Chair, when this hon member came here, he said that he was trying to clarify things. Instead, he continues to confuse them even more.
He also claims to represent the inland terminals and he mentions City Deep. I must assure you that City Deep is convinced about this legislation, and three legal opinions have confirmed that there is no such thing as what he was trying to put before this House. City Deep is a container terminal today, and it will remain a container terminal in terms of this new legislation. The shipping lines have confirmed that they will issue bills of lading to City Deep. The goods will still move seamlessly from the first port of entry to City Deep.
So, who does he represent? He stands here and claims to be representing City Deep and furthermore says that there will be unintended consequences. I can assure you that everybody who stands to benefit from this legislation, including the South African Association of Freight Forwarders and Transnet, supports these proposals because they do precisely what we seek to achieve through this legislation before us.
I want to make it known that the statement that Sars want to close inland terminals is entirely not true. We have internal terminals today, as I have said - and City Deep is one of them - and we will continue to have them in terms of the Customs Control Bill.
The issue at stake here is the fact that goods move on a manifest. A manifest is just a list of containers. Such a list does not provide adequate information about the goods from the first port of entry to an inland terminal. We are now seeking to get that information at the first port of entry. The information on the manifest is furthermore based on unsubstantiated information which is supplied by the carrier or by a person in a foreign jurisdiction who cannot be held accountable for the information supplied.
All these concerns have been addressed. That is why all members of the committee who were present, both in spirit and in physical form, know that these things have been dealt with. Whatever the case may be, your absence is quite obvious, hon member, because if you had been there, you wouldn't have been making the statements you have made. On the day that you were absent from the committee, we had among us a slightly more sober member, Mr Ross, who understood. However, when you came in, you realised that your absence had left space for common sense to prevail and you wanted to take us back. [Laughter.]
Let me dispel the notion that you continue to stand in support of the values and issues that we have put in the National Development Plan, which are: giving support to small businesses; creating employment; facilitating trade; and fighting crime, corruption and customs fraud. You have spoken against all those things here today. I think you are following very correctly in the steps of your leader who, in Friday's Cape Times, is quoted as saying:
... if the ANC wants to supply this completely false logic of saying that if the money comes from the central fiscus it must be ANC projects and ANC delivery, well why do they not just continue that false logic a little bit backwards and do a pro rata analysis of which party's supporters pay ... tax ...
She believes that it is the DA supporters that pay the tax! That's unbelievable! This was in Friday's Cape Times! I just couldn't believe it! But this is the mentality that you continue with and you have confirmed that. You don't take into account that we all pay tax in some way: some pay personal income tax, some pay VAT, some pay company income tax, and some pay sin taxes, like the smokers and the drinkers - maybe those are your DA members, or who you think are your members - who pay excise duties on liquor and cigarettes. Motorists pay tax, businesses pay skills levies, etc. We pay all sorts of taxes. Today we are dealing with customs, and it doesn't come from the DA by any measure. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the members of this House, the chairperson of the committee for his leadership, the Portfolio Committee on Finance, and all the members of the portfolio committee - except one hon member who completely lost it in the committee. I want to submit that these Bills will go a long way towards bringing about the transformation in this area that we all yearn for. Thank you very much, hon Chair. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Customs Duty Bill read a first time.
Customs and Excise Amendment Bill read a second time (Democratic Alliance dissenting).
Customs Control Bill read a second time (Democratic Alliance dissenting).