Keynote address by Deputy President Paul Mashatile at the All Africa Business Leaders Awards

Programme Directors, Alexander Leibner, Fifi Peters and Terryanne Chebet; 
Dr. Rakesh Wahi, and Mrs Solani Wahi host and founder of the AABLAS;
Members of the Diplomatic Corp, Ambassadors from Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda & the Central African Republic; 
Prof Benedict Oramah, Chair & President of the Afrexim Bank; 
Dr. John Nkengasong, Former Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Current US Global Aids Coordinator at the US Department of State; 
Dr. James Mwangi, Chairman and CEO of Equity Bank; 
Mohamed Dewji; CEO of the MeTL Group; 
Mr Geoff Qhena, Chairman of Exxaro Resources & Telkom;
Dr. Reuel Khoza, Chair of the PIC, our veteran and distinguished business leader;
Deputy Minister of COGTA, Parks Tau
The MD of ABNGroup Ms Roberta is Naicker;
Business leaders, CEOs, members of Boards and associations;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good evening, 

At times, as a people, we choose to disregard the wonderful things that are taking place all around us and instead concentrate on the negatives.

In my humble opinion, despite the difficulties that we are experiencing as a nation and a continent, there are several things for which we ought to express gratitude and appreciation.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Dr. Wahi and his team for hosting the 11th edition of the All Africa Business Leadership Awards. These awards pay a special tribute to the business leaders who make a difference, in their respective companies, industries, and communities across the continent. 

As Dr. Wahi once said, “These are ordinary men and women that have taken extraordinary decisions in the face of challenges, adversity as well as opportunities to not only bring glory to their organisations and the people that they lead but also act as an inspiration for future business leaders”.

Today, on the occasion of the 11th edition, we will witness the awarding of extraordinary leaders, conscious of the fact that our continent is by no means an easily terrain to navigate. 

Therefore, regardless of whether you take home an award, we consider you a winner simply for being nominated! 

We urge you to never give up, and continue to contribute to the betterment of the industry you are in and the community you serve. Your extraordinary dedication to improving Africa's economic development is greatly appreciated. 

We believe that the programmes and initiatives you have implemented as individuals and companies have resulted in a substantial increase in investments, employment creation, and an overall improvement in living standards, most importantly fostering unity on our continent.

This is the night of our continent's stars who have been instrumental in shining a light on the continent.

We are here to celebrate African excellence in leadership, business, and society broadly. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has been 60 years since the founders of this continent met in Addis Ababa, to establish the Organisation of African Unity, now the African Union. This year we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the AU under the theme, “Accelerating the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area to bring greater prosperity to the continent”. 

The success of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) hinges on the continent's ability to improve and invest in its infrastructure in the areas such as electricity generation, transportation, as well as freight and logistics distribution.

We are of the firm belief that investing in infrastructure is crucial to unlocking the potential for Africa to experience a growth at faster rates but more important to ensure inclusive diversification. 

This is because Africa's trade integration has been hampered for decades by the ageing infrastructure, and too many regulations which require reforms. 

In this regard, we welcome the launch by The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) of the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG), a suite of five digital platforms providing critical services to support and promote African trade and the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Ladies and gentlemen, we must surely invest in infrastructure because it is a critical driver of success across Africa. It makes a substantial contribution to human development and poverty alleviation.

As Africa, we are on the right path of development and towards one African market. As it stands, the AfCFTA agreement has effectively created the largest free trade area in the world measured by the number of countries participating. 

The pact connects 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion. 

It has the potential to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty and 68 million Africans from moderate poverty. 

The creation of the vast AfCFTA regional market is a major opportunity to help African countries diversify their exports, accelerate growth, and attract foreign direct investment. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa is brimming with opportunities, and we have what it takes to be great. We must dig into our continent's riches and turn difficulties into possibilities. 

Africa has a lot of natural resources, which is good news for building value chains. Agriculture and the extraction industries are important parts of value chains at the national, regional, and worldwide levels. 

Africa has 60 percent world’s uncultivated arable land. It makes up 13 percent of the world's oil. At least half of the world's diamond riches are also in Africa. Cobalt, nickel, lithium, manganese, uranium, and rare earth metals, which are important for clean energy and the future, are mostly found in Africa. 

For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces 58 percent of the world's cobalt, which is used to make electronics, and South Africa produced 69.6 percent of the world's platinum.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As I said at the start, it is easy to criticize and forget about all the opportunities and achievements we have made on the continent. The AABLAs are a reminder and an acknowledgement of the good work we are doing on the continent.

In this regard, we applaud Dr. Wahi for the AABLAs, because this initiative, continues to tell the African story of struggle and success, imagination, and taking responsibility for our growth and development. 

As South African, we will continue to support this effort of recognising leaders in business, government, and any other field that advances Africa's economy.

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to all of the Alumni and the nominees and winners for the 11th edition. 

We believe through your sweat and success others are going to be inspired to follow in your footsteps.

I thank you.