Chairperson, hon members, South Africa has to create jobs to avoid a human-made calamity; not for the sake of avoiding a revolution so that a political system can be protected, but for the sake of the people. This is the FF Plus's Christian-based view.
This committee's work does not make national headlines, yet it can be regarded as the single most important committee in creating an equitable living environment. Economics is a complex field and not easy to implement. Consensus is rare, and there is a saying that if you laid down all the economists in the world from end to end, they would still not reach any conclusion.
The committee, however, under the pragmatic leadership of chairperson Fubbs, does have a broad consensus, and that is the urgency of job creation. Job creation implies the unlocking of value in the market and supplying a need. This process presupposes a requirement called innovation, which implies the application of existing and new knowledge to new and existing resources to unlock new value in the form of goods and services. It is our view that this is what the department is endeavouring to do and its broad approach therein is sensible.
Ek het dit in die begrotingsdebat oor ekonomiese ontwikkeling aan Minister Patel gestel dat hierdie doelwit van werkskepping ongekende samewerking sal vereis tussen die onderskeie staatsdepartemente, die privaatbedryf en die publiek. Die verslag van die Portefeuljekomitee oor Handel en Nywerheid beaam dit deur die stelling dat daar eenheid tussen mikro- en makro- ekonomiese beleid moet wees. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[In the budget debate on economic development I put it to Minister Patel that this job creation target will require unprecedented co-operation between the various state departments, the private sector and the public. The report by the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry corroborates this by stating that there should be unity between micro- and macroeconomic policy.]
The Industrial Policy Action Plan, Ipap 2, which focuses on promoting the productive sectors of the economy, is a valuable shift away from a consumption-led growth path. We need to be creative, innovative and focused on adding value rather than just being conveyers of mineral resources and crude materials. That this industrial policy therefore also drives and orients the South African trade policy so as to find outlets for our value- added products seems sensible.
Betreffende die nuwe Maatskappywet, was die VF Plus bereid om die aanname van die wet te ondersteun. Die onnodige dwang om die wet op 1 April in werking te stel en die sogenaamde Yengeni-klousule het dit egter vir ons onmoontlik gemaak. Na al die gejaag het die Presidensie in elk geval nie die wet op 1 April in werking laat tree nie.
Die Yengeni-klousule is problematies vir die VF Plus, nie omdat ons nie kan vergewe indien iemand oortree het nie, maar omdat ons die howe as meer as geskik beskou om te bepaal of iemand vergewe en vertrou kan word om as direkteur te dien nadat hy of sy aan 'n misdryf skuldig bevind is.
Wat die wetgewing oor verbruikersbeskerming betref, vind die VF Plus dit verblydend dat nie net die regte van kommersile verbruikers beskerm word nie, maar ook di van verbruikers van goedere en dienste deur die staat. Dit is daarom kommerwekkend dat die Minister vir Samewerkende Regering en Tradisionele Sake vir Minister Davies gevra het om alle munisipaliteite uit te sluit van die toepassing van die wet. Ons wil graag weet hoekom. Ons vermoed hierdie uitsluiting is inherent ongrondwetlik en is daarop toegespits om die ANC te beskerm teen 'n vloedgolf van klagtes weens swak munisipale dienste. Dankie, meneer. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[As regards the new Companies Act, the FF Plus was prepared to support the adoption of this legislation. The unnecessary compulsion to enact this legislation on 1 April and the so-called Yengeni clause, however, made this impossible for us. After that big rush the Presidency didn't enact the legislation on 1 April anyway. The Yengeni clause is problematic for the FF Plus, not in that we cannot forgive someone for having transgressed, but in that we regard the courts as more suitable to determine whether someone can be forgiven and trusted to serve as a director after he or she has been found guilty of an offence.
As regards the Consumer Protection Act, the FF Plus finds it heartening that not only the rights of commercial consumers are protected, but also those of the consumers of goods and services by the state. That is why it is worrying that the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has asked Minister Davies to exclude all municipalities from the implementation of this Act. We would dearly like to know why. We suspect this exclusion to be inherently unconstitutional and aimed at protecting the ANC against a flood of complaints because of poor municipal services. Thank you, sir.]