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Barbara Masekela, South African Ambassador to the US Speaks on Challenges Ahead
Garth Napier (NE), Special Contributor
Issue date: 4/5/04 Section: News
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Ms. Barbara Masekela who was appointed Ambassador to the US in June 2003 was speaking to students at the Kennedy School of Government, on March 10, on "Challenges Ahead for the Young Democracy in South Africa".
Quoting from South African President Thabo Mbeki's State of the Nation address at the opening of Parliament on February 6, 2004, Ms. Masekela outlined the progress that has been made by the South African government in the past 10 years. During this time the government has provided 1.9 million housing subsidies with 1.6 million houses built for the poor of South Africa. An additional 9 million people have access to clean water. 70% of South African households have access to electricity from only 40% in 1994. High school enrollment has increased from 70% in 1994 to over 85% in 2004.
Despite all the progress that has been made Ms. Masekela was quick to point out that South Africa still had a long way to go in addressing the legacy of the past. Some of the challenges that lay ahead include addressing the issue of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, increasing land redistribution and improving the performance of South Africa's economy.
On the issue of the HIV/AIDS problem, Ms. Masekela reaffirmed South Africa's commitment to developing a holistic approach to fighting the pandemic. This approach would include providing Antiretroviral (ARV) to those infected with HIV while educating the 40 million uninfected South Africans on HIV prevention. The South African government has come under pressure for the slow pace at which it has rolled out ARV's but Ms. Masekela defended the government pointing out that the government has had to overcome a number of obstacles which include finding an affordable source of ARV's and improving the public health care to ensure that patients had the health care needed to support their treatment.
Ms. Masekela who is a graduate of the University of Ohio had served as Nelson Mandela's Chief of Staff and has also been a board member at a number of private institutions including Standard Bank, South African Broadcasting Corporation and International Marketing Council. She said that while the South African government has worked hard at ensuring that the right macroeconomic fundamentals are in place this has failed to generate the jobs that had been expected.
