Chairperson, I think that parts of the debate were of real value in fleshing out some of the challenges that we face. Government has adopted a New Growth Path, which we try to use as the basis to inspire action across the society. So, a debate like this can help to enrich that.
When the hon Singh talks about local government capacity, we agree with him. We have now ensured that we make money available through Wits University to train 200 local government officials, initially in five municipalities: Mogale City, Govan Mbeki, Pixley ka Seme, Ethekwini and Johannesburg. When the hon Alberts says that small business support is important and we need greater focus from government's side, we agree with him. We now have launched the Small Enterprise Finance Agency. When the hon Ntuli talks about opportunities for the labour force that we have and says that we should have people who have a mix of skills, not all of which are of an engineering type, we agree. We are now making sure that the technical specifications in the infrastructure programme and elsewhere create those opportunities.
When the hon Mabasa talks about development finance institution mandates that need to be developmental, the Industrial Development Corporation is testimony to this large ship changing course and embracing the national agenda very actively in the lending programmes.
Chairperson, hope springs eternal in the human breast. When the opposition changed their spokesperson on economic development, we hoped that the level of debate would be lifted. Having listened today to the hon Hoosen, I must confess that that hope was sadly and badly mistaken. Last year, we decided to ignore the somewhat intemperate comments that emanated from parts of the opposition. We did so because Parliament is a process where robust debate is part of how we ensure that the best ideas survive, but facts matter. I would encourage the hon Hoosen to become a little bit more familiar with the facts than he demonstrated today.
Let me take two examples and, firstly, look at Walmart. When government receives a report from economists, a study that says each 1% rise in the level of imports by Walmart will lead to 4000 job losses; when evidence is presented to the Competition Tribunal, and later reviewed by the Competition Appeal Court, and both find that there is a credible basis to be concerned about the impact of Walmart's entry; when the Act itself mandates us to look at, among others, employment considerations and the impact on supplier industries; and when all of that is before us, what must we do as the executive authority? Must we worry that we will be embarrassed in the eyes of foreign investors, as hon Hoosen asks us to do, or should we be much more concerned about not being embarrassed in the eyes of our own people, the eyes of the jobless, the eyes of those who may lose their jobs and the eyes of those who may have their labour rights trampled upon? [Applause.] That is what government is about - the courage to do the right thing even if it is an unpopular thing.
Let's say the position of the 8 million unemployed would be made significantly worse if large numbers of jobs were lost in manufacturing as a result of increased imports into South Africa. That is the fundamental issue we need to focus on.
Then the hon Hoosen asked where the jobs are in the New Growth Path. Let us look very carefully at the facts again - they matter. As one enters into a debate, arm yourself with facts. You need to arm yourself with facts. Opinions are easy.
Let us look at the facts. Four weeks before the adoption of the new economic growth path, what were the employment numbers in South Africa? The numbers, hon Hoosen, were 12,9 million employed people. By December last year, 13,49 million people were employed. That is about less than 18 months later - a rise of more than half a million new jobs. [Applause.]
We achieved all this in the context of slow economic growth, the collapse of traditional markets, particularly in Europe, on which we relied for many of our exports in the past, and strong currency on monetary policy measures by countries such as China, the United States of America and Brazil. In that context, we achieved some job growth. Was it enough? Absolutely not. Do we need to do more? Yes, we do. How do we do that? We lay the foundation of long-term growth through the investment in infrastructure, skills and industrialisation.
Hon Hoosen asked about what happened with the Local Procurement Accord. "You have signed this accord, what has happened?" There is something desperate in the tone. We signed the accord in October last year. The question is: What have we done in the last six months? We have designated the following sectors where every public entity, national department, province, local authority, Eskom, Transnet and all the public agencies will have to buy from South African manufacturers: bus bodies, power pylons, rolling stock, canned vegetables, clothing, textiles, footwear, set-top boxes, and oral solid pharmaceuticals. Each of these took work to be able to bring them to the point where they could be designated for this purpose.
What more did we do? In the infrastructure plan, unlike the information that the opposition relies on, the Presidential Infrastructure Co- ordinating Commission made a decision that the infrastructure plan needed to be driven by a localisation programme, and President Zuma has made that public. Across the various components of infrastructure, we are now identifying opportunities for local procurement.
What else have we done? Sincethen, the big companies that signed the Local Procurement Accord have been reviewing their supply chains to see where the opportunities to buy locally are.
In conclusion, I am reminded of people who come to work in raincoats but find that the sun is shining. Instead of taking off the raincoats, they pull them even tighter around them. It does not make sense. We recognise that prepared speeches were given, but sometimes the facts do matter. [Applause.] We encourage the opposition to have a more positive agenda. Don't feel sad when government succeeds. Be proud of our achievements, because we are also your government. I would like to thank everybody for the contributions they have made. I would like to recognise the presence of Mr John Anson, who gave many years of service to our people in the public sector and in civil society. I would also like to invite everybody to join us for some snacks and the opportunity to continue this debate over some South African-produced fruit juice or Grapetiser. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.