Hon Speaker, the DA appreciates this initiative and the manner of its introduction to political parties, and also that it amounts to an unfamiliar admission of failure. The duration of this debate, however, detracts from the value and importance of this very important initiative.
The debate around the national planning strategy is currently essentially abstract and esoteric as the appointment of the national planning commission and the development of a 2025 vision will be key to its success. Recent presidential appointments and the manner in which they have been made hardly bode well for the appointment of an appropriately diverse group of people with the appropriate experience and expertise.
The appointments of the SABC interim board, the Judicial Services Commission and the Chief Justice are instructive in this regard. Furthermore, the status of this Ministry currently has a veneer of credibility due to the image of the incumbent Minister. Will this hold in the future under the leadership of someone like Julius Malema, for example?
The determination of a national vision must be inclusive and transparent. If it is to be a vision for "our people" and not "all the people", it will be stillborn. Eventually, this means that what we need is a national vision, and not a nationalist vision. Therefore, the vision and planning model must be based on the outcome of a national debate on what kind of country we want our children and their children to live in, in 2025. This we must base on the nation's needs and aspirations, recognising that 6,3 million South Africans voted for opposition parties. This vision cannot simply reflect that of the ANC's Polokwane conference.
Minister, you would do well also to recognise that the road to hell is paved with good and bad intentions, and that national, international and economic realities determine what can realistically be achieved.
The current lack of cohesive nationhood is caused by the cognitive dissonance brought about by the perceptions and experiences of citizens regarding the current state of governance and service delivery in our country, despite perennial ANC electoral promises.
For example, the political and administrative meltdown in the North West province has been ascribed to the ANC provincial executive's factional deployment of incompetent cadres, nepotism, corruption and secret looting. I assume and trust that this was not planned.
Di stand van sake kan net toegeskryf word aan power politieke leierskap, swak dissipline en onverantwoordelikheid in die Staatsdiens.
Minister Chabane het onlangs ges dat die nodige strukture en maatrels om sulke mense vas te vat, reeds bestaan - ons stem saam - en dat sy ministerie uiterste gevalle na sulke strukture sal verwys. Die vraag is: En dan wat?
Julle twee kan beplan en monitor so veel as wat julle wil; indien julle nie die inkoop, ondersteuning en vertroue van die President, the Kabinet, die Parlement, die provinsies, en die munisipaliteite kry nie, sal die hele inisiatief in duie stort. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[This state of affairs can only be ascribed to poor political leadership, bad discipline and irresponsible actions within the Public Service.
Minister Chabane recently said that the necessary structures and measures to clamp down on such people already exist - we agree with him - and that his Ministry will refer extreme cases to such structures. The question remains: And what then?
The two of you can plan and monitor all you want; unless you get the President, Cabinet, Parliament, the provinces, and the municipalities to buy into, support and have confidence in it, the whole initiative will collapse.]
Planning priorities will require trade-offs, and careful arbitration will be required, both within the tripartite alliance, as well as between the public and private sectors.
This will be complicated by the widening division between government, trade unions and the private sector. It is imperative that trade unions understand the often unpalatable realities and also take the private sector on board with them by creating transparency and developing trust.
Both sectors need to understand the role of the developmental state; it is essentially a helping hand, and not an iron fist. For example, government promised 500 000 new jobs by the end of the year, on the one hand. This is just not materialising, while on the other hand a war of words has developed between government and the DA on the matter of banning labour broking.
This R23 billion sector is actually creating jobs, of which, though initially casual, 30% become converted into decent jobs after an average of eight months. Surely in this economic climate and considering the unacceptably high rate of unemployment, you should be planning on how to improve and regulate this industry rather than shutting it down.
My recent visits to sites of poor service delivery confirm that poor planning and performance monitoring result in poor governance and service delivery.
This state of affairs will compromise the R5 billion capital infrastructure investment in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, which is intended to address the collapse of the infrastructure network and should not only ensure proper service delivery, but should also assist in attracting economic investment to an extremely depressed area.
In conclusion, the DA supports this initiative in principle and appeals to all concerned to support it honestly and to commit to ensuring its success. For example, the newly appointed chief operations officer in the Presidency, the spinning Jessie Duarte, will have to confine herself to reality and not become a reincarnation of Aesop's Fables.
This initiative will mean that the ANC government will have to be prepared to take tough decisions and address the issue of constraining legislation to make a difference. Are you prepared to do so, hon Minister?
In conclusion, we appreciate the recognition that this House needs to be informed. Thank you very much. [Applause.]