HLCC meetings ought to be incisive - Mogae

My remarks will be very brief as the State of the Nation Address which I delivered to Parliament last week highlighted opportunities and challenges facing our nation.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a pressing need to achieve higher levels of economic growth, diversification as well as employment growth and poverty reduction. In addition to the policy and legislative framework to facilitate trade, employment creation and poverty reduction, we have to redouble our efforts in productivity, innovativeness and international competitiveness. The actual realisation of higher economic growth depends primarily on the performance of the private sector. The challenges we face are not insurmountable but have to be confronted head on with focus and determination. The public sector is a critical partner, but we all have to pull together. As Barry Goldwater once said: "A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away".