The Path Ahead
What this means for us at the NEF is that we need to take a leadership role in re-defining the meaning of economic transformation and of Black participation in the economy, so that we can rapidly narrow the gap between our vision and our achievements.
We are at a pivotal point in the history of the NEF, and at a time when there needs to be a paradigm shift in how we view and facilitate empowerment.While the transfer of shares in significant corporate enterprises was an important first step, real empowerment is created organically, by ensuring that Black people not only have the ability and power to participate in the economy, but also to play a fundamental role in defining the national economic agenda.For this reason, it is important for the NEF to constantly re-assess its focus and activities, and to ensure that they are aligned with the objectives of the developmental state.
Our goal therefore should be to have a more measurable impact in terms of creating new capacity and new jobs, rather than simply redistributing existing value. It is our task now to facilitate Black participation not only in the corporate economy, but to extend that participation into new enterprises and geographies.South Africa is indeed a country alive with possibility, and we are on the cusp of a great new beginning, despite the very real challenges we face.
It is our task now to extend the value chain beyond extraction, to ensure that participation becomes a reality at all levels of the production process, and that capacity, jobs and wealth can be created by a new generation of Black entrepreneurs primed to envisage, seize and live the opportunities that new technologies and socio-economic developments are presenting.
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MR RONNIE NTULI 
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