Madam Chancellor of Cape Technikon, Mrs Naledi PandorChairperson of Council, Justice DesaiRector and Vice-Chancellor, Dr BalintuloSenior Vice-Rector; Academic, Prof KokVice-Rector (Student Support), Dr TshabalalaChief Directors for Finance and Human Resources, Mr Slack and Mr Morris respectivelyRegistrar of the Cape Technikon, Mr van GensenDeans of FacultyMembers of CouncilGraduands and DiplomatesParents and friends of Graduands and DiplomatesEsteemed guests, friends, ladies and gentlemen This is the third graduation ceremony I have attended within ten days. The first was at Pretoria Technikon on Wednesday last week, followed by Friday's and Saturday's graduation ceremonies at the University of North-West (where I am Chancellor) and now today here at Cape Technikon. In case somebody asks, let me assure them that in between these graduation ceremonies, I have been fulfilling my responsibilities as Governor of the South African Reserve Bank! I have over the years, personally placed a lot of emphasis on education and human resources development, primarily because I am convinced that without a major, systematic, strategic and decisive intervention in this area, our people will continue to be under-developed, under-employed, unemployed, unemployable, ignorant and diseased. Economic empowerment is better achieved when people are skilled, social development and good health are better achieved when people are informed, can read, write, comprehend complicated modern phenomena and are empowered. Globalisation will be useful for our country when our people are skilled, educated and highly mobile. When I was Minister of Labour (1994 - 1998) my department developed a workplace-based skills development strategy whose principal aim was to develop and enhance the skills profile of our country. A lot of work still needs to be done to effectively implement this strategy and I am pleased that the current Minister of Labour is energetically at work to ensure compliance with the Skills Development Act. Large, medium and small businesses – which are enlightened enough – are doing all they can to implement the strategy. This is good news. But there are those who are doing nothing and maybe the trade union movement, the community, the Department of Labour should breathe heavily down their necks to ensure that they toe the line. In his book, The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism, Robert Reich, the First Secretary of Labour in President Clinton's administration says: "We are living through a transformation that will rearrange the politics and economics of the coming century. There will be no national products or technologies, no national corporations, no national industries. There will no longer be national economies, at least as we have come to understand that concept. All that will remain rooted within national borders are the people who comprise a nation. Each nation's primary assets will be its citizens' skills and insights. Each nation's primary political task will be to cope with the centrifugal forces of the global economy which tear at the ties binding citizens together - bestowing ever greater wealth on the most skilled and insightful, while consigning the less skilled to a declining standard of living. As borders become ever more meaningless in economic terms, those citizens best positioned to thrive in the world market are tempted to slip the bonds of national allegiance, and by so doing disengage themselves from their less favored fellows." In order to avoid a situation where the bulk of our people become a burden to this society, education and skills development have to occupy a more central position in our work. I am extremely encouraged by the measurable progress we are all making in this regard. I have had occasion to read through the list and categories of today's graduands and diplomates. I could not help but be satisfied by your achievements. Similarly, the graduation ceremonies at Pretoria Technikon and the University of North-West inspired me to think that progress is definitely being made. The