Madeleine Wackernagel
At the Johannesburg launch of the Human Development Report, the South African United Nations resident representative, David Whaley, stressed the need for a national approach to economic growth and development.
This theme was highlighted by President Nelson Mandela in a special contribution to the report: “We need a national vision to lift us out of this quagmire. If we do not act together in the public and private sectors to develop and implement such a national strategic vision, the danger is that even the modest growth we have attained will peter out in a matter of a few years …”
Whaley highlighted the huge income disparities in this country, which presented “the greatest challenge to the normalisation of South African society” and urged the three partners — business, labour and government — to work together to avoid the pitfalls of jobless growth, or growthless jobs.
To this end, the UN is hosting a workshop on July 23, in conjunction with the Enterprise Africa exhibition, organised by the Department of Trade and Industry to promote small, medium and micro enterprises. Business, labour and government, as well as community representatives, will take part.