Hon Chairperson, hon members, comrades and distinguished guests, it is a great pleasure for me to, once more, participate in the deliberations of Budget Vote No 10, with specific reference to National Treasury and the SA Revenue Service, Sars.
Mudzulatshidulo, Mira?o ya Phalamennde na vhueni vhure hone fhano vhu bvaho kule na tsini, Ndaa! Kha vha ntendele ndi fhirise ?anga ?a vhusiwana na ndiliso kha vha mu?a wa ha Sisulu. Ri ri mukosi a wo ngo pfala fhano kha ?a Afurika Tshipembe fhedzi; wo swika na kha ma?we mashango a nn?a.
Zwine ra nga amba zwone ndi zwa uri, kha ri ?anganedze zwe Mudzimu na vhadzimu vha ri ?ea zwone. Tshino a si tshifhinga tsha mi?odzi na zwililo lini. Ndi tshifhinga tsha u takalela mishumo mivhuya ya n?hesa, ye mme ashu Vho Albertina Sisulu vha ri itela yone. Ro vhona u ?inetisa havho kha u ?isa mbofholowo ya vhathu vha Afurika Tshipembe ?o?he. Ro vha na mveledziso khulwane kha sia a zwa mutakalo, pfunzo, u fhungudza vhushai, na zwi?we zwinzhi, nga maan?a kha u fha?ela vhathu dzinn?u.
Zwo salaho ndi u vhudzisa uri naa mishumo ya havha mukegulu ya u nakelela ri ?o i bveledza phan?a hani? Vho bveledza tshipi?a tshavho, kha ri vha tendele vha awele. (Translation of Tshivenda paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, Members of Parliament and guests from far and near, hello! Allow me to air my views and express condolences to the Sisulu family. We say the call was not only heard in South Africa; it reached foreign countries as well.
What we can say is, let us accept what God and the gods have given us. This is not the time for tears and sorrows. It is the time to celebrate the good and important work, which our mother Mrs Albertina Sisulu has done for us. We have seen her dedication in bringing about freedom to the people of the entire South Africa. We have greater development in the spheres of health, education, alleviation of poverty and many others, especially in the building of houses for the people.
What is left is to ask how we are going to perpetrate these beautiful roles of this grandmother? She has done her part; let us allow her to rest.]
The context within which the debate is taking place is informed by our understanding of the powers and functions of National Treasury as contained in Chapter 2 of the Public Finance Management Act, which outlines the following as National Treasury's core mandate. It is important to repeat this, so that we understand the context within which we are engaging with Budget Vote No 10.
It has to develop a fiscal policy framework and co-ordinate macroeconomic policy; it must prepare a sound and sustainable national budget and equitable division of resources; equitably and efficiently raise fiscal revenue, while enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the South African economy; sustainably manage and make effective government's financial assets and liabilities; and promote transparency to improve financial accountability and enforce effective financial management.
Furthermore, National Treasury has a direct contribution to make in the 12 government Outcomes, particularly in the following areas: one, the area of decent employment through inclusive economic growth; two, a responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system; and three, an efficient and effective development-oriented public service and empowered society.
However, we should at all times be mindful of the fact that the Constitution of the Republic enjoins National Treasury to ensure both transparency and expenditure controls in each sphere of government and, most importantly, it must develop the fiscal and national macroeconomic policy framework. Therefore, with the above understanding, the task is clearly defined and set for the committees of Parliament to play an oversight role in the implementation of the department's strategic plans.
However, it is not what is in the plan that matters, but the will to implement the plan in order to achieve the objectives of a developmental state. The plan should be about placing at the centre of government programmes decent job creation, access by all to health services, education, sustainable and rural development, and the creation of better and integrated communities to fight corruption.
Let me venture into what constituted the immediate task of the Soviet government, namely, the task of organisation, which was clearly set before all the working and oppressed people in a resolution adopted at the extraordinary Congress of Soviets in Moscow on 15 March 1918 and also paid specific attention to the self-discipline of the working people and the ruthless struggle against chaos and disorganisation - a point I wish to return to later in my presentation.
We should be happy that we are deliberating this Budget Vote at a time when our economy is showing some positive signs of recovery. We can safely say that we have transited from the economic crisis that characterised most of the developed and developing world economies in the past two years. Therefore, it is my considered view that the developed economies, as they turn the page on an era of irresponsibility, should learn from emerging markets and continue to sustain the recovery process and adopt new sets of policies, regulations and reforms to meet the needs of the 21st century global economy. However, the sense of normalcy should not lead us to complacency because the European economy is still very fragile and, in that context, we should tell ourselves that the process of recovery remains incomplete.
Let me return to my earlier point about the task of organisation. What are the immediate challenges in transforming our economy as South Africans? Transforming our economy should mean that we shift the centre of gravity of our economic and political focus from narrow black economic empowerment to broad-based black economic empowerment - an inclusive growth and wealth redistribution. We need to deal decisively with the cancer of corruption creeping in at all levels of our society, not only in government. In this context I wish to welcome the pronouncement and resolution of Business Unity SA, Busa, that they are prepared and are going to name and shame those who seek to corrupt our government officials by pushing brown envelopes in order to influence procurement outcomes. We should congratulate and appreciate that stance. [Applause.]
As part of our immediate challenges and tasks as Parliament, we should at all times ensure that government departments focus on job creation. It must remain at the top of their agenda. We must, therefore, encourage the proper use and spending of the resources that they have been allocated to ensure access to health and education.
To achieve the above, the nation as a whole, including we as public representatives, needs to be part of a mobilising effort to champion a new form of ruthless struggle, the one against chaos and disorganisation. What do I mean by this? We have to pay particular attention to greed, conspicuous consumption and opulence, as well as the creation of a few rich individuals and in so doing decrease the levels of disparity between the poor and the rich.
Research has shown that South Africa is one of the countries with the highest Gini coefficient. We need to enforce a culture of discipline within the working and poor people. We must have an all-round programme to engage civil society and discourage our people from aimless despair and bitterness which lead to the destruction of public property in the name of service delivery protests and better working conditions. This must be discouraged. [Applause.]
As we note the positive signs of economic recovery, there are equally worrying signs that the policy on inflation targeting of the 3% to 6% and may not be sustainable as a result of high oil prices, transportation costs and food prices. Let me take this opportunity to remind hon members of what the Minister of Finance said on the mandate of the Reserve Bank:
It is clear I have expanded the mandate of the Reserve Bank. It says, "Here is the target, but it is flexible." In implementing the policy, the bank must be mindful of global circumstances and of South Africa's own growth and employment needs, as well as the need to preserve financial stability and avoid creating asset bubbles.
The current Budget, for the first time in many years, is deficit-financed. The concern that we should have, as Parliament and people of this country, is how and where the resources should be deployed. We have been assured that borrowing will not be directed towards recurrent expenditure, but will be directed to real investment, particularly in the productive sector of our economy, where there is a high propensity for job creation, poverty reduction and growth stimulation.
Of course, critics of financed expansionary macroeconomic planning argue that borrowing always results in a heavy tax burden for future generations, while some argue that deficits have no long-run impact on output. It's a debate that we will continue to have.
A deficit-financed economy must, however, avoid deficit spending on recurrent costs. Thus, both in times of recession and upswings, South Africa needs to give more consideration to deficit-financed expansionary fiscal policy in order to accelerate spending on development and infrastructure.
We must congratulate the Commissioner of Sars for keeping the home fires burning. Under very difficult circumstances, they exceeded the revenue target and therefore impacted positively on our deficit spending. While we appreciate their success and their strategic plans, we also think that it is important for their tax regime to address the peculiar circumstances of the small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, because this sector is an area where real jobs are created.
The Financial Services Board, FSB, has continued to grapple with difficult but important matters which, if not properly handled, may result in negative consequences for the pension funds of our people in this country - the working people. We have urged the FSB to quickly address the issue of pension fund surpluses - which, in more ways than one, have disadvantaged poor families - but also to pay particular attention to the fiduciary responsibilities and powers of pension fund trustees. We have noted with sadness in the past few years the extent to which pension funds are being invested or mismanaged.
Lastly, the allocation of job creation funds to various institutions will need clear inter-Ministerial co-ordination, particularly the R9 billion reserved for the job creation fund, the R10 billion for the ITC and the R40 billion for the Isibaya Fund within the Public Investment Corporation,