... while Ayanda Dlodlo was looking after parliamentary matters until Gen Nyanda took over. Bonisiwe Makhene is the legal adviser. All these advisers, after the President expanded his Cabinet from 28 to 34 Ministers, with 32 Deputy Ministers! With a bureaucracy now larger than ever in the history of South Africa, the government is consuming a great deal of the resources that ought to be going to the people, and especially the poor people of this country. [Interjections.]
For the first time in our history our national debt, which stands at about 35% of GDP, has topped the R1 trillion ceiling. In fact, it is now R1,4 trillion, and rising. How are we doing as a country? Perhaps it is best to compare ourselves not with the worst, but with those who are doing better, so that we can strive for excellence, not for something down there. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
In order to drive my point home, I want to make a comparison with another newly established democracy, in South America. Let me remind fellow South Africans and members of the House that on 16 June last year, we were all stunned when Uruguay defeated Bafana Bafana 3-0. It was on 16 June. [Interjections.] Afterwards, some of us tried to find out more about this country and what happens in this place called Uruguay. Let me say this to all of you: I do think that if our government were to compete with the Uruguayan government, we would probably get a 6-0 thrashing. [Interjections.]
This is what Wikipedia encyclopaedia records about Uruguay:
It is one of the most economically developed countries in South America, with a high GDP per capita and the 52nd highest quality of life index in the world, as of 2010 ...