Thank you very much, House Chairperson. It goes beyond me to think that today we rise to this podium to debate whether or not government should prescribe assets in South Africa. This debate speaks less of the subject matter but more of a fundamental question of whether government can and should be trusted with hard-earned pension savings of employees' funds to fund government's own social and economic development and failing state-owned entities, SOEs. The fact that we are even having this debate simply confirms what we have been saying
all along in this House that this government has dropped the ball.
It is shameful and indefensible that government with all the problems that it needs to sort-out first, now wishes to gamble with the public pension funds. Yet, we know very well that if government takes this money there is no guarantee. The IFP has repeatedly told this House and in committees challenged, begging the chief executive officers, CEOs, and their boards that we are throwing money at problems which are nonfinancial. This is the moral and ethical deficit that we are facing and this is our serious problem. If you place corrupt and questionable individuals at the helm of any organisation, you cannot expect miracles to happen. Confidence in this government right now is at an all-time low. How can it be trusted to make the right investment decisions on behalf of people? This does not bode well with the public service. This government is setting off our own alarm bells when it comes to managing the economy and finances of this country and stress later about credit ratings and scores of rating agencies. How can then it be trusted?
This government does not have a sense of crisis or urgency. It continues on the same trajectory leading into total disaster and then behaves as business as usual. How can it be trusted? We all know that this government is characterised by incompetence, corruption and, therefore, we cannot trust government to make the right investment decisions on behalf of our people. We have been down this road before, when the PIC wanted to take pension funds, we saw hordes of teachers and public servants taking early retirement packages out of fear. This on its own was showing that this idea is not welcome.
Today we wish to plead with the hon Minister of Finance and his colleagues in the economics cluster to abandon this proposal and restore confidence first before trying to get their hands on the pension kitty many have saved for so long to enjoy on their retirement. The majority of these people are not saving to enjoy their retirement, but to further fund and finance their grandchildren and great-grandchildren's education. Therefore, this is not the right way to take. Thank you very much. [Applause.]