Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, I make the following declaration. There is an urgent need to make doing business in South Africa easier. Part of achieving this objective has been the overhaul of the 38- year-old existing Companies Act. The Companies Amendment Bill before us today goes a long way, but not far enough, to correct the flaws in the 2008 Companies Act.
In the first place, the Democratic Alliance is opposed to the hasty implementation of the Act and the proposed amendments on 1 April 2011. This view is supported by organised business. They believe that they are not being given enough time to prepare for any changes that may be required by the new Act as well as the amendments to it. Secondly, the amendment does not remove the totally unnecessary obligation for holding companies to obtain a special resolution from members before loans to subsidiaries can be made. This simply ignores the reality of the legitimate, regular and frequent use of intercompany loans by companies.
Thirdly, and probably most telling, is the Malema clause, which will allow convicted fraudsters to be appointed, without any application to court, as directors a mere five years after being convicted. Thus, even if a person has been convicted and sentenced to a sentence in excess of five years, such as Schabir Shaik, that person may be appointed as a director while still in prison or on the golf course, as in Shaik's case. The ANC clearly puts the comfort and financial standing of its convicted fraudsters ahead of protecting South Africans from the actions of such fraudsters.
The solution to job creation lies not in the ANC's Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, and its bloated, inefficient and frequently corrupt civil service, but in real economic growth. Economic growth is only achievable when all South Africans are given the opportunities to achieve their full potential.
We need a society that ensures that every South African is given the opportunity to fulfil their potential and their dreams. We need an open opportunity society for all. In view of the fatal flaws in the Bill and despite the advantages contained in it - and there are many advantages - the Democratic Alliance does not support the Companies Amendment Bill in its present form. Thank you.