Role
The role of the Business Trust is to combine the resources of business and government in areas of common interest to accelerate the achievement of national objectives.
Our job is to help business and government do together what they can't do on their own.
Vision
The Business Trust holds a vision of a prosperous, open, democratic, non racial and non sexist South Africa with an increasingly competitive market economy which works for all South Africans including the poor. Governed in a manner that frees ordinary citizens to meet their needs and pursue their interests and in which business is a trusted social partner in the process of sustainable development.
We believe that:
- Sustainable development requires the meeting of the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
- The central development challenges of reducing poverty and increasing prosperity are best achieved through open, competitive and properly regulated markets.
- In this process, business enterprises are the most potent force for wealth creation as they draw increasing numbers of people into the market and out of poverty.
- These enterprises bear a particular responsibility to avoid damage to the environmental, human and social capital on which future generations will rely.
- For markets to work well they require a foundation of democratically based constitutional and legal guarantees, predictable government, secure property rights, backed by safe contracts free from corruption, fair trade, transparent accounting, and competitively based pricing.
- For business to flourish it should be seen as a critical and trusted social partner exercising the rights and responsibilities of a corporate citizen and that,
- trust can be enhanced by business, government and other social partners working together in the interest of the poor.
We are confident that if we allow the resourcefulness, talent and capability of every South African to flourish, there is nothing that is beyond our reach.
The unemployment crisis has deepened
Notwithstanding the specific success in its chosen areas of operation, economic growth over the last five years was slower than hoped for and the number of unemployed has continued to rise.
The challenge can be met
There is now much wider national appreciation of the extent of this problem (as evidenced at the Growth and Development Summit in 2004) and a better chance of addressing it, because of the benefits of prudent economic policy and a growing willingness of the social partners to work together. The way South Africa responds to the employment challenge now will shape this nation for generations to come.
The proposal to extend the life of the Business Trust to 2011 was based on the belief that this partnership between business and government can make a decisive difference in the years ahead. To do that the Business Trust will be more clearly related to the drive for accelerated growth and investment and also contribute more directly to meeting the needs of the currently unemployed.
The mission of the Business Trust is therefore to create jobs, build capacity and enhance trust.
Through the development of partnerships, the Business Trust is able to build trust between groups and encourage dialogue. The Business Trust also seeks to increase capacity for individuals, organisations and communities, whilst focusing on job creation through economic growth, enterprise development and supporting the government's Expanded Public Works Programme.
