Madam Chair, this being my maiden speech, I must record my deep gratitude to Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and the IFP for the opportunity of serving in this Parliament, along with the many other opportunities I have been afforded since 1991, when I was part of Prince Buthelezi's team in the negotiations from apartheid to democracy.
While expressing our great admiration for the Minister, the IFP must signal its objection to her department's policies in the hope that she may succeed in changing them. The world has undergone changes requiring drastic and immediate action. South Africa is now part of the global depression, causing a dramatic reduction in our tax revenues, while increasing the need for social assistance over and above the additional social programmes announced by President Zuma. The shortfall between diminishing revenues and increasing spending must not be addressed with higher taxes, whether these are taxes paid now or forced onto our children with compound interest in the form of increased public debt.
We must make up for this shortfall by selling public enterprises which the state has no business owning. In times of crisis the state must act as families and businesses would do and raise its funding by selling assets that are not needed for the performance of public functions. There is no reason to continue to own SA Airways and SA Express. Combined, they appear ripe for disposal, as SAA is finally being turned around and should not receive the R1,6 billion bail-out it is now asking for.
For 10 years Denel has been a major liability to taxpayers, and this year it is approaching the Treasury for an additional R1,7 billion bail-out. Denel is not overcoming structural difficulties. Domestically and internationally, its weapons are not liked or bought. It is morally repugnant enough to force our population to be arms merchants not to have to bear the injury of continuing to do so at a perpetual loss. There are other arms manufacturers in South Africa and the state ought not to compete with its own citizens.
The combination of arms trade and political power is inherently corrupt. Armscor buys more than it would otherwise to keep Denel afloat, and government sponsors sales of weapons internationally, while it's attempts to prevent our weapons arming human rights violators fail. The then chairman of the supervisory Cabinet committee, Minister Asmal, objected to selling weapons to Indonesian dictator Suharto but was overruled in Cabinet as former President Mandela pointed out that when asked to give a large cheque to the ANC, Suharto gave an even larger one. Now Denel calls on government to intervene with the government of India to lift Denel's blacklisting, reportedly on account of commissions or kickbacks Denel paid there.
Rather than throwing good billions after bad and manufacturing weapons which do not sell, let us make an investment in a viable future industry. The CSIR operates its nanotechnology research on a mere R18 million budget, yet nanotechnology is at the basis of our future products, including military application, and its gross underfunding is an industrial death wish. There are compelling reasons for the state to fund nanotechnology, research and development and product development companies instead. The same applies for biotechnology.
The policy of holding an unnecessary asset is so embedded in the department that in spite of our full confidence in the Minister, the IFP cannot see its way clear to supporting this budget and must regretfully oppose it until the department embarks on the privatisation of nonperforming state enterprises and those which have no compelling public function. We call for a new vision for the department, to be the incubator of enterprises ahead of the market but critical to South Africa's industrial future such as biotechnology and nanotechnology research, to break the Transnet rule ...
THE HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M N Oliphant): Hon member, your time has expired.