Let me begin by acknowledging President Kgalema Motlanthe and wishing him a happy birthday. My thanks also go to Sis Gugu Motlanthe for once again convening this important dialogue.
His Excellency Nelson Muffuh began by describing himself as a migrant. Let me make a similar confession: I, too, am a migrant.
I have lived in South Africa for the past 35 years, having arrived shortly before the dawn of democracy as a student at the University of Cape Town.
I am originally from Zimbabwe, from a part of the country that borders Mozambique. Interestingly, my surname, Mupita, literally means “the one who moves from place to place.”
I have relatives in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Angola. The Mupita family has always been mobile across the region.
I chose to make South Africa my home. My in-laws are from Limpopo—one of them is seated here today—so I had better be on my best behaviour. We still deliver cattle all the way from Honde Valley in Zimbabwe to Limpopo.
That is who I am.
I am an African.
I also happen to be the steward of an organisation that was founded in South Africa and has grown into one of Africa’s truly pan-African companies.
According to MTN’s history—and we choose to believe it is accurate—one of President Nelson Mandela’s first acts after the advent of democracy was to issue two mobile telecommunications licences, one of which became MTN.
From those beginnings, MTN has grown into a business deeply embedded across the African continent.
As Sim Tshabalala mentioned earlier regarding Standard Bank, our own business today reflects a similar reality.
Only 18% of MTN’s earnings now come from South Africa.
The remaining 82% are generated outside South Africa, across our operations on the continent.
In Nigeria alone, more than 90 million customers use MTN every day.
In Ghana, we serve more than 30 million customers.
Pan-African integration is therefore not an abstract concept for us.
It is our daily lived experience.
Within MTN itself, our Executive Committee reflects this diversity.
Slightly more than half of our executives are non-South Africans.
We have South Africans leading our operations in South Sudan and Cameroon.
Our Chief Technology Officer in Uganda is South African.
Across the Group, South Africans, Nigerians, Ghanaians and colleagues from many other African countries work together seamlessly.
We regard this diversity not only as a source of strength but also as a competitive advantage that enables us to navigate both the challenges and opportunities of Africa’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
Much has already been said about migration being an inherent part of the human story.
Recent international developments demonstrate that migration has become a major issue almost everywhere.
I was recently in Spain, where national debate has centred on immigration and the regularisation of undocumented migrants.
At one point, the Spanish government announced an amnesty allowing undocumented migrants with clean criminal records and proof of employment to apply for one-year work permits.
Approximately 2.1 million people came forward.
Switzerland is engaged in a similar national conversation as it approaches a population of ten million.
These examples remind us that migration is a global challenge.
Every country faces it differently.
Every country must ultimately develop solutions appropriate to its own circumstances.
Africa will likewise need solutions that reflect its unique realities.
Allow me to suggest a few areas that deserve particular attention.
Borders in the digital economy
First, we need to rethink how we view borders in an increasingly digital world.
Rather than seeing borders solely as barriers, we should increasingly regard them as opportunities for engagement.
The digital economy recognises no physical borders.
Information flows freely.
Digital services transcend national boundaries.
Financial transactions increasingly move across borders through regulated payment systems.
Earlier, Sim Tshabalala demonstrated that migration contributes positively to economic growth.
I would add that the digital economy is itself a powerful accelerator of economic growth, particularly in countries where traditional infrastructure remains underdeveloped.
India provides an excellent example.
Beginning around 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi championed a national digital transformation centred on universal digital identity.
Today virtually every Indian possesses a digital identity.
Digital payment infrastructure has dramatically reduced transaction costs.
Even traders operating in the informal economy now participate in digital commerce using mobile phones.
For many small entrepreneurs, a mobile phone has become their marketplace.
Someone trading from a remote village is no longer limited by geography.
Through digital connectivity, the entire world becomes their market.
As Africa develops its own solutions to migration and economic integration, the rapid expansion of the digital economy must be regarded as one of the key foundations.
Accelerating African integration
Secondly, we should intensify implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Very few people question the vision embodied in Agenda 2063 or the AfCFTA.
The framework for achieving the Africa we aspire to build already exists.
What is now required is implementation.
Agenda 2063 once seemed like a distant vision.
Today, it is approaching rapidly.
Rather than allowing the current migration debate to divide us, we should use this moment to accelerate implementation of continental integration—supported by digital technologies and modern infrastructure.
The importance of history and culture
Finally, I want to emphasise something less tangible but equally important.
Some time ago, Nigeria’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs reminded me of the enormous sacrifices many African countries made in support of South Africa’s liberation struggle.
He spoke about how ordinary Nigerians accepted additional taxation during the 1960s and 1970s to support the struggle against apartheid and colonialism across Southern Africa.
His observation was that we too often forget our shared history.
We forget our shared cultures.
We forget how deeply interconnected Africans have always been.
Business and government both have an important responsibility to tell those stories.
History matters.
Culture matters.
Understanding where we come from strengthens social cohesion and helps people recognise that we are far less different than we sometimes imagine.
It reminds us that our futures are also interconnected.
If we nurture that understanding, migration will become less a source of division and more an expression of our shared African identity.
Thank you very much.
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Ralph Mupita is the Group President and Chief Executive Officer, MTN Group