President Thabo Mbeki has taken note of South Africa’s good economic performance in the past year and says the country has established itself “as one of the best-performing economies in the world”.
In his New Year’s message, Mbeki — who is currently in Sudan involved in peace talks between the government and the opposition — said: “Among other things, it [the economy] has also brought the good news that we are creating new jobs, though we know that these are not enough, and therefore that we must continue to work to create more job opportunities.”
Referring to the past year, he said: “Our government also announced many new funded initiatives focused on reducing poverty in our country and increasing access to a better life for all. This means that during the year of our first decade of freedom, our country’s hope and conviction that we will defeat the scourge of poverty was further strengthened.
“We are therefore well set to achieve new successes in the new year as we continue to respond to the important challenge of reducing poverty in our country.
“Our continent of Africa has also continued to make progress towards solving its political, economic and social problems. We will continue in the new year to contribute whatever we can towards the achievement of this objective.”
The president said further: “In particular in the new year, we will have to focus on working with the governments and people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Côte d’Ivoire as they prepare for and hold democratic elections, as well as the Sudanese people as they engage the challenge of post-conflict reconstruction.”
The president did not refer to trouble spots closer to home — including Swaziland and Zimbabwe, where a national election is scheduled for March — but did refer to troubles in the Middle East.
He said: “We also hope that significant progress will be made towards the solution of the problems confronting the peoples of Palestine and Israel, Iraq and [the] Western Sahara.
“As we end one year and begin another, we must commit ourselves to continued peace and stability in our country and friendship and reconciliation among all our people, to further economic and social progress, and new successes in our sustained effort to reduce and eradicate poverty.
“We also wish that all other nations throughout the world should enjoy the same blessings.
Without referring directly to the scourge of HIV/Aids, the president said: “On this day, our hearts and best wishes also go to all those of our people who will not have the possibility to celebrate the advent of the New Year because of ill health and other problems.”
Mbeki congratulated “all our young people who passed their matriculation examinations”.
The president urged South Africans to “continue to work together this new year to build the caring society we all want our country to be. A happy New Year to you all!”
Mbeki paid tribute to those South Africans who had been honoured in the past year. He said the country had rejoiced “that so many of our compatriots were also identified by the world community of nations as high achievers. JM Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature and Charlize Theron won an Oscar.
“Our National Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi, was elected president of Interpol, the international police federation. Former (environment) minister Valli Moosa is now president of the World Conservation Union, and Dr William Rowland president of the World Blind Union.”
He also expressed thanks to the international community.
“All of us were very pleased and inspired by the tribute the international community paid to our country by awarding us host [status for] the 2010 Soccer World Cup as well as the Pan African Parliament.”
Mbeki also expressed condolences to those who had lost family in the tsunami in south-east Asia and urged South Africans not to drink and drive. — I-Net Bridge