The hon House Chairperson, fellow committee members and MPs, Minister, Deputy Minister and officials of the two departments, boards, executives and staff from related state-owned corporations and entities, guests and members of the public, the ANC government is offering a vision and far-sighted leadership through these Budget Votes. It is a Budget that deals
with the reality of our country and the challenges we are facing on the one hand; while laying the foundation to position South Africa to be among the early takers in the digital revolution.
This is a kind of the leadership of the ANC incapable of providing. As we will be commemorating the birth of our icon, uTata Nelson Mandela a week from now, we recall the words he spoke at the ITU Telekom World in Geneva in 2009:
Communication technologies have transformed the way people live and the manner in which countries develop. They have the potential to enable us to solve many of the critical problems confronting us. If this potential is to be realised, then we must find ways of turning these technologies into a resource for all people despite the challenges they face within their communities.
If we reflect on the history of industrial revolutions, we note that the First Industrial Revolution brought us the steam engine and our colonial masters imported trains and other technologies from England. The Second Industrial Revolution brought to the
world the internal combustion engine and the motor car. More than a hundred years later, as Africans we have not invented our own car. The Third Industrial Revolution was the age of the personal computer and the internet, both invented in the United States of America.
President Ramaphosa and the African leaders have committed that this time around, we will not be late takers to digital technologies. We will be producers. [Applause.]
As producers of technology, we will be able to own our intellectual property. That is why we are encouraged that this Budget focuses on supporting the creation of digital innovation hubs. China has shown us that a developing country can lead the way in new technologies, much to the displeasure of developed countries.
The onslaught in the West against Chinese tech giants - Huawei and ZTE - is a sign that the Western colonial mentality remains alive and well. While the United States has been mired in wars
in at least seven different countries, China has been quietly and peacefully developing its industries. [Applause.]
South Africa and Africa must seize the opportunity of leapfrog the West in digital technologies, if we are to emerge out of the trap of being sellers of the raw materials and buyers of finished products. But there are the likes of the DA, who would like to hold the development of Africans back.
If you asked an ordinary South African a question, what is Ms Phumzile van Damme famous for? They would probably tell you three things: Firstly, she shares a surname with a famous action movie star. [Laughter.][Applause.] Secondly, she assaulted the racist DA voter at the V and A Waterfront as she was shocked ...