Hon Chair, hon members, the debate about prescribed needs sober minds and honesty. South Africa is a developmental state and therefore in whatever we do, there needs to be a golden trend to keep us in focus. The detractors of
prescribed assets are not only dishonest but are selfish and myopic in their approach.
It is absurd that the funds of South Africans are only deployed in assets that benefit only the rich and affluent. A responsible asset approach will be one which takes into account returns in investment risks. We are not saying plough money into the drain. We are saying that, there are certain developmental projects such as the building of universities, schools, setting up advancement of agricultural development as well rural infrastructure.
The capitalists in the country are not interested in these projects because the biggest beneficiaries are the majority South Africans who are black. In fact, to argue against prescribed assets has a racist element in it. The ATM supports prescribed assets within a prudent fund disbursement into developmental projects. Thank you.