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SOUTH AFRICA
Thabo Mbeki : Conference resolutions should be implemented
President Thabo Mbeki says suggestions made at the
International Council for Small Business conference should be
implemented to change the lives of the hungry and the poor in
the world. Delegates have gathered to share ideas on the
development of small business enterprises and the trends
thereof worldwide.
The president says he was unhappy about the lack of
development in the small business sector in the country. He
however said that government was looking at solutions to some
of the challenges in the sector and said that reviewing the
financing of these businesses was one such a suggestion.
Mbeki also commended the G8 leaders for adopting a resolution
looking at helping small businesses in the African continent
and other developing countries
Mbeki's advisors to address 'two economies
Bridging the gap between South Africa's "two economies" will
be the main agenda item when President Thabo Mbeki meets the
International Investment Council, the government..
"One of the critical challenges for the third democratically
elected government in the next decade is the need to integrate
two distinct and yet interrelated economies," the Department
of Trade and Industry's director-general, Allister Ruiters,
told reporters in Pretoria. This will be the seventh such
meeting between Mbeki, the ministers of finance, trade and
industry, public enterprises, transport, minerals and energy,
agriculture, communications, and business leaders from
Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany Japan, Ghana and others,
he said.
The IIC has traditionally been held twice a year but because
of the general election in April, the group will only meet
once. The 15 business leaders who include Masaka Miyaji,
executive vice president of Mitsubishi in Japan, Sir Anthony
O'Reilley, owner of Independent Newspapers and Media, Jurgen
Schrempp of DaimlerChrysler in Germany and Ratan Tata of Tata
Sons from India were personally invited by Mbeki three years
ago to attend the conference. |
