Hon House Chair, hon colleagues and guests in the gallery, it is indeed an honour and privilege for me to address this august House on such a critical, topical theme: "Working together to intensify the war on poverty, hunger and socioeconomic marginalisation".
Similar to all other years since the existence of this democratic government, in 2007 at the 52nd national conference of the ANC, the ruling party resolved that the central and most pressing challenges that we face in our country are unemployment, poverty and inequality. In this regard, we reiterate our determination to halve unemployment and poverty from the levels where they were back in 2004 and very substantially reduce social and economic inequality as well.
Helping our people to escape poverty is one of the key priorities of the ANC government. It is something that we are passionate about, and we should ensure that we achieve it. Similar to other countries, our government also faces the challenge of limited resources. We are determined that, irrespective of a lack of adequate resources, we will not act in a way that will leave anybody behind, not even some of the most poor and vulnerable people in our society.
This government has also taken a firm stance against poverty and social exclusion. This is well reflected in our government's legislative and nonlegislative work, including several major policy resolutions which we have adopted in the past few years of our existence. I sincerely believe that our people voted for this government because they wanted us to adhere most closely to the principles of the Freedom Charter and our beautiful Constitution.
To translate this political obligation into concrete actions and results, our government has undertaken a number of key actions to date. One such policy that our government has successfully implemented over the past 16 years is the increased provision of social transfers. The gradual expansion of the social assistance programme has helped us suppress the increase in income inequality, particularly for people living in rural areas.
Numerous studies have confirmed that our social assistance programme is well targeted and contributes considerably to poverty reduction. Without social security grants as a source of income, many households within the distribution curve would have experienced abject poverty.
This government is also undertaking a process of comprehensive social security and retirement reforms in order to ensure that we include all people who otherwise would have very little, if any, income support for themselves and their dependants.
I would like to ask hon members to really study the comprehensive social security submission, because it has several pillars - four or so. It is not just a social assistance programme.
As government, it is our responsibility to ensure that South Africans from all walks of life have the resources necessary to live a better and a decent life. Given the impact of social grants on the poor, it goes without saying that no meaningful and sustained economic growth can be achieved in the absence of social protection.
I need to point out that providing adequate social protection is not just about giving handouts, as some of our hon members in here, in the other House and throughout society always and repeatedly suggest. The provision of social protection is one of the four pillars of the International Labour Organisation's definition of decent work. Social protection is as important as an industrial policy, a skills policy, investment incentives, trade and fiscal policies in our government's continued efforts to promote decent jobs.
Our social protection framework includes the provision of shelter to those denied decent human settlements for many decades in this country. The three million houses that we built for poor people in South Africa shielded them from the threat of homelessness and destitution that other poor and middle classes across the world experience, particularly now recently in the wake of the recent global economic and financial crisis.
At the same time, as this government, we transferred over R86 billion to eligible households, enabling them to participate in the economy and meet some of their basic needs in one of the worst economic crises the modern world has experienced. People then had money to travel to cities and sometimes even do a little bit of business here and there, in order to sustain their livelihoods.
Recently, President Lula da Silva of Brazil, one of the world's emerging economic powerhouses, as we know it to be, stated that the social transfers that the Brazilian government gave to its poorest citizens allowed them to continue to stimulate demand in a very difficult economic climate and, in the process, helped to stabilise the economy. Like all of us, Brazil has close to a quarter of its population on some form of social assistance programme and, like them, we see this as an investment in people and the economy for the long-term good of our society.
Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, our nation was built on the foundations of a deep and abiding commitment to the values of social solidarity, the principle of equity, the principle of social justice and the rule of law. If there is any yardstick by which our country should be defined and measured, then it is that of being a caring, democratic and inclusive society. Therefore, we have an obligation to history and mankind to show that democracy can and does work. As elected representatives of our people, we must show that democracy can deliver development and also empower the marginalised.
At no time, no matter what the situation was or is, must we allow people to doubt the ability of our democratic institutions to improve the lives of our people. Approaches to tackling poverty are highly subjective and often form part of deeply embedded ideological frameworks. We know that.
In a recent publication, the Centre for Development and Enterprise, CDE, suggested that the South African government should not spend resources on a redistributive policy that seeks to address inequalities. They suggested that we should develop policies that would allow an unfettered market to maximise economic growth and thereby create jobs.
This kind of thinking - which is known as the trickle-down effect - goes against most of the recent research and literature that indicates that, if countries do not deal with inequalities, their abilities to increase economic growth and create a better society are severely limited.
In a recent publication entitled The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, Wilkinson and Pickett postulate that countries with high levels of inequality tend to have higher levels of social unrest, poor educational outcomes despite high levels of investment, and a range of other social ills which threaten the social fabric.
Their assertion is based on extensive studies in the developed countries. Indeed, cumulative research suggests that high levels of social and economic inequalities reverberate through societies on many levels, correlating with, if not causing, more social disruptions. Therefore, it is not surprising that these social ills are amplified in a country such as ours with its high levels of social and economic inequalities due to development and economic frameworks such as those espoused by the CDE report.
The conclusions of Wilkinson and Pickett are that equality matters for all in our society, and that all of us benefit with increased levels of equality. We know that is not true. We need to ensure that there is sustainable development in our country. Sustainable development does not necessarily mean that everyone else will benefit, as Wilkinson and Pickett and that report said.
The excluded and the vulnerable have as much stake in the development of an equal and sustainable economic system as the rich and the better-off. We are supposed to have all these people, including those whom we sometimes think are vulnerable and tend to think that those policies will help. This is the essence of partnership and solidarity. We need both to deal with economic growth and reduce inequality. We cannot afford to pursue one at the expense of the other. We need to work together on this. We need partnerships between business, civil society and government for this to be a very successful project.
It is in this spirit that I welcome the recent declaration on poverty and inequality made by a South African civil society organisation that we know and which included the community-based organisation Proudly Manenberg, the South African Council of Churches and academics.
Their declaration, which is known as the Birchwood Declaration on Inequality and Poverty in South Africa, noted that inequality has a range of psychosocial consequences that complicate South Africa's ability to build social cohesion and deal with the structural nature of the country's poverty. They further noted that growing levels of inequality within and amongst nations has been one of the primary drivers of the current global crisis.
Most of the organisations that signed this declaration work with communities at grass-roots level. I think we should listen to their analyses and engage with their proposed solutions which, among others, include the strengthening and implementation of redistribution instruments and programmes that bridge the inequality divide, including social security and the community works programme. This government should also work together with these institutions if we are to be successful in our endeavour to eradicate poverty. We will definitely do so.
The opportunity is now at hand for each of us in this House to join together and ensure that our actions are guided by the vision of a better and greater South Africa. Helen Keller wrote:
Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.
Unless we address the problems of poverty, hunger and the socioeconomic marginalisation of the poor now - and I say now - none of the great goals that our government has set - peace, stability, human rights for all, the preservation of the environment - are achievable in a world where one half of our people finds themselves shut out of the opportunities and benefits of the global society. We have seen it happening in other countries and it shouldn't happen here.
Therefore, it is our conviction that everyone, regardless of their social status, should be able to live his or her life with dignity. As Jeffrey Sachs correctly pointed out in his book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, we are the first generation that can end poverty in our lifetime. History has repeatedly taught us that social and economic development are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary.
Jos Antonio Ocampo once stated that:
Ignoring inequality in the pursuit of development is perilous. Focusing exclusively on economic growth and income generation as a development strategy is ineffective as it leads to the accumulation of wealth by a few and deepens the poverty of the many.
It is for this reason that the ANC has persistently pursued social programmes that give the poor the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.
Former President Nelson Mandela also cautioned that massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times, and that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils. With Mandela's spirit as our guide and inspiration, our government is helping to forge a partnership geared towards eradicating poverty completely and replacing it with equity and social inclusion. We have set our goals to provide sustainable livelihoods and to advance the wellbeing of all South Africans. That is why the ANC, together with its social partners, has made the fight against poverty its central and overriding priority. As I conclude, I would like to say that we have committed the full force of all our energies to the gravest human challenge of our time - an effort that will also galvanise the energies and the various efforts of our society around a great and just cause. I thank you. [Applause.]