Chairperson, it is not my maiden speech so you can feel free to heckle. Hon President, it is indeed an honour to be participating in this parliamentary debate on your state of the nation address. In the short time allotted to me, I would like to concentrate on not only the global economic crisis, but what I believe is a convergence of global crises which demands an integrated response.
The economic crisis should not simply be seen as another downturn in the business cycle, but rather as a product of deep structural flaws inherent in the global economy. The financial sector was allowed to grow out of all proportion and regulatory controls, thereby becoming detached from the workings and the needs of the real economy. Global inequality has also widened over the past two decades, which in turn reduced the purchasing power in the market, thereby reducing the profitability of the real economy.
In addition, the beginnings of peak oil, which saw the oil price rise to US$150 a barrel, was in some commentators' minds the trip switch for the global economy and the point at which debts suddenly became crippling.
Although the price of oil has since dropped back to lower levels, the question that remains is whether it will again act as a trip switch when the world economy begins to rebound. Finally, all of these crises are overshadowed by the even larger ecological crisis in which the natural resource base, upon which all our economies depend, is being devastated by climate change and other environmentally destructive forces.
In responding to our own immediate economic crisis, it is therefore important for us to recognise all these different global pressures, and to start to put in place the building blocks of a very different economy.
Firstly, we need to start building an economy that will reduce inequality rather than widen it. This requires a more inclusive economy in which the financial sector is used to provide opportunities for more South Africans to enter the mainstream economy. It also requires a more proactive competition policy that can break the stranglehold of monopoly capital in South Africa. We also need to build a more diverse economy which does not simply entrench the current minerals-energy complex, but rather takes advantage of the new global industries. Finally, we need a far more environmentally sustainable economy in which we are no longer destroying our natural capital in our quest for economic growth.
Given these objectives, the one sector that we really need to prioritise is that of renewable energy. The ID was disappointed not to hear you include it on your list of sectors that will be given priority in industrial policy formulation. This sector has the potential, not only to provide a clean energy solution to our own energy crisis, but also to provide hundreds of thousands of jobs and establish a new industrial base for our country.
South Africa truly has the potential to become a world leader in what is now the world's fastest growing industry, but we must act now. Instead of allowing Eskom to spend upwards of R700 billion on nuclear power stations where the majority of the money will go overseas and very few local jobs will be created, we should rather be building up our own renewable energy industries that can provide far more jobs and revolutionise our energy infrastructure.
Given that it is World Environment Day today, I believe that such a commitment will go a long way, not only in putting South Africa on a sustainable growth path, but in positioning us as leaders in the global fight against climate change. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]