Okay. Let me then direct my speech rather to you personally, hon Minister. A broad definition of unemployment is estimated at approximately 38%. As shocking as it is to hear, we can only design effective policy if we make an honest assessment of reality, and, beyond the figure, it is the creation of jobs that is ultimately important.
Youth unemployment is particularly alarming, and it is the economically disadvantaged youth that spur the calls for irrational policy decisions, such as a mineral resource rent tax and mine nationalisation. The sheer magnitude of the unemployment problem, and the human suffering behind it, can easily be lost in the technical arguments around how it is measured. The salient point is, however, that unemployment is worse than we think it is because it is underreported.
Government should bow less to the pressures from the Congress of SA Trade Unions, Cosatu, and start working for the unemployed through creating more flexible labour legislation and implementing the youth wage subsidy. Beyond questions of how employment is measured, we must now return to the question of inflation - in simple terms, the impact of the increased cost of living on ordinary South Africans.
Die inflasievraagstuk en die impak daarvan op gewone Suid-Afrikaners is ook uiters belangrik. [The question of inflation and the impact thereof on ordinary South Africans are also of the utmost importance.]
The official inflation figure of 6% is also an understatement of the truth. The majority of people in South Africa simply do not experience an increase in their average cost of living of only 6%. If poverty levels in South Africa are roughly 38%, as we've indicated before, and the vast majority of poor people spend at least 50% of their income on food, electricity and transport, then the increase in prices I mentioned at the outset of my speech has a much more negative and profound impact on our country than is commonly recognised.
The question of inflation, of course, leads us straight back into the all- important question of unemployment. The single biggest barrier to job seeking in South Africa is the high cost of transport, and that's a very unfortunate situation for many poor people who would like to get to the places where they can apply for jobs. Never mind the fact that jobs are scarce, partly for the reasons mentioned earlier, the truth is that a poor person can hardly afford to even start looking for a job.
In closing, let me commend the sterling efforts that are being made to capture more data, more timeously - as the chairperson of the committee, Mr Mufamadi, indicated - more accurately and more strategically. Let me also urge those in government and Statistics SA, especially, to think carefully about how they choose to report the key indicators. More than that, may I urge all of you to engage honestly with the data and renew our commitment to serving the very people that our data tells us need our support. Let us serve the people and the public through these statistics, and thank you, Minister, that there were no questions. Thank you. [Applause.]