Dinner with the Deputy Minister, Mrs Thabethe

By Busi Ngwenya, Business Support Co-Ordinator to Maxum Business Incubator

Mrs Thabethe’s dinner guests - Busi Ngwenya, second from left in top row

It is quite a rare occasion to find one having dinner with a top politician without feeling stifled or hoping that the meal will quickly finish so you can beat a hasty exit. Usually, the protocol can be hard to digest; therefore, it was refreshing to be in the company of a relaxed, passionate, approachable and entertaining dinner companion in the form of one of the Deputy Ministers of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti).

On 4 August 2008, The Deputy Minister of the dti, Mrs Elizabeth Thabethe, readily and generously gave her time to host and interact with visiting trainers from the USA and The Innovation Hub officials. The purpose of the dinner was to (in)formally welcome and acknowledge the US ladies, engage them in issues affecting women in technology, find common ground, share ideas, discuss the purpose of their visit into the Republic and give them government perspective on challenges facing the country and interventions being put into place.

The Deputy Minister (DM) mentioned that she had just come back from an Imbizo outreach programme called ‘Taking the dti to People’ held at Moses Kotane Stadium in Mabeskraal in the North West Province. The outreach is “aimed at enhancing awareness of the dti group products and services to marginalised communities, focusing on the ins and outs of running efficient and effective small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa. The campaign also aims to accelerate job creation and sustainable economic development in the country.

Ongoing challenges such as unemployment, lack of skills, the disparities, access to markets and attempts to bridge the chasm between first and second economies are being addressed by the dti.

The dti has identified the following 5 key strategic objectives for the 2008/09 year as a means of accelerating the economic growth:

• Promote coordinated implementation of the accelerated and shared growth initiative;
• Promote direct investment and growth in the industrial and services economy, with particular focus on employment creation;
• Contribute towards the development and regional integration of the African continent within the NEPAD framework;
• Promote broader participation, equity and redress in the economy; and
• Raise the level of exports and promote equitable global trade

The dti has two Deputy Ministers, Mr Rob Davies who deals with international trade matters and Mrs Thabethe who deals with issues of local economic development and gender empowerment.

The DM is passionate about the development and promotion of women and is quite involved in the activities of the Unit which runs the Technology for Women in Business (TWIB) as part of its developmental programme. TWIB is responsible for some of the following;

• Addressing the identified needs through technological interventions in a project specific way;
• Facilitation of linkages between women in business and technology service providers;
• Identification and creation of market and business opportunities for the beneficiaries of the TWIB programme;
• Identification and provision of support to learners in the science and technology field;
• Exposing South African women to international trends in science and technology;
• Demonstration and diffusion of technology;
• Incubation of start up businesses.

The event was informal, informative, and interactive – giving us an understanding that there are truly committed individuals in government trying to ensure that citizens’ lives are improved through promotion of economic growth, outreach programmes. They ensure that there is participation by all in the economy of the Republic through their various government interventions/schemes. It also transpired that there needs to be a concerted effort to educate citizens about the various government schemes being put into place to benefit everyone.

We were all inspired by the willingness to share, engage and put forward the thoughts and challenges faced by our government and would like to salute the DM for availing herself to such a delightful evening.

“What a lovely and down to earth woman! I was anxious about the meeting as most dinners hosted by high profile politicians tend to be autocratic, stiff and very formal, but the Deputy Minister made it enjoyable. She was approachable and easy going.”

These were some of the comments made by the American visitors after our dinner with the DM:
“May we see more of her calibre being incorporated into our government and may her enthusiasm and passion trickle down to the lowest level. It is our country and it is our responsibility to ensure that we contribute meaningfully towards job creation, economic growth, capacity building and bringing about vibrancy. Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country’, let us all make a difference.” I can only conclude by saluting the DM and others like her….