Chairperson, the IFP is not in a position to oppose this statement, either. We realise that the Minister of Finance, after all, is the one who needs to implement the policy of government. We feel that he is doing the best he can within the policy parameters of the government he serves.
We have a fundamental difference of opinion on what ought to be done at the macroeconomic level and share the concern expressed by the hon Harris that, even within the limited leeway that the Minister of Finance has been accorded, the Minister does nonetheless make the right noises and the right statements, but those statements, year after year, are implemented only to a limited and insufficient extent.
We would like to have seen not just a freezing of expenses but a fundamental reprioritisation of expenses to give substance to the policy statement often repeated in this House of building productive infrastructure to create a new economic and industrial basis for the country. That is just not in the Budget of this year, not in the adjusted Budget and the Budgets of previous years and very likely will not be in the Budgets of future years.
Within the present circumstances, the Minister is doing sufficiently well that we cannot oppose his action. However, we must call for a fundamental rethinking of the overall budget framework of the country. The system is not sustainable. When I say that, the Minister immediately points out to me that we are much better off than other countries - undoubtedly. That is not sufficient satisfaction, because those other countries have got so much built-in equity from which they can take, whether it is through the taxes or through industrial capacity or through what is called human capital, and we just do not have it.
We are running as a company that runs on operational capital and those reserves are not there. So, those comparisons are not necessarily justified and what is not necessarily justified is the fact that we have an opportunity in South Africa to get it right, to break the mould. I feel that that opportunity was lost by European countries long ago. We could find this country ahead of most European countries in 30 to 50 years, if we now make the right decisions outside the present fiscal, financial and economic mould. Thank you.