Chairperson, I can hold my breath nearly as long as I have to respond, and I cannot go into details, but I just want to say thank you to everybody for the support of the Bill.
I want to say that on this occasion, I actually agree with what the hon Hill-Lewis had to say, namely that promoting special economic zones is not just about engaging in a race to the bottom in the provision of incentives. It is also about other things. It's about the development of the infrastructure; it is about developing a vision; it's about designing the relationship of the SEZ with productive activities. It is about the entrepreneurship of the operators. And I think that this is the experience of the East London IDZ but also the international experience. It is how the thing is run and managed as well as what is presented to the potential investors. So, I think what we are providing for here is for a process that allows us to move in that direction.
The idea that there could be corruption in the awarding of licences is, I think, not really the issue here. In fact, the Minister operates through a board, and the board is bound in terms of section 31 to follow fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, cost-effective procurement processes. I think there are plenty of cheques and balances in that regard.
The points that were made about clause 22, I think, were misunderstood. This is a clause that allows the Minister of Trade and Industry to work with other Ministers to fast-track a whole range of environmental permits and work permits, etc. It is part of joined-up governments and speeded-up processes.
The Bill provides for a lot of inclusion of the private sector as owners and licensees through partnership in public-private partnerships, PPPs, as operators and developers at the SEZ itselfs, and as businesses and investors in the SEZs and beneficiaries of all that is offered in the SEZs. As I said before, what we are doing in order to fast-track this is that we have already started a process together with the provinces and the municipalities to identify potential SEZs. We have been doing this work and it has proceeded from prefeasibility to feasibility studies. Those proposals will be put to the board, which will apply its mind, and hopefully we can begin to designate a number of SEZs in different parts of the country in the near future. I thank the hon members for their support. We are looking forward to our productive engagement in rolling out these SEZs in the near future. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time.