Empowerment, in any form, is about improvement. It aims to bring about specific, measurable, and lasting change. It focuses on progress and development. In South Africa, empowerment is primarily about the restoration of human dignity and our commitment to non-racialism. In the South African context, when we talk about Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), we have in mind correcting the historical imbalances, and humanising the system that has systematically shut out the majority from sustainable participation in our economy.

For this reason I am particularly pleased to welcome you to this Western Cape Conference on Black Economic Empowerment, and I would like to thank our Provincial Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Minister Rasool, for his leading role in organising this event. Over the course of the next two days, your deliberations and discussions will make an important contribution to guiding our policies within the framework of the Global Transformation Charter. This conference is also important because it provides us all - whether from government, business, labour, or the community - with a chance to pause and take stock.

Die bemagtigingsproses in Suid-Afrika is uniek in die wêreld, en is voortdurend besig om te ontwikkel. Suksesse is al behaal, foute is gemaak, en deur ons ervaringe met mekaar te deel, sal ons help verseker dat ons die proses optimaliseer. Ons doel in die Wes-Kaap moet wees om 'n verskil te maak, om ware verbetering teweeg te bring in die lewens van al die mense in ons provinsie.

The Western Cape Context

The challenges for empowerment in the Western Cape differ from those in other parts of South Africa, not only because of the structure of our economy, but also because of the great diversity of previously disadvantaged communities which we must include in our definition of Black Economic Empowerment. Because two-thirds of the previously disadvantaged people who we wish to empower in the Western Cape are from the coloured community, we have to be very sensitive to ensure the absolute inclusivity of our BEE programmes.

Our definition of BEE includes the coloured and the Indian community as well. It is vital that BEE programmes ensure that all those who can be defined as previously disadvantaged take their rightful place in these initiatives. I am aware of some of the feelings of exclusion, particularly in the coloured community, and as the provincial government our door is always open to hear views on how we can best apply our policies to ensure fair treatment for every person from our coloured, black and Indian communities in our BEE policies.

Other specific Western Cape empowerment challenges involve the structure of our provincial economy. Our major existing industries are the financial services sector - especially long-term insurance and asset management; the fuel sector; agriculture - especially wine and fruit; tourism; and fishing. Significant empowerment initiatives have already been realised in a number of these industries.

Empowerment in the fuel sector, which is headquartered in the Cape, has been achieved to a substantial extent, and the fishing industry must rate as one of the earliest leaders in the process of economic transformation. In tourism, empowerment inroads are rapidly being made - the casino complex which is the venue for this conference, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, is a prime example, with more than 50% of the building work having been contracted to empowerment companies, and empowerment investors holding substantial and joint controlling stakes in the enterprise. We know though, that much work remains to be done in many of our dominant local industries like wine, insurance, and asset management. Our Provincial Government maintains a very healthy engagement with these sectors, and much has already been done to achieve our empowerment objectives.

This approach to empowerment though has often been quite narrow. Concentrating on share-acquisitions and increasing ownership by the black business class in formerly all-white businesses, although important, is by no means the only way to measure the success of empowerment. If this approach was followed in isolation, it would restrict the majority of those most in need of empowerment to the role of spectators, celebrating the success of others from their communities.

The Western Cape economy is characterised by the fact that small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMME's) provide the bulk of economic activity in our area. As a consequence it is clear that two or three major sectoral ownership transactions will not fundamentally empower the communities of the Western Cape. What is needed is a wider variety of empowerment transactions at every level of the economy.

The Provincial Government of the Western Cape is therefore committed to broadening the ownership of our provincial economy. If we are to achieve our goal of building a World Class Province which Cares for all its people, we know that it is critical for more people from every community to share in the rewards of our excellent economic growth. This is the reason why we have adopted the concept of iKapa eliHlumayo - the growing and developing Cape.

SMME's the Key

There can be little doubt that, in our province, an important key to advancing empowerment lies with the development and support of SMME's. These businesses are the most important vehicles for giving as many people as possible access to real economic opportunities. It is also an accepted fact that SMME development is the best focal point for empowerment at the entry level of the business environment - with fewer existing vested interests and less danger of creating small new elites.

KMMO's (klein, middelslag en mikro-ondernemings) is egter nie so goed ondersteun as wat die geval moes wees nie. Onlangse data toon dat daar oor die hele land omtrent R700 miljoen uitgeleen is aan 450 000 KMMO's - wat neerkom op omtrent R1 600 per KMMO1 - 'n klein bedraggie vir betekenisvolle ontwikkeling. Alhoewel groot ondernemings in Suid-Afrika oor die algemeen tevrede is met die huidige regulerende omgewing, is daar ongetwyfeld nog baie wat gedoen moet word, deur sowel die regering as die bestaande privaatsektor, om KMMO's as voertuie vir bemagtiging by te staan en te ondersteun.

Minister Rasool sal in meer besonderhede handel met van ons besondere provinsiale regering se inisiatiewe om bemagtiging deur klein en middelslag sakeondernemings te ondersteun. Van regeringskant word hierdie ondersteuning die beste behaal deur voorkeurverkrygingspraktyke - en in die Wes-Kaap het ons daarin geslaag om 48% van die provinsiale regering se kontrakte aan histories benadeelde individue en sakeondernemings toe te ken. Ek wil graag van hierdie geleentheid gebruik maak om minister Rasool en sy departement te bedank vir die koördinering van hierdie merkwaardige prestasie ten bedrae van R345 miljoen wat die afgelope boekjaar doeltreffend na bemagtiging oorgedra is.

Naturally, government cannot hope to advance empowerment in isolation. This is why the recently released national Strategy for Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment is such an important document. Both the 'balanced score-card' approach, and the drafting of sectoral charters will no doubt be the subject of much discussion over the next two days - but the key is that our private sector must take co-ownership of empowerment. More so even than government, it is private sector procurement, human resources development, and ownership control which must be the engines of black economic empowerment.

Holistic Approach to Empowerment

iKapa eliHlumayo, our provincial growth and development strategy, approaches empowerment from the broadest possible perspective. Apart from direct procurement initiatives, a key to the strategy is to fuel our most promising growth sectors like tourism and agriculture. This is also why we are restructuring the clothing and textile industry, exploring the potential for supplying critical services to oil and gas exploration activities, building capacity for the local film industry, targeting the boat-building and information and communication technology sectors, and supporting and driving new tourism ventures like the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This is also why R77,7 million has been set aside by the Provincial Treasury for iKapa eliHlumayo this year - to kick-start provincial growth and development particularly in sectors with the greatest potential for real empowerment.

Large sectoral empowerment deals, SMME development and successful growth sectors are important, but they will never achieve real and lasting empowerment in isolation. Both the Western Cape Government and I are firmly committed to these empowerment initiatives - but the long-term goal must always remain the creation of a society in which all our people are fully empowered and no longer require direct intervention by government.

We are a long way from that ideal, but at the most fundamental level it is education which holds the key to that eventual achievement in future generations. True and lasting empowerment starts the day that a person who has been excluded from the opportunities of society gains access to education excellence.

Young people in the Western Cape, from every community, must be empowered with the skills and education to enable them to compete with the very best that the world has to offer - particularly in fields like Science, Maths and Technology. An extra R1,09 billion will therefore be spent by our Provincial Government on education over the next three years. This is also why we have opened our new Maths, Science and Technology Academy, a first in South Africa, to identify and train gifted learners especially from our disadvantaged communities in these vital skills.

We must use the black economic empowerment initiatives of today as the platform to create an economy of opportunity for our future generations, themselves empowered by the best possible education.

Conclusion

Information, knowledge, skills, access to resources, and real economic opportunity are the foundations of empowerment. They are also the cornerstones of what the Western Cape Provincial Government aims to achieve through iKapa eliHlumayo and the building of our World Class Province which Cares.

On behalf of our Government I would like to wish you all the very best for the rest of this conference. If empowerment is about improvement and lasting change, then this conference is positioned to make a real contribution to our empowerment efforts in the Western Cape.