Deputy Speaker, before I start my speech, I must just address a point made by Minister Patel. Mr Patel, I have not heard that kind of a whopper in ages!
Minister Patel came here to tell us extensively how we were going to turn the President's jobs plan specifically into a programme that was going to help create jobs and that he was going to give us some details. However, then he told us about Mercedes Benz, BMWs, Volkswagens, etc - cars that had started coming off the production line in many cases before the President even came up here to speak.
How can that possibly be the result of the President's speech? In fact, that is the result of the motor industry development plan if we really think about it. Then he told us about Nestl and its massive expansion plans. Well, that was also planned long before the President came up here to speak.
The he went on to speak about the power stations. Unfortunately for the logic, the Medupe power station is already half-completed and the President only came to speak to us last Thursday night! So I am not sure how exactly those are results of the state of the nation speech or even of the new growth path. However, let me get to the point, hon President: The creation of jobs is harder than we think.
South Africans want to be working people; nobody wants to be unemployed or sit on the side of the road and beg, which is a travesty that we see every day. To give people real dignity means, for most, to be gainfully employed, to have a job.
Visiting the sheltered employment factories last year with the portfolio committee, we were able to see how a disabled person could build furniture and get a meaningful job and in that way earn an income to enable them to look after themselves to a degree.
It was just a pity to hear how, over the past decade, the number of people who are employed in the sheltered employment factories have dwindled by a couple of thousand, but that project can be a light at the end of the tunnel for many people who are unemployed.
Hon President, the country does salute you for putting the emphasis in your speech this year on job creation. With over 35% of our adult employable people out of work, unemployment is our biggest national crisis and a President who did not acknowledge and emphasise that would be a national embarrassment.
In that vein, the DA welcomes the R20 billion in tax breaks outlined in the state of the nation address: the R10 billion from the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, to stimulate jobs growth and the R9 billion jobs fund to be established through the Finance Minister's budget later this year. These are all steps in the right direction.
In fact, we have had as a DA policy proposal a DA youth wage subsidy since 2004. If these funds are used for that purpose, amongst other things, then we, of course, must and will support this plan, Mr Manuel. We've had it as a policy for seven years already; we look forward to the youth getting jobs as a result.
However, the new growth path tabled by Cabinet points out some details that have to be borne in mind when we are sloshing around in all this cash for jobs in the way that the state of the nation speech does.
The framework calls for a very specific kind of jobs growth, through "jobs drivers" and securing strong and sustainable growth in the next decade. I quote:
Most of the projected new jobs will come from the private sector.
Five million of those new jobs! Now, Speaker, we need to ask the President this question: Sir, how exactly does the R39 billion translate into private sector jobs? Of course, policies and budgets and speeches must work together or we won't create jobs at all.
As we heard before, let us not forget that President Barack Obama threw over US$700 billion at saving jobs by bailing out banks. And where is that money today? Many jobs were lost anyway, and much of that money ended up being paid in bonuses to Wall Street executives instead of saving the jobs of ordinary workers.
We have only R39 billion, which is a lot less. If the tax breaks induce the likes of an Alcan to set up that elusive aluminium smelter at Coega, then a few thousand permanent jobs could be created and the money may be well spent. However, what South Africa was expecting in the state of the nation speech was some direction on how to create jobs, Minister Patel.
More specifically, we had just witnessed the war of words that had broken out between Gwede Mantashe, the general secretary of the ruling party, the new Minister, hon Oliphant, and Cosatu on the direction of the new labour laws and the conundrum over whether we should focus first on better quality jobs or more jobs.
The hon Minister was quoted as weighing in on the debate by saying:
Decent employment can only be successful when all stakeholders constantly keep in mind ... the context of the South African and global economies, social realities such as poverty, inequality and education levels, and the long-term goals for South Africa that must be weighed against short- term costs.
And -
A living wage, yes, at a later stage it's going to be part of these things.
She then later realised the storm that had begun and added:
Let us not get into an either/or debate. We want jobs and we must strive for decent work.
But hon President, there is a debate raging in South Africa, a very valuable debate, and South Africans are looking for direction on this issue. Mr Mantashe saw it quite clearly. He said:
Our view is that jobs must be created. Once created, then those people can engage on conditions of employment. If you first negotiate conditions before you are in the job then you are putting the cart before the horse.
The reason that this debate is so important is because it goes to the heart of why there has been such limited job growth in South Africa when the economy was actually growing. The labour laws proposed under the previous labour Minister, and tabled in December for comment by Minister Oliphant, now come along.
The reason for the huge public outcry against these laws is that they will destroy jobs just at the time that you, Mr President, are trying to create jobs. At the heart of the problem lie the unrealistic demands of Cosatu. The other labour unions, and even Fedusa, had different proposals for the new legislation. However, Cosatu cried wolf with words like "ban labour broking" and "end all temporary work and outsourcing in the Republic" - all for a few new union subscriptions and membership numbers for Cosatu. Sis!
Cosatu spokesman, Mr Patrick Craven, confirmed this live on radio when debating with me recently on the subject. He said: "Mr Ollis has a point." He then went on to explain that Cosatu does believe that the shutting down of labour brokers and the limiting of temporary work will make it easier for Cosatu to unionise members and grow their organisation, and that this was the reason for their demands on labour brokers and temporary work. This is a travesty.
The new labour laws will kill many, many jobs to create just a few new Cosatu members. What a disaster for the New Growth Path!