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 University for a Night 2003 
 The Synergos Institute

South Africa’s Tokyo Sexwale has been an anti-apartheid activist, political prisoner (spending 13 years on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela), and Premier of Johannesburg’s province, Gauteng. Today, as founder and Executive Chairman of Mvelaphanda Holdings, which operates in mining, energy and related industries, he is one of Africa's key business leaders as well as a prominent philanthropist.

There is a context, a history to the divides we face. Our geographical location -- in the tropics, in the equatorial areas, the polar regions, in the savannahs, in forests -- contributes to our social and economic relations. And different production systems -- with different degrees of communal versus individual action -- have contributed to disparities in ownership patterns. It's not a surprise, then, that ethnic strife, wars, territorial and colonial expansion, and other forms of global dispossession have contributed to the divides which we observe today. The status quo of the unequal distribution of resources can be traced to one, some or perhaps even all of these historical causes. And the divide is growing.

So the question "How to bridge the divide" has occupied sociologists as well as economists, liberals and Marxists, democrats and republicans; in a word, leftists as well as rightists -- and those of you who prefer to sit in the middle. And that question comes down to this: "How?"

This topic has a history of endless disagreement, so I think it is preferable to rely upon the collective voice of humankind, away from the economists, sociologists, Marxists, communists and the like. That voice was expressed recently at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, where people had to ask and answer the question "how." "How do we bridge the divides?"

Humankind expressed itself in Johannesburg in the following declaration:

We commit ourselves to build a humane, equitable and caring global society cognizant of the need for human dignity for all...Accordingly, we assume a collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development -- economic development, social development and environmental protection -- at local, national, regional and global levels...Recognizing that humankind is at a crossroad, we have united in a common resolve to make a determined effort to respond positively to the need to produce a practical and visible plan that should bring about poverty eradication and human development.

The key word is "plan" and the resonant phrase is "poverty eradication." The declaration continues with:

Recognizing the importance of building human solidarity, we urge the promotion of dialogue and cooperation among the world's civilizations and peoples, irrespective of race, irrespective of disabilities, religion, language, culture and tradition. We welcome the Johannesburg Summit focus on the indivisibility of human dignity and are resolved through decisions on targets, timetables and partnerships to speedily increase access to basic requirements such as clean water, sanitation, adequate shelter, energy, health care, food security and the protection of bio-diversity. At the same time, we will work together to assist one another to have access to financial resources, benefit from the opening of markets, ensure capacity building, use modern technology to bring about development, and make sure that there is technology transfer.

The world spoke in Johannesburg, indicating the cardinal steps needed to make a difference. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, built upon this in concluding the event with a framework that focuses on water and sanitation, energy, health care, agriculture and food security, as well as biodiversity protection. These form the pillars of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

The complex subject "how to bridge divides" requires a comprehensive package of elements to contain the yawning socio-economic gap and reverse its adverse effects. These elements include optimal resource application, environment-friendly technologies, human capital development, responsible social spending, market regulation and public/private partnerships.

In my part of the world these declarations find expression in the regional program of action called NEPAD, the New Partnership for African Development, which has been chiseled out by architects of development in Africa, led in South Africa by President Thabo Mbeki. The most important thing about NEPAD is that it contains a peer review mechanism, because sometimes bad things have come out of Africa. Sometimes we've had cleptocracies, autocracies and dictatorships. This time, African leaders themselves have made a plan for change, through NEPAD, with peer pressure to ensure that bad things are removed and we have real development.

The complex subject: "how to" requires a comprehensive package of elements to contain the yawning socio-economic gap and at the same time reverse its adverse effects. These elements include, among others, the following:

• Optimal resource application. The world is about resources. It's about water, it's about forests, it's about fish, it's about land, it's about all these things that need to be allocated properly.
• Environment-friendly technologies. In the mining business, in which my company operates, we design technologies through which men can safely work three thousand feet below the ground in platinum mines of South Africa. But we use technology not only to protect people, we use it to protect mother earth too, by producing auto-catalysts to clean up emissions.
• The development of people sensitive policies. What use is there to appoint and elect governments when we cannot exert pressure on them to come up with policies to benefit the people that elected them?
• Responsible social spending. After all, the key instrument of any government is the budget. To what extent do we pressure governments to utilize monies that they collect from us -- from ordinary people, from pensioners, from businesses -- in ways that help bridge the gap. It's a question of proper investment of public resources.
• Human capital development. For me, coming from a country that was ravaged by apartheid, this is key. Education and providing skills is essential. Germany and Japan were destroyed in World War II, but they came back because of their people.
• Free market regulation. You can't leave the free market unregulated. If it's not regulated the divide will grow.
• Public/Private Partnerships. It doesn't make sense for civil society, government and business to pull in different directions. After all, resources are limited. The extent to which we match all those resources determines how we close those divides. An example for my company is Angola. We had never invested there until this year, due to the war, but now the Angolan government has stabilized the situation and it invited us in, openly and transparently. We have returnees from exile who have laid down their weapons, a government that is promoting security and development and our company bringing in technology not only to find diamonds but also to remove explosives left from the war. It involved some effort and creativity, and it can work.

Last but not least, some of us are better at baking bread than others, and some have more bread than others. Some get ten loaves, some one, some nothing. What do those of us who accumulate more loaves do? This is where global philanthropy comes in. The utilization of those excess resources in order to make a difference is why we are meeting here tonight. People are resilient. Provide them with space, the necessary climate for growth and opportunities for development and creativity -- then you will be surprised how people, when given opportunities, are able to utilize this space.

Small steps can make a big difference. So those fortunate among us should pause and purchase a painting in Angola, a carpet in Afghanistan, Zulu pottery from South Africa, wooden shoes from Lapland. You will be surprised what your dollar can do in changing a whole community. I've spent money and seen the radiance in the faces of the people who know that that dollar will make a difference. Provide a scholarship for someone in Mongolia and sometimes you will be able to release a Mandela, or perhaps a Rockefeller, among the children that you assist.

If only we could be more creative and assertive, and more caring as well as more giving; our small streams of contribution have got the potential to fill expansive oceans. I thank you.
 

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