Dispatch Dialogue with Jay Naidoo

Image from Daily Dispatch

Yesterday (Tuesday, November 16 2010) I went to a Dispatch Dialogue with Jay Naidoo.

He touched on a number of different aspects of his life - from being a politician to the work he's currently doing.

• What happened to political debate in our country?

• Speaking about malnutrition and hunger, Naidoo says, "We come from a tradition where every life has an equal value. We are part of one humanity." He spoke of a woman who would stir an empty pot that she placed on her stove, just to imagine that she had food.

• 3.5 million children die because they have no access to nutritious food.
  
  
• We have the science, technology and resources to solve this (hunger) but we lack the WILL to solve it.

• We can buy Coke & Pepsi in any village in the world, but you can't get healthy food.

• How do we deal with giving a voice to people? People have the right to human dignity.

• Today, we have a young generation of people who have a matric certificate, but don't have a job.

• We struggle to run local government and hospitals, but we want to run mines?

• Leadership and commitment is from the top to bottom.
  
  
• About the World Cup, we embrace the world, but we don't embrace the poor in our country?

• It's so easy to divide people, but try and unify them. That's the test of leadership.
  
  
• Trust: If we don't talk to each other, we make all kinds of assumptions of each other's agenda.

• How did he get involved in politics? He was four years old when his family were evicted from their home. He was 15 when he attended his first political meeting which was addressed by Steve Biko.

• Young people lack having vision and having an identity.
  Q: Why do you have unprotected sex when there is 1 in 3 chances of contracting AIDS?
• A: Tell us what we have to live for?

• Making Choices

• What type of business culture are we running?

• The next generation should take responsibility. 

• Owners of media haven't invested in journalism.
  
  
• Build and hand it over. That's leadership.

• How does one appreciate heritage to strengthen society instead of dividing it?

With mum & Jay Naidoo after the dialogue