My Naija News - Business has a key role to play in SA’s future, says Dr Ramphele at USB

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Business has a key role to play in SA’s future, says Dr Ramphele at USB

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

The South African business community has a key role to play in helping to create a better future for the country by 2020, said Dr Mamphela Ramphele, at a workshop on the Dinokeng Scenarios held at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) recently (Friday, 19 June).

Dr Ramphele, chairperson of the convener group of the Dinokeng Scenarios team, addressed a large audience of business people and USB alumni on the three different future scenarios for South Africa.

The Dinokeng Scenario team consists of a diverse group of 35 South Africans from civil society, government, various political parties, trade unions, business, religious groups, academia, and the media. They came together last year to open reflective and reasoned strategic conversation among South Africans about possible futures for the country, and the opportunities, risks and choices these futures present, said Ramphele.

She said corporates can help to build a better South Africa through becoming involved by sponsoring education. “Education has shown the world over to lift people out of poverty. Corporates are making corporate social responsibility inputs in pockets, but, rather than working in pockets, they should pool their resources and work together,” said Ramphele.

Addressing a question from the audience about the role of leadership in both political and business spheres to secure a good future for the country, Ramphele said people must move away from focusing on themselves. “Education at home is where leadership starts. In developing leadership it is a prerequisite to realise that all of us are leaders. Both men and women must be accountable,” answered Ramphele.

In order to realise a future scenario where people walk together, people have to take back democracy and not sit back and wait for things to happen. “There are many examples where citizens are taking back democracy. We need to demand higher standards at all levels where we are involved. We have to shift our mindsets from following leaders to becoming more involved in matters ourselves,” said Ramphele.

The future scenarios are not predictions, she said, but they describe possible pathways into the future.

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