Chairperson, hon Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, hon MECs and hon members, it gave me pleasure to listen to the hon the Minister's address and to all the speakers before me.
Echoing some of them, I wish to mention the following on behalf of my party, the IFP, and also my province, the kingdom of Kwazulu-Natal. After six years of talking, I want to ponder the question of what marks or percentage we should give to ourselves in this respect. I honestly believe that we only deserve two out of 10 or approximately 20%. Why? Firstly, we need tourism to halt inflation, beat crime, create jobs and boost the rand. Secondly, crime is rampant, joblessness is rising, inflation is on the rise, day after day, and interest rate hikes are threatening. The borrowers are soon going to have sleepless nights, being strangulated by bond rates and so forth.
We do not need to wait for a catastrophe similar to that in Zimbabwe to happen in South Africa, our beloved country. We do not have to wait for what occurred in Congo or Rwanda to occur in South Africa. Tourism is a lifeline. We need to resuscitate the economy in this country. It is very sad that we are failing ourselves in this regard. We need it now. This must be the highest priority, and anyone who harms a tourist or creates negative publicity to keep away tourists should be seen as committing a serious crime against the state.
Each and every province, I believe, has several resources that could attract tourist attention in a big way. Unfortunately, a lot of these resources are not developed. When I think of the province that I come from, the kingdom of KwaZulu-Natal, I can name just a few of these. Firstly, close to my birthplace, there is a natural tunnel in a rocky place which is one kilometre long. It is one of the wonders of creation and is known as Ezinkonjeni. Secondly, the largest stone in Kranskop, known as iTshe likaNtunjambili, has had several places named after it because of its existence. The town itself Kranskop was named because of this rock. Thirdly, some places have warm water which are known as warm baths and are not well-developed enough to attract tourists in their numbers.
Environmental Affairs and Tourism should do a community diagnosis in each province to identify these places which have such a rich potential to attract tourists. This is just food for thought for the department and also for all members who serve in this portfolio in all provinces.
Every segment of society should be putting up a welcome sign for tourists. Every city, every region, every district and every province should make the promotion of tourism its highest priority. Provinces that do well should get a bonus budget supplement. [Applause.]