Translating SADC Vision 2050 into action: Pathways towards Solidarity, Equality and Shared Prosperity
 
Programme Director;
Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Prof Nana Poku;
Your Excellencies, Ministers and Heads of Mission;
Executive Secretary of SADC, Mr Elias Magosi, and members of the Secretariat;
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Mr Thami Ntuli;
Mayor of eThekwini, Mr Cyril Xaba;
Amakhosi and traditional leaders present;
Distinguished academics;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Leaders of business and organised labour;
Representatives of civil society, of women’s formations and of youth movements;
Students of this university;
Fellow Africans;

Sanibonani.

It is a great honour to address you on the eve of a gathering that brings to this city the leadership of our Southern Africa region.

It is fitting that we should gather at a university, because the future of our region will be determined not only in cabinet rooms and summit halls, but also in lecture theatres, laboratories, workshops and centres of innovation.

It is fitting, too, that we should meet here in KwaZulu-Natal.

One hundred and twenty years ago, a young man who was born and raised in these hills stood before an audience at Columbia University in New York to deliver an oration that would resonate across the ages.

In his speech, ‘The Regeneration of Africa’, Pixley ka Isaka Seme presented a vision of a continent freed from the shackles of colonial bondage and alive with human possibility.

It is a vision that has inspired generations of Africans as they strove to overcome the shackles of colonial bondage and to give effect to the promise of liberation.

In words that were both prophetic and moving, Seme said:

“The brighter day is rising upon Africa.

“Already I seem to see her chains dissolved, her desert plains red with harvest, her Abyssinia and her Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities.

“Her Congo and her Gambia whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth the hum of business, and all her sons employed in advancing the victories of peace – greater and more abiding than the spoils of war…”

This description of a rising Africa lies at the heart of Vision 2050 of the Southern African Development Community.

Vision 2050 imagines a region that is vibrant, dynamic and productive.

It imagines a region where the borders drawn on colonial maps present no hindrance to the free flow of knowledge, capital, goods, services, skills and people.

Vision 2050 imagines a region where all people – from the Cape of Good Hope to the banks of the Congo, from the gleaming shores of Mauritius to the bustling ports of Angola – have food and water, security and comfort.

It is a region whose people live healthy lives, where they are educated, have skills and capabilities, and where they have decent work and sustainable livelihoods.

The formation of SADC was necessary because the brighter future imagined by Pixley ka Isaka Seme could not be achieved by any one Southern African country acting on its own.

Colonialism did not merely conquer our people and occupy our land.

It deliberately fragmented our region.

It divided communities, separated producers from markets and constructed transport systems designed to carry Africa’s raw materials to distant shores rather than to connect African economies to one another.

The economies of Southern Africa were made dependent, unequal and vulnerable.

Many were too small, on their own, to develop competitive industries, mobilise sufficient capital or build the infrastructure necessary for economic transformation.

It was in response to this reality that, in April 1980, the leaders of nine independent Southern African states gathered in Lusaka to establish the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, the organisation from which SADC later emerged.

Their immediate objective was to reduce their economic dependence on apartheid South Africa. But their purpose went much further. They understood that political independence would remain incomplete without economic liberation.

They recognised that the countries of our region shared more than geography. We shared a history, a struggle and a common destiny. Our freedom was interconnected and so too would be our prosperity.

SADC was therefore formed to transform shared vulnerability into shared strength.

It was created so that our countries could coordinate development, connect their infrastructure, expand trade, support liberation and defend the sovereignty of the region.

What began as solidarity in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid has evolved into a project of regional integration and economic transformation.

This is why SADC remains indispensable to the realisation of Vision 2050.

No single country can, on its own, create all the regional value chains we need.

No country can independently build an integrated power pool, develop cross-border transport corridors, manage shared water resources, respond effectively to regional conflict or withstand the full effects of climate change.

But together, we possess the energy, minerals, agricultural resources, skills, markets and financial institutions needed to build a prosperous and industrialised region.

SADC is the instrument through which we can bring these capabilities together.

Its founding represented the conviction that none of us would be truly free until all of us were free.

Vision 2050 now requires us to embrace an equally powerful conviction: that none of our countries can achieve enduring prosperity unless prosperity is shared across the region.

In this sense, Vision 2050 is not a departure from SADC’s founding mission. It is the fulfilment of that mission.

The journey that began with the struggle for political liberation must now be completed through economic integration, industrialisation and the improvement of the lives of all the people of Southern Africa.

The question before us is not whether this vision is attainable. The question is whether we have the courage, discipline and determination to make it real.

The task that falls to all of us – as the Southern African community – is to give life to that vision.

It is up to us to undertake the detailed planning and the painstaking work to build a future that lives up to our people’s expectations.

Vision 2050 must be more than a statement of intent. It must become a programme of action.

It must shape the decisions we take, the budgets we adopt, the infrastructure we build, the skills we develop and the institutions we strengthen.

Above all, it must produce results that can be seen and felt in the lives of our people.

All of us gathered in this hall and all those who live in the hills and valleys, towns and cities that lie across Southern Africa share a common destiny and therefore carry a shared responsibility to achieve Vision 2050.

Among the founders of SADC were nations that, having themselves recently emerged from colonial occupation, were determined that all the people of our region be liberated from oppression and subjugation.

For this principled stance, for their defiance and solidarity, these countries were subjected to years of apartheid aggression, sabotage and destabilisation.

Infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. Citizens were maimed and killed. Development was stifled.

We can never forget that the freedom that South Africans enjoy today was, in great measure, paid for by the people of our region and continent.

We can never forget that this Community was founded as an act of moral solidarity.

As SADC has evolved as an instrument of greater political, social and economic cooperation, the principle of solidarity has remained its driving force.

Since that gathering of visionary leaders in 1980, SADC has been at the forefront of progress in Southern Africa.

It was pivotal in the struggle to end colonialism and apartheid in Southern Africa and to build vibrant democracies that give voice to the needs and aspirations of our people.

Through our Community we have built a free trade area.

We have a Southern African Power Pool through which electricity moves across our borders.

We have one-stop border posts at some of our busiest crossings that have reduced waiting times from days to hours.

We have introduced an electronic certificate of origin that enables a more seamless passage of goods between Member States.

We have an architecture for mediation and for election observation that has reinforced democratic governance and enhanced stability.

While we have made much progress, there is still much to be done.

Trade among SADC states stands at just under a quarter of our combined total trade.

And yet together, we have the means to produce all the goods and services that we need.

Together, as a community, we have all the energy sources we need.

We have the land and the means to produce all the food we need.

Together, we have the mineral resources we need. We have the technology and know-how to turn these resources into the manufactured goods that our people use.

We have the financial institutions, the funding instruments and the markets to finance our industries and to build the infrastructure we need.

And yet we look beyond our shores to supply our people.

Our railways were built to run to the sea rather than to each other.

They were designed to carry raw minerals to destinations far afield and to bring goods produced elsewhere to our cities and towns.

This reliance on others rather than on each other is one of the most persistent constraints to the development of our region.

This weakness is more pronounced at this moment of considerable turbulence in the global economy.

Conflicts that take place far away, in places where most of our people have never set foot, now have a profound effect on their daily lives.

Global shipping is disrupted. Many of our agricultural products cannot reach their markets. Our farmers cannot get fertiliser. The cost of imported grain has risen.

The cost of living is rising with the spikes in the oil price, and some countries are worried about shortages.

The established rules of global trade offer less and less protection, threatening several industries across our region.

These global developments teach us that access to a distant market, however valuable, is a borrowed advantage.

This access may be extended and it may be withdrawn. Decisions are often taken in capitals far away, where our businesses have no say and our workers have no vote.

A regional market is different. A regional market is an advantage that we ourselves own. Others cannot take it away from us.

The welfare of our people and the sovereignty and security of our nations require that we work with greater diligence and purpose to build an integrated Southern African market.

It must be a market in which the value and the benefits of trade are evenly shared.

In doing so, our task is not to reproduce the industrial models pursued on other continents in other times.

Our energy mix is different. Our demographic profile is different.

Our comparative advantage in the minerals of the energy transition is unlike anything possessed by previous rapidly developing economies.

This region holds a substantial share of the world’s critical mineral resources. Many of the materials upon which the energy transition of the entire planet depends lie beneath our soil.

But these minerals continue to cross our borders in raw form. We export the ore and we import the battery.

We supply an industrial revolution taking place somewhere else and we then purchase its products at a price set by others.

We need to use our own resources to drive our own industrial revolution.

Our ambition should not be to catch up with other countries.

Our ambition should be to build a regional economy that is unique to our circumstances and to our time.

To build such an economy, we must firstly complete what we have begun.

We must eliminate non-tariff barriers to trade.

Suppliers should no longer have to wait months for a licence. Goods should no longer have to be inspected on one side of the border and then again on the other. Standards should be harmonised, transparent and applied consistently.

Through the declaration adopted at the 9th SADC Industrialisation Week in this city a fortnight ago, our region has committed to the local processing of both critical minerals and agricultural products.

We must turn that commitment into refining and smelting capacity.

We must turn our intentions into investments – investments in regional electricity generation and transmission, investments in cross-border water schemes.

We must invest in roads, rail lines and ports so that we can move our processed minerals and manufactured goods around our region.

We cannot rely on others to fund these investments. We must do so ourselves.

Through the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund, we must mobilise the resources needed to drive industrialisation and build infrastructure.

We must use the fund to reduce the cost of capital and more effectively share risk.

At the same time, we must stop the loss of the funds that we already have.

Every year, our continent and our region lose vast sums through illicit financial flows: through transfer mispricing, under-declared exports and smuggling.

We need more than funds. To build these industrial economies requires skills.

We need institutions of learning that build a regional pool of knowledge and expertise to which all Member States contribute and from which all Member States can draw.

We need harmonised laws and regulations that enable greater investment and seamless execution.

The industrialisation of economies will not be founded solely on our natural resource endowment.

Our region has identified pharmaceuticals, automotives, agro-processing, paper and pulp, furniture and, increasingly, the innovation and semiconductor value chains as drivers of industrialisation.

In pharmaceuticals, the case is especially urgent.

We can no longer accept that we import almost everything that heals us.

Our answer must be health sovereignty, pursued in line with the Lusaka Agenda on global health initiatives.

The establishment of a SADC pooled procurement mechanism is a welcome catalyst for accelerated industrialisation in the manufacture of health products.

When we purchase together, we create the market certainty that manufacturers in our region need before they will invest.

That certainty does two things at once.

It secures equitable access to medicines and health commodities for our people.

And it creates jobs, cultivates expertise and stimulates industrial activity here at home.

A region that supplies the world with the minerals of the future should not have to wait upon the world for its medicines.

To realise our region’s potential we need to build integrated infrastructure. We need to develop corridors.

We need to overcome the limitations of geography and history by developing trade and transport routes that bring producers, markets and people closer together.

We need to turn routes like the Maputo, North-South, Trans-Kalahari, Beira and Lobito corridors into living arteries of commerce.

We need to understand that a corridor is much more than a road or a railway line.

It is a new and innovative approach to customs, border protocols, trucking regulations and industrial planning.

These corridors must carry power, data and people.

In energy, we have committed to expediting the interconnectors linking Angola and Namibia, Malawi and Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, bringing more of our region into effective power trading through the Southern African Power Pool.

We have committed to universal access to electricity, reaching remote communities through mini-grids and off-grid solutions rather than waiting for national grids that may take decades to arrive.

We have committed to harmonising the regulatory frameworks that allow independent power producers and independent transmission operators to invest with confidence.

And we are diversifying towards utility-scale solar and wind, towards green hydrogen, and towards battery storage.

We must build a Southern Africa that has embraced the potential of digital.

The cost of a telephone call between two SADC countries, the cost of sending money home across a border, the cost of clearing a payment between our banks: these are taxes on integration that we have imposed on ourselves.

That is why we must work together on seamless digital payments and reduced remittance costs.

As we participate in the global digital economy, there is a real danger that we will reproduce the trade patterns of old.

Already, we are exporting data and importing intelligence.

The information generated by our people, our farms, our clinics, our banks and our mines increasingly leaves this region to be analysed, processed and organised elsewhere. This refined data returns to us as a service for which we pay.

The systems that will run our economies are being trained on our data, built on computing capacity we do not own, in buildings we do not host, drawing on electricity we do not sell.

If we are serious about industrialisation, we cannot stop at refineries and smelters.

We need to develop the computing capacity, connectivity and appropriate skills to ensure that the value of our data is extracted here at source.

As we develop new industries, we must revitalise some of our oldest.

Agriculture is our largest employer, and, being susceptible to the vagaries of climate change and global trade disruptions, it is also one of our most vulnerable sectors.

That is why agriculture must become our most modernised sector.

We need modern irrigation, seeds suited to a drying climate, advanced veterinary science and the latest in agro-processing technology, so that value is captured close to the farm and employment is created in the small towns and villages of Southern Africa.

We must build a region of entrepreneurs.

Access to a large regional market is of little use to an enterprise that cannot obtain working capital, cannot meet an export standard and cannot discover who in the next country wishes to buy what it makes.

The development of medium, small and micro enterprises must be treated as core to industrial policy.

Southern Africa’s industrial revolution will ultimately not be driven by the large conglomerates listed on stock exchanges, but by the tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that bring innovation, agility and competitiveness to the economy.

This matters most of all to women and to young people.

Around 40 percent of the people of this region live below the poverty line. Most of these are women and young people.

Many of them rely on the small enterprise for an income.

Yet women who build businesses still meet barriers.

They struggle to own and use productive assets. They are excluded from finance. They cannot reach markets. They are locked out of procurement.

In South Africa, the Women Economic Assembly has been established as a women-led platform to secure procurement opportunities – both public and private – for enterprises owned by women.

Drawing on this experience, we should work to strengthen small enterprises by mobilising a wider range of financing institutions.

We should draw them into regional value chains through a policy environment that opens markets.

Vision 2050 makes the fundamental point that there can be no meaningful regional integration if it leaves out half of our people.

In a region with abundant natural resources, our most precious asset is our people.

Our population is young and growing.

More than half the people of this Community are under the age of 30.

This is our greatest strategic asset. It is the engine of our region’s future.

But a demographic dividend is not conferred by numbers alone.

It is earned through deliberate and sustained investment.

It is earned by enabling young people to work.

Across this region are young people who did everything that was asked of them. They stayed in school. They passed. They borrowed money to study. Many graduated. But now too many young people sit at home with a qualification and no employment.

Youth unemployment is one of the gravest threats to the stability, cohesion and progress of every country in our Community.

And it is one of the foremost obstacles to the realisation of Vision 2050.

If we are to progress, we need to create economic opportunities for the youth.

Our schools, universities, technical and vocational colleges and research institutions are essential instruments through which we enable our people to realise their potential.

But these institutions are only as effective as the foundation on which they build.

It is a foundation that is established in the earliest years of the lives of our youth.

A child whose growth is stunted carries that loss for a lifetime.

No university can adequately undo it.

No industrial policy can properly compensate for it.

Under the Human and Social Capital Development pillar of Vision 2050, we must scale up our investment in maternal health and in early nutrition until stunting has been eradicated from this region.

We must ensure that all children have food, water and shelter, that they are kept safe and that their development needs are met.

We must follow these efforts through into adolescence.

These are the years in which we must invest in the skills of this century, in digital literacy and in health services that a young person can use without fear or shame.

These are the years in which we must confront what stands in a young person’s way: child marriage, teenage pregnancy and a digital divide that leaves young rural people behind.

Each of the barriers we remove adds to the productive capacity of our economies.

Vision 2050 cannot be achieved without a healthy population.

We seek a harmonised regional health system, in which the standard of care a person receives does not depend on which side of a border they happen to live.

Our region still carries far too heavy a burden of maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent death.

Most of these deaths are preventable. This cannot be acceptable.

The withdrawal of official development assistance has exposed how much of our health provision has rested on decisions taken elsewhere.

If we are to achieve health security and sovereignty, we need to realise our commitments under the Abuja Declaration to allocate at least 15 percent of our national budgets to improving our healthcare systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that no one is safe until everyone is safe.

It taught us that disease does not respect borders.

As a region, we must engage robustly – with one voice – in the reform of the global health architecture.

The people of this region will not reach their potential for as long as division and discrimination remain.

We must break down the barriers of race, religion and tribe.

We must ensure equal opportunity for women and men, for city dwellers and rural folk, for young and old.

Yet there can be no equality between women and men for as long as women are not safe.

Across our region, gender-based violence and femicide wear different faces, but have the same root.

This is a pandemic that has its roots in attitudes, institutions and practices that denigrate and discriminate against women.

Our collective response must focus on prevention, support for survivors, stricter laws, improved prosecutions and the economic empowerment of women.

Our response must be comprehensive.

We must build more sexual offences courts, but we must do much more to address the causes of these crimes.

We must fund prosecution, but we must also fund prevention.

As a Community, we must be clear that prevention does not begin with women.

It begins with the men and the boys in our homes, our schools, our churches, our workplaces and our taverns, who must be raised to reject violence and abuse.

If we are serious about building an integrated region, we must build a Southern Africa in which the equal rights of all people are respected, where all people are treated decently.

We cannot submit to intimidation and harassment of people seen as coming from elsewhere.

As South Africans, we are deeply concerned and ashamed that nationals from other countries have in recent months been subjected to discrimination and ill-treatment.

The criminal actions of a few within our communities are a repudiation of the solidarity upon which this Community was founded.

We cannot preach integration at summits and practise exclusion in our streets.

I say this as a South African, to South Africans, first of all.

But this is a broader challenge to which we must apply ourselves as a Community.

Southern Africa has borne witness to the movement of people over millennia.

Our people are the product of migration.

Migration accounts for much of the diversity, vibrancy and richness of this region.

Now, as we work towards our Vision 2050, we should seek a region in which people are able to freely move according to established principles, protocols and laws.

This means that we must work together to address the conditions that drive migration.

We need to work together to address conflict, instability, governance failure, poverty and social discord.

We need to create equal economic opportunity and build inclusive institutions of governance.

We seek a region where people move out of choice, not out of desperation.

None of what we seek for our region is achievable without peace.

Investment does not flow where there is conflict. People’s basic social needs cannot be provided for in a war zone. An economic corridor cannot operate where territory is contested.

The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remains the gravest test of our collective resolve.

Millions of our fellow Africans have been displaced. A country of extraordinary mineral wealth has become a site of conflict and suffering.

Soldiers from our Community were deployed to support efforts to achieve peace and stability. They served with courage and commitment. Some did not return home.

We pay tribute to those who gave their lives for peace.

We owe it to them and their families – and to the people of the DRC – to continue to seek a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has caused such destruction and hardship.

In Mozambique, we welcome the progress of the Inclusive National Dialogue and the signing of the Political Commitment that underpins it.

In Madagascar, our Panel of Elders, under the leadership of former President Joyce Banda, has undertaken several missions in support of a process that must be Malagasy-owned and Malagasy-led.

This Community records its gratitude to her and to our envoys.

Our task is not to prescribe outcomes to the people of any Member State. It is to hold open the space within which they may determine their own.

In support of this principle, we must ensure that our election observation missions are adequately resourced and permitted to report plainly.

We have established institutions of accountability that must be strengthened and must be allowed to do their work.

The achievement of Vision 2050 depends in large measure on the effectiveness of our response to changes in our climate.

Our region has increasingly been struck in successive seasons by drought, by cyclones, by floods.

Our meteorological services warn of a growing El Niño effect in the coming season.

That means reduced harvests, lower exports, pressure on our currencies, a higher cost of living and hunger among our people.

Yet, while we confront drought at one moment, we suffer catastrophic floods at another.

Homes, clinics, bridges, roads and rail lines are swept away.

Lives are lost and livelihoods destroyed.

We all know the destructive effects of a changing climate.

In April 2022, these very hills were struck by floods that took more than four hundred lives, destroyed homes and closed the port on which this region depends.

Resilience must therefore be built into our every endeavour.

We must strengthen the SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre so that our response is regional and immediate rather than national and belated.

We must act before a disaster strikes, rather than scramble for assistance after it.

We must develop a common position on loss and damage and speak with one voice in international forums.

Friends,

Let me return, in closing, to the vision of Pixley ka Isaka Seme.

He spoke of chains dissolving. Of arid plains turning red with harvest. Of African cities becoming seats of learning and of science. And he declared that the brighter day was rising upon Africa.

As we gather 120 years later, let us define the meaning of the brighter day we see rising in Southern Africa.

It means a refinery and not only a shaft.

It means a canning plant and not only a farm.

It means electricity generated in one country lighting a home in another.

It means a car assembled in one SADC country using parts manufactured in another using materials produced in yet another.

It means a young woman graduating from this university and building a company that seamlessly trades in all other countries.

It means a child born in any village, town or city within our region having a genuine prospect of the life that her or his talents will merit.

There are many students in this hall today.

The Southern Africa of 2050 we have described will not be run by those of us who will take our seats at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in the coming days.

It will be run by you, the youth of our region.

Vision 2050 is not our document. It is yours, and you are entitled to demand an account of what we did with it.

I wish to thank the University of KwaZulu-Natal for hosting this public lecture and for its contribution to the realisation of SADC Vision 2050.

We welcome in particular the four pillars identified by the university: advancing regional value chains in agro-processing and critical minerals, researching ethical AI and digital inclusion, combining indigenous knowledge and innovation systems with climate science for agroecological resilience, and building human capital through youth and women entrepreneurship programmes.

Through policy dialogues and briefs, inter-university research networks and multi-sector consultations, the university has fully embraced its responsibility to contribute to the development, transformation and integration of our region.

One hundred and twenty years ago, the renewal of Africa was a proposition to be defended against a hostile world.

It is no longer a proposition. It is a programme of work. It has actions, assigned responsibilities and deadlines.

The renewal of our continent is achievable.

The realisation of our vision for Southern Africa is within our means.

Let us make good on our commitment to build a peaceful, inclusive, competitive and industrialised Southern Africa.

Let us become a place where all citizens, regardless of place or circumstance, may enjoy sustainable economic well-being, justice and freedom.

Let us go to work.

Merci Beaucoup.
Muito Obrigado.
Asante sana.

Ngiyabonga.

I thank you.

FRIDAY 14 AUGUST 2026
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO DELIVER SADC SUMMIT PUBLIC LECTURE

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Friday, 14 August 2026, deliver a Public Lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, in Durban.

The Public Lecture forms part of the programme of South Africa’s hosting of the 46th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The Public Lecture is an opportunity for people from different sectors of society to participate in discussions about the regional integration agenda and strengthen public ownership of SADC’s Vision 2050.

Convened under the theme, "Translating SADC Vision 2050 into Action: Pathways Towards Solidarity, Equality and Shared Prosperity”, the Public Lecture is a platform for high-level reflection and public dialogue on practical pathways for advancing regional integration, industrialisation, infrastructure development, peace, security and inclusive development in Southern Africa.

The Public Lecture seeks to deepen public and stakeholder understanding of SADC Vision 2050 and its practical relevance to regional integration, economic transformation, peace, security and inclusive development.

The Lecture will be delivered as follows:
Date: Friday, 14 August 2026
Time: 10h00
Venue: University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban

SATURDAY 15 AUGUST 2026
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO CHAIR VIRTUAL GLOBAL LEADERS NETWORK HIGH-LEVEL MEETING

President Cyril Ramaphosa will, on Saturday, 15 August 2026, chair a high-level meeting of the Global Leaders Network (GLN), convened on the margins of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The meeting will focus on high-level commitments to secure the health and well-being of mothers and future generations.

The meeting brings together GLN Heads of State and Government, with participation open to SADC Member States and accredited observers.

The meeting will highlight SADC’s leadership in advancing commitments on women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health (WCAH), including efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, improve access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services, and strengthen health systems.

Leaders will also consider the changing global health financing environment and the need for greater domestic resource mobilisation, health sovereignty and country-led approaches to sustain progress in women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health.

The engagement is expected to reaffirm political commitment to WCAH as a national, regional and global development priority, support efforts to close financing gaps and strengthen domestic resource mobilisation, and advance the SADC SRHR Scorecard within broader African Union frameworks.

Meeting details are:
Date: Saturday, 15 August 2026
Time: 17h00 SAST
Platform: Virtual

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2026
SADC LEADERS HONOUR OR TAMBO IN WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY

President Cyril Ramaphosa and SADC Heads of State and Government will on Sunday, 16 August 2026, lay wreaths at the statue of Oliver Reginald Tambo at South Beach, Durban.

The wreath-laying ceremony honours O.R. Tambo and his contribution to the struggle for national liberation, social justice and the emancipation of the people of South Africa.

The ceremony will serve as a tribute to O.R. Tambo’s life, sacrifices and leadership, and reaffirm the importance of preserving the ideals for which he lived and worked.

Details of the ceremony are as follows:
Date: Sunday, 16 August 2026
Time: 15h00
Venue: OR Tambo Square, South Beach, eThekwini

SUNDAY 16 AUGUST 2026
WELCOME DINNER FOR SADC HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday, 16 August 2026, host a welcome dinner in honour of Heads of State and Government, Heads of Delegation and Special Guests attending the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The dinner will take place a day ahead of the 46th SADC Summit in Durban.

The occasion will provide an opportunity to welcome participating leaders and delegations to South Africa ahead of the Summit, which will be held under the theme: “Resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World”.

Details of the welcome dinner are:
Time: 19h00
Venue: Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre

MONDAY 17 AUGUST 2026
PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA TO CHAIR 46TH SADC ORDINARY SUMMIT

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday, 17 August 2026, chair the 46th Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government.

Regional leaders will meet at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The Summit will be held under the theme: “Resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World”.

The theme emphasises the development of infrastructure, agriculture and critical minerals to advance industrialisation and build a SADC region that is industrially competitive, climate resilient, socially inclusive and able to deliver a just and prosperous future for SADC citizens.

The Summit, as the supreme policy-making body of SADC, will deliberate on issues aimed at accelerating regional integration and development. These include the state of the SADC region, global, continental and regional economic trends, and progress in the implementation of the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) 2020–2030 and Vision 2050.

Time: 08h30
Venue: Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre
 

Chairperson of the SEIFSA Board, Mr Elias Monage,
Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tafadzwa Chibanguza,
Members of the SEIFSA Board and Council,
Leaders of organised business and labour,
Representatives of the metals, engineering and capital equipment industries,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.

It is a great pleasure to join you for this SEIFSA Presidential Business Breakfast.

For more than eight decades, SEIFSA and the industries it represents have been at the heart of South Africa’s industrial development.

The companies represented here manufacture the machines that drive our mines, the structures that carry our electricity, the equipment that moves goods through our ports and railways, and the components that keep our factories operating.

You produce the transformers, cables, pumps, valves, boilers, fabricated steel, mining equipment and engineering systems without which a modern economy simply cannot function.

With more than 1,300 member companies, SEIFSA represents an industrial capability of immense strategic importance to our country.

That capability matters particularly now.
Because South Africa is entering one of the most important periods of infrastructure investment and economic reform since the advent of democracy.

Our task is to ensure that this investment does more than build infrastructure.
It must rebuild South African industry.

Every transmission line we build, every railway we rehabilitate, every port we expand and every water system we construct should contribute to expanding the productive capacity of our economy.

We must use this infrastructure programme to create factories, develop skills, strengthen supply chains, support new industrialists and create jobs.

This is the opportunity before us.

But we must also acknowledge the difficult conditions under which South African manufacturers are operating.

The metals and engineering sector has demonstrated extraordinary resilience.

Yet companies continue to face weak domestic demand, logistics constraints, high electricity costs, infrastructure bottlenecks and growing import competition.

Globally, steel demand remains fragile.
Excess global steelmaking capacity continues to grow, placing enormous pressure on producers around the world.

Geopolitical tensions, disruptions to supply chains and volatility in energy prices are adding further uncertainty.

South African companies feel these pressures directly.

Investment decisions are delayed.

Margins are squeezed.
Factories operate below capacity.And ultimately, jobs are placed at risk.

We cannot accept the continued erosion of South Africa’s industrial base.
Manufacturing is not simply another sector of the economy.

It is fundamental to our economic sovereignty.
It generates skills.
It drives innovation.
It supports exports.
It creates productive employment.
And it sustains thousands of businesses throughout the economy.

That is why government is working with business and labour to address the structural constraints that have held our economy back.

Six years ago, we established Operation Vulindlela to accelerate reforms in electricity, logistics, water, telecommunications and the visa system.

These reforms are now fundamentally changing the architecture of the South African economy.

For the metals and engineering industries, few reforms are more important than those underway in electricity.

Working together, we have succeeded in bringing load shedding to an end.

This is a major achievement.
But reliability alone is not enough.

Electricity must also be affordable.

For energy-intensive industries, electricity prices have become an existential challenge.

Over the past two decades, electricity tariffs have increased far faster than inflation.

A number of smelters and other energy-intensive operations have either closed, reduced production or faced the prospect of closure.

These are not industries that can simply be switched off today and restarted tomorrow.

Once a smelter closes, we lose productive capacity.
We lose skills.
We lose export earnings.
We weaken entire industrial value chains.
And we lose jobs that are extremely difficult to recreate.

That is why the next phase of electricity reform must focus not only on security of supply, but also on reducing the cost of electricity.

We are moving towards a competitive electricity market in which multiple generators will compete to supply electricity.

The South African Wholesale Electricity Market is expected to begin operating next year.

Competition between generators, combined with expanded transmission capacity and continued investment in new generation, must ultimately produce a more efficient electricity system and put downward pressure on the cost of power.

The reforms implemented through the Energy Action Plan have already unlocked unprecedented investment in new generation capacity.

But a competitive electricity market also requires a transmission system that is independent, efficient and capable of providing fair access to all market participants.

That is why we have established the Eskom Restructuring Task Team to oversee the detailed work required to establish a fully independent, state-owned transmission company.
This process must achieve three objectives.

It must minimise financial, operational and fiscal risk.
It must strengthen energy security.
And it must contribute to reducing the cost of electricity.

We will undertake this restructuring carefully and responsibly.
We will safeguard the financial sustainability of Eskom.
We will protect energy security.
And we will ensure that workers are treated fairly.

Countries across the world have restructured their electricity industries to introduce competition while maintaining public ownership of critical infrastructure.
South Africa can do the same.

But there is another dimension to the energy transition that is particularly relevant to this gathering.

The energy transition must become an industrial transition.

South Africa should not simply import the technologies required for the new energy economy.
Where we have the capability, or can realistically develop it, we should manufacture them here.

Our renewable energy programme can support domestic production of towers, transformers, cables, switchgear, structural steel and other electrical equipment.

Our mineral endowment gives us an opportunity to move further into green metals and mineral beneficiation.

Our engineering capabilities position us to participate in emerging industries such as battery manufacturing and green hydrogen.

And nowhere is the industrial opportunity more immediate than in the expansion of our electricity transmission network.

Over the coming decade, South Africa needs around 14,000 kilometres of new transmission lines, together with major investment in substations and transformation capacity.

This is the largest transmission expansion programme in our country’s history.

Think for a moment about what this means. Thousands upon thousands of transmission towers.
Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fabricated steel.
Thousands of kilometres of conductors and cables.
Transformers.
Insulators.
Switchgear.
Substation equipment.
Foundations.
Control systems.
Engineering services.
Transport and logistics.
And behind every one of these products are factories, workers, engineers, artisans and suppliers.

This should become one of the great industrial projects of our generation.
South Africa already has significant capability in steel fabrication, electrical equipment, distribution transformers and power transformers.

We must use the transmission programme deliberately to rebuild and expand this capability.
We should not find ourselves, ten years from now, with a vastly expanded transmission grid but a diminished domestic manufacturing industry.

That would represent a missed historic opportunity.

The transmission programme must therefore become both an industrialisation programme and a national skills programme.
It will require engineers.
It will require electricians.
It will require welders and boilermakers.
It will require toolmakers, technicians, designers, project managers and construction workers.

It must create apprenticeships and training opportunities for thousands of young South Africans.
And it must provide opportunities for established manufacturers alongside black industrialists, women- and youth-owned enterprises and small and medium businesses.

The same principle must apply to our logistics reforms.
Through Operation Vulindlela, we are undertaking the most far-reaching reform of South Africa’s freight logistics system in decades.

Multiple train operating companies are gaining access to the freight rail network.

The legislative and institutional framework for rail reform is being modernised.
Significant private investment will be required to restore locomotives, wagons, signalling systems, rail infrastructure and terminal capacity. Again, this represents an industrial opportunity.

South Africa once possessed formidable capabilities in railway engineering and railway equipment manufacturing.
We must rebuild them.
We should be manufacturing more of the locomotives, wagons, wheels, axles, signalling equipment and components required by our railway system.

The same applies to our ports.
Significant investment is being directed towards port infrastructure, cranes, handling equipment and terminal modernisation as we advance reforms in the port system.And the same applies to water.

Integrated steelmaking, mining, manufacturing and virtually every productive sector depend on reliable supplies of industrial water.

We have therefore embarked on fundamental reform of the water sector.
We recently published the National Water Action Plan, whose implementation will be coordinated through the National Water Crisis Committee.

We are operationalising the South African National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency.
Through national grants alone, government is investing approximately R24 billion a year in municipal water and sanitation infrastructure, with hundreds of projects underway across the country.
Further investment is being mobilised through public-private partnerships and new financing mechanisms.

Once again, this means demand for pipes, pumps, valves, treatment equipment, structural steel, engineering services and construction materials.
When we consider transmission, rail, ports, water, renewable energy, mining, social infrastructure and defence together, we begin to appreciate the scale of the opportunity.

Government’s infrastructure programme amounts to around R1 trillion over the next three years.
We should view this not simply as a construction programme.
We should view it as an industrial strategy.

The central question is therefore:
How much of the productive capacity required to deliver this infrastructure can we build in South Africa?
This does not mean that every nut, bolt or component must necessarily be manufactured locally.
Nor should localisation become a licence for inefficiency or excessive prices.
Localisation must be competitive.
It must meet technical standards.
It must deliver quality.
And it must deliver on time.
But where South African firms can produce competitively, public investment should help create the scale and certainty that enables them to invest.
Industry repeatedly tells government that manufacturers cannot invest in new factories without visibility of future demand.

That is a reasonable concern.
We therefore need to improve the coordination and publication of the infrastructure pipeline so that companies can see what government, state-owned enterprises and other public institutions intend to procure over the next five, ten and even fifteen years.

A manufacturer deciding whether to invest hundreds of millions of rand in a transformer factory, cable plant or fabrication facility needs confidence that there will be an order book.

Predictability creates investment.
Investment creates capacity.
Capacity creates jobs.
This is why the Steel and Metal Fabrication Master Plan remains important.
Government will continue working with industry and labour to address the structural challenges facing the steel value chain.

The future of the metals and engineering sector is inseparable from the future of our steel industry.
Steel is a strategic industry.
Without steel, there is no industrial economy.
There are no transmission towers.
There are no railway lines.
There are no mines.
There are no factories.
There are no bridges, ports or major water infrastructure.
Supporting a competitive and sustainable steel industry is therefore a national priority.
But support must go together with competitiveness.
Our objective must be an industry that invests in modern technology, improves productivity, reduces its carbon intensity, produces consistently to international standards and competes successfully in export markets.
We must also deepen the domestic value chain.
Where major equipment has to be imported, government will increasingly use instruments such as the National Industrial Participation Programme and supplier development requirements to ensure that these purchases generate benefits for the South African economy.
These benefits should include local investment, technology transfer, research and development, supplier development, skills and export opportunities.
Around the world, governments are taking steps to protect strategic industrial capabilities and secure critical supply chains.

South Africa cannot be indifferent to unfair trade practices.
At the same time, we must recognise that downstream manufacturers also depend on competitively priced inputs.
Our trade policy must therefore strike a careful balance.

We must protect efficient domestic producers against unfair competition while ensuring that downstream manufacturers are not penalised where domestic supply is unavailable, inadequate or uncompetitive.

The work being undertaken by the International Trade Administration Commission on steel tariffs and rebates is intended to achieve precisely this balance.
Trade measures alone, however, cannot secure the future of South African manufacturing.
Ultimately, our manufacturers must compete.
They must compete on price.
They must compete on quality.
They must compete on technology.
And they must compete on delivery.
Government’s responsibility is to create the conditions in which they are able to do so.
That means reliable and affordable electricity.
Efficient railways and ports.
Reliable water.
Modern infrastructure.
Access to finance.
Appropriate trade measures.
Predictable regulation.
And a skilled workforce.
Industry has responsibilities as well.
We need companies to invest.
We need companies to modernise their factories.
We need companies to improve productivity.
We need companies to develop local suppliers.
We need companies to embrace transformation.
And above all, we need industry to invest in young South Africans.
For generations, South Africa’s great industrial companies trained artisans.

They produced fitters and turners, electricians, boilermakers, welders, millwrights and toolmakers.
Many of those skills subsequently spread throughout our economy.

We need to rebuild that training culture.
Every major infrastructure contract should therefore ask not only how many kilometres of railway or transmission line will be built.

It should ask:
How many apprentices will be trained?
How many artisans will qualify?
How many young engineers will gain experience?
How many local suppliers will be developed?
How much new manufacturing capacity will remain in South Africa when the project is complete?

That is how infrastructure investment becomes industrial development.
And our ambitions cannot end at South Africa’s borders.

The long-term future of South African manufacturing depends on exports.
The African Continental Free Trade Area is creating a market of more than a billion people.

Across our continent, countries are building cities, railways, power stations, transmission networks, mines, factories, water systems and ports.

They will require precisely the products and capabilities represented in this room.
South Africa should aspire to become the engineering workshop of the African continent.

We should be exporting transformers to the continent.
We should be exporting mining machinery.
We should be exporting railway equipment.
We should be exporting pumps, valves, fabricated steel and electrical equipment.
And we should be exporting South African engineering expertise.
Government will continue supporting exporters through trade negotiations, export promotion, trade facilitation and industrial financing.

Ladies and gentlemen,
For many years we have spoken about the decline of South African manufacturing.
We must now speak about its renewal.
The opportunity is before us.
The reforms we have undertaken in electricity, logistics and water are beginning to change the conditions under which our economy operates.
Our infrastructure programme is creating a substantial pipeline of demand.

The energy transition is creating entirely new industries.
And the African Continental Free Trade Area is opening a vast market on our doorstep.

We must bring these opportunities together into a new programme of industrialisation.

Government must provide certainty, remove constraints, coordinate infrastructure investment and use public procurement strategically and responsibly.
Industry must invest, innovate, compete, transform and train.

Labour must be our partner in building productive workplaces, developing skills and ensuring that workers share in the benefits of industrial growth.
If we do these things together, South Africa can once again become a country that makes things.

A country that manufactures the equipment for its own development.
A country that transforms its minerals into higher-value products.

A country that exports machinery and engineering expertise to the world.
And, most importantly, a country that creates millions of productive jobs for its people.

We have the minerals.
We have the infrastructure base.
We have the engineering capability.
We have the industrial experience.
We have the entrepreneurs.
And we have a generation of young South Africans eager for skills and opportunity.
What is required now is that we bring these strengths together.
Let us build the transmission lines.
Let us rebuild the railways.
Let us modernise our ports.
Let us secure our water infrastructure.
But as we build them, let us also rebuild South African industry.

Let us make this infrastructure programme the foundation of a new era of industrialisation.
Let us produce more in South Africa.
Let us export more from South Africa.
And let us create the jobs, industries and capabilities that will sustain our economy for generations to come.

I am confident that, working together, we can build an industrial economy worthy of South Africa’s immense potential.

I thank you.

On behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa extends his deep condolences to the Government and people of Zimbabwe following the extensive loss of life in a tragedy on Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe.

President Ramaphosa offers his sympathies to the families of 44 people who died when a ferry capsized on Lake Kariba on 11 August 2026.

President Ramaphosa’s thoughts are also with the survivors of the tragedy and families who await the outcome of continuing search operations.

President Ramaphosa said: “As South Africans, we stand in solidarity today with the nation of Zimbabwe as we mourn this extensive loss of life.

“We wish survivors a speedy recovery and we pay tribute to the emergency services who are working tirelessly to support and bring closure to affected families and communities.”

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to President Ramaphosa – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber;
Minister of Tourism, Ms Patricia de Lille;
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Njabulo Nzuza;
Director-General of Home Affairs, Mr Tommy Makhode;
Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Nakampe Masiapato;
Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service, Dr Johnstone Makhubu;
Lead for the Work Visa Review Team, Mr Mavuso Msimang;
Senior officials;
Industry partners and stakeholders;
Members of the media;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;

Good day.

Every nation is known by the way it welcomes the world.

The first impression that a visitor forms of a country is often not at a hotel, a conference centre or a game reserve.

It begins at the border.

It begins with whether that country projects confidence, efficiency, security and hospitality.

In today’s world, countries compete not only through the strength of their economies or the quality of their infrastructure. They compete through the ease with which people can visit, invest, trade, study and do business.

Today we are taking another important step in ensuring that South Africa competes with the very best.

We gather at OR Tambo International Airport, our country’s busiest gateway to the world, to launch South Africa’s Electronic Travel Authorisation system.

This is far more than the introduction of a new digital platform.

It is a statement about the kind of country we are building.

It is about making South Africa more open to opportunity, more welcoming to legitimate travellers, more secure for our citizens and more competitive in the global economy.

It is fitting that we launch this initiative at an airport that bears the name of Oliver Reginald Tambo.

For many years, OR Tambo travelled the world to rally support for the struggle against apartheid.

He carried South Africa’s hopes across continents.

He took South Africa to the world.

Today, through this new system, we are strengthening the way in which the world comes to South Africa.

His statue stands in this airport welcoming visitors from every corner of the globe.

Today we honour that legacy by ensuring that South Africa’s welcome is not only warm, but also modern, efficient and secure.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation system will make travel to South Africa easier, faster and more predictable.

It will encourage tourism. It will support trade. It will attract investment. It will facilitate skills and knowledge exchange.

And at the same time, it will strengthen the integrity of our borders and improve our ability to manage migration effectively.

This reform reflects a simple but important truth.

In the global economy, accessibility matters.

Investors compare countries. Tourists compare countries. Conference organisers compare countries. Students compare countries. Highly skilled professionals compare countries.

Every unnecessary delay, every cumbersome administrative process and every avoidable obstacle encourages people to look elsewhere.

Visa reform is therefore not simply an immigration reform. It is an economic reform. It is a jobs reform.

Yesterday Statistics South Africa released the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey.

The figures remind us that unemployment, especially among young people, remains the greatest challenge facing our nation.

Every reform we undertake must ultimately answer one question: will it help create work and expand opportunity for South Africans?

The Electronic Travel Authorisation answers that question with a resounding "Yes".

More visitors mean more hotel bookings. More restaurants filled. More tour operators employed. More flights. More conferences. More exports. More investment. More opportunities for South Africans to earn an income and build a better future.

This initiative forms part of our broader programme of structural reform under Operation Vulindlela.

When Operation Vulindlela was established in 2020, it recognised that South Africa’s low growth was not the result of one single problem.

It was the result of structural constraints that had accumulated over many years.

Those constraints affected electricity. They affected logistics. They affected telecommunications. They affected water infrastructure. They affected the ease of doing business. And they affected our immigration system.

Our response has therefore been comprehensive.

We have reformed our electricity market and unlocked unprecedented private investment in generation. We have modernised the telecommunications sector.

We are reforming our freight rail and ports system. We are strengthening water infrastructure. And now we are fundamentally modernising the way people enter South Africa.

These are not isolated reforms. Together they are removing barriers to growth, investment and job creation. They are making South Africa a more competitive economy.

Most importantly, they are demonstrating that meaningful reform is possible when government works with purpose, urgency and partnership.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation system is also a central pillar of the Department of Home Affairs’ ambitious Home Affairs @ Home vision.

It represents a decisive shift towards a fully digital department that provides secure, efficient, accessible and world-class public services.

Around the world, citizens increasingly judge governments by the quality of the services they provide.

People expect services that are digital. They expect speed. They expect transparency. They expect reliability.

That is the direction in which South Africa is moving.

Through this system, eligible travellers will be able to apply online from anywhere in the world without needing to visit a South African mission or visa processing centre.

Applications will be processed more quickly. Decisions will be more predictable. The experience of travelling to South Africa will be significantly improved.

To support South Africa’s hosting of the G20 Presidency, this system was initially introduced in four strategic source markets: China, India, Indonesia and Mexico.

We are now preparing to expand the system to additional countries.

Over time, digital processing will extend beyond visitor authorisations to include work visas, study visas and other immigration services.

This marks the beginning of a much broader transformation.

As we make travel easier, we also recognise the legitimate concerns of South Africans regarding border security, illegal immigration and compliance with our laws.

Let me therefore be absolutely clear.

A modern immigration system is not a weaker immigration system. It is a smarter immigration system.

Technology allows us to know more about travellers before they arrive rather than after they enter.

It enables stronger biometric verification. It strengthens identity management. It improves risk assessment. It enhances border security. It helps us identify those who seek to abuse our immigration system while making lawful travel faster and easier.

The Electronic Travel Authorisation therefore strengthens both economic openness and national security.

This is fully aligned with Government’s Comprehensive Approach to Migration Management.

We are strengthening enforcement of immigration and labour laws. We are improving border management. We are modernising legislation and policy. We are deepening cooperation with countries across our region and continent.

And through the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, we are building a migration system that serves both our developmental objectives and our national security interests.

The success of this initiative depends upon partnership.

It requires the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, the South African Revenue Service, the Department of Tourism, South African Tourism, the aviation industry, our diplomatic missions, technology partners and the private sector to work together as one.

Our borders are not merely points of entry. 

They are strategic national assets. They are where security, trade, tourism, logistics and economic development come together. They demand that Government functions as one integrated system.

Today’s launch is therefore about much more than technology. It is evidence that South Africa is capable of reform.

Too often there is a perception that governments cannot change. Today’s achievement demonstrates the opposite.

It shows that when Government sets clear goals, embraces innovation, strengthens accountability and works in partnership with business and society, meaningful change is possible.

That should give confidence to every South African that our programme of reform is delivering real and measurable progress.

I wish to commend the Minister of Home Affairs, the Deputy Minister, the Director-General, the leadership and staff of the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, all participating government departments, our technology partners and every stakeholder who has contributed to bringing this important reform to life.

You have demonstrated what can be achieved through dedication, innovation and collaboration.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today’s launch is about much more than visas. It is about the future of our country. It is about building a South Africa that welcomes the world with confidence.

A South Africa that attracts investment. A South Africa that embraces innovation. A South Africa that protects its borders while opening its doors to lawful travellers. A South Africa whose public institutions are efficient, modern and responsive.

This is the country we are building.

It is a country that understands that economic growth requires both openness and security. It is a country determined to compete with the best in the world.

Above all, it is a country committed to creating work, expanding opportunity and improving the lives of all its people.

Let the launch of the Electronic Travel Authorisation be remembered not simply as the introduction of a new digital system, but as another important milestone in South Africa’s journey towards becoming a modern, capable and competitive state.

It is therefore my honour and privilege to officially launch South Africa’s Electronic Travel Authorisation.

I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has met with the family of the late Captain Daniel Perez following the intervention of the South African government in facilitating the release of his remains by Hamas. 

Perez, born and raised in South Africa, was taken hostage and killed on 7 October 2023. 

President Ramaphosa expresses his condolences to the  Perez family and affirms South Africa’s support for an all inclusive peace process that will deliver a lasting peace for the people of Israel and Palestine. 

The South African government remains engaged in assisting all South Africans, irrespective of race or religion, that are ensnared in conflict zones as well as  assisting other foreign nationals where such support is requested. 

This includes facilitating the release of South Africans trapped in a war in Syria, citizens that were sold to Russian mercenaries and the safe return of Ukrainian children. 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria
 

Programme Director,
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga,
Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Gayton McKenzie,
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya,
Speaker of the National Assembly Ms Thoko Didiza
Premier of Gauteng, Mr Panyaza Lesufi,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Isithwalandwe-Seaparankoe Mama Sophie Williams-de Bruyn, one of the leaders of the 1956 Women’s March,
Nobel Peace Laureate, Ms Malala Yousafzai,
Premiers,
Members of Parliament,
Representatives of Chapter 9 Institutions and the judiciary,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Representatives of political parties,
Representatives of business, labour, academia and civil society, 
Distinguished Guests, 
Fellow South Africans, 

Sanibonani. Dumelang. Molweni. Goeie môre. Lotjhani. Avuxeni. Ndi matsheloni. Good morning. 

Today is no ordinary commemoration.

It is one of the most important days on our national calendar. 

Women’s Day is a day on which we honour the women of South Africa. But it is also a day of profound significance for our entire country. 

This is because the Women’s March of 1956 was not a footnote in our struggle for freedom. It helped to change the course, the character and the leadership of that struggle. 

It demonstrated that women were not merely supporters of the struggle. They were its leaders, its organisers and its authors. 

Seventy years ago today, at least 20,000 women from across South Africa gathered here at the Union Buildings. 

They came to the very seat of apartheid power.

Prime Minister JG Strijdom chose not to receive them. He ran away. 

But his absence did not diminish their presence. 

The women left at his door petitions bearing more than 100,000 signatures. 

They then stood in disciplined silence for thirty minutes. 

It was a silence more powerful than any speech the apartheid government could have made.

But theirs was not the silence of fear. 

It was not the silence of submission.

It was the silence of courage gathering its strength.

It was the silence of women who knew that they carried the justice of their cause within them. 

For thirty minutes, there was no chant, no speech and no cry. Yet their silence said everything that needed to be said. 

That silence held the pain of every woman humiliated by the pass laws. 

It held the anger of every mother whose family had been torn apart. 

It held the hopes of every daughter who dreamed of growing up free.

It held all the words that apartheid refused to hear. 

The Union Buildings may have been quiet, but the conscience of a nation was being awakened. 

Their silence was not empty. It was filled with dignity, discipline and determination. It was louder than any command issued by the apartheid state. It was a silence that unsettled the powerful, inspired the oppressed and echoed across generations. 

Today, as we stand where they stood, let us remember those thirty minutes. 

Let us hear, within that silence, the footsteps of 20,000 courageous women. 

In remembrance of those brave women, I ask that we stand and be silent in their honour for a while. 

After they stood silent, then their voices rang out: 

Wathint’ abafazi, Strijdom!

Wathint’ imbokodo, uza kufa! 

You have touched the women. You have struck a rock. You will be crushed.

On that day, the Prime Minister may have occupied the highest office in the land, but the true power was gathered on the lawns of the Union Buildings. 

We salute the four women who led the march: Mama Lilian Ngoyi, Mama Helen Joseph, Mama Rahima Moosa and Mama Sophie Williams-de Bruyn. 

Mama Sophie, who was only eighteen years old at the time, we are deeply honoured by your presence today. 

We thank you for your courage, your lifetime of service and your continuing witness to our history. 

We honour every woman who marched with you. 

We know the names of some, but not yet the names of all. 

We therefore welcome the work of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Sophia and Henry De Bruyn Legacy Foundation through the “Write Her into History” campaign. 

This campaign is restoring the names and stories of the women of 1956 to our national memory. 

I call on every family and every community that knows the name of a woman who took part in the march to come forward. 

Let us complete this roll call of honour. 

Let us ensure that history remembers not only the leaders at the front, but the thousands who gave the march its strength. 

Fellow South Africans, 

The women of 1956 were protesting against passes, but their message reached far beyond the pass laws. 

They challenged the idea that women should be confined to the home, silent in public affairs and subordinate to men. 

They challenged discrimination based on both race and gender. 

They made clear that no nation can be free while its women are not free. 

The march did not emerge from nowhere.

It was part of a long tradition of women’s resistance. 

In 1913, women led by Charlotte Maxeke rose in Bloemfontein against the imposition of passes. 

In the decades that followed, women organised in communities, churches, factories, farms and trade unions. They resisted municipal beer halls, low wages, forced removals and racial oppression. 

In 1954, the Federation of South African Women adopted the Women’s Charter. In 1955, women carried their demands into the Congress of the People at Kliptown. 

They demanded the vote. They demanded equal pay for equal work and equal opportunity in employment. 

They demanded equal rights in marriage, property and the guardianship of children.

They demanded education, childcare, housing, land, water, healthcare and social security. 

They understood that freedom is not an abstract idea. 

Freedom must be present in the home, in the workplace, in the classroom, in the clinic, in the law and in the economy. 

The petition presented here in 1956 declared: 

“We shall not rest until we have won for our children their fundamental rights of freedom, justice and security.” 

Seventy years later, that pledge still speaks directly to us. 

We have made undeniable progress. 

Thirty years ago, we adopted a Constitution that recognises non-sexism as a founding value of our democracy and guarantees every woman the rights to equality, dignity, freedom and bodily integrity. 

Women have the right to vote, to hold public office, to own property and land, to inherit, to choose whom to marry and to participate fully in every sphere of society.

Women lead institutions that are vital to our democracy. 

Today, women serve as Chief Justice, Speaker of the National Assembly, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Public Protector and Auditor-General. 

Women are ministers, mayors, judges, traditional leaders, diplomats, police officers, soldiers, entrepreneurs, farmers, scientists, engineers, academics, artists and athletes.

Women have made significant gains in higher education and continue to break barriers in fields once closed to them. 

These gains matter. They were fought for. They must be defended. 

South Africa ranks highly on global indices for women’s empowerment, including for gender parity, educational outcomes, financial inclusion, and political representation and decision-making.  

We are proud of how far we have come.  

We are proud to stand on the shoulders of giants, the izimbokodo of 1956.  

As a country we have been consistent that there can be no human rights without women’s rights.  

There can be no progress in society without the empowerment of women. 

We cannot achieve social justice without gender equality.  

This conviction is rooted in our commitment to building a South Africa that is united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, prosperous and free.  

These achievements were not freely given.  

And having attained our own freedom, it is our duty to stand in solidarity with the victims of sexism and gender apartheid, wherever they are.  

We are honoured to have with us here today Ms Malala Yousafzai, who paid a heavy price for her activism.  

A cruel ideology tried to silence you, but you rose to become one of the most strident voices for the emancipation of women in our world today.  

Malala, thank you for being here today. We welcome you.  

The struggles of women for equality and emancipation do not know boundaries of geography, language, religion, race, colour or class. And the struggles of women are far from over. 

This year’s theme is Empowered women empower nations. We know that empowered women and girls empower South Africa. 

That means that we must work as a society to remove every obstacle that stands between a woman and her ambition. 

Women are more than half of our population, but they do not yet hold an equal share of our country’s wealth, its land or its enterprises. 

Too many women are without work. Too many earn less than men for doing the same work. 

Too many carry the burden of caring for families and households, labour that goes unrecognised and uncounted. 

This must change. As a government we are working to change this. 

We are opening public procurement to women-owned businesses, so that what government spends helps to build women entrepreneurs. 

Through the Women Economic Assembly we have been drawing women-owned enterprises into the value chains of our major industries. 

We are widening access to finance, to credit and to markets. 

And we are ensuring that women hold title to the land they work. 

There can be no empowerment without education. 

Today, more women than men are enrolled in our universities and colleges. They excel in school. 

But too few of them enter engineering, science, technology and the artisanal trades, where so many of the opportunities of tomorrow will lie. 

We must work to change that. 

We are bringing care closer to the women in rural areas, farms and villages. 

A woman who is skilled, who earns her own income and who enjoys good health is a woman able to determine the course of her own life. 

That is the freedom we are working towards. 

We know too well that the women of our country will not be truly free until we rid our society of the violence that men perpetrate against women.  

In 1956, women lived in fear of being arrested for not having a pass.  

Today, women live in fear of the gender-based violence that stalks them in the streets, even in their homes.  

Violence against women and children is not confined to any one particular community.  

It affects rich and poor, young and old, black and white. 

That is why we classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster. 

We did so, so that we could harness all the resources and capabilities of the state to end these crimes.  

We have established the National Gender-Based and Femicide Council because gender-based violence and femicide is not a women’s problem. It is a problem of society. It is a problem of violent men.  

Overcoming this scourge therefore demands that men and boys step forward and say: Not in My Name.  

It demands that men and boys be part of the solution. 

We must prevent this violence, as we are doing, by working with young men, with the support of traditional, community and religious leaders.  

We need to steer men away from behaviours and mindsets that breed violence against women.  

We need to break the silence that renders us complicit in this crime.  

It is not only the perpetrators of such acts that are guilty. It is also those who choose to look away, to say it’s not their problem.  

The guilty include those who seek to condone or justify gender-based violence on the grounds of culture, religion or patriarchal social norms.  

There is no justification whatsoever for sexual harassment, for physical or mental abuse, for rape or for murder. 

Not how women dress or how they behave. Not because some favour is given. 

Not because they leave a relationship. Not because they are a junior employee. 

Not because they believe themselves equal to men. 

Violence against women and children is not a personal matter. It is a crime. 

And we can no longer remain silent. 

Today we call on all of society to join hands to combat this scourge. So that South Africa’s women enjoy the most fundamental freedom of all, freedom from fear.  

Even in the midst of hardship and devastation, women rise.  

This year’s commemoration places particular emphasis on improving women’s access to quality healthcare. 

This is fundamental to equality, dignity and freedom. 

Quality healthcare for women means that every woman must receive care regardless of her income, where she lives or whether she has a disability. 

It means safe pregnancy and childbirth, dignified reproductive healthcare and access to family planning. 

It means that girls and young women have the knowledge and services they need to prevent HIV infection. 

It means expanding vaccination and screening to prevent cervical cancer, and ensuring timely treatment when illness is detected. 

It means that survivors of sexual and domestic violence are treated with compassion, privacy and respect. 

It means bringing care closer to women in rural communities, on farms and in informal settlements. 

By investing in women’s health, we invest in the health, productivity and future of our nation.

The freedom of women is indivisible. 

An injustice to women anywhere diminishes the freedom of people everywhere. 

Fellow South Africans, 

On 9 August 1956, the women did not come here to ask the state to praise them. 

They came to demand that the state end its injustice against them. 

Seventy years later, women do not ask to be applauded for surviving inequality. 

They demand that equality be made real. We as the government will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we make equality between women and men real in all aspects of our national life. 

The measure of this anniversary will not be the speeches we deliver or the ceremonies we hold. 

It will be whether a girl can grow up safe, healthy and confident in her future. 

It will be whether a young woman can study, find work and be paid fairly. 

It will be whether a woman entrepreneur can obtain finance and gain access to markets. 

It will be whether a woman farmer can own the land she works. 

It will be whether a mother can receive quality healthcare close to where she lives. 

It will be whether a survivor of violence receives protection and justice. 

It will be whether every woman is treated as a full and equal citizen of this country. 

Each generation must answer the question posed by the women of 1956: 

Will we fear the power of women, or will we build our nation with it? 

We will ensure that the answer is found in our laws, in our budgets, in our institutions, in our homes and in our conduct towards one another. 

Let us honour the women of 1956 by delivering the future for which they marched. 

We commit to build a South Africa in which no woman’s potential is limited by poverty, prejudice, violence or discrimination. 

We will build a nation in which women are equal in law, equal in opportunity, equal in safety and equal in power. 

Wathint’ abafazi, wathint’ imbokodo. 

The women of South Africa have shaped our freedom and we thank them. 

Together, they will shape our future. 

I thank you.
 

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Sunday, 09 August 2026, deliver the keynote address at the 2026 National Women’s Day commemoration event in Union Building, Pretoria.

This occasion will mark the 70th anniversary of the 1956 protest march to the Union Buildings by at least 20 000 women.

The 1956 march opposed the apartheid government’s decision to extend urban pass laws to women, and was a precursor to major political changes over coming decades that led to the demise of the racist regime in South Africa. 

The National Women’s Day commemorations this year take place under the theme “Empowered Women, Empower Nations”.

Since 1994, National Women’s Day is celebrated on 09 August every year as part of Women’s Month.

This year's celebration emphasises improving women's access to quality healthcare, vital for sustainable development, social justice and economic growth.

Women’s Month provides an opportunity for government and civil society to highlight the challenges confronting women and profile programmes and policies that advance women empowerment and gender equity.  

It also provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the generations of women such as Lilian Ngoyi whose struggles laid the foundations for the progress made in the democratic era in empowering women and advancing gender equality.  

Details of the  commemoration are as follows:
Date: Sunday, 9 August 2026
Time: 10:00 
Venue: Union Buildings, Pretoria

NB: Take note that GCIS has handled all media related accreditation matters.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

President Cyril Ramaphosa today, Thursday, 06 August 2026, visited Sasol's Secunda Operations in Mpumalanga, where he received a comprehensive briefing on the company's integrated operations and their contribution to South Africa's economic growth, industrial development, energy security and job creation.

The visit provided the President with a first-hand view of one of South Africa's largest industrial complexes, where approximately 35 million tonnes of locally mined coal are beneficiated each year to produce a wide range of fuel and chemical products that support key sectors of the economy.

The President was briefed on Sasol's integrated value chain, spanning mining, gasification, proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology, refining, logistics and chemical production.

The briefing also highlighted the company's role in supporting local manufacturing, strengthening supply chains, driving innovation, developing critical skills and sustaining employment.

Discussions also focused on the company's ongoing investment in maintaining a competitive industrial base, enhancing operational efficiency and advancing its transition initiatives, while ensuring a reliable supply of liquid fuels and chemical products that underpin economic activity.

The visit reaffirmed the strategic role of large-scale industrial investments such as Sasol's Secunda Operations in promoting inclusive economic growth, strengthening South Africa's industrial competitiveness, attracting investment and supporting the country's long-term development objectives.

The President was accompanied by the Premier of Mpumalanga, Mandla Ndlovu, and was hosted by Sasol President and Chief Executive Officer, Simon Baloyi, Sasol Independent Non-Executive Director and Chairperson of the Board, Muriel Dube, together with members of the Sasol Group Executive Committee.

 

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Programme Director;
The Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, T Taubie Motlhabane
Founder of Gift of the Givers, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman
Chief Director: Skills Development, Department of Economic Development and Tourism Western Cape Government, Mr. Nezaam Joseph
Executive Deputy Mayor & Mayoral Committee Member: Spatial Planning and Environment, City of Cape Town, Alderman Eddie Andrews
Representatives of our Universities, TVET Colleges and Schools;
Our valued partners from Civil Society and Community Organisations;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen 
Molweni! Good morning!

It is a pleasure to be back!

This is my second opportunity to address the Youth in Action Expo, and I must say that returning to this platform is truly an honour. Last year, I left inspired by the remarkable energy, ambition and determination of the thousands of young people gathered here. I was reminded that South Africa's youth are not waiting on the sidelines for change to happen. You are actively seeking opportunities. You are asking important questions. You are investing in yourselves. Most importantly, you are determined to shape your own future. I want to thank the Cape Town International Convention Centre and each of the more than 170 organisations that have made this Expo what it is. In just three years, this gathering has grown from 1,500 young people to over 14,000. That is not a statistic. That is a movement. It tells us something our country urgently needs to hear young South Africans are not waiting for the future to arrive they are showing up to build it.

The Challenges Our Youth Face
South Africa is a young nation. Two out of every three people are under 35. That is a huge asset but also a huge responsibility, because too many young people cannot find work. I know the questions you ask yourselves. Will I get a job? How do I get experience when every job needs experience? What if I cannot afford to study? Is a degree my only option? Can I start my own business? These are real questions and government hears you. But let me be honest: government cannot fix this alone. Solving youth unemployment needs all of us government, business, schools, colleges, and you working together.

Programme Director, 

I want to start where every young person's journey begins, education. There is a reason that our Constitution guarantees the right to education. There is a reason that government spends the single largest portion of the national budget on education more than on any other function. It is because education is the most powerful engine of individual mobility and national prosperity that has ever existed. It is the single greatest equaliser in an unequal society. But let me be clear about something: education does not mean one path. It does not mean that every young person must go to university. That idea has done enormous damage to young South Africans who have gifts, talents, and ambitions that a traditional academic degree was never designed to serve.

The Power of TVET Colleges, Universities, knowledge, and research
If I could leave you with one message today, it is this: TVET is not a second choice it is a pathway to opportunity. South Africa's 50 public TVET colleges offer qualifications in fields such as engineering, information technology, agriculture, hospitality, business, and the skilled trades that drive our economy. These are the skills our industries need, and many cannot easily be replaced by technology. Many successful entrepreneurs, artisans and business owners began their journeys at TVET colleges, proving that success is determined by your skills, commitment, and ambition not by the type of institution you attend. Through the National Skills Fund, the SETAs and partnerships with industry, government continues to strengthen TVET education to ensure graduates are equipped with skills that employers are looking for. At the same time, our 26 public universities remain essential in producing the professionals, innovators, and leaders our country needs. Whether you choose university or TVET, what matters most is how you apply your knowledge. Be intentional about gaining practical experience through internships, volunteering, and leadership opportunities. Qualifications open doors, but it is your initiative, adaptability, and willingness to keep learning that will determine your success.

NSFAS: Removing the Financial Barrier
I know what many of you are thinking. This all sounds good but how do I pay for it?

Let me tell you about the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. NSFAS is government's primary vehicle for ensuring that no young South African is denied an education because of their background. If you come from a household with a combined annual income of R350,000 or less or R600,000 or less if you are a person living with a disability, you qualify for NSFAS funding. And NSFAS does not only cover tuition fees. It covers accommodation. It covers books and learning materials. It covers meals. It covers a travel allowance. It is a comprehensive bursary designed to ensure that you can focus on your studies without the constant anxiety of how you are going to survive. For those in the so-called "missing middle" households earning between R350,001 and R600,000 per year NSFAS also offers a student loan facility, with favourable repayment terms that only begin once you are employed and earning above a certain threshold. Here is what I want you to do: if you are considering university or TVET college and you are worried about funding, visit the NSFAS website at www.nsfas.org.za. Find out if you qualify. The application window for the 2027 academic year will open later this year. Do not wait. Do not assume you will not qualify. Apply. The funding exists but you must take the first step.

The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention: From Learning to Earning
Programme Director, 

Education is only the beginning the real challenge is ensuring that young people can successfully transition from learning to earning. That is why, in 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI), government's flagship response to youth unemployment and a key responsibility of my office as Deputy Minister in the Presidency. At the heart of the PYEI is the National Pathway Management Network (NPMN), which brings together government departments, the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA), SAYouth.mobi, the National Youth Development Agency, Harambee, universities, TVET colleges, the private sector and civil society into one coordinated network. Its purpose is to connect young people with jobs, internships, learnerships, apprenticeships and other opportunities more efficiently. The impact has been significant. Since its launch, the PYEI has facilitated access to more than 2.5 million earning opportunities, while over 5.9 million young people are registered on SAYouth.mobi and more than 5.36 million on the ESSA platform. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, 155,161 new opportunities were created, with more than 70% accessed by young women. These achievements demonstrate government's commitment to creating practical pathways into employment and economic participation for South Africa's youth.

Programme Director, 

let me tell you about a young woman I met recently. Her name is Adelia Njabulo Nqubuka. Adelia registered on SAYouth.mobi. She enrolled in a programme ran by our partner, the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. She did not have connections. She did not have capital. What she had was the willingness to take that first step to register, to show up, to learn. She used that opportunity to gain skills and experience. And today, Adelia owns her own construction company. Think about that. A young woman, in a sector historically dominated by men, who started with nothing but a registration on a free mobile platform and today she is an employer. She is building. She is leading. She is proof that the pathway works. Adelia's story reminds us of something fundamental: opportunity can change a life, but young people must take the first step. Government can build the platforms. We can fund the programmes. We can forge the partnerships. But the registration must come from you. The application must come from you. The decision to walk through the door when it opens that must come from you. We want thousands more success stories like Adelia's across South Africa. And the only difference between Adelia and anyone else in this room is that she took the first step. You can do the same. Today. Right here.

SAYouth.mobi — Your Digital Gateway
I want every young unemployed person in this room to do one thing today. Take out your phone. Go to www.SAYouth.mobi. Register. It is completely free. It is zero-rated on participating mobile networks. You do not need a single megabyte of data. You do not need a laptop. You do not need a CV written by a professional. You just need your details, your qualifications, and a sense of where you want to go. Whether you are still in school, studying at a TVET college or university, or a graduate searching for your first break, SAYouth.mobi meets you where you are. It will match you with jobs, learnerships, internships, apprenticeships, bursaries, digital skills training, volunteering, and workplace experience. And once you are registered, it will notify you when something comes up. The platform works for you.

The Youth Employment Service: Public-Private Partnership in Action
One of the greatest challenges facing many graduates is the lack of work experience. Too often, young people are told they cannot get a job because they have no experience, yet they cannot gain experience without being given an opportunity.
That is why the Youth Employment Service (YES) is such an important initiative. As one of government's key private-sector partners, YES provides unemployed young people with meaningful workplace experience, helping them build their CVs, gain valuable skills, and improve their chances of securing permanent employment. It is a powerful example of how government and business can work together to tackle youth unemployment. To every graduate looking for that first opportunity, I encourage you to explore the programmes available through YES. Your first opportunity can become the foundation for a successful career, and initiatives like YES are helping to open those doors.

Skills Development: The Bridge to Opportunity
Programme Director, 

Between education and employment lies a critical bridge: skills development. Qualifications are important, but employers are also looking for practical, industry-relevant skills. That is why government invests in the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), which work with industry to identify skills shortages and fund learnerships, apprenticeships, internships, and other workplace-based training opportunities. These programmes provide practical experience, nationally recognised qualifications and, in many cases, a stipend while participants learn. Government also supports skills development through the National Skills Fund, the National Youth Service, and partnerships with organisations such as Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, ensuring that young people gain the skills and experience needed to access employment. As our economy becomes increasingly digital, I also encourage every young person to develop digital skills such as coding, data analysis, digital marketing, cybersecurity, or cloud computing. These skills are in growing demand and can open opportunities across almost every sector of the economy.

Entrepreneurship: Build It Yourself
Not every young person in this room wants to work for someone else and that is a good thing. South Africa will not solve its unemployment crisis by relying on big business and government alone. We need a generation of young people who will build enterprises, create jobs, and solve problems in their communities.

How Government Supports Young Entrepreneurs
For those who dream of creating jobs rather than only seeking them, government is committed to supporting youth entrepreneurship. The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) provides entrepreneurship training, mentorship, business development support, and grant funding to help young people start and grow their businesses. Young entrepreneurs can also access support through institutions such as the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA), the Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA), the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), while the Department of Small Business Development offers incubation programmes and market access opportunities. Through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) and SAYouth.mobi, aspiring entrepreneurs can also be connected to relevant support and opportunities. If you have a business idea, I encourage you to visit the NYDA stand at this Expo. Ask questions, explore the support available and take the first step. Every successful business began as an idea, and with the right support, your idea could become the next enterprise that creates jobs and drives economic growth.

Women's Month: Honouring the Past, Empowering the Future
Programme Director, 

As we gather today, we do so at a significant moment in our national calendar. August is Women's Month, and in just a few days we will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the historic 1956 Women's March to the Union Buildings. More than 20,000 courageous women united to oppose injustice, proving that collective action can change the course of history. Their enduring rallying cry, "Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo," continues to remind us of the strength and resilience of South African women. This year's Women's Month theme of Empowerment reminds us that the struggle of those women was not only for political freedom, but also for access to education, economic opportunity, and dignity. That work continues today. To the young women in this room: know that your potential is limitless. Government remains committed to expanding opportunities for young women, and today more than 70% of the opportunities created through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) have been accessed by young women. We recognise the barriers many still face and remain committed to creating a more inclusive and equitable society.

To the young men here today: the empowerment of women strengthens our nation. Be allies in advancing equality, challenging discrimination, and supporting the women around you. Together, we can build the non-sexist South Africa envisioned in our Constitution. As we honour the women of 1956, let us also ask ourselves: What will our generation do to build on the legacy they entrusted to us?

Ladies and Gentlemen 

As I conclude, let me leave you with this thought: your future starts now. Government is building a coordinated system of support to help young people move from learning to earning through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, the Presidential Employment Stimulus, SAYouth.mobi, ESSA, the National Youth Development Agency, the Youth Employment Service, SETAs, the National Skills Fund, TVET colleges, universities, NSFAS, and partnerships with organisations such as Harambee. These initiatives exist to remove barriers, create opportunities, and connect you to education, skills, entrepreneurship, and employment. But no programme can replace your own determination. Your future will be shaped by the choices you make, the opportunities you pursue and the courage you show in taking that first step. So, before you leave this Expo, ask questions, make connections, explore every opportunity available and believe in your potential. Together, let us build a South Africa where every young person has not only the freedom to dream, but the opportunity to realise those dreams. The future is not something we wait for it is something we build, together.

Enkosi, Dankie, I thank you.