Chairperson, hon Minister Patel, hon Deputy Minister Tobias-Pokolo, hon Minister Pandor, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to greet you this afternoon as we, as a collective, look at solutions urgently needed by our country's economy at this time.
Before I continue with my speech, I would like to say that we are all worried about the 14% of our people on social development grants, but we have to put it in context. Who created that situation? It is not us. The government of yesterday - and some hon members who are in this House will actually relate much better to that - had determined that some people, Africans in particular, should be servants and domestic workers.
A responsible government does not come in and turn a blind eye to something like that. A responsible government has to make an intervention. As we mention these figures, we need to make sure that we also educate people, so that we do not just throw money at that 14%. We do not like the situation. If there is a way of getting people out of it, we will do so.
The singular and most consistent known vehicle for economic growth is strategic investment in human capital. Our best asset in this country cannot be anything else but its people. Once you properly invest in human capital, you are assured of a high rate of return because this is when inventions, discoveries as well as innovations become a reality. Effective investment in human capital has a multiplier effect, where it is not only the individual who benefits but others too, through job creation and the opening up of frontiers so that internal and external markets become competitive. The skills that are then developed become "human-made" brain power and go beyond a major dependence on mineral commodities. This has been clearly demonstrated by Asian nations such as Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.
The world indices do not reflect a South Africa that is investing strategically in human capital. For example, we are rated poorly in areas like mathematics and natural sciences, and this is where strategic inventions and innovations come from. We need to focus more on these areas.
In this regard, I would like to say thank you to the body of former teachers in Gauteng - and I am one of them - who are pledging to assist with this. I am so happy that I can go back to the classroom and teach mathematics. [Applause.]
An inclusive approach will focus on developing academics who will propound theories and models of economic growth, but this will certainly not happen to the exclusion of people on lower academic levels in our society. There is a tendency to leave our people behind and I wouldn't want us, this new department, to do that as well. We must urgently produce more artisans. We need them more than ever before. What happened to our vocational schools?
Die ambagskole, waar is hulle vandag? [Where are our trade schools today?]
We must get them back because we need to train as many people as possible.
Let's look at the match between the institutions we have and the demand from the economy. In most cases there is no match. The Sector Education and Training Authorities, Setas, must be driven by these gaps in the economy for them to be meaningful tools in our economy. This would help greatly to sustain our economic growth and development.
We are currently experimenting with infrastructure development projects throughout the country. Their success will depend on the utilisation of intellectual thinking and the availability of artisans. The future development of skills will depend entirely on how we use skills after the infrastructure boom years.
We need to develop a competitive economy. This requires an understanding of the structural features that are impacting positively and negatively on the growth and development of our economy. Some of these structural features are the following: Our country has a history of a lack of investment in its human capital. We concentrated at the top, but left out the bottom. It is high time that we go there and make sure our people become part of the mainstream economy.
Our economy exhibits a high dependence on mineral commodities, and the entire economy relies on the strength of a single province: Gauteng. Just imagine what would happen if the economy of that province collapsed. The entire country would have a problem. It is important for us to unlock the potential in other provinces.
The Minister mentioned that I have been doing the rounds in provinces. I have discovered, for instance, that the Free State - a province that produces quality agricultural goods - does not add value to their produce. The MEC said to me that his province produces potatoes but for him to eat chips, the potatoes must leave the Free State and come back fully processed. So, making sure there are processing plants is one of the easy things we can do.
The decline of agriculture in the South African economy is a major threat to the growth and development of the economy. We must concentrate on bringing agro-processes closer to agricultural communities to give these communities the opportunity to grow their industries and add value to the food they produce. This is doable, and we call on all South Africans with expertise to come forward and save our crops. Our country shows a lack of global competitiveness. We could be exporting more than we are at the moment. We are importing more than 50% of the chicken we eat in South Africa. This means that more than half of the chicken eaten in South Africa does not come from within South Africa. We are importing fruit and yet we can produce so much food.
So, if hon members could look at the latest report from Sars, and if we work together as South Africans to bring relief to South Africa, we can do a lot.
For instance, we have a ... I think my clock is wrong. Instead of going down, it is going up!