Speaker, hon President Zuma, Deputy President Motlanthe, hon members, I am tempted to say, "Compliments of the new season!" However, a year that is over 60 days old has no legitimate right to call itself new. It is enough to say, "Compliments of the new week, Comrade President!"
The President's state of the nation address had a few rays of hope. The PAC welcomes his promise that in the next three years an additional two million children from poor households aged 15 to 18 years will benefit from the child support grant. We are heartened by the President's declaration that the economy is now creating jobs rather than shedding them. It is equally encouraging to note that over the next three years government will spend R846 billion on public infrastructure.
Comrade President, the PAC has detected a deafening silence in your speech on the role played by its leaders and members in the struggle for change. Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the PAC founding president, died in the month of February, 32 years ago, and yet not once was the name of a man with a divine mission mentioned in your speech. We know who said Sobukwe was a man with a divine mission. These were the words of former South African Prime Minister, John Balthazar Voster!
This conspiracy of silence deeply worries us. It worries us more as we prepare for the 50th anniversary of the Sharpeville and Langa massacres to be held next month. I want to state, in no uncertain terms, that the marches against the pass laws in Cape Town, Vereeniging, Johannesburg and elsewhere in the country, were not spontaneous. They were planned, organised and led by the PAC.
No one can honestly remember Sharpeville and Langa without acknowledging the role played by Sobukwe and his followers. It is regrettable that in the new South Africa there is insufficient recognition of non-ANC contributors to the liberation struggle. It is sad that, over 15 years into our democracy, we still have Zwelithini Mhlongo, Ashley Jexe and other freedom fighters languishing in our prisons. This is unacceptable at best, and reactionary at worst.
We are of the view that sustained rural development entails two fundamental things, namely the redistribution of land in such a way that it mirrors the demographics. Without land redistribution, all talk of rural development amounts to empty political posturing. Secondly, mago?i, amakhosi cannot afford to be mere spectators in the affairs that impact on their people and land. They must be an integral part, if not the pioneers, of rural development.
Comrade President, your declaration of war against corruption would be most convincing if it were accompanied by a termination of the ruling party's corrupt policy of cadre deployment in the organs of state, irrespective of their know-how. This counterproductive policy compromises the effective management of the SABC, Eskom, SAA and other parastatals. We can't have a political party membership card being used to bolster an individual's curriculum vitae.
Ge ke ruma polelo ke nyaka go laet?a gore motheo wa thuto ya rena o a fokola. [In conclusion, I would like to indicate that the basic foundation of the education system is weak.]
The foundation of our education is weak because it promotes one colonial language at the expense of other languages, especially the indigenous African languages.
Mongwadi wa maemo wa Mo-Afrika, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, o re leleme la motho le mo thu?a go kwe?i?a segagabo. Go a swabi?a gore ka nako ye ya pu?o ya batho- ka-batho dipolelo t?a se-Afrika di a nyamalala. Pu?ong ya kgatelelo ya maabane re bone go t?welela dinatla t?a bangwadi go swana le Thomas Mofolo, A C Jordan, E S Madima, O K Matsepe le ba bangwe. Ba ka moka ba be ba ngwala ka segagabobona. Bjale mmu?o wa rena okare o re sehlare sa Mosotho ke polelo ya Seisemane. Ka fase ga mmu?o wo wa lehono batho ba dikadika go bolela segagabobona [T?hwahlelo.] Ke a leboga. [Nako e fedile.] (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[The most prestigious African writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o argues that a person's language enables one to understand his culture. It is disappointing that now, during the government of the people by the people, African languages are facing extinction. In the apartheid era there emerged prominent writers such as Thomas Mofolo, A C Jordan, E S Madima, O K Matsepe and many others. All of them were writing in their home languages. It seems as if our government is declaring that the best remedy for an African is the English language. Under the leadership of this present government people are still hesitant to use their home languages. Thank you. [Interjections.] [Time expired.]]
UMPHATHISWA WESEBE LEMICIMBI YAMANZI NOKUSINGQONGILEYO: Mandibulelele Somlomo, ndibulele kuMongameli welizwe, kuSekela Mongameli nakumalungu ahloniphekileyo. Okokuqala, ndicinga ukuba le Ndlu ifanele ukuhambisana nam xa ndibulela uMongameli ngokusikhokela kwakhe eCopenhagen. Manditsho kwilungu elibekekileyo uNdude ukuba asinakho ukulinda isiganeko ukuze sikhokele. Sesiqalile ukukhokela kwaye siyaqhubeka. Ingqungquthela ebizwa ngokuba yi-COP 17, Conference of Parties 17, iza kwenzeka kwaye iza kuba yimpumelelo ngokukhokelwa nguMongameli uJacob Zuma. Okwesibini, ndifuna ukuyiphinda le ndawo yamalahle. Amalahle asizi kuwalahla, ngoba alikho nelinye ilizwe eliwalahlileyo amalahle. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER OF WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: Let me thank the Speaker, the hon President, the hon Deputy President and hon members. Firstly, I think this House must agree with me when I thank the President for leading us in Copenhagen. Let me say to hon Ndude that we cannot wait for an event to happen in order for us to lead. We have already started to lead and we are continuing. The conference called COP 17, Conference of Parties 17, will take place and it will be a success through the leadership of President Jacob Zuma.
Secondly, I want to reiterate the issue of coal. We are not going to abandon coal, for there is not a single country that has abandoned coal.]
We are going to reduce our dependence on coal, but we are not going to abandon coal. The UK uses 40% coal in generating electricity; the United States of America uses 50% coal in generating electricity; and Poland uses 80% coal.
Asizi kuwalahla, koko siza kuwanciphisa. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Mongameli, ndiyabulela ngeli thuba undinike lona ukuze nam ndenze igalelo malunga nokukhululwa kwexhego lethu uTat' uMandela. Ndiyayibulela loo mbeko endiyinikwe liqela lam i-ANC yokuba nam ndithethe, ndiphose igade ekuthini nangomso, Madiba. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[We are not going to abandon it, but we will reduce our dependence on it. [Applause.]
Hon President, thank you for the opportunity that you have given me so that I can contribute with regard to the release of our old man, Mr Mandela. I am grateful for the honour bestowed upon me by my party, the ANC, to also speak and contribute by saying thank you to Madiba.]
As we march further in our long journey to freedom, inspired by former President Mandela's courageous and exemplary leadership, we are mindful that the struggle for a better life is not over and that the conditions of the struggle confronting us have since changed.
Indeed, the global balance of forces has changed. Climate change is arguably the biggest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century and that may undermine the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals. It poses a serious threat to humanity and life on earth, because, as we know, it is fuelled by the global carbon-intensive economy. Over and above the natural cycles of climate, science tells us that the 150 years of historic industrialisation of the developed countries led to an additional burden on the climate system - a burden that does not exempt the developing world, but makes it more vulnerable to the vagaries of climate change.
Actions to address climate change and sustainable development paths are linked. South Africa takes a green economic growth strategic approach that supports developing countries to identify actions that allow for sustainable development and climate mitigation co-benefits.
In the context of a strong emphasis on mitigation actions, it is essential for adaptation to be given at least the same priority as mitigation. Adaptation to climate change is a concern for the most vulnerable who happen to be the least able to deal with climate change, and also the least culpable for the current climate change situation.
As we all know, the nations of the world met in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, to finalise two years of negotiations aimed at strengthening the international climate regime beyond 2012. Specifically, our aim was to reach an international agreement that would prioritise both mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and the adaptation to climate change impacts equally, and to balance both climate and development imperatives. In this regard, it would equitably share the limited remaining carbon space.
Ukuba ke siyawuyeka loo mnyinyiva wokusetyenziswa kwekhabhoni ... [If we neglect that chance of carbon usage ...]
... if we drop coal, then we would be diminishing that space available for developing countries to get a fair chance to develop on the basis of the convention principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities.
We can't be extreme; we can't be taking an extreme view of environmental conservation at the expense of development. The Constitution is quite clear that balancing development and environmental management is what we need to be focusing on. This debate on climate change is about that.
In Copenhagen, the international community was unable to reach a legally binding agreement on a future international climate change regime. Formally, the conclusion reached in Copenhagen was to continue negotiations this year, 2010, on the basis of the work of the past two years under the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC.
However, with the active participation and leadership of hon President Jacob Zuma, together with the leaders of 28 other countries, a political agreement was reached. This agreement is known as the Copenhagen Accord and it captures political agreement on some of the major and difficult issues that have divided the international community since negotiations began two years ago.
The particularly difficult questions addressed in this agreement relate to the following: How to share and reflect responsibility, commitment and action among developed and developing countries; how to verify and ensure compliance with respective commitments; and linked to this, the question of who pays.
South Africa is proud of the leadership role it played as part of the BASIC group of countries - Brazil, China, South Africa and India - to ensure that some progress was reached in Copenhagen. The Copenhagen Accord, notwithstanding its deficiencies, outlines political agreement among leaders on many of the major issues.
In particular, these political agreements were related to the following issues that also present opportunities: how to record economy-wide binding emission reduction targets for developed countries, including the United States of America; and to simultaneously, for the first time, create a mechanism to record the emission reduction actions at international level by developing countries such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, as well as some small countries such as the Philippines and the Maldives. At the meeting, all of these countries submitted their commitment to act.
A third issue is how, internationally, to measure, report and verify this action that will be supported and transparently financed by a commitment from developed countries of US$10 billion per annum up to 2012, reaching US$100 billion per annum by 2020.
Then there is also the question of creating a technology development and transfer mechanism.
The hon President, in his state of the nation address, reaffirmed the commitment of this administration to the global and national effort. South Africa committed to potential mitigation actions leading to a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to business as usual, by 2020 and 42% by 2025. This commitment is neither additional nor extraneous to our internationally reviewed study on the country's mitigation potential, namely the Long-Term Mitigation Scenarios, LTMS.
I am emphatic on this point - to allay the fears of business - this is not an extra burden on business and the investors must please understand it in this context. The commitment that we made is actually conditional to a legally binding international regime and support with regard to the means of implementation.
The extent to which this action will be implemented depends on the provision of financial resources, the transfer of technology and capacity- building support by developed countries. Therefore, the above action requires the finalisation of an ambitious, fair, effective and binding multilateral agreement under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol at COP 15 and CMP 6 in Mexico, to enable the delivery of this support.
With financial, technology and capacity-building support from the international community, this level of effort will enable South Africa's greenhouse gas emissions to deviate from business as usual, as per our commitment.
We must note that in order to achieve this, we are already taking action in line with our development priorities. The Department of Environmental Affairs is currently in the process of developing a national climate change response policy. This policy informs and in turn is informed by processes undertaken by other government departments, such as the National Treasury, on financial instruments to put a levy on carbon; and the Department of Energy's energy mix policy reflected in the Integrated Resource Plan, IRP.
The Department of Transport is investing in transport infrastructure through programmes such as the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, Gautrain and rail infrastructure. The Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Trade and Industry have made progress in the commercialisation of the electric vehicle.
Having mentioned these initiatives, it is important to note that at the centre of the climate debate is how the remaining carbon space is shared in the world. International principles of engagement on climate change recognise the potential rise in emissions for developing countries in the short to medium term. As such, our study into the country's mitigation potential as well as recent publications by the Minister of Energy on the IRP, do take into account the current coal-fired power stations.
There is no need to panic. We have included Medupe. It is part of the long- term mitigation scenarios. Therefore, when we committed 34% and 42%, we included Medupe.
Furthermore, to demonstrate this commitment, from the application of expanding our power generation base, we have included the development of a 100 megawatt concentrated solar power plant, hon Ndude, rolling out solar water heaters to a million households and supporting wind power generation projects. [Applause.]
We are also undertaking a policy development process that seeks to achieve the objectives of green growth, which will be informed by the LTMS study to guide the actions we need to take to follow a low-carbon development path. As a focal point on climate change, our department is already engaged with sector departments in developing climate change sector plans. The problem is that we are looking at government departments with a myopic view.
We operate as a unit, and we look at an integrated approach. So my programme speaks to the programme of energy; it speaks to the programme of science and technology; it speaks to all of these programmes, because climate change cuts across them all.
Therefore, if you are myopic in looking at this, then you will see shortcomings that are not even there. Those shortcomings will be a figment of your imagination, but the truth of the matter is that we are looking at an integrated approach. That is what we are implementing.
South Africa is a diverse country with regard to culture, religion and languages. The public at large is crucial in addressing the challenge of climate change. It is, therefore, important that we demystify climate change into a common language that is understood by all.
It must be a language that simplifies scientific and business jargon and traverses language barriers so that every individual South African and institution in society understands the significance of climate change and their respective roles in responding to it. This is a matter for all sectors of society and not for certain sectors of society. Whether you are educated or not - like my mother - you must understand what it is all about.
The government of South Africa and all sectors of our society agreed to pursue the required science scenario of the LTMS study in a bid to curb greenhouse gas emissions. It is also important to stress the need for adaptation since the world is committed to a certain level of climate change that will require new coping mechanisms. I thank you. [Applause.]