Thank you, hon Chairperson. Hon Makhubela, delivery on the commitment to increase the number of skilled persons in order to meet the demand of current and emerging economic and social development priorities is in progress. The hon member should note that delivering skills is not a short-term intervention, but a process that requires a multitude of stakeholders to play their part.
In light of this, we are setting in motion a process to ensure that skills development planning is credible, integrated, co-ordinated and responsive to social and economic demands. We are also engaging with the private sector to ensure that the skills provided are demand-led.
The two top priorities for the Human Resource Development Council, HRDC, for this year are increasing artisan training, and building the capacity of our public further education and training colleges. In this regard, we are working with the private sector to improve these colleges, and higher education and training institutions.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training has also met with the industry, and will shortly meet with organised labour and the community to propose solutions on how to improve artisan development in South Africa, among other things.
In the meeting with business, which was held at the end of last year, these business leaders committed themselves to identifying available capacity that they have which can be used to increase the production of artisans. Concrete agreements will soon be reached in relation to this.
The hon member should note that it is not the role of the HRDC to implement programmes. However, its role is to facilitate partnerships between labour, the private sector, government and civil society, to identify impediments that are hindering delivery on skills, and to propose recommendations to the relevant stakeholders on how best to address those challenges based on the belief that skills development is a partnership issue. I thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Deputy President, how can the rural communities benefit from assisting the Human Resource Development Council in improving the inclusion of, or getting more, women, and concentrating on rural development? What partnership should they form with rural development to best benefit our rural strategy? Thank you.
Thank you, hon Adams, for the question. The best possible way of ensuring that women from rural communities do benefit is really to target those rural women who are still of schoolgoing age and those who are keen to further their training and studies, because there are endless opportunities. In fact, there's a bias in favour of those who come from rural communities.
I know that the chartered accountants have a structure that goes out to identify learners at high-school level who are strong in mathematics and they mentor them. They offer them bursaries, place them and mentor them, to ensure that more women from rural communities qualify as chartered accountants. Thank you.
Thank you, Chair. Hon Deputy President, as a follow-up question: How does the Human Resource Development Council use our national human resource strategy to respond to the problem of unemployed graduates? Thank you.
Thank you very much, hon Mokgoro. The challenge of unemployed graduates is one that is being tackled at various levels. Firstly, the database of such unemployed graduates is updated on an ongoing basis. The whole notion and idea of a jobs fund is also aimed at assisting those unemployed graduates who perhaps believe that they stand a better chance if they do not seek employment, but seek to create employment. That would be one way in which they could be assisted - with start-up capital - so that they can create even more job opportunities for others.
In the engineering field, for instance, there are some people who still need to do the practical work. In our discussions with the CEOs of major enterprises in South Africa we have requested that we should work together to assist them. The President has agreed to convene a meeting with the big South African companies in order to reach an agreement for our government to utilise its goodwill in support of them, so that, in turn, they could absorb the unemployed graduates, particularly those in the engineering field, because the built programme offers those kinds of opportunities.
We believe that if government and the private sector work together, such opportunities could be multiplied in the shortest possible time. Thank you.
Are there any more follow-up questions? None. Thank you, we move to Question 2.
Thank you, hon Chairperson. Hon Worth ...
I'm sorry, hon Deputy President, there's a hand that I didn't see. There's still a follow-up question on that. Hon Lees?
Thank you, hon Chair. Through you to the Deputy President: Deputy President, is the answer then to the question that you have just answered not, partly or largely, the youth subsidy, which was announced recently as a solution to this kind of unemployment?
Thank you, hon Lees. Yes, indeed that wage subsidy will also serve to address particularly the younger undergraduates who are unemployed. It will work in exactly the manner that I have explained. Thank you.
Special trade benefits iro imports from and exports to Bric countries, and special benefits for South African and Bric companies ito investments
2. Mr D A Worth (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) What special trade benefits will South Africa receive as a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China group, Bric in respect of (a) imports from and (b) exports to these countries;
(2) whether Bric countries will be encouraged to import more goods from South Africa; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether there are any special benefits for (a) South African companies which are or will be investing in Bric countries and (b) companies from Bric countries which are or will be investing in South Africa; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? CO47E
Hon Chairperson, hon members, President Zuma has been invited to attend the third Brazil, Russia, India, China, or Bric, summit by President Hu Jintao of mainland China in his capacity as host for this summit. This will be the first time that a South African head of state will participate in a Bric summit, which will become "Brics", given South Africa's membership.
At this summit, the President is expected to address issues of national interest as they pertain to, firstly, our African agenda; secondly, the strengthening of South-South co-operation; thirdly, boosting trade and investment opportunities; fourthly, reforming multilateral institutions and, fifthly, furthering our growth and job creation imperatives as expressed by our Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, or Ipap 2, and the New Growth Path.
You would have heard Minister Gordhan comment in his Budget Speech as follows, and I quote:
South Africa's invitation to join the Bric economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China reflects this broadening of the sources of economic growth. Over the next five years, these economies will account for 36% of world economic growth. We have to construct our own growth and development strategies to propel our economy forward, create jobs and compete on the global stage.
The Brics summit will be hosted in April 2011. Since the host country has not as yet formally announced the date for the summit and agenda-related aspects, South Africa is not in a position to publicly comment on specific issues related to the agenda, which is also still under discussion.
South Africa is at this stage not in a position to comment on any special Brics trade and investment regime designed for us, but will make these public once finalised with fellow members. Currently, existing bilateral agreements with each of our counterparts obtain.
At this stage it is expected that the normal investment regime will pertain, but you will see that at the last Bric summit, in April 2010, an agreement was signed between Bric development banks, of which the intent was to "promote economic and investment co-operation within the framework of Bric countries", which will in future include a South African banking party where such discussions could also take place. I thank you.
Chairperson, I would like to thank the hon Deputy President for his reply. My further follow-up question is: Bearing in mind that South Africa is possibly a junior partner under Brics, in the sense that our economy is probably the smallest of all these economies - maybe not necessarily on GDP or per capita, but in total - do you think that there will be scope for smaller economies, for argument's sake other African countries such as Botswana or Namibia or Argentina for that matter, to join in the future? I know this is a difficult question, but what is the hon Deputy President's feeling on that?
Thank you, Chairperson. Hon Mr Worth, in terms of population density South Africa is smaller than the other three members of Brics. However, the South African economy and overall institutions in South Africa are so advanced that we bring lots of value into that body. Let's take the analogy of group sports. In a rugby team we normally find well- built gentlemen chasing after an oblong ball. If you don't have that big body, you have to bring three things: You have to bring a sharper brain, agility and speed.
I hope that if we grow the South African economy and companies in a manner that will ensure that, in terms of research and development, we bring about innovation and cutting-edge technology, we are not alone. In a sense, we are an integral part of a continent that has been identified as the next key growth point economically in the world. It is for mainly that reason that we have been invited to sit in Bric. Thank you.
Chairperson, Motlatsa Mopresidente yo tlhomphegilego [hon Deputy President], how do we robustly defend our interests within Bric and not be scared to stake out a position on, for example, the valuation of currencies, in particular the Chinese yuan, which is most likely going to affect the performance of the rand on the foreign exchange markets? Ke a leboga. [I thank you.]
Hon Chairperson, as a country, South Africa has been invariably accused of punching above our weight. We do so because, in a real sense, we are independent. We are not in a debt trap. Therefore, in all multilateral institutions we are able to voice our views openly and candidly without being indebted to anyone. That would apply to our participation in Bric. You must also remember that three parts of Bric consist of the countries with whom we also have a longstanding relationship, namely Ibsa, that is India, Brazil, South Africa. We have that structure.
The structure of Bric was put together at the behest or suggestion of a merchant banker in the United States who, using his own projections, thought a combination of these countries could play a very influential role in global economic relations. We have now been invited. As I said, we have been part and parcel of Ibsa. Therefore, our interaction and relations with parties within Bric is nothing new.
The issue of the strength of the rand is one that the SA Reserve Bank is paying attention to, because the factors which contribute towards its relative strength and weakness at particular times or vicissitudes are numerous. It is not possible simply to think that we can control that. As changes happen in geopolitics, the good thing is that we are a country that is rich in gold. Therefore, when the rand weakens, we know that the gold price goes up. The point I am making is that we would certainly regard ourselves as equal to the challenge of representing the best interests of our country within Brics. Thanks.
Chair, I take note of what the Deputy President said about the host country not having announced the date of the summit. My follow-up question is: How do we ensure that we focus on the content issues of our Bric membership, that is, whether they will enable us to use our Bric membership to respond to our domestic growth priorities, particularly the priorities of the New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, as the Deputy President has said, the newly announced schemes fund, etc?
Yes, Chair, I gave that answer precisely because it would be our first summit. The President would be attending this for the first time. In the absence of the agenda it would be speculative of us to say, "This is what we are going to do", and to focus on the following issues. But broadly speaking, as Minister Gordhan stated, these countries account for 36% of the global economy. That in itself means that we stand to benefit in the sense that we could draw on the available resources within the Bric countries. We could also draw on expertise. As I said, we also boast our own expertise in certain areas.
Already, Brazil will be hosting the next Fifa World Cup and they are calling on South African companies that were involved in the preparation for the Fifa World Cup. They are drawing on our experience in that regard. I think that it offers a platform in which we can actualise our economic growth plans and create jobs. China is in a similar position as we are with regard to the challenges of unemployment, and so are India and Brazil. We have to be alert and make sure that we address this challenge of unemployment. Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, I just want to find out: How do we avoid overfocusing on Brics and neglecting other significant trade blocs, that is, the United States and the European Union, which remain South Africa's most important trading and investment partners? Thank you.
Chairperson, our membership of Brics is an added boost to our potential for growing the South African economy. It is not either this or that. We would not, by joining Bric, therefore discard other trade partners. The reality, however, is that European countries have very limited growth areas or investment outlets. They themselves are taking the savings of their people outside, because there are better possibilities for higher returns outside of their own boundaries. That is why we have to continue with the African agenda.
It is only logical that we must grow together with the continent of Africa. It is only logical that we must see ourselves as an African country which can offer better technology and a working banking system. Therefore, this should not be seen as either this or that, but rather that it will only expand potential investment outlets and also the horizons of our growth potential. Thank you.
Steps taken by government to ensure fulfilment of obligations by President Mugabe and Zanu-PF ito agreement with MDC and results of such steps
3. Mr R A Lees (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether the government has taken any steps to ensure that President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF fulfil their obligations as contained in their agreement with the Movement for Democratic Change and other political parties; if not, why not; if so, what are the details of such steps;
(2) whether such steps have resulted in President Robert Mugabe and his party fulfilling their obligations; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?