Voorsitter, miskien moet ons eers vir die agb Gunda s daar is nege provinsies in Suid- Afrika. Ons kan nie net op 'n klein dorpie in die benede-Oranjerivier- gebied konsentreer nie. U moes geluister het toe Minister Patel ges het dat ons koperasies in die Vrystaat gebou het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY (Mrs T V Tobias): Chairperson, perhaps we should first inform the hon Gunda that there are nine provinces in South Africa. We cannot concentrate exclusively on a small town situated in the Lower Orange River area. You should have listened to Minister Patel when he said that we had built co-operatives in the Free State.]
Good afternoon, Chairperson and hon members. This budget debate takes place in the fifth month of the centenary celebrations of the ruling party, the ANC. What an achievement! The ANC is the only party - and I repeat, it is the only party - to celebrate 100 years of existence. Even the mighty Communist Party of China is a decade younger than the ANC. I also take this opportunity to pay homage to all the comrades of the ANC who fell this year. To them I say, "Hambani kahle, maqabane." [Go well, comrades.] You served our movement with diligence. We who remain will continue the fight to realise the strategic objective of building a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
We also celebrate these 100 years with the stark reminder that we still experience racial tension, fuelled by opportunists who don't want to accept defeat and majority rule. I am referring to the latest statements by Helen Zille, who referred to black South African children as "refugees", and F W de Klerk, who wanted to own white South Africans by referring to them as "his people". Let me take this opportunity to remind those two delusional individuals that the Freedom Charter says that South Africa belongs to all, black and white. Indeed, it is only the ANC that espouses this belief, and this idea is key in its strategic objectives.
Having said that, let me say that if you look at the economy from a global perspective, economic uncertainty exists, leaving countries with no choice but to show resilience. Over and above this, we are still expected to build a vibrant economy by improving on innovation and competitiveness.
We as the Department of Trade and Industry will continue to invest our resources in such a way as to improve the growth of domestic suppliers for import substitution and self-sufficiency. We are also continuing to expand and diversify our industrial base to avoid activities with diminishing returns. We will also continue to invest in capital goods, as outlined in the infrastructure development plan. The DTI will continue to play a major role in the clothing and textile, and automobile sectors respectively. We have also supported sectors like the entertainment industry, but equally devised strategies for the African continent. These strategies will see more trade relations among African countries. We also looked again at our national funding model, through the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund established in terms of the Lotteries Act.
Having said this, let me say we will invest in human capital by providing particular skills to young people in order for them to participate in the economy. We will also continue to consult with our people through izimbizo to refresh our thinking. Young people stand a good chance to benefit from our programmes. Our newly established youth directorate has partnered with the National Youth Development Agency to implement the youth strategy.
Our focus will also be mainly on promoting local trade and local content. We will build strong trading posts within the South African borders, with the intention of building a strong exporter collective.
We have also realised that many South Africans don't understand how to access government services. We will therefore communicate with them in the languages they understand and reach out to them. We will also hold forums with the private sector to gain their confidence in government support and to pursue public-private partnerships.
We have met with the banking associations and they showed preparedness to collaborate with government for economic growth. Our priority will remain that of building a financially stable country that protects its consumers and ensures that ordinary South Africans have access to financial services. We have also combated financial crime by dealing with illicit trade. Our Consumer and Corporate Regulation Division, CCRD, unit has been hard at work.
While we are focusing our energies on capitalising on increased trade and investment, the supply and demand curve remains a competing phenomenon. Therefore, we will always look at our incentive models to attract more investment. We will fight inflation by maintaining growth.
We have also been faced with a lot of challenges in regard to consumer rights. Much has been done and we congratulate the National Consumer Commission on its achievements. However, as indicated earlier, many people don't know how to access government services. Therefore we will go to them on these issues. I agree with the hon member about taking the DTI to the people, so we will expand our activities to the remaining provinces to make sure that our people understand the opportunities that exist in the DTI.
The economy continues to experience structural changes. Labour absorption challenges have seen the rise of opportunism in debates and conduct in the public discourse. We cannot afford to gamble with sensitive matters like unemployment. We need to inspire confidence. The state has carried the heavy burden of creating jobs. Therefore we will engage the private sector about coming on board, but we should always remember that it is very important to work in the national interest.
We have also experienced a boom in one of the job growers, namely agriculture. Therefore we will change plans to create a boom in manufacturing. We have started to run the Proudly South African campaign. This campaign will encourage preference for locally produced commodities. If Leslie Sedibe is somewhere, he will be very happy to hear this. However, we need more funding for the Proudly South African campaign.
The National Consumer Commission is our priority too. We have also determined the role of South African companies in relation to the Competition Commission, as we have already identified the weaknesses, for instance, in the maritime industry. Therefore attention will be paid to South African waters, to make sure that we develop the maritime industry.