Clinton named 'the one who brought snow'

2012-08-08 11:41

Johannesburg - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been named Nimkita - “the one who brought the snow” - by her hosts in South Africa.

This comes as snow fell in all nine provinces on the same day for the first time ever.

"Nimkita will be a name that I will proudly bear," Clinton laughed.

Clinton is visiting the country with a business delegation to hold talks on strengthening trade and investment relations between South Africa and the US.

The US secretary of state told delegates at a gala dinner in Pretoria that the real task of the 21st century is to expand the circle of opportunity.

"Freedom [and] democracy are great accomplishments of the 19th and 20th centuries. But now comes the hard part - how does democracy deliver?

"How does it make it possible for more and more people to enter that circle of opportunity to make lives better for themselves and their families?"

Clinton commended the work done by her South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in the past three years.

"We work together in order to produce results. Minister Mashabane is effective. She is effective, so grounded in the needs and aspirations of the people of South Africa," she said.

"Having these jobs is not an end in itself... they are prestigious, they carry status, people drive you around, they protect you. But having a job is not the point, it's using the job to make life better."

She announced a number of partnerships with South Africa in areas including education, small business development and the fight against HIV/Aids.

- SAPA