Hon Deputy Speaker, the DA notes with concern, the portfolio committee's, PC, consideration of only four of the department's entities' annual reports and quarterly spending trends over the previous 15 months. The sheer size and scope of the department poses limitations in this regard and it is worth noting that
the PC as well as the department should take steps to work around this limitation.
An additional concern is that the budgetary review recommendation report should cover the previous financial year and six months of the new financial year. However, this was not the case, as the department was not adequately prepared to provide this important information.
In terms of financial performance, the DA is concerned about the Auditor- General's findings that the Department of Economic Development was guilty of irregular expenditure of R214 000, and of an outstanding loss of over R1 million, as a result of noncompliance with the Economic Development Department's, EDD, performance policy.
The DA is extremely worried about the fact that 10 senior staff members within the department are currently suspended on pay, with allegations ranging from alleged fraud to gross negligence and dishonesty. Worst of all,
there is a chief director who has been suspended for 729 days.
The DA has submitted written questions regarding the costs of these suspensions to the taxpayer and eagerly awaits a response from the Minister. The DA will continue to ensure that the department is held to account and that the role of parliamentary oversight remains at the cornerstone of our democracy. I thank you.
Chairperson, what people want is jobs. They want them now. People want access to business opportunities. People want an economic system that works for them. The biggest mistake was to combine an already failing department under an incompetent Minister with an even bigger department with the same Minister.
The EFF rejects this report, as it fails to deal decisively with building a sustainable industrial development strategy based on firstly, the import substitution of ... [Inaudible.]... of domestic investment with labour- intensive development that reduces high levels of unemployment; secondly, a South Africa
with a microeconomic efficiency; thirdly, a department that monitors government expenditure on locally produced goods.
We see the lack of will from the department in dealing with key entities such as the South African Bureau of Standards, SABS, and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, NRCS. In the NRCS, critical vacancies have been left vacant for almost five years, an entity that is vital in making sure that the quality of goods in South Africa is up to standard. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Department: Economic Development have also failed to ensure that women are properly represented, be it in their funding structure or their employment demographics. NRCS, for example, boast of a 44% women employment, which goes against a measure, which should be at least a 50% of women in structures.
The fact that we have to keep highlighting the inequalities in this country, especially when black women are the most marginalised and bear the brunt of economic inequality in 2019, is unacceptable.
The department has failed to put in place special economic zones in rural areas, and instead, has chosen easy spaces that will act as if they are stimulating the growth of SMMEs, when the reality is that they are far removed from the people who need them.
IsiXhosa:
Sinabantu eQonce, eGccuwa, eMthatha, eCofimvaba, eQwaQwa, eThaba Nchu ...
English:
... but these SOEs are never there. They are put far away from people. There should be an aggressive stimulation in the economy in rural South Africa, especially for poor provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Therefore, the EFF rejects this budgetary review and recommendation report.
INKOSI R N CEBEKHULU: House Chairperson, as outlined in the report of one of the key approaches of the Department of Trade and Industry is to contribute towards inclusive economic growth and job creation. Inclusive economic growth and job creation are the key components to address
the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
Unfortunately, the latest quarterly labour force survey of 29 October 2019 has shown an increase in unemployment in South Africa, breaking new unemployment records. If you have a closer look at our gross domestic product, we see that manufacturing production decreased by 1,8% in August 2019, compared to the same in 2018.
The Minister of Finance, in his medium-term Budget Speech highlighted the fact that we, as the nation, subsidise the wealthy for their transport and forget about those who need it the most. We believe that subsidisation cannot just be dished out if it yields no benefits to the growth of our economy; rather it needs to be strategically spent in order to generate activity that grows our economy. In other words, subsidisation must be seen as an investment into the economy and job creation.
Therefore, the Department of Trade and Industry must ensure that it strategically spends its resources on the creation of an inclusive and enabling environment that
drives industrial development. The department should take special note in this regard to the committee recommendation to, amongst others, increase its allocation for incentive programmes, in order to facilitate industrialisation and increase job creation.
Strategic investment must be ... The IFP supports the report. Thank you. [Time expired.]
House Chair, the Department of Trade and Industry is primarily responsible for developing an enabling environment that drives strategic, regional and international trade and that attracts direct investment for sustainable jobs. It is further important to realise that the department cannot function in isolation and its ability to deliver is largely influenced by the general political climate, other departments and investment trust in South Africa.
Since 1994, however, the South African government has legislated the country into bankruptcy, without being able to enforce these laws, while poor governance,
corruption and state capture had a detrimental effect on the economy.
Afrikaans:
Die Departement van Handel en Nywerheid sal nie sy doelwitte behaal, solank daar wetgewing en regulasies bestaan wat op ideologie, in plaas van gesonde logiese sakebeginsels gebaseer is nie. Die instelling van die suikerbelasting deur die voormalige Minister van Gesondheid het reeds tot die verlies van duisende werksgeleenthede gelei en die plaaslike suikerbedryf onder groot druk geplaas, terwyl die Wysigingswet op Skuldverligting die hele kridietbedryf onder groot druk plaas en ook groot beleggingswantroue in die sektor veroorsaak.
English:
The future of the local cement industry has been jeopardised by substandard products, largely imported from Vietnam, and the International Trade Administration Commission, Itac, should consider import tariffs on an urgent basis.
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specification is under administration, while it is supposed to be a key player in protecting public health, safety standard and furthermore, the South African Bureau of Standards, SABS, has a turnaround time of more than 400 days in certain cases.
Afrikaans:
Een van die mislukte steunpilare van die departement is die wyse waarop BBBEE [bre-basis swart ekonomiese bemagtiging] geimplimenteer is. Dit het reeds in sy doel gefaal. Dit het niks meer as gerieflike retoriek nie geword. Die VF Plus ondersteun nie die verslag nie. Dankie. [Tyd verstreke.]
Hon Chair, after the 2019 elections, the South African President announced the reconfiguration of the government to promote coherence, better co-ordination and to improve efficiency. This included the merger between the Ministries of Trade and Industry and of Economic Development with key policy priorities that include inclusive economic growth and job creation to address our multiple challenges.
After a Medium-Term Budget Statement Policy by Finance Minister, Mr Tito Mboweni, which resulted in the rand losing 3 to 4% of its value overnight and Moody's downgrading our economy to just one notch above junk status, there has never been a more important time for these two departments now merged into one to rise to the challenge of addressing economic growth and job creation. In this light, the ACDP during the Budget Review and Recommendations Reports, BRRR, process made the following recommendations: One, beneficiation can reduce unemployment and hence the department must itemise all possibilities where beneficiation can take place and set timelines incorporating monetary systems with a view to implement beneficiation in the short, medium and long term. In the spirit of improving economic growth and creating jobs, the department must seek to create partnerships with education and the private sectors with the view to crafting curriculums gear to developing skills much needed in the private and public sector.
Of the 25 years of democracy where many in South Africa fought against racism, classism and tribalism, the battle to achieve social cohesion has not been one. Hence, the
ACDP recommends that all racial barriers policies which still use the apartheid classification of African, Coloured, Indian and White be scrapped. The broad-based black economic empowerment, BBBEE, has failed to reduce our Gini coefficient and BBBEE must be scrapped. Let's look at importing or protecting our poultry industry from imports which was dumped in South Africa. I thank you. [Time expired.]
Hon House Chairperson, the ANC asked the House to support the report. The committee applauds the clean audit achieved by the Department of Economic Development and Trade and Industry as well as 15 of its 17 entities. The committee remains concerned about the challenges faced by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, NRCS, and the SA Bureau of Standards, SABS, giving the important role they play in the South African economy.
The committee will closely monitors the implementation of their turnaround strategy, informed by deliberations of the committee recommends that the House requests the Minister of Trade and Industry to consider: One, engaging
the Minister of Finance to co-ordinate and monitoring and enforcement of local content requirement as underpinned by the Preferential Public Procurement Framework Act; two, increasing the allocation of incentive programme to facilitate deeper industrialisation investment, industrial decentralisation and increase job opportunities; three, submitting the final report of the forensic investigation undertaken by the NRCS and the SABS once these are completed; four, increasing the government grant to the SABS to facilitate small, medium and micro enterprises support and local content verification on the outer year of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework; and five, assist the NRCS with its procurement process to implement the information and communication technology modernisation project. I thank you.
Question put: That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to (Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, Freedom Front Plus and African Christian Democratic Party dissenting).
Report accordingly adopted.