Seek greater opportunity - Zuma
2012-01-30 22:45
Johannesburg - Africa must tackle economic, social and environmental issues to ensure greater opportunity for its people, President Jacob Zuma said on Monday.
"We believe that people must be at the centre of sustainable development," Zuma said in Ethiopia at the launch of a report on global sustainability, according to a copy of his speech.
"We believe our report provides a strategic roadmap that can help governments, the private sector and civil society to create a world of greater opportunity, equity and environmental well-being."
Zuma said the future prosperity of developing countries depended on leaders finding a sustainable path to growth. He identified inequality as one of the problems to be tackled to ensure global growth.
"Inequality threatens to unravel the compact between society and our institutions."
Zuma said the report acknowledged that the world's poorest and most vulnerable needed to be supported, but that public funds could not provide all that was needed, especially when governments were faced with budget crises.
"We advocate the use of public funds to leverage and unleash much greater flows of private sector funding."
Zuma co-chairs the panel on global sustainability. It is tasked with finding ways for governments to "provide greater opportunity and equality for more people, with less impact on our planet".
The report makes several recommendations on strengthening resilience, including social safety nets, for a future of more extreme weather and price volatility.
- SAPA
