Chairperson and hon members, there is a simple solution to poverty in South Africa, and it goes like this: In order to fight poverty, people need jobs; in order to create jobs, we need an economy that is growing and a friendly business environment, which encourages entrepreneurship and investment. In order to create that environment, we need simple and effective legislation, and in order to create that legislation, we need strong and innovative leadership.
The reason unemployment is stuck at 40% and we have a problem with poverty in this country, is not because of a lack of resources, but because our leaders lack the political will to make the necessary changes.
Ukuzalisa kilokhu, abasebenzako baneenyonyana ezithi nazibakhulumelako nofana ezithi nazibalwelako, bese zikhohlwa ngalabo abangasebenziko abajama eentradeni njalo, bafuna umsebenzi. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[To add to this, those who are employed have trade unions that represent them. These trade unions tend to forget about those who are unemployed, who always stand on street corners looking for jobs.]
The DA does not believe, however, that the state is there to simply nurture a person through life. A responsible state must be complemented by responsible citizens. The force behind growing prosperity is a socially and environmentally responsible enterprise economy, driven by the choices, risk and hard work of free individuals.
Without growth in prosperity created through the exercise of a market economy, there can be no opportunities, and choices become increasingly limited. That is why the DA promotes an economic policy that puts growth at its centre. While we promote such policies as low inflation, a minimal budget deficit, lower taxation, a deregulated labour market, privatisation, enterprise zones, opportunity vouchers and the like, there are those who object to some of these policies. But experience across the world has shown that they generate growth, and with growth come job opportunities.
In addition to the policies that promote growth, the DA promotes policies designed to provide the poorest of the poor and the least empowered with a safety net to ensure their survival and welfare. For this reason we support the provision of free essential services at a municipal level, such as a basic amount of water and electricity, and a basic income grant of R110 per month for those living below the poverty line. These are some of the tenets of an open-opportunity society, a society in which each person has the opportunity to make the most of his or her life.
The government needs to learn that it cannot shape people in its own mould. Its job is not to dictate to people their identities, but to actively seek to provide them with opportunities to make the right choices for themselves. Until this government learns that, we will not break the cycle of poverty and unemployment that currently grips our country. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]