Twenty-two years ago elected representatives of all the people of South Africa, gathered in Parliament, sitting as a Constituent Assembly, adopted a new Constitution as the supreme law of South Africa.
It is a great pleasure for me to be able to address you this evening during this – my first – visit to Panama.
Panama City is one of the great crossroads of the world – between the two largest oceans – the Atlantic and Pacific, and between the two continents of the new world, North and South America.
It is a great pleasure for me to visit Quinnipiac University.
I first met Professor David Ives several years ago at one of the annual Summits of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Over the years we became firm friends. Each time I met David he told me about Quinnipiac – and each time I listened to him I told him how much I would like to visit his university.
I regard our conference here today as one of the most important and hopeful developments in recent years. It is enormously significant that Foundations that were established by former national leaders from across the political spectrum have come together today to discuss the future of our beloved country.
It is a great honour for me to address you in this beautiful church. The Frauenkirche is a symbol of the victory of faith and peace over the brutality and destruction of war. It was rebuilt and reconsecrated after it had been destroyed in one of the most dreadful episodes in a dreadful war. It stands as an indomitable symbol of mankind’s ability to resurrect the best qualities of our civilization from the ruins and ashes of the worst.
We are privileged to have with us today a number of eminent South Africans who are very well-qualified to address various aspects of our conference today. Judge Yacoob will give us his assessment of where we stand with regard to constitutionality; Moeletsi Mbeki and Christo Wiese will provide perspectives on governance – particularly with regard to the economy. Our goal will be to consider “The Constitution and Governance in South Africa” and to ask whether these are now “at another crossroads?”
To state the obvious, there are diverse, sometime conflicting, business interests. The interests of manufacturers seeking protection from imports and subsidies for exports differ from the wholesaler and retailer wanting to offer consumers an expanded product range at lower prices.
It is a great honour to accept the Praeses Elit award from so ancient and august an institution as Trinity College. It is also a pleasure to address the Trinity College Law Society. As you may know, I myself am a lawyer. In 1972 I almost became a law professor – but chose instead to go into politics. The rest, as they say, is history.
It is a great pleasure for me to address the 2017 Philanthropreneurship Forum with its theme of ‘Generation Impact’.
One of the most positive aspects of free market economies has been the willingness of its most successful entrepreneurs to dedicate their time and fortunes to the improvement of the lives of people throughout the world. They are deploying the skills that brought them success in business to tackling the developmental and human crises that continue to afflict a third of the world’s population.
