Chairperson, Cope would like to thank you, Minister, ever so much for your efforts regarding the return of Prof Karabus. Again, we are highly appreciative of the agenda and what you have alluded to regarding this summit, especially the theme that you have referred to, which is: Brics and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialisation. This will go a long way in ensuring that we put at the centre of that summit the African agenda.
Cope would also like to express appreciation for the creative measure that the summit has put on its agenda - the adoption of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa think-tank and its business council. It is indeed a very creative measure that brings on board all relevant stakeholders, in order to ensure that we bring all efforts into the scrum in trying to change the low living standards of the continent of Africa in particular, and those of various other developing countries.
Minister, the Brics group accounts for 40% of the world's population, which is very important, because that is a majority grouping of the world's population. It was very strategic and important, not only for the country but also for the continent, for South Africa to have been aligned with and to have joined this august body on 24 December 2010.
However, the realisation by Brics that it doesn't have a development agency or bank is very important, because whatever objectives it has, it has to have the muscle to put into practice its vision as stated in its objectives. These objectives are ensuring growth in countries' economies, and increasing production, science and modernisation within the member states; stabilising finances and economies, including pricing and employment; and bringing about social responsibility and fair competition to financial institutions within the member states.
These are very noble objectives, Minister. However, with regard to the development agency or the bank, the key question that all of us should interrogate is how we are going to capitalise the bank. That is the critical question. Minister, you have referred to the role of the Development Bank of Southern Africa in your speech. My worry, as I stand here, is the capacity of the DBSA to play that role for our country and for the Southern African Development Community, SADC. Does the DBSA have that muscle? I am sure all of us in this House have to interrogate that, because this carries the integrity and the branding of our country to be able to deliver.
The other issue that we have to look at with regard to Brics is the capacity to implement a spatial development programme so that the challenges that all of us are faced with, especially in South Africa with regard to the urban and rural divide, can be addressed through the efforts of Brics.
The question of the role of South Africa with regard to its needs and its development interests is crucial. It means that we must not compromise our own needs as South Africa and compromise our own development priorities, as we participate in Brics. We have to ensure that the relationship that we build with these countries is complementary, especially with regard to investment.
A point was raised by the last speaker regarding the role China plays. Although we salute the role China plays in terms of investment and the role they play in creating jobs on the continent, the reality is that when they invest, they bring across lots of people from China. This means that the jobs that were supposed to be created by their own investment are actually taken by their own citizens. We are by no means blocking Chinese people from coming to work in South Africa, other SADC countries, or the continent, but we have to be mindful of the big questions that are being asked continually. In a nonpartisan and impartial manner, we must be wary of any efforts by any member state within Brics to recolonise Africa.
There is also the question of SADC and the rest of Africa. South Africa must regard itself as carrying the weight of SADC and the weight of Africa as a whole. Therefore, we must be a kind of beachhead as we participate within this important body in that we carry SADC and we carry Africa. Therefore, we must carry with us the competitive advantages that exist within SADC and Africa.
My last point is that the alternative currency that can come from this ...