NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Chairperson, to the hon the Leader of the Opposition, the National Planning Commission, NPC, has not done an investigation into the viability of nationalisation. Thank you.
Mr Chairperson, the DA congratulates Minister Manuel on the NPC's vision document which he presented to the public last week. It is well-researched and well considered. However the Minister knows well the fate of some of the other worthy policy documents which this administration has produced. The New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan, Ipap, the youth wage subsidy proposal, and others have enjoyed the limelight briefly, only to be frustrated by internal divisions in the ANC and by the government's inability to co-ordinate implementation. [Interjections.]
Order! Order, please!
Government is in no way obliged to implement any part of this plan and Vision 2030 cannot succeed without the universal support of Cabinet.
Mr Chairperson, how will the Minister ensure that some of the truly enlightened proposals in the NPC document are not simply pulled to pieces and tossed aside, given the divisions within Cabinet; and how does he plan to ensure that the implementation of this plan will see the light of day? [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! The Minister needs to hear the question so that he can answer it.
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Chairperson, thank you. I take it as a compliment from somebody who released a document attempting to head the national plan off at the pass last week. Their document received no support from anybody, and I think it's a helluva admission from the Opposition.
In respect of the question, it is not a follow-up question; I won't answer it. Thank you.
Chairperson, the democratic government has inherited a huge socioeconomic backlog from centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid misrule. As a result, the country is faced with triple challenges of high levels of poverty - in some instances most of our people are trapped in abject poverty - unprecedented levels of unemployment that mostly engulf young people, and an ever growing gap of inequality that was confirmed through the Gini coefficient process.
Is it therefore true, hon Minister, that Moody's has reviewed our rating as a country, citing these challenges as posing a risk of political instability? Are we not perhaps prisoners of semantics and terminology in this nationalisation debate? Should we not rather be seeking sustainable interventions that are geared towards ensuring equitable access to goods and services by all in our country?
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Chairperson, I'm looking for the hook that this is a follow-up question, because the initial question by the hon the Leader of the Opposition is about nationalisation and I answered that question. The National Planning did not look at it.
Are you saying, hon Minister, that this is another new question?
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: I think it is a new question, Chair. It is an important question, but it is a new question. I don't ask the DA ... I won't teach them politics; they will learn as they go and stumble and fall. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Hon members, it is the Minister's prerogative not to answer the question. [Interjections.] Order! Order, please! [Interjections.]
Order! That came from the hon Manana, but I say it is the Minister's prerogative not to answer the question.
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: No Chair, I said that was not a follow-up question to the nationalisation question. The embedded question is the nationalisation issue, and follow-ups must be linked to it. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Chair, we would also like to say to the hon Minister that the vision document is something that, I think, is a real opportunity for our country to be united. I think the objectives that have been set in it and some of its proposals do, broadly speaking, present an opportunity, and many people have spoken about the fact that they do. However, in relation to the nationalisation question, one of the alternatives that have been spoken about by policy makers is the possibility of something like a sovereign fund or a way in which government can participate in investing in the economy and allow for the benefit to flow not necessarily to individuals in society, but collectively. During the research, did you in any way consider that as a possible policy measure?
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Chair, I think we are still skirting the edge of the basic question. [Interjections.]
How much time do you have, David ... sorry, the hon Maynier?
Chair, the key issue is that, if we want to resolve the challenge in South Africa, we then need all hands on deck. The premise of the plan, as submitted, is that we need to change from a government that delivers pizza- style, to a government that is actually involved with an active citizenry. That is quite fundamental. It does mean that everything that needs to happen in society must have everybody involved. The idea that we will have large numbers of unemployed people in South Africa is clearly a nonstarter. It is a recipe for conflict, and these are the kinds of issues that must be avoided.
We have not had time ... we certainly don't have time between now and next week to do a detailed presentation to Members of Parliament, but I would like to encourage members to read the document online. We will try to avail flash disks and try to get the document on to the central server in Parliament so that colleagues have the opportunity to read it. Then we can have a proper discussion on it. Thank you.
Thank you, hon Minister. It would seem as if members were not really prepared for that one.
Mr N J J van R KOORNHOF: Chairperson, can I just say, with due respect to the hon Minister, that I don't think he has replied to the question. The question is whether you have investigated, and if not, why not? At least you must give us reasons why you have not chosen to investigate this. Can I ask you: In the whole announcement by Moody's that they intend to downgrade South Africa, not based on fiscal figures or other economic indicators, but using the political perception of South Africa becoming not such a good foreign investment destination any more, should we take them seriously, and do you not think the National Planning Commission should tell us more about the political perceptions of South Africa?
NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Chair, I know that the hon leader of Cope is involved in detailed "toenadering" [Making an overture.], and this might be the follow-up thereof!
The question, if not, why not, is not a question. It is not a question. Why did we not consider why this country has such lousy opposition? That might be a question worth considering but it is not in the mandate of the Green Paper and it is not a requirement of the National Planning Commission. So, to ask if not, why not, is like asking why you prefer Pepsi to Coca Cola! It is asking for an opinion that has no substance in executive authority. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon members, to be fair to the Minister, the question asks whether the National Planning Commission has been investigating the viability of nationalisation and so on. The Minister stood up and ... [Interjections.]
Listen! Listen! The Minister said no, it has not, and I think he should have ended there because there is no other question. [Inaudible.]
Position regarding compilation of master plan with reference to monitoring of service delivery
254. Mrs J C Moloi-Moropa (ANC) asked the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency:
Whether his department has compiled a master plan with regard to the monitoring of service delivery, in collaboration with the Public Service Commission and Department of Public Service and Administration, in order to (a) determine the level of preparedness and (b) assess the evaluation capability of Government to mitigate disasters and prevent civil protests for non-delivery of services; if not, why not; if so, what plan?