Speaker, hon President and hon Deputy President, every year in the state of the nation address the goals are identified, but at the end of each year we still have challenges when the targets are not achieved. You have considered in your speech, Mr President, that there are challenges in respect of two important areas - poverty alleviation and job creation.
After your speech, experts have commented and they have been unanimous that you have not outlined any details as to how government is going to achieve those goals. The provinces have financial problems, especially the departments of health. Local government is suffering because there is no service delivery and there are service delivery protests.
The national Minister of Human Settlements said, a day later, that billions of taxpayers' money will have to be used to repair shoddy workmanship where there have been irregularities, corruption, etc. The main show in KwaZulu- Natal is making earth-shattering news every day with forensic reports and the Auditor-General's reports.
I regard your presentation to the country like a doctor who is giving somebody a medicine bottle of tonic for a cure. What you have done, Mr President, was to put on the labels on the medicine bottle, but you have not told us what the mixture inside the bottle is; and what we are interested in, is the outcome.
President Obama, after his party lost the congressional elections, said that the failure of his office was to make promises, but not saying how to deliver and they failed with regards to the outcome.
We are failing in agriculture and infrastructure. There are some very important messages you gave on a lot of incentives to the very big businessmen, but you just glossed over the most important job creators in history - the informal sectors and the small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs. After the great recession in the United States and after the Second World War, it was the informal sector and the SMMEs that made the United States, Germany and Japan into world economic power houses.
We must be disciplined. I want to tell you something very clearly, Mr President, and that is that some of your "generals" are letting you down. Look at the hotel bills and the expenses, at the time when the Minister of Finance mentioned that there will be finance stringency.
The MF praises your efforts in international relationships. You have done wonderful work in Africa. You have internally built excellent community relationships, but what the people need is known in the Indian language as roti, kapra aur markan; meaning they want food, shelter and work. [Laughter.]
I agree with you, Mr President, that every decision in this country and at the three levels of government must result in work, work and nothing but work. But if the government wants to spread its tentacles to control things and not allow public-private initiatives and partnerships, we cannot move forward.
The MF supports sound, meaningful economic transformation that must be translated into economic opportunities and social improvements in everybody's live. Look at India and China, where there is producer price indexes, PPIs, and decentralisation.
Thousands of youngsters from the minority communities are waiting to serve this country. Let us move away from race and affirmative action, and move to equal opportunity programmes and get the best brains in government and the administration. This country can take a giant leap forward.
Let us not let our youth matriculate and then frustrate by leaving them without a job. What we are experiencing is that people are getting tenders, tenders and more tenders. In Ethekwini they are using Rule 36 and people are swimming in money overnight. Give the Hawks a blank cheque, Mr President, to clean up our country and put it right. We are living in a wonderful and great country.
Mr President, you are very strongly identified with sport. Sport in our country is like a stepchild and we must remove the stepchild's image. Regarding the allocation of funds, sport must be treated fairly and squarely. It is not too late to include the great Shaun Pollock with Makhaya Ntini. The price of success is eternal vigilance. We must not only create jobs, but we must be able to keep the jobs we have.
We are becoming too much stuck in a socialist state. A developmental state creates jobs and if we remain stuck in social states, our country will undoubtedly stagnate.
Sexual abuse of school learners is linked to HIV and Aids and the government is dragging its heels when it comes to this. Schools lack the capacity and expertise to deal with learners who are victims of sexual abuse.
Mr President, some of the media don't believe in multiparty democracy. I want to condemn e.tv for unashamedly being the public relations officer of the DA. [Applause.] They should hang their heads in shame when it comes to the principles of fairness and equitability.
The great Mahatma Gandhi once said:
The best way to . . . lose yourself is to find yourself in the service of others.
In the very same context, there is a beautiful isiZulu proverb: "Umuntu umuntu ngabantu" - we are who we are because of other people. [Applause.] Let us commit ourselves today to delivering all our people from the shackles of poverty. Let us kick race out of the window and give everybody a chance. Together, in Madiba's words, everybody can build a great nation. Thank you. [Applause.]