Chairperson, considering that this House has been in session for the purpose of accommodating three Votes, namely Basic Education, Home Affairs and Human Settlements, I am astounded at the energy that is displayed by the hon Tau. [Laughter.] I had thought that by now he would be very fatigued, but it is very clear that the NCOP rocks. [Laughter.]
Let me utilise the few minutes that I have to respond to some of the issues and maybe say something as a parting shot. From the outset I just want to place on record that we are not responding to these issues as a finality. We will be engaging with hon members from time to time in the process of serving our people, so I am not going to respond as a way of saying how wise or clever one can be in dealing with issues that have been raised. It is open season for communication and our office is open to be interfaced with. The Deputy Minister is here, as well as the officials. I am quite accessible. I am just across the street from here so that I will constantly be around as a student of this House.
I want to reiterate that I know the budget is more focused on housing. That is how it is right now, but there will be a need for us to make that critical paradigm shift. It is about human settlements. I hope more of us will begin to learn to pronounce "human settlements" with an "s". Even some of the members in my old office keep on saying "human settlement". It is about settlements.
I posed a question earlier. Nineteen years since Nelson Mandela was released, or 15 years into democracy, how many towns have been built? Johannesburg was constructed, and under apartheid they went on to build Sandton, a very viable satellite city. Then there is Randburg. And around Cape Town there are also other towns. Human settlements, once again, is not about glorifying squatter camps and putting up townships.
The partnership that I want to have with you as your Minister and representative in the Cabinet is that we are here to build real settlements, so that in this century of urbanisation, as was articulated by the United Nations Habitat Conference, this country will move and change in order to become a developed country. The day we can say that South Africa is developed will be the day that we have arrived. It will mean that the cities have gone into the countryside.
I appreciate the comments that were made regarding the development of the countryside insofar as we are co-operating with the hon Sicelo Shiceka's Ministry for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. The hon Zulu asked us to think about that. He said that we needed to link up with traditional leaders. That is why the policy of the ruling party is beginning to emphasise rural development. Mistakes were made by ignoring the fact that the rural areas contain over 60% of our citizens. That is why they keep coming to the cities. Our having to clear the squatter camps and the informal settlements is not the main mission. That is not the main mission.
It is an irritation to the plans, because people have arrived there and are squatting. They are telling us there is something they want. That goes for the people of old age too, who would like to have that human dignity which is mentioned in the very first line of the first chapter of our Constitution. The people are squatting next to the highways because they want to be near transportation and electricity. They also want to be next to schools, their places of work and shopping malls. They are telling us something and we are, therefore, answering.
We ourselves are not going to do this within five or ten years. It is a long, long journey. We say that we are building houses equal to the Chinese, but don't change the numbers, let's change the quality. I normally speak of a journey of 1 000 miles, that there is always the first step. This government, this NCOP, this National Assembly, the Cabinet, we have now started on this footing. It is something altogether new. This is a call to change the face of this country.
The reason I accepted this mission is that it goes beyond housing. When President Zuma asked me to serve in his Cabinet, I had been doing exceptionally well in the private sector, at the level of our operations within the JSE and in mining and so on. By taking on this mission I was saying that, whereas in the previous 10 years I had been working with the wealthiest of the wealthy, it was time for me to walk side by side in the company of the poor. I see this as a mission and I want hon members to understand that this is something I am taking on with passion.
I want to comment on one or two things that were raised here. Please be assured that we want quality to the extent that we are dealing with informal settlements. That is why the National Home builders Registration Council is so important to us. We accept the very important thing which the hon Sibande has said. And we have at least apologised for the fact that we took your speech. [Interjections.] But, that is how it is. If there's commonality between what you are going to say and what we are saying, then it shows that we are living in one country. Of course, working together we can do more and be victorious.
Somebody said that the hon Madikizela is now on that side, in Cope, and that he won't be fired by Helen Zille. Our deliberations are like chalk and cheese. It looks like some of us come from Jupiter and others are from Mars - we are very far away from one another. The purpose of sitting and debating in this House is to interrogate ideas so that we can find commonality. There will be differences, as was said by the hon Zulu from the IFP. He said that we must also accept criticism.
Uthe kithi nsizwa sibokwamukela ukugxekwa. Uma sizohlala sizwana sonke isikhathi kuyobe sengathi singabadayisi. [You said we must accept criticism. If we always get along well with each other we will be perceived as traitors.]
There will be differences. That's the reason we are here. That's all we do in Parliament - we debate. It's all about words, words and words. But those words are interrogating actions and activity so that the best ideas around actions and activity for products can always succeed.
There is an example we were told about. I asked the hon Mlenzana about the cohousing he mentioned in his speech. I looked at what he was saying. As he indicated, cohousing comes from Vietnam. It is actually human settlements, and that's what we are doing here. That's why the Vietnamese economy, after the war with the expulsion of the Americans, has been growing at a phenomenal rate. They've been at 9% for the past 11 years. Now they're at 15% and so on, because of the kind of human settlements they are putting up.
The way we drive it, human settlements are also about the economy. They are right at the centre of the economy, because when you build houses which are the core and key component of human settlements, it is all about mining. A lot of hon members don't realise that. It is about the roof, whether it is made of iron or tiles, whether it is bricks or iron. A lot of iron and iron ore are produced. There is manganese and cobalt. All these things have to be mined and, therefore, housing construction stimulates growth in the economy, especially in the mining sector. It is a dynamo.
In so far as manufacturing is concerned, the doors, the frames, the windows, the tiles and all the other equipment one finds inside the house that is associated with production - all of it - has a multiplying effect. Then we buy curtains, carpets and kitchenware, all of which stimulate growth in retail and wholesale. It lies right at the centre of the economy, contributing to job creation, employment and also to asset ownership.
The Deputy Minister has dealt with other critical issues. We are going to be co-operating with the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform as well as the Minister Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. Those are very key Ministers. Those are more than just Ministries. Look at how the hon Nkwinti in rural development has to deal with everything that is out there in the countryside, from which we all steer clear and only go to visit when we need some fresh air. And the hon Sicelo Shiceka deals with the whole question of co-operative governance - that's Chapter 3 of the Constitution - as well as the traditional leaders. We are taking them on board and taking them seriously, because they can create stumbling blocks and bottlenecks if we don't work with them with regard to development.
The hon Gunda said that we must make sure everything is integrated. Yes, human settlements is about integration and about holistic development. It is about making sure that if you have houses here, you ask questions. Where are the schools? Where is Home Affairs? The hon Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the other day that they want to put a Home Affairs office in our settlements. Why should people have to go far from where they stay to find a mall, Home Affairs, schools, a clinic and all these other amenities? That destroys something very critical which people have, namely disposable income.
Once they have their wages, after all the deductions, it must be for their own living. That is their disposable income. Imagine how many people are spending a lot of money, like one hon member indicated, on travelling this way to the north to look for a Home Affairs office 8 km away, on travelling the other way to send the children to school, and on travelling another way to work. Therefore, when you bring investments to where people are, that is when cities begin to grow. That is when people appreciate that now they can have a double storey, because land has to be developed in an intensified manner. That's how you start having the development of another city. That's where we are going. It is not really about glorifying squatter camps.
As I said, we are not trying to answer everything. People are tired. We have been here for the whole day. I want to congratulate the management which came down here from Pretoria with me. They have been here for two days and it is time for those ladies and gentlemen to go back to their families tonight. We want to thank hon members for giving us a hearing and their support. And, again, regarding every penny paid under my leadership, we are not going to allow corruption. Every penny that is being spent comes from poor people. The rich can always find insurance for their money, but the poor people are not insured. They are the people who we have to fight for while making your words here credible and your support for us worthy. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.