Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister of Finance, hon permanent delegates of this House and all special delegates who are here today, before I start, I wish to indicate that it is the first time that all parties have agreed, without any reservations, to all the amendments that we have made thus far. I think it is good and commendable on their part to at least acknowledge that there is some good in what we are doing.
Act 97 of 1990 states that the Financial Services Board must regulate and supervise the South African nonbanking financial services industry. This, by its very definition, is a mammoth task for a statutory body like the FSB. It is an important task which the FSB must carry out with diligence, honesty, fairness and, above all, integrity. Those responsibilities which fall within the ambit of the FSB contribute in a major way to our country's economy, thus also playing an important role in the economic growth and sustainable development of our country, which is the agenda that we have set for ourselves.
It is also important to know that, through the Financial Services Board's daily operations, we can either build or destroy investor confidence in our country and therefore it requires from us as public representatives to ensure that the FSB is above corrupt practices and other matters which might affect the FSB negatively.
The regulatory functions of the FSB as entrusted to the registrars of insurance, friendly societies, pension funds, unit trust companies, stock exchange and financial markets are an indication of the importance of the existence of such a body as the FSB to ensure that there is fair and honest competitiveness within these institutions.
Concerning the amendments themselves, I am particularly pleased that the Bill before us makes the promotion of investor education obligatory for the Financial Services Board. We, as members of this House, conveyed the concerns and interests of our constituencies when scrutinising this Bill. Our constituencies feel helpless when it comes to dealing with financial institutions, especially those in the nonbanking sector such as the long- term insurance industry and the stock exchange. This is not surprising, as a large percentage of our population is illiterate and the intricacies of investments and share trading confuse even the most educated members of our communities.
Therefore the protection of individuals from fraudulent insurance salespeople, fund managers and unethical insurance brokers is also a mandate of the Financial Services Board. We, as members of this House, view the education of the public about the proper conduct of financial institutions as being very central to the objectives of our national Constitution.
Other objectives of the Bill are that provisions with regard to the pension rights of officers and employees that were transferred from the Public Service to the Financial Services Board are repealed as they are no longer necessary. The secrecy provision regarding information obtained by the Financial Services Board is relaxed so as to allow the Financial Services Board to provide information and assistance to other regulatory authorities, local as well as abroad. This clause, together with the provision on indemnity in respect of performance of functions by certain persons and bodies, will aid our campaign against money laundering and corruption, and facilitate the implementation of the Insider Trading Act, which was passed by the previous Parliament.
This Act makes it illegal to profit from any information on the trading of shares on the stock exchange which is not available to the public. The work currently done by the Financial Services Board with regard to prosecuting beneficiaries of insider information and/or compensating victims of insider information is commendable and unprecedented in the history of share trading in this country.
The Financial Services Board Amendment Bill before this House enjoys the support of the ANC because we are convinced that the functions of the Financial Services Board will be enhanced through these amendments.
I wish to inform the House that the ANC wholeheartedly supports the amendments as presented before the House.