Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, the brief of the appropriations committee is that of parliamentary oversight. Allow me to mention that the committee had a number of public hearings with all government departments, the Human Science Research Council, the Financial and Fiscal Commission and a number of independent economists.
Before I discuss appropriations within a number of departments, allow me to mention the following - and it has been mentioned before - the tax revenue has declined and what we need is a leaner and more efficient Public Service. The downturn in the economy has adversely affected millions of South Africans and is estimated that by 2009-10 9,7 million, almost 10 million, South Africans, will depend upon social grants.
I agree with the hon Minister of Finance that our present social welfare system places a heavy burden upon a relatively narrow tax base. Hon members, be assured that the DA is very much in favour of our present welfare system. The question, however, is, will we be able to afford this in future? I think, therefore, that it is extremely important that we encourage sustained future economic growth if we want to alleviate the plight of the poor. What we need is a holistic growth strategy which will represent the public and the private sectors, and will have to take proactive decisions to address irregularities regarding corruption, fraud, factors which inhibit service delivery and growth. This came to the fore during the public hearings.
In an excellent submission to the Portfolio Committee on Appropriations, the Human Sciences Research Council reported that 50% of all households in rural areas experience hunger on a daily basis and that 50% to 80% could not afford minimum nutrition prices. It was also reported that rural households spend 9% to 15% more than urban ones for the same basket of food. What was extremely worrying is that 51% of all severely hungry rural households qualified for grants, but they did not receive them according to Human Sciences Research Council. The DA concurs with the committee that rural development, household food production and food security need serious re-examination seen in the light of the steep rise in the price of basic food.
I represent a rural constituency. Rural economic development must become a key priority over the next three years. To illustrate the plight of the rural areas, the Human Sciences Research Council submitted that of the 18 Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development projects, only two are still in place. All the others have collapsed. Now, the question is why? Somebody must account for that. I think it is of utmost importance that we address this.
Forty per cent of all South Africans live in rural areas, but less than 10% are economically active. This untenable state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue.
Education and higher education will have to address the fact that more than 50% of the youth leaving school today are unemployed. The Human Sciences Research Council suggested in this regard that we must discuss the possibility of a youth transitional job scheme and rethink the present school curriculum.
A number of issues regarding the Department of Health are the alarming exodus of doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and emergency personnel. It's always also mentioned to us that the campaign against HIV is important and it is expected that more than 900 000 people will receive antiretroviral treatment by the year 2012.
It is also indicated that for the past eight years there has been an underfunding of the public health sector, which has led to deterioration in the Public Health Service. The proposed new health insurance will have to be properly costed in the forthcoming financial year ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]