Speech at the Residence of the South African Ambassador to the United States of America on the Occasion of Youth Day, June 16th.

May I begin by saying JazakAllah khair to the Ambassador for agreeing to host us this evening. May we

as the SAWIP class of 2011 also thank the Deputy Minister for agreeing to attend this event.

We are here today to talk about economic freedom in our lifetime. Any discussion on this issue should answer three questions: What is economic freedom? What is a lifetime? And how can young

people contribute to this freedom today?

What is a lifetime? The average life expectancy in South Africa is 55 years old. That means that for most

of the people in this room, they have 35 years left. With some rounding off, this leaves us at the year

2050: this is the time period we are talking about.

What kind of economic freedom can we see in this period? Here, it is important that we are

realistic. By 2050 we will not reach nirvana, heaven or janah. Yet similarly, we cannot simply aim to stay

in the same place that we are at. Economic freedom would therefore be some intermediary location

between these two places. To me, economic freedom therefore, means the ability to meet all of our

people's needs. Economic needs, educational needs, needs in healthcare and needs for meaningful employment

opportunities.

What position then do we find ourselves in today? A friend of mine often describes South Africa as a

cappuccino economy, one with a vast black base which supports a thin layer of white

foam at the top completed recently by a few black sprinkles at the surface. Our mission therefore can be

stated as an attempt to stir the cappuccino and turn it from short skinny into grande (applause).

Yet we face two great challenges as we sit here this Youth Day. First, the new diagnostic report

produced by the National Planning Commission makes the point that our economy remains resource

dependent both in the sense that we still rely on the exportation of mineral resources as a source of

growth but also to the extent that we rely heavily on the extraction of natural resources to fuel our

economy.

A second defective feature of our economy is the extent to which it remains structured to service only a

small fraction of the population. Our townships continue to expand around a few major cities that

provide for only the most privileged South Africans.

In this light, I would like to share some very brief thoughts on the role that young people should be

playing in this battle.

First, all young peole should stay in South Africa, at least for some time, ensuring that the skills that

South Africa has created remain here.

Second, the youth voice has disappeared from view. I believe there is a need for a youth voice which

makes use of the newfound communications tools to harness a unified movement. While not every

South African has access to the internet via a desktop or a laptop, nearly every South African has a

cellular phone.

Moreover, I think it is critical that we use this voice in promoting advocacy and inspiring accountability.

Shouting louder when our leaders falter and congratulating when they advance our nation.

Finally, I would call on older South Africa who hold the reins of power to use the young South Africans

who are willing to serve. We are young and we are here. Waiting fifteen years for us to come of age

may be too long. We need to be out to work in South Africa now.

I believe these are some ways that we can stir the cappuccino economy.

Thank you.