Chair, South Africa is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, especially metals and minerals. There is a commodity boom in the world and naturally South Africa is one of the major beneficiaries. That is one reason why we are seeing the growth. At the same time, in South Africa, since 1994, we have seen a significant growth in the black middle class since the end of apartheid.
We are seeing an inclusive society with greater economic opportunities for black people and it is for that reason that we are seeing more black people with disposable income who also contribute to growth, albeit unbalanced growth.
Under colonialism, apartheid as well as business and government chose only to focus on providing raw materials and did not insist on mineral beneficiation. Government then helped the mining industry by ensuring a supply of cheap and unskilled labour for the mines to produce the raw material. This was achieved through political repression and social and economic discrimination so that we ended up with a situation where there was plenty of unskilled, cheap labour which focused on the mining of raw materials and excluded beneficiation of the abundant minerals in South Africa.
The then government did not have an industrial strategy that was aimed at taking full advantage of South Africa's competitive advantage. Above all, the apartheid government also did not invest in human resource development. That is why today we are battling with the skills needed and we are, therefore, working with a different institution that supports the development of skills. We are also focused on ensuring that we increase the content of manufactured goods that South Africa is selling to the markets.
It is through such activities that South Africa is going to have balanced growth. Hon members would also realise that in Asgisa, when we talk about unbalanced growth, it is because we are saying that there is too much raw material and not enough manufactured products.
Asgisa therefore is a response to this situation because, through Asgisa, we are identifying and responding to the different causes of this unbalanced growth, including the fact that there isn't shared growth, which on its own is a symptom of an economy that is not diversified enough. I thank you.
Thank you, hon Deputy President, for your response. Apartheid has left us with a serious skills shortage. Yet, 13 years on, thousands of matriculants are leaving school each year. Only a small percentage of them are obtaining tertiary education through university, colleges and FETs. And areas like the Cape Flats and Khayelitsha and other areas in the Western Cape attest to the effect of this gap in skills transfer through an increase in drugs and moral decay within society.
What is being done to put in place catchment programmes specifically designed to afford ex-matriculants and unemployed youth further education and skills transfer for the job market, and when can we see the roll-out of such programmes?
I am not too sure whether your follow-up question is really related to your question, but I shall hear whether the Deputy President would like to respond to that. You are not compelled, Deputy President, because to me it sounds like a new question altogether.
I will give the member a DVD on Jipsa, in which we are dealing with the placement of young graduates in order to place them in jobs and, also, on Monday, we are going to be launching a programme with the private sector to address the plight of young, nonmatriculated students who cannot find employment because they are underskilled, out of school and are generally caught in-between.
In addition, the National Youth Service is also a response to that particular target group, but as the hon Chair is saying, that's an ambush, hon member.
May I also ask for a copy of the DVD from our hon Deputy President? Thank you.
Mechanisms to promote the functioning of the SA National Aids Council, Sanac, and the creation of partnerships with community-based organisations; and the achievement of consensus by Sanac on policy issues and strategy
19. Mr V V Z Windvol (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Since the restructuring of the SA National Aids Council, Sanac, what mechanisms have been put in place (a) to strengthen its functioning and (b) to ensure that it achieves its objectives, particularly in creating and strengthening partnerships amongst all stakeholders, including community-based organisations, to expand the national response to HIV and Aids;
(2) whether, since its restructuring, Sanac has been able to ensure consensus on issues of policy and strategy among all civil society representatives; if not, (a) what are the fundamental issues of difference and (b) what mechanisms are put in place to address them; if so, (i) what were the contentious issues and (ii) what were the proposed solutions?