Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation releases its findings to promote inclusive growth in South Africa

The Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation released the findings from its Drakensburg Inclusive Growth Forum at the Industrial Development Corporation.

Former President Kgalema Motlanthe was joined by the Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, as well as other leaders in the public and private sector to discuss the findings of the report.

Professor Jeremy Ridl introduced the report on the evening and said that the key focus is to create more inclusivity within South Africa.

“The economy can no longer be in the hands of the elite and it can no longer exclude women, the youth and the poor, equalising our society is the common thread that took us through the conference.”

Mboweni received the report on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s behalf. The foundation hopes the report will be a call for action and will provide support for decision-makers at all levels of government, business, and civil society.

The former president highlighted three key points outlined in the report which include education, political parties and climate change.

Motlanthe said that while the South African Constitution is admired around the world, the constitutions of political parties in South Africa are not aligned to that constitution. He said he hopes the recommendations made toward political parties will help strengthen the state.

Education continues to remain a massive problem in South Africa and Motlanthe said that we are still dealing with the effects of the Bantu education system. He highlighted that the way children are taught needs to be changed in order to prepare children for the future.

“Whether we like it or not, we need to invest in teacher training, precisely because of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – if we fail in that regard, we will be left behind.”

Motlanthe added that he believes that climate change has not received adequate attention and this needs to be addressed. He said that recent natural disasters in Southern Africa have highlighted that forces of nature are far more powerful than people and our behaviour needs to be changed so that people do not continue to disrupt nature.

He concluded that new ideas and challenges need to be embraced rather than resisted. “If the new system is fighting back the entire time we will not make progress until we find a new way of neutralising the new system so we can inject new ideas.”

Details: Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation info@motlanthefoundation.org.za

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