##ing also that the high unemployment rates in these countries has not been a persistent problem but rather owing to the severe debt crisis facing europe. it is worth noting that social grants constitute as much as 70 per cent of the income of the poorest 20 per cent of this country ’ s citizens. had it not been for these grants, around 40 per cent of south africans would have seen a decline in their income in the new south africa during the first decade post 1994. to reduce inequality to more reasonable levels over the long run, social assistance is clearly not enough and should be complemented by other initiatives. these levels of social assistance are not sustainable over the long run and may be somewhat counter - productive in the end. statistics south africa bis central bankers ’ speeches focussing on the development of human capital, particularly among the youth, given our youth unemployment level which stands at 50 per cent, is paramount. similar opportunities have to be created for all, regardless of personal background and circumstances, race, gender or geography - this should be our uncompromising goal. access to a basic set of goods and services during childhood could be an important predictor of future outcomes, including educational achievements and earnings. these basic services comprise education, health care, essential infrastructure such as water, sanitation and electricity, and early childhood development programmes. in south africa, access to these services is affected by factors such as ethnicity, including gender, the composition of households, taking account of the number of children in the household, the education level of parents, the gender and age of the person heading the household, orphan status, and where the household resides. encouragingly, near universal access to schooling for those under the age of 16 has been achieved in south africa, but access to certain other services is found to be lacking. the services that are not that universally readily available include health insurance, safe water supply, improved sanitation, adequate space without overcrowding. opportunities such as early childhood development programmes, neighbourhood safety and access to electricity are found to be somewhat less problematic. following from the assessment that the world bank has done on south africa, despite it being found that school attendance is comparable to other countries, the school completion rate falls short of that of our peers. children ’ s inequality is mainly shaped by circumstance, and inequitable access to opportunities also affects the labour market. the causes of unequal access to available jobs have changed in recent years with education and location becoming more prominent. education deficiencies now account for more than 50

andreas dombret : financial stability – challenges from a european perspective luncheon speech by dr andreas dombret, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank, at the american council on germany in new york, new york, 13 april 2011. * 1. * * welcome address ladies and gentlemen leaving frankfurt heading south on the autobahn, on the right - hand side you suddenly come upon two old planes framing a rampant arch. neither of the two planes is a beauty. nevertheless, the monument is a major attraction. the aircrafts are a douglas c - 47 and a douglas c - 55, which were two of the airplanes deployed by the united states air force during the famous airlift of 1948 to 1949. the arch in the middle of the triptych symbolises that airlift. to this day, germany remembers that crucial moment in time. a living friendship needs the sound foundation of common values and it also needs institutions that cultivate an intellectual and cultural exchange. the american council on germany plays an important role in bringing together leaders from both our countries. i was therefore honored to receive an invitation from you, the american council on germany, to speak to you today. 2. introduction let me start by stating four propositions. with reference to the title of my speech, these propositions should constitute a current european perspective on financial stability. it goes without saying that they are far from being exclusively european. my first proposition is that we have been living with the crisis for four years now. it is too early to announce the advent of a post - crisis economy or a post - crisis financial system. my second proposition is that sovereign risk should be considered the main overarching risk to financial stability in germany and in europe as a whole. nevertheless, my third proposition is that the risk outlook for the german banking system has been improving. my fourth and final proposition is that financial stability constitutes a long - term strategy for forestalling the build - up of cyclical and structural excesses in financial markets. even when acute threats to financial stability may warrant extraordinary measures, policymakers have to keep in mind the longer - term costs of prolonged ad hoc measures if they distort incentives and undermine market discipline. 3. in the fourth year of the crisis let me expand on my first proposition. we have not left the crisis behind us, although the nature of the crisis has obviously changed over the past four years. the crisis that erupted in 2007 had its origins in a set of problems that