SA’s indigenous people believe they have much to contribute towards the economy and that their worth to the national cake should be addressed
The indigenous peoples were part of the global economy long before the arrival of the ‘1652s’, a local business leader arguesLeading Canadian indigenous businesswoman Carol Anne Hilton coined one of my now favourite words: indigenomics. Hilton speaks about igniting a $100bn indigenous economy. To further understand this, she writes: “It is time. It is time to increase the visibility, role and responsibility of the emerging modern indigenous economy and the people involved.
||Hui !Gaeb was an important port for those travelling by sea, the leading means of trade. Modern-day |Xam and Khoe peoples are making great strides in reclaiming the custodianship our ancestors once proudly held. These actions are a result of us understanding and applying international mechanisms such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which SA adopted in 2016, and the International Labour Organization Convention 169, which we are working towards having the SA government ratify. These mechanisms have already helped nations such as Canada address the matter of reconciling with their indigenous peoples.
Over the past 18 months I have been privy to engagements within the private sector. With the understanding that things generally move much quicker within the private sector, as opposed to the state, engagements within the current status quo boardrooms have been welcoming and progressive.