One of the things that became clear, and which was actually rather disturbing, was the fact that there was a view which was being expressed by people whose scientific credentials you can't question Thabo Mbeki More Quotes by Thabo Mbeki More Quotes From Thabo Mbeki When I was in government, the South African economy was growing at 4.5% - 5%. But then came the global financial crisis of 2008/2009, and so the global economy shrunk. That hit South Africa very hard, because then the export markets shrunk, and that includes China, which has become one of the main trade partners with South Africa. Also, the slowdown in the Chinese economy affected South Africa. The result was that during that whole period, South Africa lost something like a million jobs because of external factors. Thabo Mbeki chinese government jobs There are lots of problems in Transnet, which we are trying to sort out, but we are quite confident we will. We can't avoid the increase in the capacity of Spoornet. So, whatever problems there are in Spoornet, they must be solved. The same goes for the harbours. And the same goes for the airlines. Thabo Mbeki harbour problem trying One of the issues that I have raised in that context is our transport system, road, rail and ports. We have raised this before, that the South African economy has grown at a rate that has overtaken the capacity of the transport system. And therefore, we have said that it is necessary to expand our capacity in the ports. Thabo Mbeki economy issues said You can see that there is an increase in the volume of freight that moves by air. And so, we have got to solve the problem by making sure that that is done properly. Thabo Mbeki done air moving The problems that are arising at Johannesburg International Airport are because of the growth of volume, not because of inefficiencies at the Airport. But, the growth in movement of goods by air means that cargo capacity needs to be improved. And I am quite certain that we will do it. Thabo Mbeki airports growth mean There are established processes of consultation between the Government, the parastatals and the trade unions, which have worked in the past. And I don't see any particular reason why they shouldn't work. Thabo Mbeki unions government past The parastatals are an important driver of the process of Black Economic Empowerment and they have been doing it, and will continue to do it. Thabo Mbeki empowerment black important Procurement policies of all of the major parastatals, it is a very important element of that processes that will continue. Thabo Mbeki elements important process Сertainly to the extent that we talk about not just procurement in the sense of acquiring goods from the rest of the economy, even to the extent that it is possible to bring Black players in areas where we say we need to raise the capacity of these organisations to deliver services, it is a very important part. Thabo Mbeki black important player The reason I joined the struggle against Apartheid was because you had this system of oppression, which affected everybody who was black. Whether you were old or young, man or woman, in a village or a town, it didn't matter. Thabo Mbeki black struggle men Science is always inquiring. Thabo Mbeki inquiring What moved us was not so much what would it do for South Africa, but there has been a great keenness on the Continent that the location of the Pan African Parliament must add to its credibility. And, so we said, fine, it's a contribution to this process of the democratisation of the African Continent. Thabo Mbeki keenness location add South Africa has faced many problems in the past. You would understand those problems if you understood the history of the struggle to get rid of Apartheid and the struggle to establish democracy. Thabo Mbeki democracy struggle past I don't think there would be many examples of South Africa pushing its weight around the African Continent. I don't think the facts would substantiate that argument. Thabo Mbeki weight would-be thinking A number of African countries came to us and said, we request that South Africa should not field a candidate, because so many other African countries wanted to, and, in any case, South Africa would continue to play a role in terms of building the African Union, and so on. And they actually said, please don't field a candidate, and we didn't. As I have said, it is not because we didn't have people who are competent to serve in these positions. Thabo Mbeki play numbers country We have been at the matter of police pay for some time. Indeed, the Minister of Safety and Security and the National Commissioner of Police have raised this matter. Treasury has been looking at it and the Public Service and Administration Minister has been looking at it. It is a matter with which we are engaged, the salaries issue, as well as the resource question with regard to vehicles and, and all other matters, including the skills issues. Thabo Mbeki issues safety skills We were asked to host the Pan African Parliament and we agreed to this. Thabo Mbeki parliament host There are black companies that are very active in the economy, that are growing and not on the basis of mergers and acquisitions, but because of putting new money into their particular companies and, therefore, their particular sectors. Indeed, if they didn't do that, they would collapse as companies. Thabo Mbeki acquisition growing black Really, a critical matter in the public service is radically to improve the quality of management. Thabo Mbeki quality management matter The public service needs lots of people, South Africa generally, needs lots of people. Thabo Mbeki public-service people needs
