Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, the House and our guests in the gallery, it is important to briefly state where we come from regarding developmental issues and governance in general. The regime before 1994, now counted among the dead, institutionalised separate development and thus broadened social and economic inequalities. For instance, R6 million would be spent to build five toilets for whites only in a community of four to five million people. On the other hand, R2 million would be spent to build three toilets in a black community of about 20 million people. The difference in expenditure tells you more about the quality of infrastructure for the white community as compared to the infrastructure in the black community.
This was a sectarian government which believed the development of poor communities should largely be financed through private capital rather than public-sector funds. They created greater reliance on the market, minimised state intervention and could not account for public funds. They preferred liberalising exchange controls, which has the potential to make South Africa vulnerable to foreign capital flows.
They also wanted to see the implementation of industrial development through investments in private companies, thus holding the government to ransom as far as economic development was concerned. Now the government of the day is expected to correct the mess of more than 100 years in 16 years.
Chairperson, this is practically impossible. All normal thinking people in the world would bear testimony that the level of socioeconomic development in South Africa, with the ANC-led government, is something to write home about, hence the country has attracted foreign investment. It is unfortunate that others chose to be ignorant and say the government did nothing. Yes, we acknowledge that more needs to be done.
Today, we're talking about planning economic development that is inclusive and accessible to all in the country. The Economic Development Department, EDD, applied strategies through the creation of economic development policies to make the environment conducive to participation by all in the process of empowering communities and creating decent jobs. The effective application of economic development policies finds expression in good co- ordination, planning and the alignment of programmes. The main role or objective of development plans and strategies is to transform society. We are striving for a common goal: nation building. The industrial policy action plan takes cognisance of the need to be biased in favour of historically disadvantaged individuals, hence the emphasis on the promotion of a labour-absorbing industrialisation path.
However, this policy is abused by historically advantaged people. They use poor people as fronts. In the name of Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, BBBEE, gardeners and domestic helpers are fronted as directors of companies they don't know about or have ever heard of. And so-called educated people, according to the evaluation or standards of the historically advantaged, are appointed as managers when they can hardly call a meeting, let alone have any knowledge about the company's budget. These tendencies are mainly found in those who have excessive power over the economy - they know who they are.
We are advocates of being proudly South African - local is lekker - but as the campaign intensifies, let us also nurture the global competitiveness of small businesses. Very often potential competitors do not have the required capital and collateral. This is where policy plays its role again. This caring government has put in place development finance institutions or entities to assist small businesses with capital, training and mentoring and thus enabling them to access funds and sustain their businesses. Those who are obsessed with greed abuse the situation and fix prices. Through good planning, the developmental state has put in place a mechanism to combat such bad practices. We have the Competition Commission, which has done a good job recently in dealing with the airlines, which fixed prices of air tickets. This price fixing has the potential to discourage tourists from coming to the famous Fifa 2010 event, from which small businesses stand to benefit. The Competition Commission has proved that it does not bark to scare but barks to bite.
The mandate of the Department of Economic Development cuts across all departments. This integrated approach is the way to go in order to reach other departments. The economic crisis came as a storm and resulted in job losses. The department intervened through the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, and provided financial assistance to companies in distress. This intervention saved more than 6 000 jobs. Due to the integrated approach, the intervention automatically reached the Departments of Labour and Trade and Industry.
Through oversight, the department, together with the committee, will be able to monitor the progress made by companies that have been assisted. At the same time it will identify new areas that are potentially threatening economic development, and so save jobs. To save more jobs, the department should prioritise labour-absorbing sectors. Developmental plans and strategies must respond to the demands of the markets and the corporate world.
The Department of Education, from basic to higher learning, must come to the party to design a school curriculum that will produce graduates who are economically valuable. Departments should not compete against one another but complement and augment one another.
We have a history where the school curriculum systematically forced students to major in biblical studies and criminology even when they had no intention to serve in the Police Service or legal system. While biblical studies are good for maintaining social order, they do not play a role in economic growth.
The monitoring and evaluation of the application of development policies will enable the department to review them in accordance with the new challenges, hence the need for policy conferences. Public participation or public hearings also play a pivotal role in policy-making and monitoring. Economic policies are meant to address socio-economic conditions and enhance quality of life. Through public hearings people are given a platform to interact with government and give feedback on whether policies effectively serve their intended purpose. They do not give feedback only but also make inputs. This is what happens in a government of the people by the people.
Land ownership is another challenge to the development, especially rural development. The 1913 Land Act is dead alive - dead on the statute books, but alive in action, albeit subtly. It is true that in parts of our rural areas the land is vast but, sadly, much of it is not productive but barren. These areas need water, irrigation equipment, fertilisers, etc, to give life to the barren land.
Most of the time rural communities have the skills to till their land, but they need resources and the necessary infrastructure. And when a rural community has productive land, they are threatened by pollution. Traditional healers are also affected because their medicinal plants are usually found in the veld. The solution lies in a partnership with the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and other related departments.
Infrastructure for rural development is faced with a number of challenges but this must not be the reason for neglecting it. We must go to the extremes, like when that barren land is identified for commercial development by developers in the private sector. The expenditure on government researchers must prove to be value for money and they must advise government on how we could best deal with the situation.
Modulasetulo re se re entse tse ngata empa ha re a etsa kahohlehohle. Ka hara naha re na le bafumanehi ba bangata le phephetso ya baphaphathehi ba lokelang ho hlokomelwa ke mmuso. Manyane a rona a feketswa ke kgolo e potlakileng ya setjhaba. Kahoo, re etsa boipiletso ho setjhaba ka kakaretso ho ba le tjantjello ya tekanyo ya malapa hore mmuso o kgone ho hlokomela bongata ba bana le thuto ya bona. Kokwanahloko ya HIV/AIDS e re amoha boiphihlello le setjhaba se nang le bokamoso. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, we have done many things, but not everything. We have many poor people in the country, as well as the challenge of refugees who must be maintained by government. Our budget is not enough to accommodate the increasing number of citizens. So, we humbly appeal to the entire nation to consider family planning so that the government can take care of the children and their education. The HIV/Aids virus is robbing our nation of its potential and a bright future.]
That is a loss of skills owing to HIV and Aids.
Dipatlisiso di bontsha hore kokwanahloko ena e jele setsi matitjhereng le batjheng, haholoholo bathong ba basadi. Ha re bue ka seo re se balang masedinyaneng kapa seo re se utlwang diyalemoyeng, re bua ka seo re se bonang ka mahlo hoba re mmuso wa batho ka batho, re ya metseng le metsaneng ho buisana le batho. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[Researchers have shown that this virus mostly affects teachers and youth, especially women. We are not talking about what we read in the newspapers or hear on radio, but what we see with our eyes, because we are a government of the people by the people, we go to the communities to talk to people.]
However, the Department of Health is on track in dealing with the challenge. Otherwise, the rapid loss of teachers, youth and women owing to HIV and Aids would render investment in socio-economic development tantamount to fruitless expenditure. This would be because the government would be investing heavily in training, but the fruits thereof might be short-lived or never even see the light of day.
Looking back again at where we come from, we are proud to say that the ANC- led government has proved to be a caring one that promotes a nonracial and nonsexist South Africa, where the potential of people across the colour line, also those with disabilities, is recognised and nurtured. In the past, disabled people were declared nonexistent.
In conclusion, we applaud EDD for committing themselves to the minimal utilisation of consultants. They will do this by appointing senior managers who are specialists in various areas of development. I thank you. [Applause.]