Hon Chairperson, hon members, the DA believes that the protection and creation of jobs should be an important part of the national agenda. We need to see all spheres of government working towards this goal. The revised Ipap is one department's response to this challenge.
But - and here we share the sentiments of the hon Kotsi from Cope - in an open opportunity society, the responsibility for industrial growth is not only the responsibility of government. In an open opportunity society, government should create an environment in which the private sector will be able to drive that economic growth.
South Africa has lost much of its industrial capacity over the last few years. The recession and the enormous number of jobs that have been lost have highlighted the fragile nature of the South African economy, and the hon Alberts of FF Plus has just referred to that. The good news is that every recession, by its very definition, is followed by a period of economic growth. The DA believes that it is of the utmost importance for government to make the structural changes needed by the economy now. This is needed so that we can avoid the constraints that hampered the economy during the last economic upswing.
The sad reality is that we have lost much of our skills base, including the ability to train sufficient numbers of artisans and others with the skills needed by a modern, growing, knowledge-based economy. The subperformance of the Setas is contributing to the current skills deficit. Government should also invest much more in infrastructure.
Parliament has dealt extensively with the negative effects of our failure to invest in power plants in good time. But there are other examples as well - examples such as our transport system, especially the railways and the harbours, that has not seen the capital investment needed to support long-term growth in industrial activity. Major developments are too often turned down or delayed, even at the local government level, due to capacity constraints pertaining to water, sewerage or road infrastructure.
Also, the way in which black economic empowerment is undertaken does little to instil investor confidence. This was recently illustrated by the alleged mistakes made in the awarding of mining rights to Imperial Crown Trading. It was clear from the oversight visits by the committee that government's support, both in finance and in the advice given to small entrepreneurs, leaves much to be desired.
Many industrial development zones remain underdeveloped areas due to the lack of incentive schemes. We therefore welcome the tax incentives that we have learned of earlier today - incentives to the value of R20 billion over the next five years. A DA-run administration would improve the ability of government to create those opportunities that mark a truly open opportunity society. I thank you. [Applause.]