Hon Chairperson, hon members, Minister, Deputy Minister, Director-General of the National Treasury, Commissioner of the SA Revenue Service, Sars, comrades and distinguished guests, I wish to invite you to join millions of South African citizens in paying tribute to an outstanding son and patriot of our nation, Bra Vuyo Mbuli, as he was affectionately known, whose mortal remains will be laid to rest this week.
His life story will forever remain a lesson about what it means to be a true South African, a true African, and the apogee of what it means to be human. With all the pains visited upon his family, colleagues and many followers of the Morning Live programme, let us all say, may his soul rest in peace!
Ndaa! Mudzulatshidulo, mira?o ya Phalamennde, na vhueni ho ri kandaho ?amusi fhano Phalamenndeni, ri ri mukosi wo pfala kha ?a Afurika Tshipembe ?o?he na kha ma?we mashango. Naho zwi tshi kon?a, kha ri tende, ri dovhe ri ?anganedze zwe Mudzimu a ri ?ea zwone. Kha ri takalele vhutshilo na ma?uvha e Mudzimu a mu ?ea one na mishumo mivhuya ye a ri itela yone. (Translation of Tshiven?a paragraph follows.) [Good day, Chairperson, Members of Parliament and guests present here in Parliament, today we say news has spread to the whole of South Africa and to other countries. Even though it is hard, let us again accept what God has given us. Let us celebrate the life and the days that God had given him and the good work he has done for us.]
In the preface of our Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, the first democratically elected President of the Republic, Tata Nelson Mandela, reminded us of the following, and I quote:
We are building on the tradition of the Freedom Charter. In 1959, we actively involved people and their organisations in articulating their needs and aspirations. In 1994, we are about to assume the responsibilities of government and must go beyond the Charter to an actual programme of government. This RDP document is a vital step in that process.
Furthermore, the RDP reminds us that democracy will have little content, and indeed, will be short-lived if we cannot address our socioeconomic problems within an expanding and growing economy. The ANC committed itself to carrying out these programmes with the support of its allies and our people.
As we debate Budget Vote 10 - National Treasury and its medium-term strategic objectives - it is important to highlight and report on how much and what progress have we made towards addressing the socioeconomic challenges to date, 19 years into democracy. It is the story of our journey, a reflection of the progress and the daunting challenges that constitute the immediate and remaining task of our government and its people. Certainly, the people of South Africa and all of us in this House have a proud story to tell.
Budget Vote 10 and its debate is about the sustainability of our fiscal framework, macro-economic policy co-ordination, sound and sustainable national budget, equitable division of revenue resources, raising fiscal revenue, competitiveness of our economy, promoting transparency and financial accountability, amongst others, and most importantly, decent job and employment creation that is underpinned by inclusive economic growth.
However, it is not what is in the plan that matters, but the will to implement the plan in order to achieve the objectives of a developmental state. The plan should be about placing at the centre of government's programmes what I call people's entitlements: decent jobs, access to heath, education, sustainable and rural development, the creation of better and integrated communities and sustainable programmes to fight the scourge of corruption. Today, I can proudly pronounce that significant progress has been made in all of the above-mentioned and other areas of focus of National Treasury. I think the Minister has covered quite a number of those areas.
Firstly, through our countercyclical policy, a healthy balance between social and economic expansion in budgets has been sustained, even under the most difficult and trying volatile circumstances in the economic and global environment. Secondly, through our macroeconomic policies, we have realised expanded sustained average economic expansion, not growth, of 83% over the 19 years of the ANC-led government. [Applause.]
Of course, the key challenges remain, and we need to answer the following question: How inclusive and redistributive has this expansion been for our people, given the high levels of inequality and poverty in our society? This remains a challenge that not only National Treasury will have to address and find solutions for, but all South Africans, irrespective of political persuasion.
We have again managed successively to establish robust, resilient and sound economic financial systems that play an important role in shaping and reconfiguring the world economic system as part of the family of emerging economies in the world, particularly Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Brics. South Africa earned its position; it was not given. We earned this position through our robust economic policies, tried and tested, and our ability to grow even under the most difficult circumstances. We have also seen the reduction of poverty levels in our households through the social grant systems that we have sustained under very difficult circumstances. The scourge of high unemployment levels in our country remains a matter of serious concern. It is important to note that the situation could have been much worse than it is today if it were not for a sustained increase in employment of more than 3,5 million since 1994. It is important to note this point.
With regard to youth unemployment, we support and appreciate all efforts that support youth employment, particularly the initiative by the National Treasury that triggered a national debate to tackle youth unemployment at all levels and in all sectors of our economy and society.
The Youth Employment Accord agreement entered into is not by any means a contradiction of what National Treasury proposed, but it is a decisive and final step in addressing what the Minister of Finance tabled in his Budget Speech two years ago as a youth wage subsidy initiative. It is important to make this point, because there are some amongst us who would want to insinuate that what the Minister tabled before was undermined by ourselves, particularly the ruling party. It is the continuation and finalisation of a very important debate that was initiated by the National Treasury. We are very proud that today we have a solution to a problem that many of us would not have had the opportunity to put forward, but only to seek to score cheap political votes around. [Applause.]
Once again, the RDP reminds us that the legacy of apartheid cannot be overcome with piecemeal and unco-ordinated policies. The RDP brings together strategies to harness all our resources in a coherent and purposeful effort that can be sustained into the future. It is in this spirit that the 53rd National Conference of the ANC in Mangaung adopted the National Development Plan, precisely because it is in line with the injunction of the Reconstruction and Development Programme. It provides a common vision for all South Africans, irrespective of their political, religious or faith persuasions, to build a common South Africa and the capacity of a developmental state.
Through the RDP, we also recognise that the ANC has committed itself, as follows: The ANC and its alliance partners have principles and policies to which we are deeply committed. The ANC is committed to carrying out these programmes with the support of its alliance and our people.
Therefore, with the above understanding, the debate around the National Development Plan is not a counterproductive effort, but part of a process to enrich the plan as we continue to implement it. It is very important that we understand that the debate is not about stalling implementation of the National Development Plan.
The global economic environment is showing some positive signs of recovery due to the concerted effort by all global players, including the US. It is showing positive, though sluggish, signs of recovery and we can safely say that the economy has transited from the 2008 crisis that characterised most of the developed economies. Most importantly, domestically, we continue to see warning signs in the mining sector, which must be taken very seriously and which has the potential to undermine investor confidence, internal revenue generation, providing an opportunity for our credit rating to be downgraded, and difficulty in terms of accessing capital through very expensive borrowing interest rates.
With regard to credit ratings, the most worrying aspect is the negative talk about us, as the Minister has said. We continue to talk badly about ourselves, creating high levels of great uncertainty and undermining all our positive efforts since 1994. I have never seen people who think about themselves like South Africans do. We need to desist and find a way to tell a story; the success story that indeed we are not creating or imagining, but one that is there, and that the South African people have created under the leadership of the ANC. [Applause.]
To cement our place as a destiny of choice, not only for investors but for tourists, the nation as a whole must be champions of a new, ruthless struggle against chaos and disorganisation in our society. Therefore, we must pay attention to the following issues: greed, conspicuous consumption and opulence in the lives of the elite. We need to enforce a culture of discipline among working people and in the private sector, and a high level of discipline, particularly in the civil service. We need to have an all- round programme to engage civil society so as to desist from aimless despair and bitterness that leads to the destruction of public property in the name of service delivery and protests for better working conditions. You can't destroy what you have in order to have something new.
As we note the positive signs of economic recovery, there are equally worrying signs that the policy on inflation targeting of the 3% to 6% band may not be sustainable as a result of high oil prices, transportation costs and food prices and, most importantly, administered prices. Despite these concerns, it is important to note that we now have the lowest interest rate in the history of our economic performance in this country over the past 30 years. It is important to note that.
Hon Minister, perhaps it is important to remind this House of what you said on the issue of the role of the Reserve Bank. I am repeating this for the second time, and I quote:
It is clear I have expanded the mandate of the Reserve Bank. It says here is the target but it is flexible. In implementing the policy, the bank must be mindful of global circumstances and of South Africa's own growth and employment needs, as well as the need to preserve financial stability and avoid creating asset bubbles The current budget indicates that it will be a deficit financed. and the concern we should continue to raise as Parliament is how and where the resourses should be deployed. We should continue to support the fact that, firstly, borrowing should be directed to real investment in the productive sector of our economy, where there is a high propensity of jobs; to poverty reduction, such as in the agricultural sector, tourism and land reform; and to stimulate growth. Secondly, we need to avoid deficit spending on current costs. Thus both in times of recession and upswings, South Africa needs to give more consideration to deficit finance expansionary fiscal policy in order to accelerate spending on development and infrastructure.
We must take this opportunity to congratulate the Commissioner of Sars and his team for keeping the home fires burning in the very difficult global and domestic economic environment. They continue to exceed, even if it is revised, revenue targets. Therefore, they continue to impact positively on our deficit spending. Whilst we appreciate their success and strategic plans, we also think it is important for their tax regime to address the peculiar circumstances of the small, medium and micro-sized enterprises sector to encourage job creation and entrepreneurship development. We need industrialists and job creators. We don't need job seekers all the time. [Applause.]
Just like Sars, the Financial Services Board has continued to grapple with difficult white collar crimes that constitute the highest level of corrupt activities that impact on the hard-earned savings of poor people and their pension funds. We have noted with sadness, in the past few years, the extent to which pension funds have been abused for self-enrichment. We urge the FSB to address this matter quickly and also to look seriously into the issue of pension fund surpluses which, in more ways than one, continues to disadvantage poor and needy families.
The recent Fidentia court case outcome and penalty meted against those allegedly involved leaves a bitter taste for those who have lost their lifelong savings. Our committee will be calling for a proper briefing with regard to this matter and we also want to know if there will be a legal follow-up on the matter.
Last, but not least, we need to pay serious attention to the fiduciary powers and responsibilities of pension fund trustees. In his reply to the debate on the 2011 state of the nation address, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, outlined the challenges ahead of us and directed that all South Africans must rally and unite behind our common objectives. He said, and I quote:
Our shared commitment is to put South Africans to work. They must find work in fields and factories, in repairing roads and building houses, in caring for children and protecting the environment. We must create jobs in every possible way that we can... 2011 must be a year of action.
Now, two years later, the hon Minister just said to us that over 1,6 million job opportunities were created in the first phase of the Expanded Public Works Programme, and now it aims to achieve another 500 000 full- time employment opportunities. What can we say, except to say, Halala Public Works Halala! Halala Public Works Halala! [Applause.]
Let me take this opportunity to thank the committee members for their hard work, and the Minister, Deputy Minister, National Treasury's senior management under the leadership of the director-general, Lungisa Fuzile, who is no longer new in this position, for their commitment and patriotic spirit in executing their work. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 10. Thank you. [Applause.]