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President of the National Youth Development Agency, Mr. Sifiso Mtshweni;
Honorable Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Addressing Youth in 1995 on the Occasion of Youth Day, Nelson Mandela, Former President, said:
"In Ultimately, your progress will depend on your application The road to a better life requires hard work, requires discipline, patience and responsibility … This generation of young people is on the border between the past and the future. Oppression and repression, and the future of prosperity, peace and harmony. "
In this centennial of Nelson Mandela and Albertinah Sisulu, we have the responsibility to ensure that our actions concrete concretize the call to the clarion of our former president.In fact, young people have been at the center of each decisive moment of the fight against oppression and exploitation.
Carrying the message of Tata Madiba, president Cyril Ramaphosa has dec on the occasion of this year's Youth Day: 19659009] "Even as we were building a democratic South Africa, it was fearless young people who reminded us that liberation would not be complete as long as riches of the earth would not be shared among peoples. the realization of economic freedom.
Young people must continue to be a force for progressive change and radical transformation. In the run-up to the BRICS Summit, we continue to urge young people to recommit themselves to the historic task of being agents of change and leading the reconstruction and development of our country.
Our BRICS members contribute to taking advantage of economic opportunities on the development agenda, as well as on the continent. In the developing world, South Africa faces the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
Especially in the context of current global developments, South Africa's membership in the BRICS is one of South Africa's leading strategic partnerships. and is a key platform for promoting South-South trade and investment.
BRICS members now show potential benefits to the local economy. BRICS partners share best practices and development models to address and combat these common challenges. More importantly, the BRICS seeks to advance the restructuring of the global political, economic and financial architecture towards a more equitable and balanced architecture based on the important pillar of multilateralism.
Significantly, the BRICS contain 40% of the world's population.
With a combined GDP of about $ 15 trillion, the BRICS countries account for 19.3% of the gross world product; 42.7% of the world's population; and has contributed more than 50% to global economic growth over the last 10 years.
Intra-BRICS trade increased from $ 567 billion in 2010 to $ 744 billion in 2017. South Africa $ 35 billion over the same period. Exports and imports from other BRICS countries grew faster than South Africa's global trade, which has increased the importance of the other BRICS in the commercial basket of the United States. South Africa. Together, BRIC countries account for 15.4% of South Africa's global exports and 25.4% of the country's imports. The main objective of the BRICS should be to change the structure of our trade and to promote value-added trade in order to contribute to the structural transformation of our economies.
The SMME sector in many BRICS economies accounts for nearly half of their exports, manufacturing output and GDP. Together, we tackle the main obstacles / obstacles faced by SMMEs and the need for cooperation between BRICS countries to effectively overcome trade and investment barriers between SMEs.
Around the world, experience shows that small businesses and cooperatives thrive if a favorable environment is created and there is a strong partnership between government, big business and SMEs and the cooperative sector.
In this regard, South Africa has identified small businesses and cooperatives as essential to the creation of an economy that benefits everyone. The economy of South Africa needs a thriving small business sector and cooperatives to achieve the national socio-economic goals of a prosperous and inclusive society. It is only through a flourishing inclusive economy that the challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty can be solved.
Our starting point is that small businesses can be the backbone of any economy and the main driver of economic growth. and creating jobs. A healthy SMME sector can make a massive contribution to the economy by creating more employment opportunities and generating higher production volumes.
The country's high unemployment rate and extreme inequalities call for bold and far-sighted interventions. The national development plan is the vehicle that will help fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality. It sets itself the ambitious goal of tripling the size of the economy by 2030, a major challenge that will require our collective contribution. Respecting the NDP's growth target of 5.4% for the next 16 years would not only guarantee the material prosperity of South Africa, but would also be a uplifting and inspiring tale for the country.
As the NDP makes clear, The growth path requires that we fundamentally change our game plan and place small businesses and cooperatives at the center of our fight against poverty, inequality and unemployment. . The development of a strong and growing SME community is the cornerstone of the NDP's vision. SMEs should be at the heart of job creation efforts in South Africa, in line with international trends
One of the specific goals of the NDP is to reduce unemployment to 6% of here 2030 through the creation of 11 million jobs. The NDP predicts that if we implement all of its recommendations, our economy will grow by 5% per year, 60% to 80% of that value being generated by SMMEs and growing businesses, and this sector will create 90%. 9.9 million, out of the 11 million new jobs we will have in 2030. Hence our bold assertion: The small business is a big deal.
We are encouraged to see that the contribution of SMMEs to the economy continues to increase. conditions. We are determined to strengthen the small business sector to enable it to occupy its rightful place in the mainstream economy and to demonstrate that small business is the big business of tomorrow and that together we can to do more.
only limited to the government but is a common contract between the government, civil society and the private sector. The main responsibility of the government is to create an enabling environment for small businesses to take their rightful place in the traditional economy.
Our active participation in the BRICS is in the pursuit of our national interests. The economic benefits of joining the BRICS can not be overstated. BRICS is, indeed, a concrete affirmation of our unwavering commitment to expanding access to a better life for all.
Thank you
Published by: Department of Small Business Development
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