DURBAN - THE US consul-general in Durban has advised South Africa to focus on developing entrepreneurship to combat unemployment, civic education of the electorate and getting accurate information to the people to combat social media misinformation.
Consul-General Anne Linnee spoke exclusively to the Daily News on Tuesday.
Speaking about politics, she said there was a need for civic education, so that the electorate can be empowered to make the right decisions.
“Giving better education to the electorate is important. South Africa is a very young democracy and there are many things to be learnt. There is also a need to deal with social media misinformation.
“Getting accurate information to the people is important to combat misinformation.”
The role of the multiparty democracy had a potential to thrive, even in Africa, she said.
“The South African system allows for even more people compared to America.”
War in Afghanistan
On Afghanistan, she said the videos of what was happening in that country were heartbreaking to watch.
“What happens next is completely up to the Taliban. We have been particularly clear with the Taliban over the last few years that our expectations were that of a democratically-elected government in Afghanistan that will respect the rights of women and girls and allow all of the progress that has been made, particularly on civil society over the last 20 years, to continue.
“The US’s aim was to defeat al-Qaeda and make sure that there was not another attack on the US again, and to punish the perpetrators. And we have achieved all that.”
US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which resulted in the US media being polarised. “It is not only the TV news media that is polarised. But the American public is not that divided on the withdrawal of troops. Biden stands by his decision and he has extensive experience in the region.”
There were also civil society members of Afghanistan who wanted to remain in the country and help rebuild it, she said.
“The lesson that I would like everyone to take, particularly as it impacts Africa, is that there cannot be a terrorist safe haven.”
Linnee said Afghanistan would need a lot of help after what had transpired.
Entrepreneurship
Most countries, including the US, were able to create equitable growth by encouraging entrepreneurship among the people which created jobs, she said.
“We need to develop women and youth entrepreneurs. As the consulate, we have to date trained 300 women entrepreneurs in various ways, including business management skills, business finance, putting them on mentorship programmes, etc,” said Linnee.
The US Mission in South Africa currently runs these flagship programmes, the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) and International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP), as part of its interventions in developing entrepreneurs. “We also connect people who are in business and making different products, with those who run places that sell products. We foster relations among entrepreneurs and connect them so that they can empower and uplift each other.”
They were also focusing on women and youth entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector, she said.
“From our IVLP programme we bring together a host of sectors from tourism to science to policing, etc. Our Mandela Washington Programme has been the most successful so far. We still accept applications for those, who want to be trained for free, until September 13. We are developing entrepreneurs and key people to enable them to expand and create more jobs.”
Covid-19
She urged people to get vaccinated so that the economy can open and enable tourists to visit the country. “South Africa is a place everyone in America wants to visit. KZN, especially, is a one-stop-shop tourism destination. We have the beaches, the mountains and various activities. The best thing is that there are luxury and low-cost packages.”
She hailed the country’s vaccination drive, which was now at 10.79 million people vaccinated.
The US recently donated 5.7 million doses of vaccines, which arrived in the country two weeks ago.
“It pleases me to see people queuing to get vaccinated. We recognised that South Africa has the capacity to drive vaccines quickly. With everyone getting vaccinated, tourism will get a boost.”
Daily News