Financial Times

South African biz team due on peace mission
A South African business delegation is arriving in Sri Lanka later this month on a study tour of the peace process in Sri Lanka and the role of business. Sri Lanka First said in a statement it was hosting the delegation from the National Business Initiative of SA among whom are key figures of the business community there who played a key role in harnessing the collective efforts of business for peace building in South Africa.

The team is expected to meet key figures of the government and the opposition as well as visit areas of the north and east, said the Sri Lankan business-peace group launched in the aftermath of the disastrous LTTE attack on the Colombo airport in 2001

In addition to business leaders like Colin Coleman - MD Goldman Sachs International, Andre Fourie - Chairman of the National Business Initiative and Francois Oliver - MD IFG Africa Public Sector (Pty) Ltd, several key political figures are also included in the delegation. Among them are John Hall - Chairman of the Peace Accord, Roelf Meyer - Chief Negotiator for the NP at the time of the constitutional negotiations, Keith Mokoape - Deputy chief of Military Intelligence of the ANC Military Wing and Kenny Fihla - Regional Chairperson of the African National Congress.

This follows a visit to South Africa earlier this year by a senior business delegation from Sri Lanka. During that intensive study tour in May, Sri Lankan delegates examined the role of South African business in the political and economic transition of post-apartheid South Africa with a view to defining the role business can play in contributing constructively towards peace and reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka First said two key business sessions will be conducted on the November 29 and 30 for local business leaders, CEOs, key business figures, regional business leaders and young entrepreneurs, in an effort to motivate and energize these groups to become engaged in the peace process as a major stakeholder group.

The statement said the tour would be an opportunity for the South African delegates to impart lessons learnt from the South African experience and apply these to the peace initiatives currently underway in Sri Lanka. "The South African example is a clear illustration of the impact a country's business leadership can have on government and civil society in the pursuit of peace and post-conflict change; the business community of the country played a critical role in changing SA's socioeconomic landscape. The national business initiative has played a catalytic role in negotiating a peaceful settlement and is to this day, actively involved in job creation, education and capacity building as well as in HIV Awareness/prevention activities," it said.

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