Congress 2009 (Part 4) Bobby Godsell

One of the keynote speakers at the recent Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) Congress in Johannesburg was Bobby Godsell, the current Chairperson of Eskom.  Godsell was the Chief Executive Officer of AngloGold for nine years and held a number of very senior positions in the gold mining industry over the last three decades.  He currently sits on a number of bodies and is widely acclaimed to be one of the more visionary business leaders in South Africa.

Godsell is therefore well placed to hold a persuasive opinion as to the state of South Africa and he touched on this in his address at the Congress.

Godsell believes that South Africa, and indeed the rest of Africa, requires three key elements to survive and prosper in a rapidly changing world. The first of these is a Green Revolution.  Environmental resources are dwindling and abusive practices are rapidly bringing the state of the planet to a crisis.  The appropriate use of energy, water and food production capacity are going to be essential to see us safely into the future.  Not only will a so called Green Revolution protect the environment, it will also form the basis of a new economy, creating jobs and improving the standard of living for hundreds of millions of people.

Secondly Godsell believes that Africa in particular needs more efficient cities.  Again this will ensure the optimum use of resources, ensure security of food production and ensure that infrastructure and transport systems are not wasteful and therefore harmful.

Thirdly, Godsell is of the opinion that Africa needs more female education.  It is becoming recognised that women can play a vital and important role in all aspects of society and the economy and it is acknowledged that historically they have often been prevented from being allowed to fulfil their potential.  By educating them we will be investing resources into the half of our population who have not been allowed to participate as they should for many centuries.

Focussing more specifically on South Africa, Godsell said that we need good government and good citizenry.  The citizens of South Africa are not subjects who live under the rule of government, but they are in fact the shareholders and stakeholders of the nation and it is essential that they participate.  By empowering individuals, and by individuals empowering themselves, government can ultimately become more accountable and reflect the will of its citizens, as opposed to imposing its own will on them.

According to Godsell we moving into a fascinating new world.  It is up to us whether this will be fascinating in a positive or a destructive sense.

Brandon Abdinor | Executive Director

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