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Due to the importance of the occasion, I thought you would like the full text of the Minister's opening address and it therefore accompanies this note.

By way of background I would like to offer the following comments :

1. The Forum, and the Executive Assembly which preceded it, is probably the most internationally representative Conference in South Africa's history. Sixty eight countries and ten international organisations were present at the Executive Assembly : fifty two countries (twenty three African and Twenty nine others) were present at the Regional Forum.

2. With Minister Botha opening the Executive Assembly on Tuesday, President Mandela was due to open the Regional Forum this morning. However, for reasons given in the speech, he was unable to do so. The President asked Minister Botha to represent him.

3. The opening was preceded by a brilliant dance display of Zulu warriors in traditional dress. The tribal African drum-beat produced by five drummers had the delegates entranced as the warriors went through their paces. As a result the Minister added the penultimate paragraph to his speech which refers to the "drums of Africa's pain and hope", while the dancing and drums were busy. At the conclusion of their performance, the dancers presented the Minister with a Zulu shield, assegai and kierie. to show his gratitude, the Minister did an imporomptu tribal dance.

4. The Chairman of the Execute Assembly of the World Energy Council, Dr Ott, thanked the Minister. he was visibly impressed, especially by the Minister's Cahora Bassa proposal, the Southern Africa Power Pool - and the fact that the Minister arrived driving his own car. The Minister's speech received enthusiastic applause, especially from the African delegates, as well as from the Europeans.

5. The Minister's Cahora Bassa proposal created a stir and received unconditional support from the African representatives present. The Minister opened the Executive Assembly of the World Energy Council on Tuesday, 11 October also in the Good Hope Centre, when he suggested the Industrial World should concentrate their funds and efforts on assisting Africa to obtain electricity. This world be a decisive step forward in promoting the development of Africa. It is a key to the further advancement of the Continent.

I have taken the liberty of sending you the above observations as the importance of the occasion might not otherwise be fully realised. I am also faxing to you a copy of an editorial in the Burger of today which speaks for itself.

Best wishes

Roland Darroll
Media Liaison
Ministry of Mineral and Energy Affairs

Keynote Address By Mr RF (Pik) Botha, Minister Of Mineral And Energy Affairs Of The Republic Of South Africa On The Occasion Of The Official Opening Of The Southern And East African Regional Energy Forum Of The World Energy Council.

Good Hope Centre
Cape Town
09:00, Thursday 13 October 1994

Dr Gomes de Pablos, President of the World Energy Council; Dr Gerhard Ott, Chairman of the World Energy Council Executive Assembly;

Mr Ian Lindsay, Secretary General of the World Energy Council; Dr Ian McRae, Chairman of the South African National Committee of the World Energy Council;

Honourable Ministers representing Governments in the Region; Distinguished Guests.

After having been with your Executive Assembly on Tuesday morning, I am back again, realising how short the distance has become between Cape Town and Pretoria in terms of time and motion. Yesterday I had to be in Pretoria to attend a Cabinet meeting as well as other meetings in Johannesburg. I caught the return plane just in time after having had to cancel several engagements both yesterday and today. All this to-ing and fro-ing has reminded me of a limerick writer who explained time dilation as follows :

There was a young lady called Bright,
Who travelled faster than light;
She went out one day,
In a relative way,
And came back the previous night.

I have the honour, on behalf of South Africa's President, to extend to you a heartfelt welcome to our country. I share what must be your disappointment at the inability of President Mandela to be with us this morning. All of us, including President Mandela and I, would have wished him to officiate at what is probably the most internationally representative gathering in South African history. He has asked me to convey to you his sincere regrets at not being able to address you this morning in Cape Town.

I know from conversations I had with President Mandela some time ago that he was personally looking forward to being with you here today particularly as monumental changes have occurred since President Robert Mugabe opened the first Energy Conference of this Region in Harare in 1990. President Mandela sends his warm regards to all of you and would appreciate it if you would accept that he had no control over the causes which precluded him from being here.

As you may know, the President has just returned from a very successful visit to the United States of America as the official guest of President Clinton. During his visit he was asked to take on unforeseen additional commitments. You will also know that President Mandela has had eye operations which, although successful, naturally require that he rest his eyes in order that the damaged tissue be restored. Long hours of air-conditioned plane travel are not helpful. Against this background, his medical adviser have counselled against his undertaking a further plane trip to Cape Town at this time.

Perhaps at this Conference you will be able to design some new form of energy which will be able to propel a train from Pretoria to Cape Town in a couple of hours! He wishes you ever success in your deliberations. He hopes that your work here will be rewarded with positive results for the Southern and East African Region.

I believe that the message I will convey to you this morning will reflect President Mandela's sentiments.

Our first democratically elected Government of National unity has been in office for just five months. It is based on and expresses a national consensus and share commitment to reconcile our nation and improve its well-being. We realise that we have a long way to go. We know that our democracy and freedom will be incomplete and short-lived if it does not bring with it fundamental socio-economic improvements and reduce the poverty and deprivation which affect millions of South Africans. This task is only just beginning.

In the energy field, we look to organisations like the World Energy Council and its members to work with us in developing our Region. Proud as we are of our own expertise and achievements, we wish to share in the knowledge and experience which you represent.

The World Energy Council, with its objective of "promoting the supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all" is one of the most important organisations in the world. President Mandela and I are particularly proud that South Africa was chosen to hold the Executive Assembly on this, the World Energy Council's 70th anniversary. We would like to congratulate the Council on this memorable occasion. My your organisation continue to flourish. Our committments also to the regional Organising Committee for so competently arranging this impressive conference.

The World Energy Council may not be the best known; it may not have the largest budgets, nor the best-known public personalities, nor the largest political clout, nor occupy the most media space. But it does deal with one of the most fundamental human needs - energy.

This needs goes hand in hand with our other basic needs : food, clothing, shelter. It is essential for any society seeking to provide better life for its people. It is equally essential for economic growth. Without it programmes for social upliftment are worthless. That is why energy is a vital element of the South African Government's Reconstruction and Development Programme, which concretely expresses our commitment to transforming our society.

We appreciate especially the opportunity given to us, as the country hosting this Second Southern and East African Regional Forum, to express in a practical way our resolve to play our part, on the basis of partnership and co-operation, in the development of this continent and particularly this Region. This meeting will pursue the achievements of the first World Energy Council Regional Forum in 1990, namely the establishment of "a platform for regional dialogue among the members of the energy sector throughout Southern Africa and East Africa."

That is why it is a particular pleasure to welcome Dr K Mbuende, Executive Secretary of the SADC, of which South Africa has recently become the 11th member. Another welcome guest I would like to name is Dr Bingu was Mutharika, Secretary General of PTA/COMESA ( the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern African States/Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa). Many other come from elsewhere in Africa, Europe, India and further afield. We are honoured by your presence and appreciate the distances you have travelled to be with us. A special word of welcome to our African brothers, You are now at the southernmost tip of Africa where tow mighty oceans meet, the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. We in Africa are halfway between West and East destined to play our own unique role in the history of the world.

Not only is energy itself constantly changing, but also the prevailing policies and uses to which it is put. Different forms of energy was and wane in the fashion stakes. For many centuries, man relied on traditional fuels. Today we are drawing on the energy which the sun gave us over long periods hundreds of millions of years ago. In 15 minutes, the sun radiates much energy on to the earth as mankind consumes in every other form during an entire year. Our planet, with no guidance or assistance from us, thoughtfully stored all this converted sunshine in the earth's vaults. Like Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights, we have now learnt the open sesame to the energy stowed away by long dead plants and ancient aquatic animal life before even our ancestors emerged from the evolutionary mists.

In the 30 years after the second world war, 1945 to 1975, we burnt as much coal as in all our previous history. The world's consumption of organic fuel sources is exploding at an amazing rate. The use of coal, petroleum, odd and agricultural wastes in this century alone is tow to three times as great as the total consumption of all previous centrueis combined. But the supply of these fuels. although abundant, is eventually limited and their use has pollutive side effects. We will have to balance environmental considerations with the need for developing the human environment. In order to maintain the Region's international competitive edge we must ensure that research and development of our energy base keeps pace with the need for energy to support economic growth.

Many of us thought that nuclear energy would be the new magic source for the coming millenium. After all, five tons of uranium fuel yield the same amount of energy as 125 000 tons of coal or 500 000 barrels of oil. Unfortunately nuclear energy has suffered an image problem which has, whether justified or not, dented its potential.

New Possibilities lie in the use of renewable sources of energy : from the sun above us, the earth's geothermal cauldron below us, the waves and the wind about us. At present, cost considerations stand between humankind and their successful exploitation.

Perhaps existing energy providers - oil companies, coal mines, electricity utilities and the like - will se these sources as opportunities for us all rather than threats to their livelihood. We would all benefit should those in the existing energy industry lead us into a new era where the coal-mine methane explosions and the oil spills we have come to know so well, become things of the past.

Energy is essential to all aspects of production and natural resources use. Your theme "mobilising energy for growth: is central to the development of the Southern and East African Region. Economic growth depends on the effective use of energy. This is demonstrated by the correlation between per capita gross national product and per capita energy consumption.

But there are other, less evident, benefits : better health; education and training; greater social cohesion; and a steadier, less disruptive, urbanisation rate. Who can quantify the gain experienced when a young scholar is able to apply himself more effectively to his books because he has adequate electric light, because he is warm in winter?

Exploitation of coal in our Regions, even at double our present rates of extraction, will still leave sufficient reserves for another century. Our Region's untapped hydro-power has more than twice the capacity of all electricity plants, of whatever type, installed in Africa as a whole.

The sub-continent is less bountiful in oil which is the other major lifeline of a developing economy. A second South African licensing round for off-shore oil and gas prospecting was launched in London and Houston last week. With the increased expertise and resources of the international prospecting community, new attempts will at least increase the potential for oil and/or gas finds. The Pande and Kudu fields off Mozambique and Namibia could make a significant contribution to the development of our Region.

The countries of our Region must co-ordinate their investments in energy generation because of the way our regional energy resources are distributed, the high capital cost of energy-generating projects and the opportunity afforded by energy as a trade commodity in an area where inter-regional trade is flourishing. With vast hydro-power potential in the north and substantial coal fields mainly in the South, a synergy can be struck in electricity generation and its cross-border transmission.

One specific case is the Cahora Bassa hydro-electric project, which must be rehabilitated soon if it is to be rehabilitated at all. The hope is that, with a durable peace established in Moczambique and a n New political era to be entered after the elections, we will soon see Chahora Bassa serving as an important factor in a common power grid, the Southern African Power Pool. The first steps in formalising the Pool have already been taken between Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. There is no reason why it should not be extended into East Africa.

Industrialised countries looking for a practical way to become successfully involved in African development should take a closer look at Cahora Bassa. I invite the USA, European Union and Japan to consider seriously a proposal I am now going to make. My proposal would be that they buy it and then place it at the Region's disposal. Cahora Bassa offers the industrialised countries an opportunity to make an immediate contribution towards development in the Southern African Region.

Other areas of possible co-operation are : oil, natural gas and coal exploration; solar energy; designing heat-retaining, low-cost housing; finding alternatives to traditional fuels. In South Africa a third of the population depends on woodfuel, elsewhere in the region the figure is as high as 92 %.

Ted Reconstruction and Development Programme of the South African Government is people-centred. The most fundamental thrust in South African energy policy will be to provide electricity to the people and communities who up till now have not enjoyed this source of energy.

Our aim is to provide electricity to 500 000 homes per year until the end of this century. The number of electrified homes will then have been increased by an additional 2,5 million - more than double the existing 2,1 million - and will push up the percentage of electrified homes from the present 35 % to about 65 %.

Those without domestic electricity use a wide range of fuels for their requirements. The RDP identifies these as inferior and expensive. Many turn to traditional but inefficient and unhealthy firewood, gathered from the natural woodland and generally without cost except for the effort required to obtain it, borne especially by rural women who must walk vast distances to gather and carry the wood.

As the RDP indicates, we need to improve the management of natural woodlands, to set up programmes where the people take control of the afforestation of their areas as a permanent fuel source, and to introduce systems of transporting woodfuel to areas of need.

On the other hand, a large and growing sector, both rural and urban, is switching to higher order commercial fuels like coal, illuminating paraffin, liquid petroleum gas, candles and commercially exploited firewood. AS the RDP points out, except for coal these are relatively high cost items. Even in electrified houses, a number of fuels are still used, often with negative environmental effects such as the severe air pollution experienced in the PWV area. Policies to meet energy needs must therefore include a low-smoke coal programme and the reduction as far as possible of gas and paraffin prices.

We must weigh up our energy needs both against other needs and in relation to each other. Future energy policy must concentrate on meeting the basic requirements of poor households and community services such as schools and clinics. Deep poverty, the strong need and demand for accelerated socio-economic development and the negative environmental impact of many of our fuel use patterns, require us to adopt an holistic and well-focussed approach. The way energy will assist our people to make logical, self-enhancing choices and to budget for life necessities other than merely basic needs for survival. We should also look at the optimum combination of fuel provision rather than assuming that fuel sources should be either of one kind or of another - for example, electricity plus gas and/or coal, rather than either electricity or gas or coal.

This Conference provides you with yet another opportunity to share your perceptions and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. The ideas that will be exchanged, the information that will be absorbed, the new tasks that will be identified here, all need to be put to practical use if the Region's people are to benefit.

It is remarkable that you have attracted some 23 African countries as well as 29 other countries, to this Forum. Congratulations. I trust that we can learn from our colleagues amongst the developing countries how they have solved some of the problems of development and energy provision. To our friends in the developed world we say we need your help in the growth of our energy sector, a growth which is necessary to support the economic development of not only this region but also the whole of Africa.

Africa South of the Sahara faces tremendous problems. Our population growth is too high; our food production too low. The expectations of our people are too high; our achievements too low. We are urbanising without industrialising. Commentators from the USA, Europe and the Far East say that we are in dire straits socially and politically, that we are economically in a quandary. Some predict an irreversible process of entropy for many countries of our Region which will lead to their decay and to our marginalisation.

Those of our people who travel to the United States, Europe, Japan and other industrialised countries often return with the tormenting thought : Many of may African friends including Heads of State have asked me the question : Will we ever get to where those countries are? The frustration of observing the tremendous gap turns into a nightmare. I do not share this despair. We have the resources; and modern technology is making it possible to advance the education and training of our people dramatically. We need clean water at our disposal; more protein in our diet; shelter which can be a home; transport and communication systems connecting us with the developed world. Our success is inextricably bound to the effective and efficient generation and distribution of low-cost energy. We have sufficient resources of energy. We have sufficient resources of energy. Let us pool and co-ordinate those resources. Let us switch on the electricity of our will to succeed.

Let the drums of Africa's pain and hope, Africa's yearning for a better future, for a new beginning, let the beat of those drums echo across the world through your Conference.

With this in mind, it is my honour and privilege, on behalf of President Nelson Mandela, to declare this Second Conference of the Southern and East African Regional Energy Forum open. We wish you well in your deliberations. May the insights gained and the practical improvements effected as a result of your work here, be so widespread that our people will find their lives improved.

Inquiries: R Darroll
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(012) 322 8695/6
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