Hon Deputy President, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, the purpose of the Division of Revenue Bill is to provide for the revenue raised nationally among the national, provincial and local spheres of government for the 2010-11 financial year, and to see that the money raised is spent by these spheres of government. What is significant is that this Bill provides for the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Act, Act 9 of 2009, which empowers Parliament to amend the government Budget and to oversee government actions and monitor spending.
What is also noteworthy is that this piece of legislation will be phased in over a period of three years. The Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Finance committee met on a number of occasions to finalise the establishment of the Parliamentary Budget Directorate, and that will provide support to assist the Finance and Appropriations Committees to strengthen their legislative oversight. The DA supports the establishment of the Parliamentary Budget Office. The 2010 Budget and the Division of Revenue Bill must be seen in the light that 900 000 South Africans lost their jobs due to the economic recession, that only 12 million South Africans are permanently employed, and that 14 million South Africans depend on some kind of government grant.
The recent escalation of 24,8% in the price of electricity and other inflationary factors may mean that within two years the number of South Africans that depend upon social grants may even increase to 16 million.
The plight of the poor and the needy cannot be left unattended to, but it is also acknowledged that the very limited resources of government must be spent properly so that the benefits of the taxes flow through the system, such as health care, education, municipal infrastructure grants, etc.
In a submission to the Appropriations committee, the Financial and Fiscal Commission said that an in-depth review of the management of conditional grants was needed. It is an open question whether prudent spending and the intended objectives regarding the creation of jobs are attained by government agencies and parastatals. The DA will welcome a review. We urge the Minister to intervene and create the capacity so that proper performance audits can be conducted in dysfunctional entities.
Globally national, provincial and social governments do not grow economies or create jobs. Businesses do that. But governments, through their departments, provide an enabling environment - or a disabling environment, if the department is dysfunctional - which either encourages or discourages economic growth. The task ahead is to alleviate unemployment, which at the present rate is 26,5%. This, Mr Chairman, is clearly unacceptable.
The DA calls upon respective government departments to review our present rigid regulatory environment. The cost of doing business in this country is exorbitant. We need investment. It is said that it is possible to set up a company in less than three weeks in some parts of the world. If we want to alleviate poverty and unemployment, we must be able to compete with these economies if we want to attract sustained investment.
Poor delivery of services is endemic to South Africa's largest parastatals. Telkom's service is expensive, with a high fault vote; Eskom's supply problems have cost the manufacturing and mining sectors millions, while Transnet's rail division inhibits growth in the mining and agricultural industries. The Chamber of Mines has noted that the lack of rail infrastructure is a huge bottleneck in terms of the development of our mineral resources.
The present system of management within these parastatals is clearly not acceptable. Eskom and Transnet are, at the present moment, without a permanent chief executive officer. What is of further concern is that Eskom has stated publicly that South Africa's electricity supply-and-demand situation will be tight by the end of this year. To bridge this difference, it is important to involve all role-players to take proactive steps to provide adequate services. I thank you, Mr Chairman. [Applause.]