Deputy Speaker, hon members, allow me firstly to thank all of the speakers for their very valuable contributions and for their support of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, MTBPS. I must say, we could have saved a lot of time if they had only said, "we support", but I understand that this is a debating chamber, and so we have to debate!
Allow me also to thank the heads of the various committees: Mr Mufamadi, Mr Sogoni and Mr De Beer from the NCOP for their contribution towards implementing the new role that Parliament has and for their thoughtful approach to what we have before us.
Today is actually the day on which we - this executive that sits on my right - have been in office for six months. You can see that, in a very short six months, we have had a crisis, we have had a response to that crisis, and we have had some very insightful contributions from the ruling party and others on how best to manage that crisis so that South Africans, whether they be rich or poor, can actually cope with it much better.
In essence, I think what we would like to say to South Africa today as we debate the MTBPS, is that we reiterate the fact that we will deliver on our priorities as government. These priorities are: better health care; better education; more work opportunities - notwithstanding the current loss of jobs; our focus on rural development; and our determination to eliminate the crime and corruption that so bedevils South Africa.
We are saying that we will spend the R78 billion allocated over the next three years in a prudent way and take into account all of the many factors that have been raised by all the parties that have spoken here today.
We are also assuring South Africans and this House that the prudence, which has marked our previous management of finances, will continue to characterise the way in which we approach our responsibilities. We want to assure you that South Africa's fiscus is in good hands - that being the hands of Cabinet as a whole - and that we are very mindful of the tough situation we find ourselves in, and of the responsibilities that we carry.
Notwithstanding the difficulties that we have, we are also mindful of the fact that we have to take South Africa back on to a growth path. As the MTBPS said itself, President Zuma is quite determined that we don't just go back to the old norm, but that all of us, as South Africans, contribute to finding a new way of growing our economy to create many more jobs for many generations of South Africans who have been excluded from this possibility.
We are also committed - and we welcome the commitment of all of the parties in Parliament - to stopping waste and corruption, getting value for money, and to ensuring that the 1,5 million civil servants that work in government will join us in this particular campaign.
Above all, I think we need to send a message to South Africa that we will look after people who have lost their jobs and help them to either get retrained or to benefit from the UIF or from other measures that are available from the state.
We also want to send a message to the poor that their social grants will not be cut as far as we can help it, certainly not for the foreseeable future, and in fact we want to protect their income so that they can continue to have the benefit of state support.
We also want to send a message to our small, medium and large businesses, and the entrepreneurs who manage them, that they need to become a lot more innovative and bold - notwithstanding the climate we find ourselves in - and create jobs which will ensure that South Africans can have the dignity of a job, rather than just being dependent on welfare.
Let me also then give you some context. There was a G20 meeting over the weekend in St Andrews. Those of you who are golfers will know that St Andrews is supposed to be the home of golf. All I could do was stand at a distance and watch the golf course. I am sure that there are people in this Chamber who would have enjoyed being on the green grass.
Arising from that G20 meeting, a set of messages begin to emerge. The first is that the stimulus has certainly helped the world to cope with this recession better than what it would have. Our own efforts at a stimulus package - if you want to call it that - have helped South Africa as well.
The second message is that there is a recovery on the way, but it is a very cautious recovery. All of the graphs around the world are ticking upwards. But that ticking is a very gradual one; it's a very small one and no one can say for certain that it will amount to the "V" that everybody would like to see.
The third message is that there is agreement that the exit strategy that we all speak of and that some are beginning to venture towards, is not at our doorstep just yet. There needs to be continuous co-ordination within the G20 and around the G20 to ensure that we don't have the "W" that Mr Rubini and others spoke of.
It is of particular concern for us in South Africa and other developing countries if developed countries randomly exit from their stimulus strategies, as that could actually have a devastating effect on developing countries.
The fourth message is that there is a discussion going on now in the G20 and in other quarters which says that we need a new growth path, not just for South Africa but, indeed, for the world as a whole. There needs to be greater inclusivity, more balance in a multiple sense and the necessity to look for new what I call sources of growth.
We also talked about climate financing, but only to decide not to talk about it too much. There is still a huge debate going on about who bears responsibility for the climate challenges that we face, who should support the developing countries and how, in respect of both adaptation financing and mitigation financing, this support should be rendered.
Finally, there was a lot of discussion around regulation of the global financial system, around bonuses and some of the issues that hon members have actually raised here.
More specifically, I think we need to agree with members that we need to be cautious; we need to stabilise our economy; we need to ensure that we lay a new basis for the way in which South Africa grows. But laying that new basis is not going to come from one side of the House or from one social partner; it has to come from all of us, and that is what I hope this House will begin to focus its mind on and ensure that we get the debate that we require.
The new growth path that we speak of provides an opportunity for all sides of the House to co-create this new growth path. We have several parties who have said, "we have ideas". Well, let us try to create a forum where those ideas can be shared and let us tap into the creativity of all South Africans so that all of us can actually benefit.
We all agree with Mr Koornhof and others that our economy needs to be more competitive and that our small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, need to be supported more. We also agree with Mr Oriani-Ambrosini that we actually need a balance between spending, saving and debt management at the household. But there is no one answer to all of these things. There is a new balance that is required. There are times when we need to spend more and there are times when we need to save more. As the Christmas season comes up, that's the balance that we actually require.
We agree with Dr Rabie that the 45% electricity tariff increase is not the ideal for South Africa. The assurance that we, as Treasury and other departments, can give is that there is a collective in government that is working very hard under Ministers Hogan and Peters to ensure that we minimise the impact and tariff increase itself. We can also assure you that that work will actually carry on.
Let me assure you that the deficit is going to be managed. Debt is going to be managed very carefully. While we are also concerned about imposing upon future generations, these are, unfortunately, necessary things that we have to do to make sure that government can meet its commitments and the expectations of our people as well.
I want to agree with those colleagues who talked about service delivery and the need for improvement. The ruling party does not tolerate nepotism. It will not tolerate cronyism and wants to fight corruption as eagerly as anybody else.
I think what we need to focus on is, not who is better than the other, but rather on generating a collective commitment in this House, signed by all 400 members, in which we undertake to do everything each of us can do - regardless of the political party - to create a new culture in this country. That's what we need. Not competition about who has the better idea. [Applause.]
So, let me throw out an offer to all of us: let us find a way - and perhaps the whips of the parties need to meet to discuss this - to create the basis for a collective agreement on how we could fight corruption in this country in all its manifestations. Remember - and I repeat this - it is not just public servants who are corrupt; corruption comes from all forms and sides of our economy. It requires a total cultural change in terms of the way we approach business in South Africa and particularly, business with government.
So, let me invite all political parties to join us in this campaign. [Applause.]
We also don't want a bloated bureaucracy that does not deliver and that is low in its productivity. Let us also, together with Minister Baloyi, share ideas about how we move from where we are. We want more people to be employed in the frontline of service delivery, as teachers, as nurses, as doctors and as people delivering services rather than sitting behind desks. I'm sure he is going to come back to Parliament and give us more feedback in terms of what we are going to do concretely.
Finally, I want to agree that we urgently need to help Parliament set up the Parliamentary Budget Office. The budget allocations have been made to Parliament to enable this to happen. We would like to play whatever supportive role we can play, because this is the only way in which Parliament can hold not only the executive, but also various departments, to account and understand what is involved in budgets and ask people the right kinds of questions.
Oversight by Parliament takes another step through this current process with the Money Bills Amendment legislation allowing Parliament, through the appropriation committee - as we will discuss in a moment - to look into whether and what kind of role Parliament can play in amending budget allocations.
So, Parliament has an important responsibility. We welcome that responsibility and, over the next few years, we hope to work with you to ensure that there is greater accountability.
Once again, my thanks to all of the people who have contributed to the MTBPS and the debate on it. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.