Madam House Chair, Minister, let us try to have a serene man-to-man discussion on an issue on which the whole country is trying to have some sanity and pragmatism. Common sense would dictate that you do not put a trade unionist in charge of economic development. I always felt differently because our Minister is a man who has brought the gift of intellect and whose heart is in the right place.
Let us call a spade a spade. Yes, the youth wage subsidy will introduce greater flexibility in the labour market and it will hurt some people. This is the very flexibility of the labour market that President Mbeki tasked the then Deputy President Zuma to bring about with amendments to the Labour Relations Act, and Deputy President Zuma failed - as he did with the campaign on moral regeneration of the country. Why is that necessary? Because it is essential to achieve the very goals of the National Planning Commission tabled here less than 24 hours ago.
There has been a wave of empowerment of people who are not necessarily the most apt, the most capable or the best educated. What happened in the past 15 years was a necessity of history and a social necessity. There is a second wave of people, just behind them, who are better trained, well educated and better motivated all round; possibly better people. They can address the very shortcomings of the National Planning Commission, which Minister Manuel identified yesterday, but they have nowhere to go because you, Minister, do not want to take some pain. You do not want your constituency to take some pain.
This is not a time in which one can govern by consensus. This is the time to accept that if u need to make an omelette, you need to break a few eggs. The Minister is walking on eggshells. This is the time for leadership. The tragedy of today is that the Minister has set the rules, but this House does not govern. It is Cosatu that governs by means of a veto power. In fact, you may just have put the first nail in the coffin of the very aspirations and hopes that were tabled here by Minister Trevor Manuel less than 24 hours ago. This is tragic; the country needs decision-making. I do accept that simply decisions do not necessarily mean the right decisions. But history has simple turning points, seen in the benefit of history as missed opportunities. The issue here is simple; we need greater flexibility in the labour market. We need to empower the youth.
Make no mistake, Minister, if there is a second democratic revolution, it will swipe you and all of us around. That second democratic revolution will be conducted not by peaceful means, by the very people to whom we are now trying to give jobs, and against the very people who are less competent, less efficient and less productive that you are trying to protect. You are protecting the concerns of trade unions and placing them above the interests of the country and the interests of South Africa. [Time expired.] [Applause.]