Thank you, Mr Chairman. We are objecting to this Budget Vote for a number of reasons, both structural and contingent. We do not believe that this department should exist. Each of the state-owned enterprises should be referred to each of the relevant line functions. There is a duplication of services and excessive bureaucracy, which renders the management of these public enterprises unwieldy.
There have been discussions for many years regarding bringing about exactly this, and very little progress has been achieved in executing it. The residual functions at the administrative level could very well go with the Department of Public Service and Administration.
On the basis of the specifics, we stand by the proposition that SA Airways has become a major hindrance to the development of our tourism industry, which is an essential industry, and it ought to be privatised.
The taxpayers are sick and tired of continuing to subsidise Denel, an arms manufacturer that continues to produce at a constant loss. We are very dissatisfied by the Eskom monopoly that we're all paying for, and we feel that the opportunity has been lost and should be regained to break up Eskom into two competing companies according to what is the best international practice.
We are also equally dissatisfied with the Transnet monopoly, which also ought to be broken up, again in line with international practice, to have competing port authorities dealing in a competitive environment and providing services at competitive prices internationally, addressing what is one of the major hindrances in our economic development, which is the very high port and harbour costs. Across the spectrum we are dissatisfied with each and every one of these state-owned enterprises. There is no jewel amongst them. It is a never-ending story of failures and lack of achievements, and on that basis we cannot see our way clear to supporting this Budget Vote. Thank you, Mr Chairman. Vote agreed to (Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party dissenting).