Dr Dlamini-Zuma introduces her ‘Agenda 2063’

DAVID SAKS
 

The purpose of the event was for African Union Commission Chairman Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to introduce to South African women leaders her “Agenda 2063” vision for the African continent 50 years hence, and the role African women needed to play if those goals were to be achieved. The event was introduced by programme director Cheryl Carolus. 

The fact that she and most of those present would most likely not be around when this date was reached was irrelevant, Dlamini-Zuma said. Today’s leaders owed it to the generations to come to commence with the necessary groundwork now, and in order to succeed, it had to be a continental effort.

She stressed that Africa’s greatest asset was not its natural resources but its people, and therefore this was needed to be invested in. She identified seven key areas that needed to be prioritised in planning for the future, namely health, education, agriculture, the management of diversity, infrastructure, leadership and youth.

The present Ebola crisis, she said, had starkly revealed the lack of adequate facilities to cope with an epidemic of nature. Regarding education and skills development, this was what empowered ordinary people, making them less vulnerable to human trafficking and other abuses.

It was a little-known fact that an estimated 70 per cent of farm labourers on the continent were women. There was a need to modernise those practices and provide access to capital for small farmers.

Likewise, 70 per cent of Africa’s population was under the age of 30. This made it all the more pressing to foster an environment in which young people were secure and provided with adequate opportunities to better themselves.

In terms of conflict on the continent, Dlamini-Zuma pointed out that it seldom took the form of one country going to war with another, but overwhelmingly was due to internal divisions and tensions. This made diversity management such a crucial component of creating growth and stability.

If Africa, as a continent, wished to attract investment from the developed world, she said, then it had to provide the kind of conditions that would attract investors.  

Kluk said it was very gratifying that the Jewish community was regarded as a meaningful player in promoting the greater welfare of the African continent, and that its input was acknowledged and appreciated.

At last year’s SAJBD National Conference, Dlamini-Zuma requested that the Jewish community make input into African upliftment and development. The Board subsequently submitted a document on Jewish social outreach and educational projects in South Africa and how those might be replicated in Africa.