Five years of trust builds a nation

Those helped were at schools and colleges in towns and deep rural areas; in small enterprises; in police stations and the courts; among unemployed people who received training and those families in KZN and Mozambique for whom the risk of malaria had been dramatically reduced.

Within the tourism initiative, an internationally competitive marketing campaign helped South Africa become the fastest growing tourism destination in the world in 2002. At the end of 2004, almost one million more people visited the country than in 1999 and 129 000 more people were employed in the tourism sector. The skills of more than 20 000 people had been accredited and over 20 000 had been trained, 3600 of whom were previously unemployed. More than 2000 small firms had undertaken work to the value of over R1 billion. Tourism had been raised on the government agenda and South Africa was put on the international tourism map.

In improving the education system, 152 disparate colleges were merged to create 50 viable institutions. Over the five years 31 000 teachers in over 1500 schools were trained and more than four million high quality reading texts were provided. The reading ability of 875 000 learners in primary schools across the country improved and the number of learners passing maths in over 500 secondary schools, increased significantly.

An integrated justice system now brings together police, courts, prisons and the welfare system electronically, thus decreasing case preparation time by 40%.

The prevalence of malaria in the region was cut by over 90% in a programme that improved the lives of millions of people. The Big Business Working Group established at the request of the Trust by the President, provided business and government leaders with an opportunity for an exchange of opinion on a range of national issues.

All of this, Whittaker said, had been made possible by companies cooperating with one another and working in partnership with government. This unusual commitment by companies in South Africa had provided nearly R1 billion in donations. This he said had been more than doubled by the partnership with government which had also aligned the Business Trust programmes with national priorities.

The Business Trust worked closely with the Department of Education on education programmes; the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Department of Labour on the tourism and training programmes; the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security departments on the integration of Justice systems; and with the Regional Malaria Control Commission on malaria control.


In a message of support, President Mbeki said: "The results of the partnership between business and government embodied in the Business Trust demonstrate our ability to succeed when we unite in our pursuit of common goals. This experience has led us to encourage the Business Trust to continue the work it has started. We have agreed that the Trust will redouble its efforts to support reconciliation, reconstruction, development and growth by building partnerships that help to create jobs, build capacity and enhance trust.

It has been agreed he said, that, "the Trust will support the development of enterprises, the implementation of the Expanded Public Works Programme and the process of community rehabilitation in association with the Urban Renewal and Rural Development Programmes. The President concluded, "We have no doubt that we can achieve our objective of building one nation in which all can prosper, provided those who have the opportunity to contribute and to benefit from the opportunities this country offers, work to include those who have been excluded."

Whittaker said that the Trust was founded on a belief in the essential value of private firms to society, an acknowledgement of the extensive social investments those firms already make and an understanding of the extent of the social challenges the country has to confront. "The challenges cannot be met by the government or any section of society alone. The Business Trust helps business and government to do together what they can't do on their own. By working together to set people free from poverty, the companies in the Trust demonstrate commitment to reconciliation, reconstruction, development and growth which will help to build a prosperous nation in which all South African's could thrive," he said.