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Thank you for joining with us in the discussions at this important West Cost Investment Initiative. You will, over the next two days, explore the wide range of investment opportunities which will be presented together. I am sure that you will conclude by Friday afternoon that the scope for inter-sectoral and inter-firm linkages, the strong logic of the overall initiative, the ambient environment of the West Coast and the fine attention to detail in presentations, when taken together compel you to make the investment decisions early.

We South Africans need to constantly remind ourselves that our democracy is not quite four years old. During this short period we have already been able to notch up significant victories in the battle for transformation. Much remains to be done, but what is indisputable is that South Africa today is qualitatively different from the country that we grew up in. Now, there is far more hope and opportunities abound; yet, a number of real difficulties have been thrown into sharp relief as challenges we still have to overcome. But, we fake these from the perspective that we knew, all along, that the transformation challenge was going to be exceedingly hard.

Early in the process we took a few strategic decisions about the South Africa we want to see, the South Africa which offers a better life for all its people. Prior to the elections in 1994, we set out a vision in the Reconstruction and Development Programme which, amongst other things, laid the basis for economic renewal. Amongst the focal points for such renewal we identified:

* The modernisation of the economy and its integration into the global economy;
* The broadening of the base of manufactures to dynamism the static comparative advantages;
* A focus on skills development appropriate both the new economic needs and the vast number of under- and unemployed young people;
* The creation of a range of opportunities for new entrants into the economy through a range of measures including special programmes to develop small-, medium- and micro- enterprises;
* A focus on the export sector, especially of our non-gold exports; and
* the raising of the competitive temperature within the South African economy.

By the middle of 1994 we embarked on this ambitious programme of economic reform. Two years later, our of a process of intense introspection occasioned by a set of circumstances which compelled us to take stock of the situation, we launched a supportive programme for macro-economic reform to augment the RDP, which we called the strategy for Growth, Employment And Redistribution (GEAR).

The success of the choices we exercised on both occasions are clearly measurable. We have achieved macro-economic stability - our economic fundamentals are now stronger than at any point in the past thirty years in this country. Our fiscal programme is on track; monetary policy, though tight, has delivered rapidly decreasing inflation rates and a currency which held up remarkably well in the face of huge swings in global markets, especially over the past six months; we have witnessed significant capital inflows consistently since mid-1994; the current account deficit remains marginal and firmly under control. Taken together, these indicators suggest a set of achievements not to be scoffed at.

In respect of direct investment too, we can now talk of significant change. The pattern of new investments demonstrates a shift away from the primary agricultural and mining sectors towards higher value added activities in manufacturing, transport and telecommunications. As a result of investment inflows throughout 1997, 955 transitional parent firms now own stakes in approximately 2 050 operating entities in South Africa that mange about 380 000 employees and control approximately $44,8 billion in assets.

As I pointed out earlier, building the critical mass needed to establish a sound macro-economic platform has been achieved. The challenge is to sustain this investment growth phase by aggressively restructuring state assets to unlock investment opportunities in state owned and managed corporations. This approach, based on strategic equity partnerships, is complemented by the packaging of major infrastructure and industrial projects into the spatial development initiative (SDI) process as we are doing here.

The SDI programme is a strategic investment promotion strategy designed to leverage private sector participation into the Maputo Development Corridor, Phalaborwa, Lubombo, KwaZulu-Natal, the Wild Coast, Fish River and this West Coast investment initiatives.

Already a host of similar conferences linked to specific SDI's have been concluded and specific investments attracted. The decisions on SDI's have been made so as to capitalise on the potential of under-utilised areas with proven economic infrastructure and opportunities for joint ventures with South African partners.

South Africa is undoubtedly a major destination for foreign investment. South Africa contributes more than half (157 million gWh) of the electricity output in Africa; its ports handle 115 million tons a year; it has 50,6 km of paved road and 30 km of rail track for every 1 000 square km, and over 4 million telephone lines available. And it has a financial and legal infrastructure for conducting business not only comparable, but surpassing a number of more highly developed countries.

Tomorrow you will be addressed by both our esteemed President and the Premier of the Western Cape Province. My colleague, Alec Erwin, the Minister of Trade and Industry, will also address you on the strategic vision for the West Coast and Saldanha Bay as a vital part of our new industrial and trade strategy - building on the existing mega projects and the industrial development zone infrastructure to leverage value added downstream manufacturing opportunities. The MEC for Economic Affairs and Province, Hennie Bester, will fill in additional detail. Government is clearly very serious about the importance of this SDI and of the immense opportunity which this initiative presents for a qualitative improvement in the lives of all of the people of this West Coast. I would ask that the investors here present take account of this.

Let me conclude on a personal note - the West Coast is rafter special to me. My family has deep routes here in Saldanha Bay and elsewhere, probably even as far back as the palaeontological footprint recently discovered not too far from here. The people of the West Coast are special and I am privileged to count amongst them a number of dear friends. Unspoilt beauty abounds - it is where we return to recharge. But the ecosystem is fragile. And the people living here have been disappointed when planned initiatives have either failed to be implemented or the gains have passed them by. This SDI presents us with the rare opportunity to address all of these issues with the sensitivity it deserves. We must strive to maintain the ecological balances. We must endeavour to be inclusive. We must draw on the skills and determination of the people of this area. We need to remain focused on the wider joys of development.

This opportunity is rare. Let us use it to make a profound difference.

I thank you.

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