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Address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, at the Budget Vote of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, Cape Town 3 June 2004
Madame Speaker
President Thabo Mbeki
Deputy President Jacob Zuma
Members of the Portfolio Committee of Foreign Affairs
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Honourable Members of Parliament
Distinguished Guests:
Let me at the onset acknowledge the leadership in international
affairs shown by our President Thabo Mbeki and Deputy
President Jacob Zuma.
I would also like to thank my Cabinet Colleagues for
their insights and support. My gratitude goes to Deputy
Minister Aziz Pahad for his efforts. I would like to
welcome on board Deputy Minister Sue van der Merwe.
I wish to thank the Portfolio Committee for their sterling
work in the last year under Pallo Jordan and especially
to welcome Professor Kader Asmal into his new and challenging
role of Chair of this Committee. His sharp intellect
and boundless energy will serve us well.
I would like to thank the Director General, Ayanda
Ntsaluba, and his team in the Department for all their
hard work, late nights and for giving so much to the
cause of Africa and the wider world.
Ten years ago, when the new South African nation was
born, its birth was met with smiles on people's faces
and cries of joy all over the world. These were the
expressions of men and women across the globe inspired
by our struggle for freedom. South Africa had touched
a chord deep within them. They had felt their own humanity
challenged and believed they had no choice but to demonstrate
their solidarity.
Through the decades of apartheid rule, a vast human
energy, was unleashed by ordinary people who believed
that an injury to one is an injury to all. They walked
the road with us to our ultimate liberation. They became
a global movement for change as they met, they marched
and they mobilized others to fight for our cause.
Among those who fought for our freedom were those brave
individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave
their lives so that South Africa could be liberated.
In our neighbouring countries, our brothers and sisters
lost their lives for they regarded our struggle as their
own. These countries put at risk their sovereignty and
very survival in order to act in real solidarity with
us. The organizations of our continent and the world,
notably the Organisation of African Unity, the Commonwealth,
the United Nations, took a firm stand against apartheid.
Now, ten years later, once more, the world's people
are celebrating with us. Today they celebrate because
we have not betrayed them. They celebrate because year
after year, we have remained committed to our principles.
We have earned their respect and sustained their interest
in South Africa, in reaching our goals of building a
new non-racial, non-sexist and democratic and prosperous
country.
To all those who have fought for our freedom, we reaffirm
that we shall continue to work for humanity and not
against it. We shall continue to do all we can so that
Africa can be fully free, so that this continent and
all its people are not marginalized from world progress.
We shall continue to be committed to the cause of freedom
of all, to stand up against inequality and injustice
and to oppose destructive policies and practices that
can destroy the future of the entire human race. We
shall continue to be advocates for sustainable development
that is people-centred so that the enormous global resources
we possess translate into a better life for all the
people of the world.
Hence our principled position that all countries should
be treated as equal players in the world economy and
in the political organizations of the world. Hence too
our belief in multilateralism as a principle that informs
our participation in international structures. Hence
too our stand against global poverty and our participation
in South-South co-operation so that we work collectively
to bring an end to underdevelopment. Hence too our stand
against weapons of mass destruction. Hence too our embrace
of the Millennium Declaration adopted by the Heads of
State at the UN General Assembly in 2000 and our working
hard towards the attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals. Among these are goals that seek to halve the
number of poor people in the world by 2015, to halve
the figures for infant and maternal mortality, to reduce
gender discrimination and to make progress in primary
education for all. These goals are also reflected in
NEPAD.
Thus, in this tenth year of democracy, as we look back
at our achievements and also look forward to our continued
work and to new tasks that lie ahead in the next decade,
let us celebrate and commemorate our decade of freedom
conscious not only of what we have accomplished as a
new South African nation, but of what our brothers and
sisters on this continent have done for us and of how
the world's people have walked with us on the road to
freedom.
As the great African thinker, Frantz Fanon, in The
Wretched of the Earth, reminds us:
'Individual experience, because it is national and because
it is a link in the chain of national existence, ceases
to be individual, limited and shrunken and is enabled
to open out into the truth of the nation and of the
world.'
Our victory was a victory for the African continent
and for all progressive forces in the world. Our victory
was also a victory for ordinary people around the world
who both desired and fought for an end to apartheid
and who saw the coming of national liberation in South
Africa as a profoundly personal and yet universal event.
Ten years later the hopes of the world's people are
still with the South African people and the full realization
of the dream of African renewal.
Fanon also makes the point that:
"The consciousness of self is not the closing
of a door to communication. Philosophic thought teaches
us, on the contrary, that it is its guarantee. National
consciousness, which is not nationalism, is the only
thing that will give us an international dimension….
the building of a nation is of necessity accompanied
by the discovery and encouragement of universalizing
values. Far from keeping aloof from other nations, therefore
it is national liberation which leads the nation to
play its part on the stage of history. It is at the
heart of national consciousness that international consciousness
lives and grows. And this two-fold emerging is ultimately
the source of all culture."
Over the past ten years, our involvement in world affairs
has been premised on the view that the strength of our
nation depends on the strength of the entire Continent.
Hence too, our efforts in consolidating an African agenda,
in co-operating with the African diaspora and in working
together with other partners to create a better, more
humane and people-centred world.
The trip I have just returned from epitomises what
our focus has been and what it will be for the coming
years. We shall remain focused on striving for peace,
stability, democracy and people-centred sustainable
development on the African Continent, bringing an end
to poverty and in contributing to an equitable world
order where there is harmony between the world's people.
The launch of the Peace and Security Council was a historic
moment giving us a framework for conflict prevention,
management and resolution and for peacekeeping and peace
building.
The beneficiaries will be the African people, especially
the African women and children who will be able to sleep
soundly in their beds and to lead secure lives confident
that potential and existing conflict will be dealt with
comprehensively and decisively. We are pleased that
South Africa has been honoured as a founding member
of this Council and elected to a three-year term at
a meeting of the AU Executive Council.
Work is also continuing apace to consolidate a Common
African Defence and Security Policy (CADSP) which was
adopted at the 2nd Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly
in Sirte, Libya in February this year.
The opening of our Mission in Mali is part of our broader
plan to be in every country in Africa, which is our
priority continent. We are now represented in 32 countries
and there are still 20 outstanding. It is also part
of our commitment to strengthen the partnership and
bilateral co-operation with African countries. To this
end, we are separating our work in Africa into two major
sections, the bilateral work with its own Deputy Director
General and the multilateral work with its own Deputy
Director General. The Burundi Mission is a wonderful
example of the New South Africa and what we stand for,
nationally, continentally and globally. Driven by our
desire for peace, to save lives we took over the facilitator's
responsibility after the death of President Mwalimu
Julius Nyerere. 300 000 lives had been lost.
When a protection force was needed for returning exiles
and the UN was not able to help South Africa sent that
force. When a peacekeeping force was due and the UN
was not ready, South Africa as part of an AU force sent
men and women there together with Mozambique and Ethiopia.
Our force consisted of men and women of different races.
A true mission for peace. Having transformed our defence
force from being a symbol of the reign of terror on
the region into a protection force, a peacekeeping force.
Maybe our media and opposition will again ask how much
does it cost, who is going to pay and what is in it
for us.
For us, the saving of human lives, stopping wars and
contributing towards peace, democracy, human rights
and development cannot be reduced simply to rands and
cents. What is in it, for us, is peace. Can we ever
imagine where we would be if the African Continent had
asked all those questions and decided it was too costly
to help us and there was nothing in it for them. If
those housewives, poor working class people all over
the Western countries had the same attitude and did
not engage in the solidarity work, did not boycott SA
products, did not sacrifice some of their grocery money
for us.
If those students and children in Mongolia and all
over the world did not sacrifice their pocket money
to organise free Mandela campaigns. If those workers
and shareholders did not get their companies to disinvest.
The people in the neighbouring countries and front line
states did not do what they did because of what it cost.
Our freedom, our dignity, our humanity could not be
reduced to dollars and cents. What was in it for them?
It was our freedom, their humanity.
I have just returned from the launch of the Peace and
Security Council of the African Union, the opening of
our new mission and the meeting of the Human Security
Network in Mali. During this trip, I also had the honour
to be in Burundi during the Recapping Ceremony to change
the mandate. Present, were both men and women soldiers
- a truly non-sexist African force. Mozambican, Ethiopian,
South African and others participated as the AU flag
was lowered and the UN flag was hoisted.
The ceremony also witnessed the appointment of General
Mgwebi as the first South African to command a UN peacekeeping
force. This was a demonstration of our commitment to
multilateralism at all levels. It also demonstrated
our commitment to humanity. We shall continue in that
path. Human life is priceless. Over the past ten years,
we have integrated South Africa into the world as a
responsible member of the international community of
nations.
We have conducted ourselves in international affairs
in a manner consistent with the ideals and values enshrined
in our Constitution, in particular the promotion of
democratic governance founded on the pillars of non-racialism
and non-sexism. We have established ourselves as a force
in contributing to the global effort for sustainable
peace and people-centred socio-economic development
based on a firm belief in multilateralism and rules
based international order. We have expanded the horizons
for our citizenry who can now freely travel and exploit
the opportunities across international boundaries. We
have established ourselves correctly as a truly African
country.
Madame Speaker,
We are part of Africa and of the South and therefore
the priorities of Africa and developing countries are
also our priorities. In this regard we have prioritised
the strengthening of continental and regional structures
especially the AU and SADC.
The AU Commission commenced work in September 2003
and South Africa has contributed to the drafting of
the vision of the AU and mission of the Commission,
including the strategic framework, which will serve
as a basis for the implementation of a four-year programme.
The challenge we face as government is to identify those
with the appropriate skills to fill positions in the
AU as well as to devise a strategy for the engagement
of ordinary South African citizens and African citizens
who are not in government employ to participate in the
Affairs of the AU.
This year has seen the historic operationalisation
of the Pan African Parliament. We are pleased to inform
this House that South Africa participated in the successful
inaugural session of this Parliament on 18 March 2004
in Addis Ababa. The establishment of this key political
organ of the African Union is a crucial step towards
Africa possessing its own political future. As South
Africa, we have expressed our interest to host the permanent
seat of the Pan African Parliament. We believe that
we have what it takes to do this. We await the decision
of the AU in July.
As the other organs of the African Union are established,
we shall be able to say with confidence that we are
making concrete progress in addressing all aspects of
our people's lives.
We have ratified the Protocol on the African Court
of Human and People's Rights. The process to nominate
judges for this Court is underway. South Africa has
also signed both the protocols to the African Charter
on Human and People's Rights, on the Rights of Women
in Africa as well as the Protocol on the African Court
of Justice.
Clearly, the successful implementation of continental
processes will be dependent on government and people
working hand in hand in a committed partnership for
a better life. An all-African consciousness should emerge
as people work together and see the tangible benefits
of this co-operation between communities and countries
manifest in improvements in their every-day lives.
It is also with this in mind that we have focused attention
on the African Diaspora and are paving the way for engagement
with the Diaspora in a sustained, structured, coherent
way that will be of mutual benefit. Thus the Caribbean
Conference on the Diaspora that we are organizing as
part of the 10 year celebrations later this year presents
us with an important opportunity for consolidating our
relations and our common commitments to development.
This event is expected to lead to a possible global
conference on the Diaspora.
Our efforts in forging links with the people of the
African Diaspora are also because of our shared experiences
and the need to unify African people despite their alienation
from the lands of their ancestors. We have suffered
as they have suffered for being black in the world under
the system of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Our common
pride in the achievement of Africa is also what binds
us and the new hope for an African renaissance, which
is already being translated into reality by the African
people.
As Michael J.C. Echeruo writes in an essay entitled
"An African Diaspora: The Ontological Project"
(in the edited collection, The African Diaspora: African
Origins and New World Identities):
"The members of a diaspora must have once had
a home of their own, a nation, if you like, but nevertheless
a covenanted forever home, a site from which they may
be (for a while excluded, but which is theirs, inalienably.
This home, this land is not important only as a physical
place; it is even more important as the source, root,
final location for a determinable lineage….The
power of the idea lies in the principle of it: that
a return is possible forever, whenever, if ever. It
is this possibility - this inalienable right to wish
a return, to reclaim connections to a lineage, however
fractured, that makes one individual a part of a diffuse
and disparate collections of persons we call the diaspora.
Moreover, that retrospective capacity makes brothers
and sisters of all who are authorized, or who claim
the right to the lineage. Such capacity, above all else,
permits us to be African."
It is this sense of a wider African community, identity
and expression of solidarity that gave impetus to our
participation in the bi-centenary celebrations with
the people of Haiti and our concern with the future
of this country. It is also this that has allowed us
to accede to the request to accept President Aristide
into our shores. President Aristide dared to speak for
the poor of Haiti. He dared to ask for compensation
to correct a historic injustice.
Madame Speaker,
Our second major African focus in the coming months
is implementing in full key socio-economic programmes,
particularly NEPAD and the Regional Indicative Strategic
Development Plan. South Africa continues to interact
with key continental and international partners and
stakeholders to access support - financial technical
and institutional - for the implementation of NEPAD.
Heads of State, including President Mbeki, participate
actively in these processes.
The African Peer Review Mechanism is nearing finalisation.
This is an important development as Africa addresses
its own priorities and needs and begins to measure its
own progress. South Africa will be reviewed in the first
quarter of 2005.
South Africa has also been involved in the restructuring
process of SADC. We are eager that there should be an
acceleration of the rate of implementation of the new
SADC organisational structure and to strengthen the
SADC Secretariat. More needs to be done to expedite
these processes as well as to strengthen governance
and capacity in the regional bloc so as to improve performance.
Honourable Members,
A brief word on the DRC. In the Democratic Republic
of the Congo we have welcomed the announcement on 8
May 2004 that all the components of the Transitional
Government had reached agreement on the Provincial Governors
and Deputy-Governors. This agreement on the appointment
of Governors and Deputy Governors will assist the transitional
process to regain momentum. Furthermore, the Road Map,
released by President Kabila on 19 April 2004 consisting
of a calendar of different steps of the transitional
process, including the finalisation of a draft constitution
should end in the organisation of free and fair elections
in September 2005. While these are steps in the right
direction, the South African government however, is
concerned with the deteriorating security situation
in Eastern DRC and deems it urgent to start the integration
of all the forces and the formations of one national
defence force. We are keen to assist.
South Africa has hosted various delegations from Burundi,
including President Ndayizeye.during the past week.
President Mbeki has been invited by President Museveni
as the Chairman of the Regional Peace Initiative on
Burundi to the Regional Summit on Burundi in Dar-es-Salaam
on 5 June 2004
South Africa remains seized with assisting and through
the SADC and the AUin improving the situation of our
neighbours, especially Zimbabwe and Swaziland, so that
the entire region experiences peace and stability and
works towards the prosperity of all our people.
South Africa chairs the AU Post-Conflict Reconstruction
Committee for the Sudan. A team of African experts will
be dispatched to Sudan to assess the requirements for
post-conflict reconstruction. South Africa will also
continue to support the Inter-governmental Authority
on Development's (IGAD) initiatives to bring peace and
stability to Sudan. We welcome the signing of a comprehensive
agreement between the GoS and the SPLA in trying to
address
Our commitment to South-South co-operation will guide
our work in the coming years. In Asia with whom we share
historical and political ties, we shall prioritse the
enhancemnt of trade and investment opportunities between
the two regions. In this regard, the President's address
at the ASEAN summit in November 2002 led to an initiative
by Indonesian President Sukarnoputri for the forging
of a New Strategic Partnership between Asia and Africa
with the specific aim to foster closer co-operation
between Asian and African regional and sub-regional
groupings.
We are also both renewing and consolidating our relations
with the countries of Asia, inspired by the spirit of
the Bandung Conference in which Asian and African countries
first agreed to work together to build a better world
nearly 50 years ago which led to the establishment of
the NAM. The first Asia-Africa Sub-Regional Organisations
Conference (AASROC I) sponsored by South Africa and
Indonesia took place in Bandung, in July 2003. These
ongoing Conferences will culminate in an Asia-Africa
Summit Meeting in Bandung, Indonesia, on 25 April 2005
- fifty years after the Asia-Africa Conference held
in Bandung in 1955.
The Summit will then adopt a programme of action through
which Asia and Africa will interact.
While South Africa's interaction with Asia was very
limited prior to 1994, we are pleased that since then,
relations in all spheres have grown exponentially. Asia
now accounts for 27% of South Africa's total foreign
trade, with Japan, India and the PRC ranked among the
10 largest economies in the world.
President Mbeki, accompanied by a large government and
business delegation, undertook a highly successful State
visit to India from 15-19 October 2003. Apart from bilateral
co-operation, the visit also afforded the opportunity
to exchange views on multilateral cooperation and in
particular South-South cooperation and to discuss with
India its ongoing commitment to and support for the
promotion of the NEPAD.
Once again we congratulate the people of India for
the exemplary manner in which they conducted their recent
elections. We look forward to continued co-operation
with the government of India.
South Africa has also been active in the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) process and
the Forum on China - Africa Cooperation, in Addis Ababa.
Our consolidation of relations with Asia is also complemented
by the ties we are strengthening with our friends in
South America and the Caribbean. Of strategic importance
was the establishment in June 2003 of the South Africa,
India and Brazil trilateral Dialogue Forum. Following
upon the initial meeting in Brasilia, the IBSA Heads
of State held a Summit in New York at UNGA 58 and agreed
on areas of co-operation, which include, UN reform,
trade negotiations and the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals.
This was further taken forward in the first Trilateral
Joint Commission in India where we adopted an extensive
plan of action with clear objectives and timeframes.
This includes projects in the areas of transportation,
tourism, trade and investment, energy, defence, infrastructure,
science and technology health and the ICTs. The significance
of IBSA is that it cements South-South co-operation
in a framework of their own making and it thus has a
strong potential for elevating and enhancing the agenda
of the South in the international arena.
We shall be stepping up our co-operation with South
American countries both as SA and as the Continent.
Our co-operation with Cuba will continue and so too
will our trilateral co-operation in health. In addition
to the trilateral co-operation with Mali, we have now
commenced with a trilateral involving Rwanda.
We have expanded our bilateral relations with China
but we need to concentrate on intensifying and expanding
them to reach their full potential.
Honourable members,
We welcome the coming into full force of the Trade,
Development and Co-operation Agreement (TDCA) with the
European Union (EU). This coupled with the expansion
of the EU will extend the scope of our trade and co-operation
with Europe.
We shall also be giving priority to strengthening our
co-operation with the Russian Federation through our
joint commission. As we celebrate ten years of freedom
in South Africa, our thoughts go out to those in other
countries who are still struggling for self-determination
and against foreign occupation. Relations with countries
in the Middle East tend to be overshadowed by events
in Israel/Palestine and Iraq.
In an photo-essay entitled "Palestine: Home as
a Prison", Randa Shaath writes that: "The
border is not only a physical/political divide - it
also stands for economic separation." "For
successive generations of Palestinians, the borders
that define their space - where they can live, work,
and move - keep shrinking. They have no control over
the shift that defines their existence."
(from the book Borders and Beyond: Photographs and
Essays published by Pro Helvetia The Arts Council of
Switzerland and the Swiss agency for Development and
Co-operation)
The South African Government has been consistent in
calling for the immediate implementation of the 'Road
Map', without preconditions in order to achieve a comprehensive
and lasting peace between Israel and Palestine. Real
progress will necessitate compliance by both parties
with obligations as outlined in the Road Map without
any preconditions, as non-compliance with the expected
obligations only serves to undermine efforts for a rational
solution.
South Africa has consistently called on all parties
to the conflict in Israel and Palestine to demonstrate
responsibility in avoiding actions that could add to
an already volatile situation. During 2003/04 South
Africa continued to engage Israelis and Palestinians
in the search for peace in the Middle East, consistent
with President Mbeki's Spier Initiative of 2002 that
aimed to share South Africa's experience with peace
making.
An issue of increasing concern is Israel's continued
construction of the separation wall. Basing it on the
premise of security, Israel is justifying the Security
Wall by saying it is an act of self-defence. The continued
construction of the separation wall runs contrary to
the will of the international community as reflected
in UN General Assembly Resolution A/ES-10/L.10 of 21
October 2003.
The South African Government does not believe the construction
of the so-called security wall represents a legitimate
security measure. South Africa's presentation of a written
legal position, as well as our participation in the
proceedings before the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) in The Hague on 23 February 2004 is a logical
consequence of our principled position in respect of
the Israel-Palestinian conflict, namely that all efforts
to resolve this matter through negotiations must be
supported.
The South African Government will host a two-day United
Nations African Meeting on the Question of Palestine
followed by a one-day civil society event in solidarity
with the Palestinian people.
The situation in Iraq continues to receive our attention.
Post-war, South Africa has focused its efforts on supporting
and promoting a multilateralist approach and a central
role for the UN in the transition in Iraq. The restoration
of sovereignty to the Iraqi people is a goal South Africa
shares with many countries. South Africa agrees that
peace, security and development in Iraq can only be
achieved with and by the Iraqi people themselves.
GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
The future of the world is dependent on all the people
of the world actively participating in their political
and economic future. The key to sustainable development
and world prosperity lies not in the silencing of suffering
and the relegation of the poor to the periphery of economic
power, but in cultivating an authentic space for the
citizens of the world to give voice to their pain and
outline their progress plans, to express their desire
to end poverty and war, to restore the dignity of millions
of people and to be accorded equal status in the world
community. Only in this way can we succeed in creating
an egalitarian society and a caring, truly people-centred
world.
Our challenge over the next 10 years is to be a positive
force in support of the entrenchment of multilateralism;
the reshaping of the international trading and financial
regimes to support development; and the advocacy for
global peace.
It is as a result of the dramatic developments last
year arising out of concerns about Weapons of Mass Destruction
that we witnessed the resort to armed intervention and
war in Iraq which created great anxiety about the future
role of the UNSC in maintaining and preserving international
peace and security.
The United Nations urgently needs to be reformed. The
Security Council is losing its status as an agent for
our collective security.
It is fast becoming a tool for the agenda of certain
powerful countries. If this continues it is going to
become increasingly difficult for the rest of UN members
who feel marginalized to carry out the obligations emanating
from the Security Council. If this happens it will be
a sad day for the international governance and true
multilateralism. We have to avoid that situation by
all means, so the powerful countries have to revisit
the way they use the Security Council.
The UN Secretary General has appointed a special panel
to examine the threats and challenges to collective
security and peace and we look forward to the report
of the panel in December 2004.
The issue of WMD has taken on a new importance and
it is important that we do everything possible to achieve
their total elimination. Their very existence constitutes
a major threat to humanity. It is for this reason that
we are also in favour of the non-proliferation of WMD.
We believe that all concerns regarding biological, chemical
and nuclear weapons must be addressed within the specialist-established
structures and where necessary the relevant instruments
and machinery should be strengthened.
In order to make the world a safer place and prevent
proliferation those who possess nuclear weapons must
begin a committed step-by-step process for the elimination
of their nuclear arsenals.
South Africa places great importance on the NPT, which
also guarantees the rights of members to use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes. In all these matters we
will continue to work on the basis of principle and
in accordance with international law and multilateral
treaties and agreements. We shall work relentlessly
for the success of the 2005 NPT Review Conference.
Honourable Members,
The economic progress of the world is dependent on
developing nations and regions being allowed an opportunity
to participate as equals in the global economy.
However, multilateral trade negotiations in the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) have encountered a series of
difficulties culminating in a failure to reach concrete
outcomes at the 5th Ministerial Conference in Cancun
in September 2003. Since Cancun, several developments
have taken place including important initiatives by
the US and the EU to put the negotiations back on track
but lack of political commitment continues to prevent
progress.
With the view to improving our economic relations,
South Africa is engaged in negotiating a number of Free
Trade Agreements (FTA). In addition, SACU is engaged
in similar negotiations with Mercosur, USA and the EU.
We also contin
ue to seek to remove impediments to sustained economic
growth that exist in the international financial architecture,
in the development policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions
(BWIs), and in the development aid policies and practices
of bilateral donors. The removal of their barriers is
essential so to enable poverty reduction in developing
countries, African economies and South Africa.
Our participation in world affairs includes our continuing
work on sustainable development, the development of
a National Plan of Action against Racism that is to
be lodged with the United Nations and our work in the
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Honourable Members,
This expanding and burgeoning international agenda
requires us to strengthen the capacity of the Department
of Foreign Affairs through further recruitment and training,
a Human Resource Development Strategy appropriate to
the new demands as well as the implementation of more
robust performance management systems among other interventions.
The repositioning of the Foreign Service Institute,
our Diplomatic Training Facility is to get underway.
We are expediting our efforts in the arena of improving
economic diplomacy and as a starting point all serving
and future diplomats' competence on trade and investment
is to be enhanced through training.
We are pleased that in this selfsame year that we celebrate
our democratic achievements, South Africa has been granted
the privilege of hosting the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
True to the ideals of world equality and development,
of the necessity for an end to poverty and the assertion
of human dignity we shall continue to roll up our sleeves
and with renewed energy build a better Africa and a
truly remarkable world.
I thank you and I ask this House to help us in our
endeavours by voting to approve the budget of the
Department of Foreign Affairs for this financial year.
Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
P/Bag X152
Pretoria
0001
3 June 2004.
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