Chairperson, let me thank members of all the political parties both for their support for Budget Vote No 10 and for their useful comments, some of which we will certainly take to heart and some of which I will respond to now. I want to apologise for the absence of the Deputy Minister. He is attending a meeting of the African Development Bank in Portugal at the moment.
Let me at the outset also thank the chair of the standing committee, Mr Mufamadi, for his leadership through this process, but also for his excellent reminder of what is supposed to be in the best tradition of the ANC and the struggle that we have fought against apartheid. The struggle today is that we need to fight against what he called opulence and conspicuous consumption, among other things. Thank you for a good political reminder of where we come from.
As we mourn the loss of MaSisulu, let us also remember the legacy that she and her husband, the late Walter Sisulu, left us: What it means to work with honesty, dedication, integrity and sacrifice; what it means to put people, and not self, first. In many ways this is a very firm reminder to all of us that today "Aluta Continua" means the struggle for the old values of discipline of the ANC, and not the new ones that are leading us astray at this point in time.
Hon Koornhof has made a very useful "ten-point plan" for saving the globe and saving South Africa. We must certainly take that to heart. The ANC and the government is not shy to say where it might have made political and policy mistakes. If corrections are required, hon Koornhof, we will certainly undertake them. At no stage did we say that the public sector is a sole provider of employment. We certainly agree with you that the balance between the salary package and employment is a balance that we need to maintain carefully.
This also applies to the recognition of the role of agriculture, making sure that we have a stable currency, and heeding the lessons of Brazil, as you correctly pointed out. But let me make it very clear that we are not about manipulating currency. It is certainly about doing the things that are within the acceptable bounds of policy action, such as accumulating reserves, and taking those measures that can actually mitigate the worst effects of the impact of capital flows in our own economy.
The hon Oriani-Ambrosini and the ANC have never got along. So, I don't expect that in a five-minute debate we're suddenly going to find each other. [Laughter.] But I think he is unnecessarily alarmist and certainly wants to import the tea party to South Africa. I will ask him to be fact based, rather than engage in warped ideology, because to say that taxation in the corporate world, and personal income tax, PIT, is the highest in the world has no foundation in fact whatsoever. [Interjections.] Perhaps he can provide us with his references and we can have a look at that.
As I said earlier, you've given us some very useful political reminders. Your reminder about getting the balance right between recurrent expenditure and investment in growth is also extremely important. One would look to Parliament to raise this issue more forcefully, to enquire about our expenditure patterns more vigorously to and help the National Treasury and government more generally to re-balance - if you like - the way in which we are spending our money so that we get those balances absolutely right.
Hon George, when the DA eventually gets to government - and I'm not sure when that will ever be - we can then talk about how you would have managed the fiscus as opposed to the ANC. Generally, hon George, you are doing your job well as the opposition spokesperson, but you can't deny the fact that the National Treasury and South African Revenue Services, Sars, manage this country's finances excellently. We thank you for the various compliments that you paid us during the course of your address.
Issues we've been through, such as value-added tax, VAT, for example, many times and several hon members have addressed this question. VAT is the biggest leakage point in any tax system. If we don't put in the right kinds of measures, we become fair game to those who want to engage in corrupt practices. This is not unique to South Africa. There are VAT schemes of all sorts in Europe, the United States and elsewhere in the world. All Sars is doing is ensuring that it puts in place measures that will ensure that we don't become fair game. If there are grievances that individual taxpayers have, I'm sure the Sars doors are open and the commissioner will welcome the issues that concerned constituencies have and will address them in a vigorous way.
The hon Luyenge is correct to pay tribute to Mr Phakamani Hadebe, the Land Bank and the chair of the Land Bank as well. This is a great story of turning around an institution. It is a great story of what not to do with institutions of the state, which is to put them in the wrong hands, both in management terms and in terms of appointment of boards, to wilfully spend money the wrong way. We hope that those who have engaged in this practice will indeed pay the price for that.
We agree with Mr Luyenge that the Land Bank, now that it is beginning to overcome the disabilities imposed upon it by the legacy of those who have passed, will now look at a much more assertive and developmental role in terms of its mandate. Similarly, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, DBSA, is an institution that we should also be extremely proud of and one which the National Treasury has supported in many ways. It is a wonderful example of an institution that has both the flexibility and capability to implement government programmes, assist government where it is possible and to take on this new responsibility that we have given it of implementing the Jobs Fund and making it a success.
Hon Swart, you were right in your concerns around the double-dip factor, but as we have already said, we're doing well; the world seems to be doing well - but that only lasts a few days, until the next result comes out. Uncertainty is a fact of life, if you like, and we have to learn to live with it on the one hand, guard against it on the other hand and keep our eyes on where we want to go.
The hon Dlamini-Dubazana pays appropriate tribute to Sars and its work. I suppose when she used the word "cruel" she actually had it in inverted commas! But she correctly points out that the development of a compliance culture in South Africa is a huge success factor for our country, one that many others in the world are envious of and many others in the world want to emulate as well. She is absolutely right when she says that revenue collection and the responsibility of citizens to pay their taxes is absolutely crucial to both current democracy and the future of our country.
We agree with you, hon Godi, that there needs to be greater oversight in terms of expenditure at the municipal level and that we need far better oversight of the spending of grants in respect of infrastructure and other procurement efforts within municipalities as well. We share your delight that the Land Bank is no longer your constant visitor!
The hon Van Rooyen raises many issues in respect of the political context, which we agree with, and reminders of why we created the special pensions provision, what the amendments of 2008 were about and why we have created the Military Veterans department. I can assure him that as our fiscal capability allows, we will meet our obligations to our military veterans and ensure that the right thing happens. We share his concerns about retirement reforms and the lack of preservation and we'll certainly take up some of the issues that the hon member has raised with the Financial Services Board, FSB.
The hon Marais is a longstanding and firm advocate for the disabled and we accept that. He now raises a set of issues around certain changes that Sars wants to introduce. Let me say that Sars's efforts are doing two things. Firstly, it is to make sure that there is absolute clarity in the way these provisions are formulated about what is allowed and what isn't allowed. Secondly, like everything else in taxation, it is to ensure that the wrong opportunities are not taken by the wrong people and to cover the loopholes to the extent that we can. I can assure you that no list is going to be imposed retrospectively. If there are other issues, hon Marais, I certainly appeal to you - as I did the last time - to talk to Sars and find some way of getting a common understanding.
The hon Sibhida made very valuable points about global governance, about the Bretton Woods institutions, more generally, and the events to come at the International Monetary Fund, IMF, in respect of the appointment of the managing director, MD, the transformation of the institution and the way in which its leadership generally is going to be appointed. This is going to be part of the "Aluta Continua" story: Once we have achieved democracy in one country, how do we get better democracy across the globe? She raises extremely important points in this regard as well.
Let me thank all of you for your support for Budget Vote No 10 and for the valuable contributions that you have made. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.