Faculty of Harvard and WITS Business Schools; members of the Senior Executive Program Committees; executives from Southern African governments, industry and public enterprise sector; ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to join your "victory" dinner tonight. It is a great pleasure to be here with such an esteemed group. I have one of those very pleasant, but all-too rare, opportunities to extend a special greeting of CONGRATULATIONS to those of you who have just participated with the very first Southern African Senior Executive Program--

you, who are the current and future leaders of Southern African industry, government and public enterprise....

I am given to understand that this particular type of joint and cooperative study program for Southern Africa's high-impact leaders has never been done before. I am sure that there has been management training available for leaders from each separate sector on a variety of levels, but the Senior Executive Program has been quite different. Two of the world's most renown educational institutions, Harvard and Witwatersrand Business Schools, have put together this cross-sectoral network, so you could basically triple your chances of success in meeting the challenges of the future.

But more than your individual skills level and success are at stake here. You were recruited specifically to work together, to prove to the region that Southern Africans from different sectors can and will collaborate as a team to more effectively compete and triumph in the international ballpark. But this is not the World Cup, where only one team can finally win, and the others lose. All three sectors that have participated in the Senior Executive Program are winners. The region's international competitive advantage is undoubtedly strengthened through this program. Your combined capabilities will greatly enhance the likelihood for success for Southern Africa in the world marketplace, as well as in the struggle for full economic transformation and opportunity at home.

Frankly, I believe that you will be at the forefront of reshaping the way Southern Africa does business, both internally and internationally. This experience, and your constructive response to it, equips you to lead by example and inspire those who will view you as role models. This cooperative in-win approach provides a sharp contrast to the internal divisions and conflict that apartheid fomented in the region for so many decades.

I should point out that this is the first time that USAID/South Africa has directly supported an activity like this in high-level executive management, in advanced business and public administration skills development. We were particularly keen to jumpstart this effort, because it brings together illustrious academic institutions from South Africa and the United States, in a common effort to connect key leaders leaders together in an intersectoral partnership, an effort that we believe is critical to the future development of this region.

It has been rewarding for us to be a partner with Harvard and WITS in carrying out this unique study program. The Senior Executive Program is an example of the United States sharing the best of what it has to offer with Southern Africa; not just providing money, but bringing extensive experience in, and knowledge of, international management, and sharing it through a practical case study method that originated in U.S. business and law schools many years ago.

You are probably aware that USAID first started its direct support of South Africa's transformation back in the mid-1980s, by funding bursaries for disadvantaged South Africans to study education overseas in the U.S. Now, in these new times, we are instead bringing top educators and experts here to work with Southern African educators and students to expand the capacity of Southern Africa to provide high-level training programs on its own.

In this regard, we have worked with a number of partners who are responsible for bringing together the Senior Executive Program, and whom I am privileged to acknowledge: The Harvard and WITS Business Schools; the WORLD BANK; the Office of the Deputy President; the Department of Public Service and Administration; Creative Associates International; and with commitments by individual executives from government, the private sector and the public enterprise sector to participate actively in this concerted management skills and leadership program. This cohesion in action by all three sectors cannot fail to improve economic competitiveness and the sustainable development of the Southern African region.

We in USAID value this type of program and our partnership with these institutions greatly, but we must readily concede that our ability to finance them in the future is highly limited. USAID is committed to supporting the first three Senior Executive Program cohorts, of which you are the first to complete.

I am confident that you will be able to seek and successfully generate new financial support from government, from the private sector and from public enterprises, that will assure the future of this kind of Senior Executive Program, in South Africa.

As in other areas of endeavor to support transformation and sustainable development in Southern Africa, USAID is only a temporary agency here, and I feel privileged to have the chance to be here with you now in these historic times.

Now, I remember how relieved I felt on my last day of law school in the U.S., when all those study sessions and case study debates were finally over. And most of my professors came from Harvard, too! The looks of relief on your faces tonight tell me that you feel the same way. Well, I'm delighted to say that your time is here. You have made it and I am honored to salute you!

Here, you have formed the networks and personal partnerships needed to develop a common understanding of problems--and common objectives--based on each other's perspective. As you go back to your sector or your current professions-- whether business, government or public enterprises--remember the fundamental importance of this synergy and commonality.

The cross-sectoral networking and integration that you have forged during the Senior Executive Program is key to future economic growth of the Southern African sub-continent.

In the long-term, the principal mark of your success will be an increase in prosperity not only for you and your families, but for all citizens of the Southern African region.

I'd love to talk with some of you about what you have learned during this unique study experience, and I encourage you now to go back out to the frontlines of Southern Africa, to look within and beyond its borders, and march bravely ahead.

Where can you go from here? Let me rather ask, where CAN'T you go from here?

There is nowhere you cannot go, I assure you. And once again, USAID extends its heartiest congratulations to you leaders from the first Senior Executive Program. We are proud to be associated with you.

Thank You.