Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, hon Members of Parliament, treasured guests in the House, and ladies and gentlemen, before 1994 the apartheid regime suppressed and marginalised black entrepreneurs. The history that entrenched market and financial institutions, infrastructure and regulatory frameworks was inappropriate for smaller producers, who also lacked production, financial and management skills. They also faced difficulties in competing with well-established firms in concentrated markets and accessing affordable finance, and they often suffered disproportionately from crime.
The labour market policy left by apartheid, which shaped racially based inequality and exploitation, could not provide the basis for a more equitable, inclusive and competitive economy. Despite improved growth, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world.
Deep inequalities were associated with extraordinarily high levels of joblessness. Inequality and joblessness were also associated with the legacy of apartheid. Notwithstanding the economic growth achieved by the country, it has become increasingly evident that job creation, which is a primary source of income redistribution, remains inadequate. Creating more and better jobs must lie at the heart of any strategy to fight poverty, reduce inequality and address rural underdevelopment. The platform for transformation and redistribution should take into consideration the above social ills.
Cosatu General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said in the Daily News of 27 May 2011 that South Africa risked another 1976 uprising unless there was drastic action to deal with the crisis of unemployment, particularly amongst young people. Seventeen years after the democratic breakthrough in 1994, South Africa has failed to make any real progress in reconciling the economic inequalities and injustices that were inherited from the colonial and apartheid era. Reconciliation was surely never intended to mean that the poor majority had to reconcile themselves to inherited poverty, mass unemployment and inequality.
These sentiments raised by the General Secretary of Cosatu have been supported by an academic study and 2007 Community Survey that found that being a young African reduces the odds of being employed by 90% compared to being white, despite similar qualifications, and that whites earned eight times more than Africans. The statement made by the general secretary clearly shows how impatient our people are at the slow pace of economic transformation and job creation. The blows of apartheid did not destroy only homes and families, but also the fibre of our society; that is why even today my colleague is talking about the vacancies that are not filled because of the apartheid that was entrenched during that time.
The President, His Excellency Mr J G Zuma, in his state of the nation address declared 2011 the year of job creation through meaningful economic transformation. The Department of Public Works is responsible for providing leadership here and it co-ordinates the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. The Minister's performance agreement, which is central to the department's planning, covers three sections of outcomes, such as decent employment through inclusive economic growth.
The EPWP is one of the key components of the government's drive to alleviate poverty in South Africa. The programme is expected to create short-term and long-term job opportunities, and to provide training to unemployed and unskilled individuals, in order to increase the future employability of participants in the EPWP. The EPWP is a national programme covering all spheres of government and state-owned enterprises and is government's medium to long-term programme to address unemployment, including by increasing economic growth, improving skills level through education and training, and improving the energy environment for industry.
That is why we salute you, hon Minister, and we appreciate that we are all out to try to bring skills to the country. The EPWP will continue to exist until these medium to long-term programmes are successful in reducing unemployment. The programme also involves re-orientating line function budgets so that government expenditure results in more work opportunities, particularly for unskilled labour.
The South African government is committed to halving poverty and unemployment by 2014. This is a realistic challenge, but it is going to take a great deal of hard work and effort on the part of government to achieve this goal.
The adoption of the New Growth Path by Cabinet provides more opportunities for the EPWP in the area of job creation. South Africa is also committed to fulfilling its constitutional obligation to deliver socioeconomic rights within the context of its National Plan of Action, which is Vision 2014, and the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.
In South Africa, one of the indicators of progress towards the achievement of the MDGs is the effective and equitable delivery of public services. Whilst significant achievements have already been made in areas such as access to basic water supply, improvement in service delivery remains a priority.
Since 1994 South Africa has set out to rigorously dismantle the apartheid system and create a democratic society based on the principles of equity, nonracialism and nonsexism. To achieve these objectives, the government of South Africa has pledged to promote equality and eradicate poverty. The 1994 Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, defined the procedure, and its guidelines have informed all governmental policies post-1994. Through the RDP, a commitment was made to meet basic needs, invest in the economy, democratise the state and society, develop human resources and build a new South Africa.
The hon Minister has touched on the issue of the training some of the beneficiaries, in particular 100 young people in the Northern Cape. Hon Minister, we congratulate you. The future of these young people will never again be the same as today. I think you should continue with this work of focusing on our young people, because they are the future of the country. [Applause.]
South Africans must find work in fields and factories, in repairing roads and building houses, in caring for children and protecting the environment, as they are doing, hon Minister. That is why the children are here, because we take care of them. We must create jobs in every possible way that we can. Decent work is the foundation of the fight against poverty and equality, and its promotion should be the cornerstone of all our efforts. Decent work embraces the need for both more and better quality jobs. The creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods is central to the ANC government's agenda. We make maximum use of all the means at the disposal of the ANC government to achieve this.
We have to ensure that macroeconomic policy is informed by the priorities that have been set out in the manifesto. Fiscal and monetary policy mandates, including the management of interest rates and exchange rates, need to actively promote the creation of decent employment, economic growth and broad-based industrialisation, and deal with reduced income, inequality and other developmental imperatives. Economic policy will include measures to decisively address obstacles that limit the pace of employment creation and poverty eradication, and will intervene in favour of more sustainable and inclusive growth for all South Africans.
I think the hon Minister has noted the challenges that have been raised by my colleague in the department in order to focus on them, but I would like to mention some of the challenges there are outside, including the fact that the quality of the jobs that have been created has not yet met our goal of creating decent work.
We are also concerned about the minorities in the country, especially the white minority. We are concerned about giving confidence and security to those who are worried that because of these changes they are now going to be in a disadvantaged position.
Since 1994, the ANC government has made substantial progress in transforming the economy to benefit the majority, but serious challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality remain.
In order to avoid the exploitation of workers, especially because there are a lot of part-time jobs in the EPWP, we must guard against exploitation of workers and ensure decent work for all workers, as well as protect employment relationships. The ANC government has therefore introduced laws to regulate contract work, subcontracting and outsourcing; address the problem of labour broking; and prohibit certain abusive practices.
In summing up, let me say that South Africa needs a change in the way government relates to people, and in the delivery of services. The ANC government is committed to a service delivery culture that will put every elected official and public servant to work for South African citizens and ensure their accountability to our people. That is why you heard the hon Minister saying that they are really accountable to us as Parliament. Therefore, the ANC government will continue to develop social partnership and work with every citizen.
Hon Minister, we appreciate the work that you and the department are doing. We have seen you working very hard in the few months since you have been appointed. We can see that you are now restoring hope that this department will really achieve the objectives that it has set.
I want to indicate on the issue of the incentives grant that there were good intentions with this that the municipalities should pull up their socks in capital budget expenditure. However, hon Minister, there are unintended consequences around the issue of the incentives grant. Competition by nature is the survival of the fittest. Only municipalities with an adequate revenue base will benefit from the incentives grant, hon Minister. In order to strengthen and tighten the EPWP 2, we suggest that the hon Minister and the department revisit the EPWP approach so that it can benefit more municipalities with little or no revenue base.
Secondly, hon Minister, we support the call that you have made for development of a database for engineers and artisans, in order to address the shortage of scarce skills. We appreciate it greatly and further suggest, hon Minister, that we get a lot of people, particularly in the rural areas, to use the parliamentary constituency offices to hand in their curricula vitae so that you can get more people that are in those areas. Please consider that, hon Minister.
We will manage our economy in a manner that ensures that South Africa continues to grow, that all South Africans, black and white, benefit from that growth, and that we create decent work for the unemployed, the youth, women and the rural poor. The government of the ANC remains in touch with its people and listens to their needs.
We respect the rule of law and human rights, and we will defend the Constitution and uphold our multiparty democracy. Indeed, we have achieved much in the last 17 years, and we are committed to doing more. Thank you very much. [Applause.]