Madam Deputy Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, the past few weeks have given us the opportunity to think back with nostalgia to the unbanning of our liberation movements and the release of Madiba. The ID supports the President in thanking all those who led the fight against apartheid, inside and outside our country. However, this is not just an opportunity to remember how we won our freedom, but also a time to reflect on what we have done with it.
It is, indeed, very sad for me that the millions of South Africans who deserve the most praise for our victory over oppression, the very people that led the battle in the streets, have yet to taste the fruits of our democracy.
We acknowledge that 15 years is not enough to reverse 350 years of colonialism and apartheid. But it is my belief that we could have achieved far more. The fact that government has not followed up on its plans on implementation and evaluation means in many ways that it has failed Mandela's legacy. For example, the energy crisis we are facing today was caused by the ANC, and the very same ANC stands to gain the most, financially, from electricity tariff increases.
For the ID, it is unethical and immoral that a significant percentage of the 35% increase proposed by Eskom will go straight into the ANC's coffers via Chancellor House. It is with dismay that we recall that Chancellor House was the name of the building that housed the Mandela and Tambo law firm.
Indeed, by straying from the higher set of ethics espoused by Nelson Mandela, the ANC and the government have made a mockery of his legacy. Added to this, the actions of some Ministers, who continue to make money out of state tenders, have revealed the President's tough talk on corruption for what it is - just talk.
It is clear that the battle for the soul of the ANC has now morphed into a leadership battle for state resources.
The announcement that Mr President has terminated over 30 000 fraudulent social grants payments is very good. But when will these crooks be arrested, charged, prosecuted and sent to jail?
The hon President also said that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Corruption is looking at ways to decisively defeat corruption. But, does the President think that they will be effective when there are so many conflicts of interest in business deals where even Ministers are involved?
The idea that Ministers can monitor themselves is both misguided and misleading. Rather, we should be setting up a permanent commission comprising MPs and civil society to monitor and expose corruption in government. In some countries an anticorruption unit is set up for every big procurement by the state.
Can the hon President also tell us when, if ever, we will see a plan from him on how we are going to restructure the economy so that it can create jobs? It is an indictment on the Mandela legacy that we have become the most unequal society in the world.
It is patronising to enter into a semantic debate about what constitutes work when over a million South Africans lost their jobs last year. The hon President said we are turning the corner. Which corner? Where is this corner? Millions of South Africans have been living in economic depression all their lives. This recession, now at the end, has only worsened the situation.
We are surprised that the hon President is only now going to establish an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Energy to formulate an integrated energy plan for the next 20 years, when the legislation for this was passed two years ago. Can the hon President explain why there have been these delays and give us an indication of when this plan will be started and when it will be completed?
Again, he is promising that the independent power producers will be introduced. But can he please tell us by when the policy environment will be in place to attract them into the market? It is precisely this kind of thinking that has led to the energy crisis in the first place.
We would also like to hear when the hon President is going to intervene in the failing state-owned enterprises to halt the rot that has set in.
As a social democratic party, the ID believes in the strategic importance of state-owned enterprises, but only if they fit in with our developmental objectives, are run properly and are not a bottomless pit for taxpayers' money.
The hon President also said last year that he would improve the monitoring and evaluation of state-owned enterprises. I don't know whether he has forgotten about that.
The ID would like to welcome the wage subsidies for young people because we had already asked for that in our manifesto last year.
I won't even go into the delivery commitments and the performance agreements for Ministers. We heard it in the last state of the nation address. Now we have heard it again. Can it now be known what the delay is? Why is it taking so long?
The ID is ready to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty by working hard in order to build our country. But we will need decisive action and leadership, and need far less repetitive talk and spin from the hon President. I thank you. [Applause.]