1994 when Nelson Mandela became the first president of a democratic South Africa. Mandela never had a global economic downturn to contend with. And he never had to deal with the same level of corruption.

President Zuma can expect no let-up from his detractors when he delivers the State of the Nation address today. But he will deliver it, just like this unique compact has been delivered 23 times before. The government has worked hard to forge a cohesive partnership with big business, labour and civil society to drag South Africa out of its economic rut.

Indications are the first green shoots are beginning to sprout. The president, his cabinet, labour and business deserve credit for this. We believe they should be given the space to complete a turnaround.