YIBC: FW de Klerk urges businesses to jump through windows of opportunity

‘WINDOWS of opportunity have a way of closing on you and never opening again – jump through them now,’ the last state president of apartheid-era South Africa told Yorkshire business leaders today.

FW de Klerk served from September 1989 to May 1994. De Klerk was also leader of the National Party (which later became the New National Party) from February 1989 to September 1997. In one of his first acts after assuming leadership of the National Party, he lifted the ban on the African National Congress and released Nelson Mandela from prison. He went on to serve as deputy president under the presidency of Mandela until 1996.

De Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with Mandela for his role in the ending of apartheid, South Africa’s racial segregation policy, and supported the transformation of the country into a multiracial democracy, resulting in all citizens, including the country’s black majority, having equal voting and other rights.

Today, De Klerk spoke about the journey and time working with Nelson Mandela.“Our relationship was often stormy and when we first met, we both spent time sizing each other up, but we came to the conclusion we could do business with each other,” he said. The two men a transformed their country into a multi-racial democracy.

Today, De Klerk, who said he enjoyed seeing the agriculture in Yorkshire on his journey to Bridlington Spa, said things are going “reasonably well” in South Africa and he remains optimistic of South Africa’s future, saying over the last 20 years, it has experienced economic growth, however, it still has extremely high unemployment levels.

Looking at business, De Klerk, said: “The crucial lessons: we cannot undertake fundamental change unless we make a realistic evaluation and become convinced. And once you become convinced of the need for change, don’t try and bluff yourself that you are changing. You must go to the drawing board and develop action plans. How do we achieve these visions, how do we achieve them in a a reasonable timetable we have set?

“Change never ends.”

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