Hansard: Appropriation Bill: Debate on Vote No1 - Presidency

House: National Assembly

Date of Meeting: 29 May 2012

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Minutes

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 319

WEDNESDAY, 30 MAY 2012

PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

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The House met at 14:01.

The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

FIRST ORDER

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 319

START OF DAY

APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 1- The Presidency:

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Hon Speaker, Hon Deputy President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, hon Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, hon premiers, commissions, councils and committees that support the Presidency, directors-general and senior officials, esteemed special guests, boys and girls ... [Laughter.] ... we meet during an important week in our country, when we mark Child Protection Week.

Inspired by the words of President Nelson Mandela, who said:

... there can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children,

we launched Child Protection Week in Galeshewe in Kimberly on Sunday.

The national campaign of government and civil society will include the celebrations of International Children's Day on 1 June. By wearing green ribbons this week, we are demonstrating our support for the campaign to protect children from neglect, abuse and exploitation.

To mark Child Protection Week, we are happy to be joined today by three Grade 12 learners who won a Government Communication and Information System, GCIS, state of the nation address debate contest. [Applause.] The exercise promotes the participation of the youth in important matters of state. They are Nonhlanhla Vova from Madiba Comprehensive School in Kagiso ... [Applause.] Please stand, Nonhlanhla, so that we can see who you are. Oh, they are seated on this side. Tru-Handé Kotze from Drie Riviere Hoërskool in Vereeniging ... [Applause.] and Katleho Mahase from Alafang Secondary School in Katlehong. [Applause.]

We meet just a few days after the Global Summit on the Diaspora which enabled us to consolidate areas of co-operation as Africans and people of African descent from around the world.

The summit, which took place on Africa Day, 25 May, was crowned by the announcement that we had won the rights to host the Square Kilometre Array, SKA, telescope, sharing the privilege with Australia. [Applause.] We congratulate the Department of Science and Technology for making it possible for this honour to come to the African continent.

Hon Speaker, we thank you for the opportunity to present the Budget Vote of the Presidency. The Deputy President, Minister Chabane, Minister Manuel and Deputy Minister Obed Bapela and I will share with this august House, aspects of our work undertaken to contribute towards advancing the goal of building a better life.

Our role as the Presidency is primarily to supervise government, guided by national priorities and the manifesto of the ruling party, the ANC. We have to ensure that government functions optimally and that the lives of citizens do indeed improve.

The ANC government announced in 2009 that it would improve performance in five key priorities: education, health, rural development and land reform, creating decent work and the fight against crime.

When the fourth democratic administration came into office, it inherited remarkable progress in the consolidation of democracy and stability, and also the expansion of basic services. However, we realised that we could do better in the implementation of our wonderful policies and programmes, and generally change the way the public service worked in order to improve service delivery. There was also a gap in long-term planning and we needed to seriously work hard and look into what South Africa would look like 20 or 30 years from now.

We then reconfigured government. We established two functions in the Presidency, the Ministry for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as the Ministry of the National Planning Commission. We also reconfigured departments and established new ones.

More importantly, we instituted the innovation of signing performance agreements with Ministers. The Ministers, in turn, also signed their own delivery agreements with MECs in the provinces. Reports are given to the President and Cabinet quarterly.

The institution of the performance monitoring and evaluation function in the Presidency is helping us to change the way government works in the manner we had intended. There is now a clear understanding of mandates and responsibilities, and reporting mechanisms. Therefore, we can proudly confirm that we have made significant inroads towards increasing the strategic focus of government, and have introduced rigour into the planning, monitoring and evaluation of progress.

The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation has undertaken a mid-term review as we wanted to see how far we had gone towards achieving our goals since 2009. The review indicates progress in the key priorities, but also areas where we still need to improve.

Some of the indicators are good. For example, in education, the enrolment of children in the compulsory schooling age band, 7 to 15 years, had reached over 98% in 2010, which is helping to lay a stronger foundation for better quality basic education. To date, about eight million learners no longer pay school fees, while eight million benefit from the school nutrition programme, as part of government's poverty alleviation programme. In addition, we provide social grants to about 10 million children to alleviate poverty. This is considered very progressive and impressive for a developing country. We have also increased access to higher education programmes by making funding available to children from poor households. In addition, matric results now improve each year, although we must still turn more passes into quality passes.

While everything is going well in some areas, we also know that there are still challenges in some provinces. There are schools where books do not arrive on time, where scholar transport remains a challenge or where children are not taught in decent classrooms and where teachers are not in school, in class, on time teaching for seven hours a day. But these challenges are being attended to through various interventions.

In the area of health care, the mid-term review records progress in many areas. By the end of 2011, the transmission of HIV from mothers to children had declined significantly, ensuring that the lives of more than 30 000 children are protected per annum. [Applause.] Over 15 million people have been tested for HIV since the launch of the HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing campaign and approximately 1,7 million people are receiving treatment, making it the largest programme of its kind in the world.

We congratulate the SA National Aids Council, Sanac, which is chaired by the Deputy President, on the achievements scored with regards to the HIV and Aids programme.

Good progress has been made in improving health system effectiveness in preparation for the National Health Insurance programme. While government is doing well in transforming health care, some challenges still remain. We still receive reports of long waiting periods and an uncaring attitude by some health care workers in certain public hospitals. This is also being attended to nationwide through a focused customer care programme in the public health system.

In the area of fighting crime and corruption, the mid-term review tells us that we are doing well. Overall, serious crime has declined, but the fight continues and there are still a number of areas we must improve on.

You will recall that, in 2009, we had committed ourselves to continue reviewing the criminal justice system to make it more efficient and effective. Progress has been made in increasing the numbers of skilled personnel in areas such as crime scene investigation, forensic analyses, fingerprinting and investigation, prosecutions, legal aid and the judiciary.

In the context of fighting crime, we are also advancing in the fight against corruption, which diverts scarce resources intended for key service delivery programmes. We are dealing in particular with corruption by officials within the criminal justice system. Examples of actions include the theft of police equipment, interference with evidence secured for trials and outright assistance to criminals. Such elements undermine the good work of dedicated officials in the police, courts and correctional services.

Since 2009, investigations have uncovered 1 529 persons within the criminal justice system that were possibly involved in corruption-related crime. By the end of 2011, 192 officials were criminally charged for corruption, resulting in 86 officials being convicted while a further 296 officials were departmentally charged.

Our mid-term review has also reminded us of the fact that there are several anticorruption structures in government. This results in overlapping mandates and duplication. There is therefore a need to ensure that all structures that have been created are co-ordinated by the Anticorruption Task Team. Minister Collins Chabane, who chairs the Anticorruption Interministerial Committee, will assist us in this exercise.

Our mid-term review also points to the need to further improve the performance of frontline service departments generally. These are the departments that people go to directly to obtain services, be it to get social grants, municipal services, Home Affairs, courts, the police and others. Changing the way government works means further changing the way these departments work, to make them more responsive and effective.

Following my meeting with directors-general in 2009, they have been directed to address several performance issues. They are looking into the eradication of the practice of late delivery of school text books and the improvement of the school environment, for example security and cleanliness.

To improve policing, there must be an improvement in turnaround times to calls to police stations for assistance and provision of feedback on cases to members of the public. We want to see an improved responsiveness to the hotline in the Presidency, and to all government departments' hotlines.

All departments must ensure adherence to the directive to pay suppliers within 30 days for work done. The National Treasury issued an Instruction Note on 30 November 2011, directing departments to report their noncompliance and reasons thereof to Treasury by the seventh day of each month for national departments and by the 15th for provincial departments.

The directors-general must ensure a reduction in the number of qualified, adverse and disclaimer audit reports. We want timeous responses to Chapter 9 institutions and the Office of the Public Service Commission from all departments. Some Heads of Chapter 9 institutions have complained to me about the lax attitude towards them by some departmental officials when they ask for reports. This must change. National and provincial departments must pay the debts they owe to municipalities. [Laughter.]

There are several other directives, including the need to finalise disciplinary processes quicker than what has become the norm, as well as filling vacancies within four months instead of the usual nine months. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and the Offices of Premiers are jointly monitoring progress. Last year, the team undertook 134 unannounced monitoring visits to 19 SA Social Security Agency, Sassa, offices, 24 schools, seven courts, 22 police stations, 42 health facilities, 11 driving license centres and nine Home Affairs offices.

They have reported good progress in some areas which is very encouraging. For example, the Department of Home Affairs, Sassa, the SA Police Service, the SA Microfinance Apex Fund and the Industrial Development Corporation have all improved their turnaround times. These successes can be attributed to the top management of these organisations taking an interest in operational issues.

We are also grateful to members of the public who play a valuable role in assisting the Presidency to monitor service delivery.

This Saturday, I will visit Ngobi village in Hammanskraal in the North West to assess progress made since we received an email through the Presidential hotline that the community has had no water for two years. [Interjections.]

In the state of the nation address, I reported on an email from a Grahamstown resident who could not get finance for a house. We are happy to report that the Department of Human Settlements is resolving this matter of people in the gap market – those who earn too little to qualify for bank loans but too much to qualify for RDP houses. [Applause.]

Agreements have been signed between the National Housing Finance Corporation and five provinces to implement the programme in this financial year.

As part of our hands-on monitoring, the Deputy President also undertakes a number of visits related to the War on Poverty campaign. This keeps the Presidency in touch with the living conditions of our people.

Hon members, the Presidential Hotline has also become an invaluable tool for tracking government performance. More than 1 million callers have used the system since it started in 2009. The general trend is that about 70% of calls are complaints, 28% are enquiries and 2% are suggestions and compliments.

We will continue to work on improving the way the public service works. We thank Parliament for its assistance as its oversight work is also a helpful monitoring tool for government.

Hon members, in the state of the nation address I mentioned that, although we had done well over the past 17 years, we were concerned about the persistent triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. We said that Africans, women and the youth were particularly affected. This year, we continue to promote economic growth and development through the New Growth Path, primarily focusing on infrastructure development.

The Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordination Commission, PICC, has become an important tool of co-ordination. As you know, I chair the PICC, assisted by the Deputy President as deputy chair. Minister Gugile Nkwinti chairs the PICC management committee and Minister Patel heads the secretariat, which is made up of deputy ministers, in the main. The membership of premiers and metro mayors enables easier co-ordination of infrastructure development across the spheres of government.

Since the announcement of our bold infrastructure plan in February, we have launched four strategic infrastructure projects, now known as Sips. The first 1 strategic infrastructure project, unlocking the Northern Mineral Belt, was launched on 13 April, and is led by Minister Thulas Nxesi. A work plan has been formulated involving three provinces, integrating rail, road, water and energy projects.

Strategic infrastructure project 7, focusing on the Integrated Urban Space and Public Transport Programme, was launched on 11 May, and is led by Minister Richard Baloyi. It brings together the 12 largest urban areas and will promote better urban planning and public transport systems.

Strategic infrastructure project 5, the Saldanha and Northern Cape Development Corridor, was launched on 15 May, and is led by Minister Patel. It co-ordinates work across two provinces and will incorporate mining, industrial and energy projects.

Strategic infrastructure project 6, on Integrated Municipal Infrastructure Projects, was launched on 28 May and is led by Minister Dipuo Peters. It covers the poorest 23 municipal districts in South Africa and will provide basic services to millions of our people.

In March, we launched phase 2 of the Dube Trade Port which is part of the Durban-Free State-Gauteng industrial and logistics corridor, and the Ngqura Port and trans-shipment hub, part of Sip for the South-Eastern node.

Yesterday, the PICC met again to further discuss the implementation of projects. We are poised to reach our goals of turning South Africa into a huge construction site, developing dams, power stations, ports and railways which will improve access to services and boost job creation.

We would like to report on other successes of the infrastructure development programme. The R300 billion Transnet Market Demand Strategy, which was announced in the state of the nation address, has been launched and is being implemented. The R1 billion rebate on port charges that the Port Regulator and Transnet had agreed upon, is also being implemented since April.

Next week, I will visit Eskom's Medupi power station project, near Lephalale in Limpopo province, for the boiler pressure test of the first unit of Medupi. The project has doubled the size of the economy of Lephalale and has brought jobs, skills and development to the local community, and to our economy as a whole.

Let me use this opportunity to remind all to save electricity every time, everywhere, especially during this cold winter period.

Other good news arising from the state of the nation address is the reduction of electricity increases by the National Energy Regulator, Nersa, from the 25,9% which Nersa originally granted, to 16%. [Applause.]

I had asked Eskom to explore possibilities in this regard and they responded within a month. This will put more than R8 billion back into the economy during the current year. This approach will also inform Eskom's next price application which Eskom is now preparing. However, such an approach needs to be balanced with maintaining a predictable and stable pricing framework over a longer period of time.

We are also delighted that Eskom has reached the milestone of 4,2 million homes which have been electrified since the inception of the electrification programme in 1991. [Applause.] I will be visiting the Eastern Cape next month to symbolically switch on electricity in the four-millionth home.

Life is certainly getting better for many each day. [Applause.] It may not happen as fast as we all want, but progress is there for all to see.

IsiZulu:

IsiZulu sithi, Impandla ikhwela ngamanhlonhlo.

English:

Hon members, you will recall that we had also raised the land question in the state of the nation address. It remains a very emotive issue in our country, which must be handled responsibly and with calm. The consultations on the Green Paper on Land Reform have continued over the past six months. The matter must be finalised, more so as we move towards the centenary of the 1913 Land Act next year.

On the international front, we continue to promote closer ties with neighbours in Southern Africa with whom we share goals of creating a better life, as part of promoting the African development agenda. We have held high level meetings with all the countries in Southern Africa. We have also agreed amongst ourselves in the Southern African region to assist each other to consolidate democracy. We have assisted the DRC with its second democratic elections, and led the Southern African Development Community, SADC, Election Observer Mission to the DRC, Zambia and Seychelles. In addition, we continue to assist the people of Zimbabwe as part of our SADC mandate and to support SADC mediation efforts to return constitutional normalcy to Madagascar. We will soon establish formal diplomatic relations with Somalia and have contributed to the alleviation of famine in that country.

The independence of both Sudan and South Sudan are of the utmost importance to the African continent and to South Africa in particular. We have urged the leadership of Sudan and South Sudan to take the necessary actions to deflate the high levels of tension.

The crisis in Libya preoccupied most of the continent for most of last year. South Africa has agreed to assist the people of Libya with reconstruction and development and also establish institutions of democracy as they have indicated the need to be so assisted,

With regards to infrastructure development on the continent, I accepted the responsibility of chairing the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad, Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative. Infrastructure development on the continent will promote intra-African trade, create investment opportunities, and contribute to South Africa's own economic development. [Applause.]

We continue to support the candidature of Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma ... [Applause.] ... who was re-endorsed as Southern Africa's candidate for the position of Chairperson of the African Union Commission. If elected, she will be at the service of all African countries. [Applause.] As a humble and loyal servant of Africa, she will accord all AU member states the respect they deserve as sovereign states.

Our relations with Latin America and the Caribbean continue to advance the development agenda of the South and the strengthening of co-operation among developing countries. High-level interactions were achieved with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico in areas of climate change, with the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa league of emerging economies, Brics, with the India, Brazil, South Africa, Ibsa, Dialogue Forum as well as with the Group of 20, G20, countries.

We continue to strengthen relations with Europe, which remains one of South Africa's major trading partners in terms of trade, investment, technical and development co-operation. There has been a continuous flow of high-level visits to and from Europe since 2009.

We have also worked towards the consolidation of relations with the Arab Gulf States. Constructive discussions were held during state visits to Oman and the United Arab Emirates in November 2011, as well as a subsequent working visit to the State of Qatar in January 2012. While many of these countries are already investing in South Africa, we also hope to focus increasingly on their investment in South African infrastructure projects.

We continue to strengthen relations with Central and East Asia. Japan, in particular, is our second-largest trade partner in Asia and the third in the world, after China and the United States of America. There are currently 103 Japanese companies which have business operations in South Africa.

Our relationship with China continues to grow stronger. China became South Africa's largest trading partner in 2009 and we co-operate at both bilateral and multilateral levels. On the multilateral front, South Africa's membership of Brics acknowledges Africa's rightful role, position and emergence as a dynamic growth pole in the world. The proposed new Brics Development Bank is an exciting development. We look forward to taking the proposal further with the partners when we host Brics next year.

South Africa hosted the 5th Ibsa Dialogue Forum Summit in October last year. This constitutes an important South-South grouping of like-minded countries and we continue to work well together in pursuit of sustainable development objectives.

Hon members, among the achievements of our country, we dare not forget the successful hosting of the 17th Conference of the Parties serving as the 7th meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, COP 17/CMP 7, United Nations climate change conference. We succeeded in guiding the climate change negotiations forward as COP President. We look forward to the Rio +20 Summit in Brazil next month to take forward the programme of sustainable development in the world.

We have done a lot of work locally and abroad. We also need to look ahead to where exactly we want to be two decades from now. What sort of country do we want to build for future generations? That is where the National Planning Commission, NPC, in the Presidency comes in. The National Planning Commission has, in its short existence, already contributed significantly to both the public discourse on our future and to the policy-making process inside government. The NPC produced a diagnostic report in June 2011 and a draft National Development Plan for the country for 2030.

The draft plan has provided a comprehensive set of policy proposals that have been discussed nationwide, allowing scores of members of the public to participate in shaping the future of their country. The plan will be resubmitted to Cabinet for further consideration and final adoption. Minister Manuel will provide an update on work done since November.

The brand and reputation of South Africa remain very high in the global setting. Brand SA, which is now located in the Presidency, reports that the overall reputation of the country improved significantly over the period under review. Recently, the valuation of South Africa's nation brand by Brand Finance placed South Africa as the number one most valuable nation brand on the continent. [Applause.] This is good news indeed for a country in transition. To further strengthen the brand and improve competitiveness, we must all become good ambassadors of South Africa. We must promote our country.

Hon members, our country has done remarkably well, considering where we come from. [Applause.] In 1994, South Africa emerged from a long history in which race, ethnicity and culture were used to subjugate the majority. While there is significant progress in institutionalising the principle of an inclusive citizenship, there are still challenges of poverty, unemployment, landlessness, race, class and gender. These continue to be defining features of how society relates. And they can be a cause of deep pain, disappointment and frustration.

To contribute to healing efforts and produce a national strategy on social cohesion, government will host a national social cohesion and nation-building summit in Kliptown, Soweto, in July, led by the Department of Arts and Culture. The summit will provide a platform to discuss how we can build a new nation from the ashes of racism and hatred.

Let me share the wise words of mama Bertha Mkhize, an activist and trade unionist who said in a newspaper interview in 1981:

Talk. Just talk. Talk again until things come out right. There will be a time when everything will come together, and whether you are black or white or yellow or brown doesn't matter.

[Applause.]

Indeed, we should talk, work together and create the type of society we envisage this week, when we talk about building a positive environment for the protection of our children.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate all our sporting teams and individuals who have qualified for this year's 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. [Applause.] We wish them well as they prepare to represent our country in these important games.

In the same breath we also wish our soccer team, Bafana Bafana, well as it prepares to host the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Afcon, on home soil which will be held in five cities. We certainly believe Bafana Bafana will do well in the tournament, as it is our hope that the Cup remains here. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

IsiZulu:

Somlomo, sinesivakashi esiqavile namhlanje umama u-Ellen Phumeza Mhlanga waseSigingqini Village, eMxhelo e-Alice eMpuma Koloni.

Ngabhalelwa indodadakazi yakhe uZimkhitha ethi ungumama oqotho kakhulu obakhulise kanzima nokuthi uzogubha iminyaka engama-80 maduze nje. Sibe sesimbiza-ke umama ukuthi ake avakashe azobona iPhalamende njengesipho sakhe sosuku lokuzalwa. [Ihlombe.]

Ingasukuma intomb'endala siyibone. [Ihlombe.]Simfisela okuhle kodwa umama ngosuku lwakhe lokuzalwa mhla ziyi-5 kuNhlangulana.

English:

Hon members, let me thank the Deputy President, the Members of Cabinet and Deputy Ministers for their support in our work. I also wish to extend my gratitude to Parliament and the judiciary, for the collaboration that takes forward the work of improving people's lives and making this a great country.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank the premiers with whom we work very closely in the President's Co-ordinating Council and now the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission.

We would also like to thank all the commissions, councils and committees that support the work of the Presidency. Our work is also enriched by the support of many sectors – labour, business, religious leaders and traditional leaders.

We also thank the directors-general in the Presidency and the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Department, the chief executive officer of Brand SA, advisers, senior managers and all staff in the Presidency for their commitment and hard work.

This week being, Child Protection Week, let us all commit to building a better future for all our children. Let us also commit to building stronger families, which will provide a protective environment for children.

It is my honour and privilege to commend the budget of the Presidency to this august House. I thank you.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 320

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, distinguished members of this House, the strategic objective of the founders of our democracy, which President Jacob Zuma continues to pursue, is to build a cohesive, united, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society in which the value of every citizen, regardless of their station in life, is measured by our common humanity – ubuntu-botho.

The commitment to improve the quality of life of all South Africans, both black and white – evident in your speech, hon President - is an integral part of the ANC's strategic objective of building a cohesive and prosperous society, based on human values.

The 100 years of selfless struggle for the recovery of African humanity, and its inherent and inalienable right to human dignity, equality and freedom produced our value-centred and driven democratic dispensation from the ashes of slavery, colonialism and apartheid. These crimes against African humanity opened deep wounds in the hearts and minds of African people, which will take a long time to heal.

Our icon, Nelson Mandela, understood that this healing would entail the spiritual, social and economic transformation that you are pursuing, hon President. Madiba defined this spiritual transformation as the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, of the soul. Madiba maintained that the RDP of the soul of all South Africans - both black and white - is required, because apartheid colonialism degraded and dehumanised both the victims and the victors. Hence, the ANC waged the national liberation struggle to liberate both black and white from the inhuman apartheid system.

The erosion of our spiritual and social fibre manifested itself in greed and crass materialism, corruption, and abuse of women and children. As part of the anticorruption and anticrime strategy, we believe in the deepening and the entrenchment of Madiba's RDP of the soul. Madiba's vision was informed by the revolutionary morality of the founders of our democracy, who envisaged new African societies that would be spiritual, humane, caring and prosperous.

The values of unity and co-operation, unity in diversity and nonracialism are the hallmarks of the new nations envisaged by our founders. Your concern about communities that have no water and children in need of care reflects the commitment to the values of the founding fathers and mothers of this nation.

As we continue to celebrate the ANC centenary and Africa Month of May dedicated to Pixley ka Isaka Seme, it is important to recall the values of a just and caring society that our founders espoused. These values remain relevant for rebuilding the moral and social fibre of our nation to combat the deepening moral decay which leads to the abuse of women and children, corruption, and racial and cultural intolerance.

Pixley ka Isaka Seme foresaw these challenges and called for a new civilisation for Africa and Africans. He said that:

The most essential departure of this new civilisation is that it shall be thoroughly spiritual and humanistic - indeed, a regeneration eternal and moral.

Parliament worked together with the Department of International Relations and Co-operation and the Department of Arts and Culture to prepare for Africa Day celebrations at the Pan-African Parliament, in Midrand. Parliament held a debate on Africa Day with the theme: Celebrating the African Cultural Renaissance through Dialogue. We also participated in the Intellectuals Conference which was a side event of the Global African Diaspora Conference. All this was in keeping with our strategic objective of enhancing co-operative governance.

The Africa Day debate on 24 May was a clear endorsement of your call for a dialogue on nation-building and social cohesion. We welcome the presidential Unity in Diversity project because it is a great forum through which we, as this Parliament and the executive, can collaborate in this national challenge of building a nation united in its diversity.

Building a cohesive nation is a journey, not an event. Our icon and father of the nation, Nelson Mandela, realised and acknowledged this, as early as 1994:

From the moment the results were in and it was apparent that the ANC was to form the government, I saw my mission as one of preaching reconciliation, of binding the wounds of the country, of engendering trust and confidence. I knew that many people, particularly the minorities, whites, coloureds and Indians, would be feeling anxious about their future, and I wanted them to feel secure.

I reminded people again and again that the liberation struggle was not a battle against any one group or colour, but a fight against a system of repression. At every opportunity, I said all South Africans must now unite and join hands and say we are one country, one nation, one people marching together into the future.

The announcement by the President that a summit organised by the Department of Arts and Culture will take place in Soweto, is most welcome. This is something that is long overdue. The African Nations, AU, adopted the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance in 2006, which, just as you do, advocates the dialogue on unity in diversity. The United Nations, UN, itself also adopted a resolution declaring 2011 as the International Year of People of African Descent.

This was a recognition, hon President, of the observation you made of the sufferings that we went through under apartheid and colonialism. The fact that the AU and the UN have come to the same determination as you did, is an indication that it was correct to characterise the 21st century as the African Century. I dare say that the ball is now in our court. As Parliament, we will continue to support your government and the steps that you take to ensure that the quality of life of all of our people is improved.

I also want to recall that O R Tambo, our former President, said that the nation that does not take care of its children has no future. Declaring this week Child Protection Week is a clear indication of the continuity of the policies of our founders. We want therefore to say, as the ANC, we fully endorse your Budget Vote and we say, ...

IsiXhosa:

... halala ANC! Halala President Jacob Zuma, halala! [Kwaqhwatywa.]

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Takes: 321 & 322

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon President, hon members, South Africa is suffering a crisis of leadership. The stark evidence of this is everywhere to be seen. The education and health departments of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces are collapsing due to failure of leadership. The national government is teetering under the weight of mismanagement and poor decision-making. Earlier this month, the Auditor-General, Terence Nombembe, eloquently spelled out the reasons for this collapse of governance. They are: the lack of skills at local level; the impunity of those who fail to deliver; the demoralisation of those who try their very best; and the failure of those in charge to account for their mistakes. Simply put, the collapse of governance in South Africa is due to a failure of leadership.

This was echoed by the chairperson of Nedbank, Reuel Khoza, who said that South Africa's leadership needed to adhere to institutions that underpinned democracy. He added that the political climate was not a picture of an accountable democracy.

This failure of leadership is causing havoc in the frontline of our democracy where real people live. I have heard some of their stories. Over the past few months, my colleagues and I have been undertaking walks of solidarity with our fellow citizens who have been left behind by this government. I have pushed a wheelbarrow for 7 km through Brandfort in the Free State to collect water at the municipal waterworks because of the local government's failure to deliver this basic service. The women of Brandfort must walk this distance several times a day in order to provide for their most basic needs. I felt the grinding exhaustion of the children from Zweledinga High School outside Queenstown municipality who have to walk between 10 km and 25 km every single day to get to school because the Eastern Cape government has failed to provide them with the necessary learner transport.

The children, in particular, were an inspiration. One aspires to be an engineer while another hopes to be a schoolteacher one day. While they and their parents have shown an unflinching commitment to securing their future, this government has simply left them behind. Every encounter touched me deeply, and it made me determined to make their voices heard.

Citizens look to the President to propose bold solutions to big problems. But today their faith has been shaken. The President must restore it by showing leadership. Look at what is happening elsewhere. Despite turmoil in the global economy and the capital markets, other developing countries are surging ahead. From Brazil to Vietnam, to the fastest growing region in the world - our continent of Africa - developing states are forging a bright path towards prosperity and a better life. Yet South Africa is left behind crying out for leadership and direction.

In these difficult days, we look to the President to give the nation hope to overcome despair. Yet he has failed to match the power of his office with a sense of purpose. The President's attention has been diverted from his duties. Energy spent on organising a march to an art gallery and a legal challenge to a work of satire has distracted him from the serious work of government. [Applause.] Freedom of expression is an essential ingredient in any healthy democracy. Let us rise above this distraction and have the wisdom to disagree without being disagreeable. Let us also remember that those who question power make as indispensable a contribution to our democracy as those who exercise it.

In this spirit, if the President were to act boldly from today by exercising power in pursuit of noble goals, he would have the encouragement and the good wishes of the official opposition.

This is because the office of the President is much greater than the head upon which it rests.

We can see how the failure of leadership is holding back our progress on jobs. Everyone in this House will know that the biggest tragedy of our time is unemployment. The nation is crying out for action, and action now. Last year, the President promised us "the year of the job". Yet the only job we seem to hear about is his - will he keep it; will he lose it; and who will challenge him for it? [Applause.] And the entire nation is left unsure as to whether he uses power or whether power uses him.

When public debate centres on the person who wears the crown, we know that it is because this presidency was purchased by a coalition of the discontented at Polokwane. Where leaders should embody hope, we know that this Presidency was born in discord and dispute. The outcome is that the President's term of office has been directed by a remote control. The operators range from Cosatu to the SACP, to a shadowy state within a state in the security services. This has led to the many policy contradictions which are at the heart of government. The only place in which jobs seem to have been created is in the Presidency itself. There the President had to create two additional Ministries, and he must constantly expand his office in order to pay down his political debts.

The South African taxpayers' support for the President more than doubled from R43 million in 2009-10 to nearly R90 million in 2010-11. The President's own instincts with respect to the use of taxpayers' money were further borne out when he replied to a question that I put to him in this House last week about politicians applying for government tenders. We already know that a Cosatu investment firm benefited from e-tolling in Gauteng, despite their alleged opposition to the project. Yet the President insisted that, and I quote:

We are discriminating against politicians by not allowing them to do business regarding infrastructure investments.

Here, we see the dividing line that is tearing this government apart. The President's reply contradicted his own Deputy, the hon Motlanthe, who earlier told Parliament, and I quote:

Chancellor House should not do business with government at all. It should not do business in a way which gives it an advantage because it is an investment wing of the ANC. That should not happen. That is our position.

I agree with the Deputy President on this matter even if the President does not. And given the overwhelming public outcry against corruption in the Public Service, this is further evidence that ours is a President who is out of touch and has left the people behind.

The President has failed to demonstrate economic leadership in the midst of a global recession. This further hinders job creation. His government proposes two economic plans - the hon Manuel's National Development Plan and the hon Patel's New Growth Path. The National Development Plan promotes market-led growth characterised by inclusiveness and private enterprise while the New Growth Path is geared towards greater state intervention and participation in a mixed economy. This has also led to widespread confusion. Is the government pro-growth or pro-intervention? Is it for attracting investment or entrenching protectionism? Is the government in favour of state-led capitalism, the mixed economy, the social market economy, communism, a bit of each, or all of the above?

Hon members, the President's greatest responsibility is to help get young South Africans into work. [Interjections.] Last year he set the bold target of putting 500 000 people to work by the end of the year. This deadline came and went.

Another deadline also came and went – the introduction of the Youth Wage Subsidy. No one in government or in the DA who supports the Youth Wage Subsidy has ever claimed that it would make unemployment disappear. It will, however, give many young people dignity and a foothold on the ladder of opportunity. [Applause.]

Two weeks ago, over 3000 young people marched under the DA's banner to Cosatu House because the union federation is blocking job creation. [Interjections.] [Applause.] The President caves in to Cosatu even though this Parliament as earmarked the funds for the Youth Wage Subsidy. And so, for the first time ever, the President announced a policy - it was budgeted for and a date was set for implementation, only to be halted because Cosatu opposes it. [Interjections.].

Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is your point of order?

Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: The point of order is: Before the member continues, could she just explain to the House what she has done to her hair. [Laughter.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Continue, hon member.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Hon Van Der Merwe, I would be happy to share my hairstyle secrets with you if you had any hair to style. [Laughter.]

Last week I went to see the country's first Youth Wage Subsidy scheme in action right here in the City of Cape Town. I met a number of young beneficiaries of this programme, including Xhobani Balasana from Phillipi, whose life has been transformed by this opportunity. Many other young lives could be similarly transformed if the President had the courage to put the needs of South Africa's people ahead of his own political advancement. The issue of youth unemployment will perhaps, more that any other, define this Presidency. The pursuit of power has overtaken the pursuit of noble ideas in this Republic.

While hundreds of thousands of young people are denied the opportunity of the Youth Wage Subsidy, the Presidency has been splurging on the political slush fund that is the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA. Funding for the NYDA nearly quadrupled from R100 million in 2009-10, to nearly R400 million in 2010-11. This was spent on events like the Let's Defeat Imperialism youth festival and something else that involved large numbers of young delegates kissing each other in an open field. This misuse of public money makes it clear that the President has indeed left the young people of South Africa behind.

We can see how the failure of leadership is allowing corruption to take root in our country. Constitutional democracy is based on accountability and transparency, yet the President has time and again failed the constitutional test of accountability upon which our entire system of government is built.

A titanic power struggle is enveloping the security services. When one strips down the never-ending saga of Richard Mdluli - who was again suspended from the Police Service on Sunday - a basic question emerges: Why would a head of state allow someone facing serious charges to appear in a police uniform and occupy a senior post in the police service in the first place? On this occasion, as on so many others, it took a court to act after a case was brought by an NGO to suspend Mr Mdluli.

But why does it always fan to our courts to uphold the Constitution and compel government to do the right thing, while Ministers try hard to bully them into submission? Does doing what is right simply because it is right play any role in the matrix of government anymore? Or have honour and character been consigned to oblivion, the misty nostalgia of the Nelson Mandela era?

Does the Presidency strive to create a culture of accountability in which public officials are the servants and the people are their masters? The President's actions and what he fails to do are hardening the perception that his own political needs are more important than service delivery and the rule of law. The President should be using the full powers of his executive office to shine the light of forensic investigation into suspected criminal activity by Mr Mduli and others. Instead, the President continues to preside over a sinister secret state within the state at the apex of which he stands. His problem is that he must constantly reshuffle the security services like a deck of cards in order to stay on top.

If the President had applied even a tiny bit of his talent for keeping himself out of trouble to some wider national purpose, South Africa would have progressed in leaps and bounds by now. The Commission of Enquiry into the arms deal underlines this point. Why is it that the President finds it so hard to say that Judge Seriti's report will be made available to the public as soon as he receives it? Is the Commission just a public relations exercise? Or does he wish to be seen to be doing the right thing without actually doing it? If the President releases the full report, he would not be, as he claims, pre-empting the findings of the Commission. He would be upholding the principles of transparency and accountability and rebuilding public trust.

As former ANC Member of Parliament, Andrew Feinstein pointed out that the people's trust was broken when the previous triple inquiry arms deal report by the Public Protector, the Auditor-General and the Special Investigating Unit was doctored.

So I ask, will the President reconsider his decision and commit in his reply to Parliament tomorrow that he will authorise Judge Seriti to release the full, unexpurgated report to the public as soon as he receives it?

This issue unfolds within the wider context of South Africa's arms industry. Despite the many and great efforts of the DA, it remains difficult to gain information about the workings of our defence force and the South African arms industry. And so the people are being left behind by a government that seeks always to keep a lid on the truth.

The failure of leadership extends to international relations and foreign policy. Our President must be the first Head of State in history to fly to the United Nations in New York with three jets, and not a single foreign policy brief between them.

Is the President committed to the responsibility to protect in countries like Syria today? Or does he believe a nation's sovereignty is sacred? This is what the President suggested when Resolution 1973 on Libya was debated at the UN Security Council. Do we have an ethical or a realist foreign policy? Are we a shady place for shady people or a lighthouse of democracy to the world?

Does this government prioritise Brics or Africa - the fastest-growing market in the world? The paradox is that Brazil, India and Russia are benefitting far more from investment opportunities and trade with the rest of Africa than we are. This is because of the President's failure to champion South Africa abroad.

South Africa is in need of bold leadership now. What is to be done? The official opposition has a responsibility to provide oversight and demand accountability from government. And so, above all else, the DA urges the President to define his vision.

If the President seeks to do so, he must reacquaint himself with the foundational bedrock of the Republic: the Constitution and our human rights-inspired Bill of Rights. Because, as we have emphasised time and again, it is government which has let South Africa down, not our human rights-inspired Constitution.

It is a tragedy for the nation and for the President that the government of the day should seek to overturn the very document that would frame his vision. Fortunately for our citizens, there is a party of government in South Africa which has demonstrated that it has the ability to lead along the lines of the Constitution. More and more South Africans are realising that the ideal of a better life for all might be promised by the ANC, but it is being delivered by the DA, especially where we govern. [Applause.] [Interjections.]

I will tell you, and you know. [Interjections.] In the Western Cape Provincial Government and in municipalities, like the City of Cape Town, the DA is crafting a new vision of smart and capable government. [Interjections.]

Ms L N SISULU: What about Khayelitsha?

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Yes, Minister Sisulu, in Khayelitsha. Yes. [Interjections.]

The DA offers an energising theme of government: a belief in the ability of people, helped, but not dictated to by the state, to create a strong society.

The clear blue water between the DA and the ANC is that the Western Cape government's mission is to develop policies and practices that strengthen the Constitution. This is in contrast with the President's words and actions which devalue and denude the Constitution.

When the DA was elected into office in the same election as the President in 2009, we spelled out our vision for the province in a series of clear mandates. They were: to increase economic empowerment; reduce poverty; promote rural development; provide efficient and effective infrastructure; build sustainable human settlements; improve efficiency and effectiveness in health, education, wellbeing and safety; and provide an effective and integrated public transport system.

Every public servant in the Western Cape was left in no doubt about our determination. How do we know that? [Interjections.] Because measurable progress has been made in every single mandate. [Applause.] From improved matric results, to more jobs, to better housing, to safer roads and decent healthcare, the DA government has delivered on its promises.

The DA in government says no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, you deserve a fair chance to live a life you value. [Interjections.] In the end, it all comes down to leadership. A true leader has the ability to inspire his or her party. The President simply follows his.

The DA is marching on, because people want to live a better life, not just receive more empty ANC promises and corrupt ANC government. We are marching towards government because we exercise power on behalf of voters, and we never let power use us. The ANC government, however, has left the people behind.

Mr J J MC GLUWA: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I ask you to protect the speaker, please. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you chairing here? She doesn't need protection. Sit down. [Interjections.] Continue, hon member.

Mr J J MC GLUWA: Deputy Speaker, there is too much noise in the House.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I said sit down. Sit down. I will say when there is too much noise. Just sit down. [Interjections.]

Continue, hon member.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, it is clear to every South African that the President's failure to lead has paralysed his ability to govern. [Interjections.] The President is forced to bow before an unelected Cosatu and others. He is unable to drive policy that runs counter to the interests of the disparate factions that brought him to power. And he will never be able to stamp his authority on government, because these factions do not share a common purpose.

Mrs H LINE-HENDRICKS: Madam Deputy Speaker, I just want to ask the lady with the funny hairstyle whether she would take a question. [Interjections.]

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I will not. [Interjections.]

Mrs S V KALYAN: Madam Deputy Speaker ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Mazibuko, will you take a question?

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No.

Mrs H LINE-HENDRICKS: I just wanted to know whether she knows who built the N2 gateway.

Mrs S V KALYAN: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: Firstly, on the frivolous point of order, which was not a point of order, taken by hon Van Der Merwe and now by this member, I submit that it is unparliamentary to make comments about the person of a member at the podium. It can be, and I think it is, sexist in nature and it detracts from the decorum of the House. [Interjections.] I, therefore, ask you to make a ruling on it, please.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Mazibuko ...

Ms L N SISULU: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order, this precedent was set by the DA itself. We pointed it out to you and we asked you to rule on a sexist comment made by them. Now they can stew in it!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, I am not going to take this issue up any further. Hon Mazibuko, please continue. I will rule later, if there is a need to.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you. A President and a government can only lead when they speak with one voice, and act as one. There are some who argue that the internal practises of the ANC are an internal issue. To those who say this, I say whoever holds the office of President is first a South African, then a public servant and only thena member of their political party. The President should be President of us all, not just the ANC. And he should govern in the interest of all; not only the ANC and its alliance partners.

I believe the President has failed to provide South Africa with justification as to why he should seek a second term, when his first term has fallen so far short of even the lowest expectations. I therefore ask the President to look deep within his heart and answer a difficult question - the most difficult of all. A question that requires honesty and takes courage to answer: Hon President, for the sake of our country, will you put aside self-interest and not make yourself available for re-election at the ANC's upcoming elective conference? [Interjections.]

Mr G S RADEBE: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I think it is unparliamentary for the member at the podium to instruct the President as to what his choices are. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Continue, hon Mazibuko.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, this is what the people of South Africa need and, indeed, what many in his own party want. The greatest test of leadership is to know when to give up and pass the torch to a new generation. There are deep divisions in South Africa and in the ANC today, and the President cannot overcome them. [Interjections.]

The challenges of government and of getting South Africa's young people working require the President to devote every hour of every day for the remainder of his term to dealing with these challenges. By declaring himself unavailable for re-election, the President will not face the relentless pressure of trying to secure his position in what is set to be a brutal and protracted struggle for power. He would be free to govern as Head of State, and not be constrained by his party's alliance partners who have done so much to frustrate him. If the President made this commitment, he would have an opportunity to put back the undoubted talents of his warm-heartedness, compassion, and conflict resolution into the service of our great nation.

The next two years do not have to be as bad as the last three. The President could still, at this very late hour, have a role to play in binding the nation's wounds, and healing our past in the remainder of this term. South Africa can still prevail and prosper, and its bounds grow ever wider - for ours is a great country. I thank you. [Time expired.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Takes: 323 & 323A

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, hon members of the House, I cannot but recall on this occasion that when P W Botha offered Nelson Mandela release from prison on certain conditions Madiba responded that that was unacceptable.

But he said something special. He said "I value my freedom, but I love yours even more." "I value my freedom, but I love yours more." Shortly thereafter he led our country in drafting this Constitution, and he was the first to sign that this was the valid, correct route to follow.

He was the first to take the oath of office under this Constitution. So if we are going to take a look and take a decision whether Vote 1 deserves our support or not, we must evaluate the performance of the incumbent against what the Constitution says should be done. And we must also evaluate the performance of the incumbent against what he said in the oath of office. Any other thing, I think, would be to judge an individual on the basis of subjective feelings and all of that. But let's look at what it says.

Section 83 of the Constitution says that the President must uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the land, and, secondly, that he must promote the unity of the nation and that which will advance the Republic. These are objective tests against which we must look at this – the Vote – before us.

In the oath of office the incumbent took an oath that says, "I will protect and promote the rights of all South Africans," and, secondly, "I will do justice to all." This is not what we think or what we want to judge. Let's judge against what the Constitution says and what the incumbent accepted as a responsibility.

Of course the Constitution also says what these rights of the people are. Section 16(1)(a) says that the freedom of the press and other media is one of those freedoms of the citizens of the country. So when the incumbent accepts that he will uphold the rights of everybody, one of those rights is the right of freedom of press and other media. So last week Haffajee exercised that right. She did so in the firm belief that the President of the Republic would protect her rights, as enshrined in the Constitution. [Interjections.]

We, in the meantime, had given the hon President a budget which would enable him to fulfil that task. [Interjections.] And yet to this day I have not heard a word from the President, a voice from the President, "Defend her right to do that which she had done." [Interjections.]

That's why Madiba said, "I value my freedom, but I love yours even more." [Interjections.] The leadership we expected is that of Madiba, "I value my freedom" in this Constitution. [Interjections.] "I value my freedom, but I love yours more." The President, in taking the oath of office, gave us the commitment that he would do so. He gave that to Ferial Haffajee, but when the moment came he was not to be found.

Madiba did not say – when they say you must come out of jail – "It hurts to fight for your freedom." He didn't say it hurts. He said, "I value my freedom"; "I love yours even more." [Interjections.] And that is what we want and, I think, on that basis, we will not support this budget. Wasted money! [Interjections.]

Similarly, Brett Murray, who struggled with us along the streets and towns of this country under the United Democratic Front against the old order, fought for the right of artistic expression. When he had done that, he voted for the ruling party. When he used the same artistic expression he had used against apartheid to criticise some practices, expecting that the party which he had fought for and fought with for freedom would defend his right ... No. The office that had committed to that was found not to be present. [Interjections.] It was not there. [Applause.]

I say that is a violation of the oath of office. The President should not have been absent at a time when the rights of an individual were now being trampled underfoot. [Interjections.] Thirdly ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, could you just wait.

The MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS (Mrs D D Pule): Madam Deputy Speaker, firstly, I just want to ask the hon member to lower his voice. [Interjections.] And, secondly, I want to ask if he could take a question.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just sit down, hon Lekota.

The MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS (Mrs D D Pule): I want to ask if he would take a question. He's speaking very loudly. I can't hear what he's saying.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Would you take a question?

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Speaker, my time is being ... [Inaudible.] ... not taking any question. I'm still delivering my speech. [Laughter.]

Similarly, when the owners of the Goodman Gallery exercised their rights in terms of the rights in this Constitution and so on, they also did so because they believed that the highest office in the land would make itself available to defend their rights.

Madam Deputy Speaker, if you could just correct the minutes for that item. They go beyond ... [Interjections.]

The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (Mr K M N Gigaba): Hon Deputy Speaker, is the hon Shilowa prepared to stand there and defend the President's right to dignity? [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is that a point of order?

The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (Mr K M N Gigaba): It's a question. Is he prepared to defend the President's right to human dignity? [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That's not the hon Shilowa. [Laughter.] What are you saying? [Laughter.] [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (Mr K M N Gigaba): I'm thinking about the freedoms of the hon Shilowa, the freedoms he did not defend.

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Point of order, hon Deputy Speaker ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes.

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Could the hon member please stop with the hate speech and deliver his speech?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: That's not a point of order. Hon members, when you stand up, could you please make real points of order? You are really wasting our time.

Ms A DLODLO: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I think it is very out of order for the hon Shilowa there to mislead the nation when he says that during apartheid Brett Murray drew people's things. That is misleading the nation. It is not true. Please! [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, please continue.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I have only one request: it is that you must protect me. I can't be humiliated in front of you, and you don't say anything about these things. [Interjections.] [Applause.] I make that request only. I want to proceed, Madam Deputy Speaker. I hope that you have also taken my time ... the time that has been taken from me. Please; if you can take that.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If you continue now.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Thank you, Madam.

So, I say, again, that on that point we will not support this Vote.

Thirdly, with regard to the owners of the Goodman Gallery, their rights were violated. The Office of the President did not defend ... again, violating the oath of office. Where is the commitment that was made that "I will defend the rights of everybody", when the rights of these individuals are violated in this way? And we must consider that it is a serious issue for an oath of office to be violated in this way.

The fourth point I want to make is that the matter was placed before the judiciary of our nation. Part of the defence of the Constitution is that the highest office has taken an oath to defend the Constitution, including the judiciary. Whilst the judiciary was busy considering the matter, the Ministers – the executive, which is presided over by the President – in the person of hon Minister Blade Nzimande and in the person of hon Minister Mashatile ... We have seen them over time mobilising numbers of people to intimidate and to demand behaviour that went ahead of the outcome of the court process. And yet we did not hear a word from the President, saying to our nation, saying to those who follow him and who work under him: "It is wrong for you to undermine the judiciary of our nation." [Interjections.]

This is a violation of the oath of office ... [Applause.] ... and the President gave us a commitment when he took the oath of office that he would defend the rights of all of us, and yet this is what we have seen. To this day we are dying to hear whether anything will happen. The secretary-general of the ruling party is now leading groups of young people on the streets of our nation, calling himself a general, demanding apologies from citizens who have done nothing but exercised their constitutionally enshrined rights, and yet we have not heard a word from the executive.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, there is a point of order.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I am seated.

Mrs M T KUBAYI: Madam Speaker, I don't think the speaker should abuse the podium. [Interjections.] This is a Budget Vote speech. If he wants to introduce a discussion on freedom of expression, he has the authority to do so and the proper channels to follow. This is a Budget Vote speech. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Continue, hon Lekota.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I am discussing the budget. I am discussing the fact that we gave money for the President to use to defend the rights of the people, to ensure that each one of us enjoys these freedoms - and that not only the will of the majority, who can mobilise mobs, must prevail. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

The only institution in our nation which must regulate behaviour ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, there is another point of order, please.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Speaker, the hon Lekota is noisy. He is treating this Parliament as a rally ... [Interjections.] Hon Deputy Speaker, we are being treated as a rally. [Interjections.] Now we are here ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Chief Whip, could you allow the hon Lekota to conclude his speech? He is about to conclude.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: But he is shouting at us.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, could you just address the House. Give your points in a manner that is not ... [Interjections.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: No, I am sorry, Madam Speaker. That is not appropriate. [Interjections.]

Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Madam Speaker, will you take a point of order please? You are not allowed to impinge on the freedom of speech of a speaker in this House. [Applause.]

Mrs J D KILIAN: Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. We expect the presiding officers of this House to give every member the right to express him or herself without interruption by the rule of the tyranny of the majority.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, could you continue? I am not going to allow any points of order.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Now I am saddened to see what is going on in the House. If the masses of the people on the streets will beat up and compel people to apologise and so on ... they are looking at this behaviour here. [Interjections.] They are looking at this thing that is happening here. The President is entitled to silence to hear what I am saying, because he has to reply tomorrow.

But there is no respect for the President. There is a lot of noise so that he cannot hear. I do say that a number of things have been done now. Haffajee has been compelled to apologise. This has been removed. The picture has been removed. The Minister of Arts and Culture has compelled an apology out of the ... Where is the rule of law? Where is the rule of law? The judiciary is still sitting and considering the application before it, and the ruling party has used masses of people to compel the direction of things and so on.

This is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. [Applause.] The Storm Troopers were used to attack the opponents of the regime of Hitler. In this way the Constitution was thrown out and the next thing that happened is that the law of the land was dictated by Hitler and his Storm Troopers. We cannot accept that in this country. As a nation we must rise up ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota ... Hon Lekota ... Hon Lekota! [Applause.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: ... and conscience ... the question of conscience must face up to this. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota ... Order! Hon Lekota, your time is up. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like all those whose rights are being violated to continue to oppose ... [Applause.]

Mrs J D KILIAN: Deputy Speaker, may I please address you on a point of order?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes.

Mrs J D KILIAN: I want to ask you to make a ruling on a comment made by the hon member who is standing at this stage, who has referred to the speaker to say that he must stop with his hate speech. I want a ruling if that is parliamentary conduct. Could you please make a ruling on that?

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Hon Deputy Speaker, is it parliamentary for this government to be compared to Nazi Germany? Is that parliamentary?

HON MEMBERS: Yes! [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is a speaker on the floor. Hon Nzimande?

The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: I am raising a point of order, Madam Speaker. I respected you so that the hon member could finish. I would really request that you make a ruling. If a member of this House can stand up and make a very serious thing to say the President has violated his oath of office ... [Interjections.]

An HON MEMBER: ... freedom of speech!

HON MEMBERS: Yes!

The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: ... because such a statement is very serious. Such a thing actually leads to impeachment. We can debate and be critical, but to allow this, Madam Speaker ... I ask you to make a ruling on this: of someone can just, in a casual way, stand up and say the President has violated his oath of office. I would request your ruling on that, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay. All the requests for rulings are noted. I am sure the Table is noting that. We will do that later.

Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Madam Speaker, I would occasion you to rule in terms of our Rules and not the Rules of the Communist Party. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission, this Constitution says that we may raise an issue here ... [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, you had your time. Please! Could you sit down. You had your time. Hon Buthelezi, you may proceed, Tata.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: The fourth point I want to make is that the matter was placed before the judiciary of our nation. Part of the defence of the Constitution is that the highest office has taken an oath to defend the Constitution, including the judiciary. Whilst the judiciary was busy considering the matter, the Ministers – the executive, which is presided over by the President – in the person of hon Minister Blade Nzimande and in the person of hon Minister Mashatile ... We have seen them over time mobilising numbers of people to intimidate and to demand behaviour that went ahead of the outcome of the court process. And yet we did not hear a word from the President, saying to our nation, saying to those who follow him and who work under him: "It is wrong for you to undermine the judiciary of our nation." [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, there is a point of order.

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I am seated.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Continue, hon Lekota.

The only institution in our nation which must regulate behaviour ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, there is another point of order, please.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Speaker, the hon Lekota is noisy. He is treating this Parliament as a rally. [Interjections.] Hon Deputy Speaker, we are being treated as a rally. [Interjections.] Now we are here ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Chief Whip, could you allow the hon Lekota to conclude his speech? He is about to conclude.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: But he is shouting at us.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, could you just address the House. Give your points in a manner that is not ... [Interjections.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: No, I am sorry, Madam Speaker. That is not ... [Interjections.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, will you take a point of order please? You are not allowed to impinge on the freedom of speech of a speaker in this House. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, could you continue? I am not going to allow any more points of order.

But there is no respect for the President. There is a lot of noise so that he cannot hear. I do say that a number of things have been done now. Haffajee has been compelled to apologise. This has been removed. The pictures have been removed. The Minister of Arts and Culture has compelled an apology out of the ... Where is the rule of law? Where is the rule of law? The judiciary is still sitting and considering the application before it, and the ruling party has used masses of people to compel the direction of things and so on.

This is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. [Applause.] [Interjections.] The Storm Troopers were used to attack the opponents of the regime of Hitler. In this way the constitution was thrown out and the next thing that happened is that the law of the land was dictated by Hitler and his Storm Troopers. We cannot accept that in this country. As a nation we must rise up ...

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota ... Hon Lekota ... Hon Lekota!

Mr M G P LEKOTA: ... and conscience ... the question of conscience must face up to this. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota ... Order! Hon Lekota, your time is up. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, I will like all those whose rights are being violated to continue to oppose ... [Applause.]

Mrs J D KILIAN: Hon Deputy Speaker, may I please address you on a point of order?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes.

Mrs J D KILIAN: I want to ask you to make a ruling on a comment made by the hon member who is standing at this stage, who referred to the speaker to say that he can continue his hate speech. I want a ruling if that is parliamentary conduct. Could you please make a ruling on that?

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Hon Deputy Speaker, is it parliamentary for this government to be compared to Nazi Germany? Is it parliamentary?

HON MEMBERS: Yes! [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is a speaker on the floor. Hon Nzimande?

An HON MEMBER: ... of freedom of speech!

HON MEMBERS: Yes!

The MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: ... because such a statement is very serious. Such a thing actually leads to impeachment. We can debate and be critical, but to allow this, Madam Speaker ... I ask you to make a ruling on this: of someone who just, in a casual way, stand up and say the President has violated his oath of office. I would request your ruling on that, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay. All the requests for rulings are noted. I am sure the Table is noting that. We will do that later.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, I would request you to rule in terms of our Rules and not the Rules of the Communist Party. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr M G P LEKOTA: Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission, this Constitution says that we may raise an issue here ... [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Lekota, you had your time. Please! Could you sit down. You had your time. Hon Buthelezi, you may proceed, Tata.

Prince M G BUTHELEZI

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 323A

Mr M G P LEKOTA

Prince M G BUTHELEZI: Your Excellency the President, your Excellency the Deputy President, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, hon Members of the House, we find ourselves faced with great difficulty in properly exercising our parliamentary duties as they relate to the approval of the budget of the Presidency which is before us today. We are here to scrutinise whether the amount of money to be allocated to the Presidency for the next year is adequate and sufficient in relation to the strategic plan submitted to Parliament. As we do this, at the same time we review whether the funds allocated last year were adequately spent. This is of course a process which Parliament undertakes in respect of all other departments. This process takes place within portfolio committees, which go through how last year's money was spent and interrogate how next year's money is intended to be spent.

However, when it comes to the ever-increasing budget of the Presidency, we are not enabled to perform any such review, control or scrutiny because this Parliament has steadfastly refused to establish a portfolio committee on the Presidency. We are faced with having to approve today a budgetary allocation for the Presidency without any work having been done in any portfolio committee to interrogate what this figure means. All we know is that it has skyrocketed beyond anything one would have expected just a few years ago. This is an untenable and impossible situation. It is not just Parliament that is being disempowered by the lack of a portfolio committee on the Presidency, but it is also the people of South Africa who are being disempowered as we are merely their elected representatives

The fundamental principle of "no taxation without representation" has been weakened. Also, the Presidency has been weakened by the lack of a portfolio committee. All of us have experience of how interaction between a portfolio committee and the relevant Minister ends up strengthening the ministerial function, the Minister himself and delivery by the relevant department. Every time a Minister comes to Parliament, he or she leaves enriched by the exchanges with the portfolio committee. However, there is no such a thing for the Presidency. Why is that? It is not that the Presidency does not need strengthening and guidance. On the contrary, we all realise that the Presidency could benefit from stronger interaction with Parliament.

In the past years, the role of the Presidency has become broader and broader. It began with former President Mandela who located within the Presidency the Reconstruction and Development Programme, thereby placing within the Presidency the function of driving social and economic development at a macro level. This has now flourished into a placing of the National Planning Commission within the Presidency, which has been tasked with defining a plan and a policy framework for the whole of the country for all the departments for the next 30 years. This is no minor task.

Both the planning and the performance monitoring functions are inherently executive functions which, if not placed within the Presidency, would be exercised by one or more departments, which would be subjected to the oversight function of a portfolio committee and would have a constant beneficial interaction with such a committee. However, at this juncture, they are taken out of the accountability that comes when Parliament exercises its oversight function. Exercising the oversight function is not a matter of choice. It is in fact a duty expressly cast upon us by the Constitution. In the absence of a portfolio committee on the Presidency, we are falling short of abiding by our duty to exercise this function.

The same applies to the fact that functions of the Presidency have now increasingly expanded in respect of the direct management of ever-increasing portions of our international relations, which are handled directly by the President who participates in meetings of the G20, African Union and SADC while having direct personal contact with a number of world leaders.

Parliament is greatly impoverished by not being able to interact with the director-general, for instance, in the office of the Presidency on these and other matters. The IFP has raised this grave institutional shortcoming at this podium for many years, and it cannot really understand why there is an obstinate refusal to do what is constitutionally required and politically necessary to strengthen Parliament, the President, accountability and our democracy. Therefore, we speak today without the benefit of having interrogated many of the questions we have and against the backdrop of a general negative perception of the President. The general perception is that the President has failed to provide the necessary leadership in giving policy direction and dealing with many problems faced by our country in a timely, effective and competent manner. That is of course a perception and not a reality about the issue. As long as there is no accountability I am speaking about here today, it will be so.

Even in respect of small things, which often reveal the status of big things, we cannot help but notice how correspondence is not answered and promises are not kept. In respect of big issues, we cannot but point to the failure of the Presidency to exercise leadership on all the issues that matter, ranging from the economy to unemployment, corruption, failure to deliver essential services, and the lack of a vision for the future of the country.

I wish to congratulate His Excellency the President and the government for having what the President has stated as the largest HIV/Aids health programme in the world. However, just now we have a crisis in South Africa where there is a shortage of ARVs in six out of nine provinces. That is a very serious crisis. This echoing criticism is not answered by creating more processes, institutions, workshops, summits and commissions. Indeed, that is an old technique used to cover impotence, lack of vision and lack of political resolve. He who knows what to do just does it. The hon Speaker and the Chief Whip are also my witnesses that in Johannesburg, during Africa Day, I stated that the IFP supports the candidature of the hon Dr Zuma as chairperson of the AU Commission.

However, in the same breath, I wish to appeal to His Excellency, through you hon Deputy Speaker, that he should please appoint a trained policeman as the National Commissioner of Police because experimenting by deploying comrades has been a dismal failure. [Applause.]

He who doesn't, throws a problem into a sandbox, letting sufficient people to kick it around in the hope that someone, somehow, will kick it hard enough to crack some of the solution. Our country is facing too many and too great challenges to be governed in this fashion.

In 1994, the world looked upon South Africa in great expectation, admiration and approval. By the time the 20th anniversary of our liberation comes, the world, including many of our countries in Africa, will be looking on South Africa with disappointment, concern and disapproval. How did we come to this? Unfortunately, it is in the Presidency where the buck stops. That is why the President has given us an overview of what government is trying to do in all the departments.

However, we have suffered policy schizophrenia trying to pursue all policies in spite of them being at odds with one another. We are trying to promote economic growth while pursuing a number of social programmes and policies, including the expansion of an untenable welfare state, which are at odds with economic growth. We have committed ourselves to promote world-class infrastructure, and yet none of our infrastructure has been prioritised. Instead, it has fallen below even the highest standards in Africa. Even in respect of our internet capability, we are behind four other African countries, Nigeria being far ahead of us. The same applies to our ports and harbours, railways, electricity supply, education system and all that which forms the backbone of both our economy and our social fabric.

The same lack of leadership has emerged in respect of crucial issues such as traditional leadership, where the actual policies implemented by the government over the past 18 years have been at odds with its political understanding and even the constitutional imperative. We cannot continue to run a country saying one thing and doing another, or worse saying everything in the hope of pleasing everyone while often doing nothing in the hope that things will come right by themselves. We need a profound change in the way the Presidency operates. The President can no longer be a figure head and a point of political reference. The Presidency must become an actual engine of work, policy and delivery. To this extent, it requires an active and constant interaction with a parliamentary portfolio committee.

Let me reiterate what I have said before. I will always support the President and government when they do the right thing for the people of South Africa. Yes, of course, I am a leader of an opposition party. But I can assure them that I have no sinister plans which would warrant the bugging of my phone, for instance. I can assure the President and the government that I am not a threat to the state to warrant the bugging of my cellular phone.

Intelligence sources have leaked information that my phone is bugged even now, just as it was the case before 1994. I am at a loss to know why. I must say, though, that the job of the spies would be much easier if my home landline was reinstated. I haven't had the luxury of a home phone since I was the Minister of Home Affairs eight years ago. There is no phone in KwaPhindangene. I start looking back at the time when I was in Cabinet and ask myself if it was for the same reasons that I was given two spooks - Mr Billy Masetla and Mr Barry Gilder - as directors of my department. [Laughter.]

I would like to end by assuring the President of the Republic, my Deputy President, members of Cabinet and Members of Parliament that I am not a danger to the state or to anyone's life in South Africa and in KwaZulu-Natal in particular. The IFP supports the Presidency Vote. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 323B, 324 & 325

Prince M G BUTHELEZI

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Hon Speaker, hon President, Mr Jacob Zuma, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, let me add to the words of President Jacob Zuma who, on this special occasion, has thanked Parliament and government as well as all sectors of the South African society for supporting and encouraging the Presidency in its endeavour to drive the transformation agenda in our society.

We are presenting the Presidency Budget Vote at a time when we are also marking the midterm of the current administration. This, in turn, offers us the opportunity to reflect on the past two and half years as well as the distance we still have to travel to meet our objectives. As we have maintained before, our nation is reeling under the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, with the youth of our country at the epicentre of that challenge.

The youth are an important social segment, not only because of their energy, but also because they represent the future we are building today. It follows then that if the majority of the youth are not developed today, while they are young, they are unlikely to be productive adults tomorrow, thus presenting even greater problems to society. As of now, approximately 2,8 million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years are unemployed and not in any institution of learning. This statistic represents a tinderbox that threatens to inflame pent-up emotions within the youth if not urgently addressed.

Failure to equip the youth with alternatives will only feed resonance of negative feelings and violent reaction among them. We are obliged to approach youth development in a holistic manner that goes far beyond issues of empowerment. As government we should plan comprehensively to ensure that in all areas of our programmes we target the youth in order to build a sustainable future.

Our ongoing antipoverty efforts were further strengthened by the decision of the extended Cabinet lekgotla in July 2011 to prioritise short-term job creation as a focus of our co-ordinating structures. While the comprehensive plan to address unemployment is outlined in our New Growth Path, we have embarked upon measures that seek to alleviate this challenge of unemployment. We have pooled together the following programmes under one co-ordinating structure: the Community Work Programme targeting one million work opportunities by 2014; the Expanded Public Works Programme targeting up to 2 million work opportunities; the Vocational and Continuing Education and Training Programme, which aims to increase enrolment from 300 000 to 800 000 students; the Jobs Fund; supporting small- and microenterprises, including small holders and agriculture.

Since the launch of the War on Poverty Campaign, we have profiled poor households and in many instances identified their needs. The War on Poverty Campaign targets young people from poor households as change agents, given the potential they represent to break the cycle of poverty in their households. We seek to improve the capability and opportunities of these young people, by connecting them to available opportunities, in order for them to graduate from poverty, and in turn, take their own families and communities out of poverty.

The extent of the challenge is worth noting. Educational inequalities among the poor are glaring. The dropout rate at low educational levels is high among poor households. For these households, the urgent and necessary interventions are literacy campaigns, keeping children at school until completion of secondary education, and the acquisition of vocational training and other technical skills for all adults. Therefore, beyond this antipoverty programme, government is prioritising youth development through instruments like skills development, promotion of healthy lifestyles, internships and enterprise development.

Historically, societies are known to make economic progress on the strength of their human resource development. To this end, the Human Resource Development, HRD Council consisting of government, business, labour, and civil society drafted the Human Resource Development, HRD, strategy. Over the past year and a half, the HRD Council has focused on establishing the relevant structure that will oversee the implementation of the strategy.

I am pleased to report that the HRD Council has done excellent work with particular focus on strengthening foundational learning; strengthening and supporting FET colleges to expand access; producing intermediate skills, such as artisans and professionals; promoting partnerships in research and development; and developing a framework for improving worker education.

While the work to develop our human resources has been mapped out, we still have a long road to travel. With this in mind, I would request that in the year ahead we should continue to work hand in hand to lay the foundation for a winning nation, which I believe we are capable of achieving. These efforts must help us respond to the triple challenges outlined earlier, especially as they affect the youth of our country. For this reason, the state has the responsibility to ensure that it is institutionally geared towards supporting the youth by granting them access to information that helps them make useful decisions about career options, health and wellbeing, employment and entrepreneurship, among others.

Let me thank GCIS for responding to the request by young people to be provided with such consolidated information. I am happy that an information booklet is now available and I have been told that this booklet was distributed to all Members of Parliament on 18May. We will be giving you more copies to distribute in your constituencies. Given the high unemployment rate, we are prioritising education, training and skills development efforts as well as other interventions that promote absorption into the labour force, such as internships and apprenticeships. Supporting young people to enter the world of self-employment is another urgent task.

As hon members are aware, through National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, all social partners are processing the youth wage subsidy proposal. There are differences in approach or modalities for implementation. But that should not deter us from the main objective of lowering the costs and time of entry into the labour market.

We must, together with all social partners, work out mechanisms to prevent, detect and address abuse when it does occur. South Africa has taken bold and decisive action to create energy security through diversifying its energy sources, accelerating access to energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building a competitive 21st century clean energy economy while contributing towards employment creation.

South Africa is making strides in raising awareness on energy conservation. For example, we are accelerating the roll-out of the 49 million campaign, which appeals to all South Africans to conserve energy. The 49 million campaign is implemented through Eskom and enjoys the support of business and other social partners.

With regard to the country's electricity plan, the Integrated Resource Plan 2010 to 2020 provides for the upscaling of nuclear capacity. In November 2011 Cabinet approved the establishment of the National Nuclear Energy Executive Co-ordination Committee, NNEECC, to oversee the roll out of the nuclear build programme. This committee is the authority for co-ordinating inputs, monitoring and ensuring general oversight, as the country prepares to expand its nuclear energy programme.

Let me state, once more, that this co-ordinating committee is not responsible for procurement. Its mandate is only that of co-ordinating the nuclear build programme and, therefore, will not be discussing tender specifications and procurement. That remains the responsibility of relevant government departments and agencies.

As I reported to this House last year, we have been conducting a number of reviews on the work of the SA National Aids Council, Sanac, as part of the final review of the Strategic Plan for HIV, which expired at the end of 2011. The review of the governance framework highlighted some weaknesses in the co-ordination and monitoring of our response. An ad hoc governance committee was, therefore, established to look into this matter and to make recommendations in this regard.

I am happy to report that the committee has proposed a robust, comprehensive governance framework, which will ensure accountability, transparency, inclusivity and meaningful participation of all sectors. It will also enable us to co-ordinate our programmes across all levels of government.

This time last year all our efforts were focussed on the development of the National Strategic Plan, NSP, for HIV, STIs and TB. During my speech, I requested all sectors and stakeholders across the country to engage with the process of developing the National Strategic Plan. I am heartened to note that people from all sectors of our society responded to this call to action. They made inputs into this important strategic document, which now serves as the roadmap towards the achievement of our vision of an Aids-free world.

Let me emphasise that this is the first time that we are addressing HIV and TB in a comprehensive and integrated way, due to the high levels of coinfection in our country. This is, therefore, a unique strategic plan. [Applause.]

The results of all the surveys and reviews undertaken enabled us to be precise in identifying those who are at risk, the behavioural and structural factors that increase vulnerability, as well as the social drivers of the epidemic. We have used this information to develop our National Strategic Plan and prioritised those areas where our interventions can make the greatest impact.

Experts confirm that the following categories of people are more susceptible to HIV and TB: Young women and girls; those with low levels of or no education; people living in informal settlements; those in rural areas; migrant workers; people working in the mines and prisoners; and those living along major long-haul truck routes.

In short, we have affirmed that this is an epidemic of deprivation; that the social determinants of these epidemics reflect the developmental challenges that our young democracy is grappling with; that the interplay between social, economic, cultural and many other factors continues to throw up challenges; and that, as we make progress in one area, new problems arise in other areas.

There is no doubt that the country is slowly winning the fight against the epidemic, as demonstrated by the high numbers of people who are now receiving treatment; our successful HIV Counselling and Testing Campaign; improvement in the detection of new TB infections; and the decline in the transmission of HIV from mother to child.

We have shifted the way we think about the response to the epidemic and have recognised the need to expand beyond the health sector to include all sectors, every department, all institutions, all organised structures, communities, households and individuals.

Furthermore, prevention of new HIV and TB infections is not limited to the use of technologies and commodities such as condoms. Prevention traverses all those aspects of life that promote dignity, respect for life, the creation of a society that is tolerant and embracing; a society that cares about children, young women and girls, and a society that protects those who are vulnerable and marginalised.

Fellow South Africans should note that we have a good plan on the table. However, the litmus test is in its execution. Given the global economic outlook and overall decline in development aid, we will identify innovative ways of sustaining our programmes. What is imperative are economic governance, improved co-ordination, joint planning across departments, public-private partnerships and meaningful community engagement.

This means that we have to maximise efficiencies, do more with less and find innovative ways to deliver services. We have to engage with all sectors of society because a robust response is not only dependent on funds. There is a wealth of experience even at the local level that, if aligned appropriately and strategically, can ensure that indeed we do succeed in reducing new infections.

I, therefore, call upon all stakeholders in the business community to work collaboratively and with a singular purpose towards the vision of an Aids-free South Africa. This vision is attainable, so let us commit ourselves to it.

With the new National Strategic Plan will come renewed membership of civil society sectors. To this end, a call for nominations for the Sanac will be issued shortly, and those appointed will be the custodians of the new NSP.

Finally, we will prioritise the development and implementation of a multisectoral monitoring and evaluation framework, which will contribute to the efforts of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Department in the Presidency.

Another important area of our responsibility that flows directly from our Constitution is social cohesion. In 1994 we set out to transform South Africa into a united nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society. From the onset, we were mindful of the profound impact of colonialism and racial discrimination, not only on the ability of people to thrive and achieve their best potential, but also on the psyche of the nation. Given this complexity, we recognise that the task of social cohesion will not be accomplished in a short time.

The Constitution provides a framework that enables an environment in which the people of South Africa can function as one and flourish.

Based on the Constitution, we have enacted legislation and introduced policies to redress racial discrimination and other imbalances of the past. In doing all these, we have laid the foundation for a united South African society to flourish. Social cohesion must be seen as an ongoing process of developing a community with a shared vision, shared values and shared challenges.

Success in this important task will be achieved when we have a South Africa in which people live in peace and harmony, are gainfully employed and are free of deprivation in terms of basic needs such as food, water and shelter and enjoy basic human rights such as freedom, democracy, culture, language and spiritual and intellectual stimulation. The task to build such a society is our collective responsibility.

Our challenge is to ensure that the task of building a caring society is not relegated to the moral regeneration movement. The dissemination and popularisation of national symbols through education, publications, workshops, exhibitions and the distribution and installation of flags in schools, public buildings and households are some of the initiatives being undertaken to advance a national identity. Moreover, government supports the commemoration of national events which bring people together to experience the wealth and diversity of South Africa's cultural offerings. To further explore how we can achieve maximum participation in these events, government is hosting the inaugural social cohesion summit in the second part of this year and, of course, all hon members of this House and all social partners are invited to join this important gathering.

Hon members, allow me to turn our attention to the work of the Leader of Government Business. Hon Speaker, I wish to plead that we should give our participation to the august House and the decorum to august House some polish. I think it can do with a bit of shine. [Applause.] The flow of legislation from the executive to Parliament has been proceeding smoothly. For some time now, there have been no requests to fast-track Bills, although requests for prioritisation were made and attended to.

Parliament needs to look at a Constitutional Amendment to allow Ministers to introduce section 76 Bills in the National Council of Provinces, as this currently has to be done on their behalf by a member of that House. I note that the number of parliamentary Questions asked last year increased by nearly 12% from 4 333 Questions as opposed to the 3 879 Questions asked in 2010. This shows that parliamentary Questions are an effective instrument of political oversight.

HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: At the same time, there are still concerns relating to late replies to Parliamentary Questions. Let me reassure you, hon members that all Ministers do take this responsibility seriously. [Interjections.] In 2011, just fewer than 6% of Questions were not answered before the end of the parliamentary year. [Interjections.] Six, yes – it was a single digit. [Laughter.] I reiterate therefore that the executive is very conscious of its constitutional responsibilities and clearly understands and is committed to its accountability to Parliament.

Mr G R MORGAN: Not if you read if the answers!

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Hon Speaker, I would like to echo and support what President Jacob Zuma said on South Africa's international relations. Our experience is that South Africa and its people stand to gain from the strengthening and deepening of our bilateral and multilateral relations with countries of the world, especially those countries in Africa and in our region. During our visits to some of these countries, we have found that there is goodwill and understanding of the challenges that we face as a country, that seeks to address its historically accumulated disabilities.

The growth and infrastructural development strategy that government has adopted, the investments that we want to bring here in this country and the people-to-people relations we wish to have, can only be realised if we make use of all the opportunities that arise out of the binational commissions that South Africa has established with some of these countries. In this regard, it is important that government and its departments work in unison in the execution and implementation of the bilateral and multilateral agreements that South Africa signed with these countries. Furthermore, we take it upon ourselves to seek ways of strengthening those structures that are responsible for the implementation of these agreements so that execution takes place within the agreed timeframes. In the past year, we have continued our efforts to promote and strengthen political and economic relations with sister countries in the continent. For example, we have successfully engaged our counterparts in São Tomé-Príncipe, Ghana and Nigeria.

We are worried that just as we were consolidating our bilateral relations with Guinea-Bissau, a situation emerged that reversed the gains of peace and stability in that country. We stand ready to assist in the resolution of political conflicts in keeping with our goal of building a better Africa. We have also reinforced our political and economic relations with Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, Germany, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Denmark. The next task is to boost trade between us and these countries and to increase people-to-people contact, which is vital for cultural exchange and tourism.

Relations with China have also taken a new turn, thanks to the strategic partnership agreement brokered between President Jacob Zuma and President Hu Jintao. Consequently, South African Airways now flies directly to Beijing, thus easing business, tourism and cultural exchanges. Our manufacturing sector will also soon be enjoying the fruits of this agreement, as China considers 10 specific South African products that will enjoy unhampered access to its markets. Going forward, we are working tirelessly to strengthen South-South relations while maintaining our North-South relations.

Finally, hon members, let me stress that government is on course to fulfil its mandate. We are determined to accelerate service delivery, economic growth, job creation, social security and guarantee the safety of our people. We will continue to be guided by the imperative of knowing where people are, understanding their conditions, empathising with and responding timeously to improve their socioeconomic conditions.

Let me thank you, Mr Speaker, and hon members for the continued support and co-operation we have received in the course of pursuing our work. I thank President Jacob Zuma for his continued support, confidence and guidance in pursuit of our executive responsibilities. Let me also acknowledge the unconditional support of my Cabinet colleagues. Special thanks to the Ministers in the Presidency, the management of the organisation led by Dr Cassius Lubisi, my special advisors as well as staff in my office who ensure that I can stand before this House today and report on the responsibilities assigned to the Office of the Deputy President. I thank you, hon members, for your attention. [Applause.]

Mr J J MCGLUWA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 326

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Mr J J MC GLUWA: Mr Speaker, hon Mazibuko spoke of the fundamental importance of the Presidency to be transparent and held accountable to the people of South Africa. I am actually not surprised, but deeply shocked in the manner in which the Leader of the Opposition had been disrespected by the hon Koos van derMerwe who has been sitting here since the apartheid government days. I am very pleased that the leader of the IFPhas repudiated him and apologised. If he is bold enough, he would do likewise.

It is ironic that the Presidency itself lacks any kind of regular performance monitoring by Parliament. The Presidency, gliding in apparent "splendid isolation" goes about its business, free of scrutiny by a dedicated parliamentary oversight committee. This contravenes the spirit of our national contract.

In sentiments expressed by the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, we are enjoined by the Constitution to use scant resources to fight poverty, unemployment, preventable disease and ill-health, and other forms of social deprivation. The country is navigating stormy seas at the present time, knocked about by the winds of global recession. These are lean and hard times for all.

Over two years ago, the DA proposed that a Presidential Portfolio Committee be established to ensure that every rand and cent gets to the frontline – to poor people in poor communities who live in absolute poverty. Clearly, this Parliament does not only need to work up a hungry appetite for a robust debate on this matter, it also demands the political will to establish a presidential portfolio committee in both the Ministries to oversee the activities of the Presidency.

The Presidency has excelled at increasing the size of its budget. Anyone would think they won the national lottery! This budget has doubled in two years. But we cannot say the same of the quality of its performance. This increase in spending has not been justified by any measurable improvement in how the Presidency has achieved its mandate. Who is tracking the work of the Presidency to see if there is a correlation between its largesse and any tangible gains?

A case in point is the parliamentary question posed by the DA and the responses to it, given by the Department of Public Works, in the first quarter of last year. They exposed their exorbitant cost of the previously announced upgrades to the President's official residential area and offices. These include Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Pretoria, Genadendal in Cape Town, as well as offices in the Bryntirion Estate and Tuynhuys here at Parliament.

Of course there is a public outcry at such exorbitant figures. Inflation is eating away household incomes in poor communities. The splurging of millions on the President's high living lifestyle and extravagant public relations stunts is an affront to the poorest of the poor who have been neglected from Nkandla to Brandfort to Mvezo to Mahlabathini.

The lack of respect for accountability is an attitude that has infected this government from the Presidency downwards. I therefore challenge the President to tell this Parliament and the country in his reply tomorrow whether he agrees that the Presidency's expenditure should be accountable to a parliamentary oversight committee? If not, why not?

Afrikaans:

Speaker, ek daag die President uit om aan hierdie Parlement en die res van die land, met sy reaksie op hierdie begroting, ons in te lig of hy saamstem dat die Presidensie se begroting verantwoordelik gehou moet word deur 'n parlementêre oorsigkomitee. Indien nie, waarom nie?

English:

I would like to remind this House again what Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said when he replied to a question just over a year ago about a putative oversight parliamentary committee, and I quote:

That is a matter for this august House to take forward. We would not oppose that in any way. I believe the ANC benches would be very happy to establish such a structure.

Not only do we need clarity on how the Presidency spends its budget, but also about the quality of the work it undertakes. The gap between aspiration and implementation ever widens in the Republic. Even if a line item seems worthy, such committee must be able to ask the Presidency if the money could have been better spent. Furthermore, whilst South Africa's tax skin is thin, should not the Presidency, in these austere times, be taking a lead by doing more with less?

We, in this House, enjoy generous salaries and benefits many times greater than the average South African could imagine. If we are already asking our fellow South Africans to pay down their debts and live within their means, should we not be asking the same of this Parliament and the Presidency?

The hon Manual demonstrated the sure touch of leadership with the constructive spirit and lively engagement he showed when explaining the National Development Plan to this Parliament. We commend this brand of leadership as being worthy of emulation by you, Mr President.

But given these harsh economic times, one has to ask whether R15,5 million and R24,4 million for the renovation of the President's office is money well spent. I also have to ask: Could the obscene amounts of money spent on the dubious programmes of National Youth Development Agency, Nyda, not have been better spent on the Youth Wage Subsidy, as we have the support of the vast majority of South Africans to advocate and implement it? Already the DA, Black Business Council, Business Unity SA, the national Treasury, Federation of Unions of SA, Fedusa, United Nations Development Programme, and a number of organisations are in support of the Youth Wage Subsidy. Like the Presidency, the Nyda seems to be a one-stop job centre for connected comrades, rather than an agent for radical change. The South African taxpayer wants more "bang for their buck".

This Parliament would be abdicating its oversight responsibility by supporting a Budget Vote where no oversight structures exist. We need to restore the Presidency to health. We need a Presidency that is accountable to this Parliament, and we need a President who cherishes accountability, because that is what the Constitution demands from all of us. I thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 326

Mr J J MC GLUWA

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Hon Speaker and Deputy Speaker, the President of the Republic of South Africa, President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Kgalema Mothlante, Ministers and Deputy Ministers,

hon members, government officials and distinguished quests, tomorrow marks 102 years since the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The formation of the Union of South Africa was the beginning of the institutionalisation of racial and ethnic divisions in our country. It also sought to take away the dignity of Africans in particular and black people in general and entrench white domination.

In response, African people came together in 1912 and formed the African National Native Congress, later to be known as the ANC. Rallying towards the formation of the ANC, Pixley ka Isaka Seme called on Africans to forget their differences of the past and unite together in one national organisation. In this regard he said, "We are one people, these divisions, these jealousies are the cause of all our woes today."

Since then the ANC spearheaded the struggle to bring about a nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa. In the course of this struggle the ANC and other liberation movements always upheld the ideal of one country, one democratic state and a nonracial destiny for all who live in it - black and white.

It is through these selfless struggles, dating back more than a hundred years that we are sitting in this democratic Parliament today. Today, South Africans are working together to build a national democratic society.

In the past two weeks there have been heightened tensions among South Africans about what is wrong and what is right. This tension brought about by the artwork, The Spear, has broken the reality that ours is a society that requires great effort towards healing, reconciliation and nation-building. I am happy that this matter is being resolved. It is quite clear that more dialogue is required if we are to build a socially inclusive society.

There are very loud voices out there that seem to suggest that the ruling party has been bullying others, and therefore denying them their right to freedom of expression. This perception is wrong.

Throughout its life the ANC has fought for the rights of all South Africans to participate freely in their cultures, religions and beliefs. The ANC has fought for freedom of the press and has done away with censorship and banning orders.

Those who argue for freedom of expression, which we support fully as the ruling party, must equally appreciate the rights of other South Africans to dignity, as guaranteed in our Constitution. [Applause.] We will not agree to freedom to denigrate and humiliate other South Africans and take away their rights. The rights of South Africans include the right to protest, to march when they are dissatisfied and they have grievances.

As South Africans we need to find the correct balance between freedom of expression and the right to dignity. [Interjections.] President Zuma has already announced that in July this year, we will convene a national summit on social cohesion and nation-buildingwhich the President will address. We would like therefore to extend an invitation to all members of this House from all parties, so that we can have a rational debate.

This summit, which will be held in Kliptown, the birthplace of the Freedom Charter, will afford us as South Africans an opportunity to once more asses how far we have travelled in building a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society.

The overriding theme of our discussions on social cohesion and nation-building is that South Africa belongs to all who live in it - black and white.

We are doing this, guided also by the preamble to our Constitution which declares that, and I quote:

We the people of South Africa recognise the injustices of our past, believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity

As a build-up to the summit, we are mobilising the nation to engage with the question: What does it mean to be a South African?

In his state of the nation address in 2009, President Zuma made a call that we must embark in a national dialogue on the kind of society we seek to build. This year the President announced a number of heritage legacy projects to honour the heroes and heroines of our struggle for national liberation.

As a nation, we must work together to erect new symbols of a democratic society that will have a positive meaning to all of us. As we build new symbols of democracy, monuments and museums, we must continue to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment.

As we speak, we are currently embarking on projects that will assist to revitalise local economies, and provide much needed job opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

Through our Mzansi Golden Economy strategy, we estimate that more than l50 000 work opportunities will be created over the next five years, as we implement this heritage programme throughout the country.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Zuma for having put issues of arts, culture and heritage on top of the government agenda, and for giving his full support as we roll out this programme.

Let us work together to encourage tolerance in our country and build a sense of common nationhood. Let us continue to be guided by the motto on our coat of arms which we must respect at all times, which says, "!ke e:/xarra //ke; which means "diverse people, unite".

Let us continue to entrench the values enshrined in our Constitution and nation-building ethos based on the progressive values of ubuntu that teach us that motho, ke motho ka batho; umuntu umuntu ngabantu; munhu I munhu hi vanwani; muthu ndi muthu nga vhanwe; I am because you are, 'n mens is 'n mens deur ander mense.

We must this do to give meaning to the words of one of the founding fathers of our democratic nation, former President Nelson Mandela. I want to quote it since hon Lekota spoke a lot about what former President Mandela said, "For to be free, is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. [Applause.]

As we take these words to heart, let us work together to build a socially inclusive society. I hope that all of us will participate in the summit. Hon Lekota, I am sure there will not be any shouting there. We will discuss it rationally so that we can all agree on how to build one nation. With these few words I want to take this opportunity to thank all hon members for having listened to me quietly while I delivered this speech ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr B H HOLOMISA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 327

THE MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE

Mr B H HOLOMISA: Mr Speaker, hon President and hon Deputy President, hon members, the UDM supports Budget Vote No 1. [Applause.]

Mr President, you said we must talk, so we are ready to talk.

isiXhosa:

Ngoko ke, ungasibethi mhlekazi.

English:

Your Office plays a critical role in determining the success of our young nation. In this regard, we have noted your plans since you took office in 2009. Consequently, the importance of your Office demands that we constructively engage its Budget Vote and its programmes to ensure its effectiveness.

It was in accordance with this line of thinking that I wrote you a letter in 2009, requesting your Office's intervention in the infrastructure backlogs facing the Eastern Cape province. Indeed, last year, as a task team, we undertook a trip to Mthatha and Bisho, under the leadership of your director-general, Dr Cassius Lubisi, and other senior officials from relevant government departments, to come up with solutions to the infrastructure backlogs facing Mthatha and its airport, as well as some sections of the N2.

We commend your Office for its swift response on this matter, together with the good progress made thus far. The people of that area and other regions are waiting with keen interest to be updated on the plans of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Committee.

Close co-ordination between the Department of Environmental Affairs and the National Planning Commission is particularly important to the success of the programmes of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Committee, especially in the areas like the Wild Coast, as this area is the tourism mecca of the Eastern Cape. Infrastructure development in South Africa should be done in line with the United Nations Principles on Sustainable Development. These principles emphasise the need for wider consultation of communities on any planned development affecting them.

Mr President, there are signs that your office is losing its dignity and authority. It is puzzling how your party, outside government, and its tripartite alliance partners were allowed to undermine Cabinet's decision on the e-tolling fiasco. Cabinet took a decision to proceed with the e-tolling system, which received the support of most political parties during the Finance Minister's Budget Vote. However, after the leaks to the media linking the ANC's and Cosatu's investment arms to the e-tolling system, and in an apparent move by tripartite alliance partners to conceal their dodgy dealings, Cabinet's decision on e-tolling was reversed by a few leaders who met outside government.

It is unclear whether this decision was taken in consultation with you. If you were consulted, why were the Ministers of Transport and Finance not informed about the decision? They emerged, embarrassed, after the Budget Speech and also from court. If these Ministers are responsible for the e-tolling fiasco, why have they not been shown the door?

The situation is exacerbated when you, Mr President, and your Deputy President, the Leader of Government Business, contradict each other on the role the ruling party-aligned investment arms should play in accessing government tenders. For instance, early this year, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said in this House that it was wrong for the investment arms of the ruling alliance partners to access government tenders. However, in the same House last week, you said exactly the opposite, despite the glaring conflict of interest.

Given the fact that you, Mr President, see nothing wrong with this form of institutionalised corruption, the UDM is left with no choice but to seek legal opinion on this matter, and to establish whether it cannot approach the courts for redress, as we did when we took the floor-crossing legislation to the Constitutional Court.

There is a clear conflict of interest when the party that governs is first in line for government tenders. We cannot give it another name. This could also possibly mean that the guarantees government so eagerly approves are nothing other than a sophisticated method for the ruling party to extract private wealth from the public purse. It is even worse when government depletes our pension funds to cunningly channel revenue to their investment arms, using elite projects.

Strangely, government wastes no time to approve elite projects, notwithstanding public opposition. However, when one juxtaposes government's swift approval of elite projects with its dilly-dallying on the youth wage subsidy, one begins to wonder whether it has its priorities right. In this House, you announced the introduction of the subsidies. Once more, all the parties in this House supported you. You have been given the mandate, Mr President. You must lead us.

All the decisions your government makes must have been discussed and endorsed at some tripartite alliance forum. How you allow yourself to be held to ransom by some of your partners on certain decisions is beyond me. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 327

MR B H HOLOMISA

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Speaker, the Goodman Gallery and the painting of the hon President Zuma this week led to serious debates in South Africa. These debates said more about the good and bad state of relationships in South Africa than they did of the painting. I will give you examples.

The Afrikaans radio channel held a phone-in programme of an hour about the painting. Eighty per cent of the people who phoned proposed that the painting should be removed immediately because it is in poor taste and it is offensive. The majority of these callers were Afrikaans and they were white.

In a similar programme on the English radio channel, the callers emphasised freedom of speech and tolerance. The participants were evenly divided in favour of and opposed to the painting. White and black callers were on both sides of the argument. It was noticeable for me that the views in favour of and opposed to the painting were not those of white against black.

At this point, Mr Mantashe entered the debate. He saw it immediately as an issue of white against black, and as racism. Then he added, "The more black South Africans forgive and forget, the more they get kicked in the teeth." What an irresponsible statement, with which he incites people against each other!

The hon Blade Nzimande followed in the same tone. He threw down the race card and suddenly the debate obtained a serious racial content – which, initially, it was not about. Mr Barend la Grange, who painted red crosses on the painting, explained that he did it precisely in reaction to the racial argument to demonstrate, as an Afrikaner, that this is not a racial, black-white issue.

Why do I talk about this? It is because I am tired of certain leaders using the race card in every debate. This also goes for journalists who cannot hide their own racial bias in opinion pieces. In the past three months, we have been through a number of these debates.

Afrikaans:

Meneer, dit is korttermynpolitiek. Dit is lui politiek. Dit is politiek wat mense opsweep sonder om aan die langtermyngevolge hiervan vir Suid-Afrika te dink.

Dit is Malema-politiek, as u wil. Die skade wat die Malema-tydperk aan swart-wit verhoudinge gedoen het, sê ek, kan nog nie bereken word nie. Ek hoop regtig dat daardie hoofstuk agter ons is.

English:

The fact is that in the newspapers today we see photos of the placards that were used yesterday in the ANC march, which read, "Whites hate Blacks". This was the reaction, I suppose, of the protesters to Mr Mantashe's statement of being kicked in the teeth, etc.

A reader wrote a letter, saying:

Racism – that little word that has become the political whip with which the ANC work the masses up into angry mobs and riots any time something happens that they don't like. And it's becoming really, really tiring.

In this country, there will always be black people and white people. I am not planning to leave this country and I do not intend to be intimidated by racist propaganda. We can live together in conflict and hate, or in harmony and peace, as the Deputy President said.

Leaders' comments and examples will determine which recipe of the two we will be following. That is why it is necessary that we learn to disagree with each other and we learn to debate with each other without hiding behind the race card every time.

Why is this type of politics so dangerous? Because it is the politics of generalisation. It is said, "All whites are racist", for example. This is definitely not true. "All whites are wealthy", it is said. This is not true – go and visit the 70 white squatter camps around Pretoria, if you want to look at that. "All blacks are corrupt." This is also not true. This type of politics may mobilise voters, but will not bring any solutions to our problems.

In Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, Secretary for Legal Affairs said:

Mugabe keeps talking about whites, about the British, about imaginary enemies and conspiracies, because he has no answers for the problems created by his own government.

Afrikaans:

Dit is 'n ou politieke tegniek. Hitler het die Jode uitgesonder as sondebokke vir alles wat in Duitsland verkeerd was. Ons weet hoe dit geëindig het. Die vraag is: Is dit die resep wat ons hier herhaal, sonder om regtig te dink oor die langtermynimplikasies?

English:

Why am I talking you about this in this, the President's Budget Vote debate? It is because I believe that relationships have deteriorated in South Africa in the past couple of months, and we cannot leave it at that. If I had more time, I could really give you more examples of this.

In my speeches, I often warn against generalisations. The President said last week at Fort Hare, "Don't paint all Africans with the same brush." It is the right message, which has to be carried out more strongly. However, he must add, "Don't paint all white Africans with the same brush", or perhaps, even better, "Don't paint all South Africans with the same brush."

Before we can solve South Africa's poverty, unemployment, shortage of infrastructure, poor service delivery, and other problems, it is important that there are mutual trust and good relationships. The current climate being created for, I am not sure what reasons, and the irresponsible comments of certain leaders are really accomplishing the opposite. I thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 328

The DEPUTY MINISTER, AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Speaker, Mr President, Deputy President, hon Ministers, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, after two years of intensive work, the National Planning Commission, NPC, is close to concluding the first phase of its assignment – the tabling before Cabinet of a vision and plan for 2030.

Optimally, the Plan should mobilise all South Africans around a programme to meet our developmental goals. The approach is to focus on the outer years by setting key targets for the plan 2030 as between now and then for elections to happen. So, part of what we have to do is to avoid the cyclical decision-making that arises with elections. Having done that, we then have to broadly map out a path to attain those objectives in a way that carefully allows departments to retain the responsibility for policy detail and for implementation, for which each Minister is accountable to Parliament. Part of what the National Planning Commission, NPC, has to do is to engage in an art form that will keep us playing outside of the traffic of Ministers and policy-making.

On 11 May 2010, President Zuma launched the National Planning Commission as an extraordinarily bold initiative. He said on that occasion:

The National Planning Commission will revitalise the work of government. By drawing on the best available expertise the Commission will be able to identify and confront the challenges head-on. Government has often taken a sectoral and short-term view that has hampered development. Taking a long-term and independent view will add impetus, focus and coherence to our work.

We have previously said that this statement is fraught with risks and so we want to again commend the President for being innovative and forward-looking. The President invited 25 individuals from outside of government to "take a long-term and independent view" that would "add impetus, focus and coherence" to the work of government. Now, notwithstanding what you frequently hear, these 26 commissioners are not additional shifts – it is not an extraordinary Cabinet, it is not an alternative Cabinet, it has a much defined role and place. My task today is to provide more detail of the progress made in the National Planning Commission and to set out our work programme for the rest of the 2012-13 financial year.

I would like to turn to the intervention by the hon Mazibuko earlier. If she were not so blinded by ideology and self, and paused to read, she would understand that there is no contradiction between what the New Growth Path, NGP, says and what the National Development Path, NDP, suggests. I also want to invite her to come along with me to Khayelitsha, Blikkiesdorp in Delft, Botrivier, Worcester and then I want to invite her to dismount this high horse that says we are better than you, because governance is not for sissies. [Applause.]

In June 2011, the Commission released a diagnostic report. This report set out the overriding objectives of a national plan, which is the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequality by 2030. In addition to providing elements of a vision statement, the diagnostic report set out nine key challenges that stand in the way of us achieving our objectives. Of these nine, we concluded that two were more important – the fact that too few people work and that the quality of school education for black learners remains incredibly poor.

Other challenges we identified included our infrastructure backlogs, the unsustainable use of natural resources, the spatial divides that exclude the poor from economic advancement and the uneven quality of our public services. Following a national road show on the diagnostic document, South Africans asked us to add four new areas to our list of nine challenges. These are the rural economy, social protection, citizen safety and South Africa in the region and the world.

In general, the public welcomed the diagnostic report as a frank and accurate account of our successes and failings, providing a useful basis to start working on a plan to remedy the situation.

In November 2011, as hon members know, the National Planning Commission released a draft vision statement and a draft National Development Plan for public consideration. The plan draws attention to matters that are both immediately within the grasp of government, and those that will shape development over the next twenty years or so, that the government in South Africa as governments elsewhere will have to confront.

In South Africa, the challenge is perhaps greater because the mandate of the Constitution is so incredibly strong. Among the key features of the next period will be a series of uncertainties in the broader environment, in which we work, and we must be able to take decisions informed by the principles and values of our Constitution. So the risks implicit in establishing the National Planning Commission primarily from outside of government should prove to have been adequately measured.

The opening lines of the proposed plan, tabled in November last year state:

In the next few decades, the world will experience unprecedented changes. These include an explosion of urbanisation, which will create wealth and sharpen strains on the ecosystem; revolutionary developments in science and technology that will transform opportunities, introduce new risks, and drive wider social integration; and a rebalancing of economic power from developed to developing countries that will potentially lift another billion, or so, people out of poverty. The cumulative effects of these trends are highly uncertain. Higher levels of interconnectivity in the global system – engaging a much larger number of actors with different interests and beliefs – makes it difficult to understand how the system will respond in any given scenario.

The Commission recognised that it was important that the proposals in the draft plan to address these uncertainties be discussed and owned by the people whose lives it sought, and will still seek, to change. Over the past six months since releasing the plan, we have embarked on one of the most extensive public consultation processes since the drafting of our Constitution in the mid-1990s.

In addition to talking to the citizens of the country, there was extensive consultation with national government departments, provinces, organised local government, state-owned enterprises and the Development Finance Institutions, DFIs. This engagement has been a most remarkable journey of learning. South Africans, representing a wide spectrum of backgrounds and interests, have been remarkably generous in their consultation with the National Planning Commission. They are generous in their overall support for the work of the Commission, generous in their support for the observations in the diagnostic document and the recommendations proposed in the plan; but they are also generous in their criticism of both the style and content of the work of the Commission, and exceedingly generous in sharing their proposals for alternatives. We have had single submissions of over 1 500 pages, for instance.

This remarkable exercise in democratic engagement is reminiscent of all the enthusiasm that characterised the spirit in which our Constitution was adopted, in this very Chamber, on 8 May 1996.

One of the most important sectors that we consulted was, of course, Parliament as the elected representatives of the people.

We would like to, therefore, express appreciation to Parliament for affording the Commission an opportunity to present and discuss in detail the plan. As hon members will recall, on 14 March 2012, we briefed the members of the National Assembly and responded to comments and questions over a full day. Between 17 and 19 April, we held separate briefings with four clusters of committees covering the economy, governance and administration, peace and security and social services. Based on these interactions, we received a submission from the Speaker which provides the Commission not only with a summary of the interaction but also includes constructive recommendations from each cluster.

Let me share some of the recommendations that the NPC has received from the National Assembly. Included are recommendations such as: Firstly, there must be a political will to eliminate corruption. Officials who had been found to have been involved in corruption should be administratively and legally dealt with, irrespective of whether the contractor that was awarded a tender is connected to a politician;.

Secondly, the plan should specify how strategic partnerships should be identified and established to ensure mutual benefit and addressing domestic priorities. The focus should be on economic diplomacy with strategic countries in Africa, Asia and Europe – something which the Deputy President covered earlier.

Thirdly, primary health care should be at the core of interventions aimed at health promotion.

Fourthly, the Commission should consider including the following additional focus areas in its plan: the role of punishment in building safer communities, with a particular emphasis on alternative sentencing for minor offences; the impact of cybercrime; specialised services for sexual offences across the criminal justice system; a vision for defence that takes into account the Defence Review; etc.

On 25 April 2012, we also discussed the Plan in detail with the National Council of Provinces. Hon Speaker, in addition to these discussions, we also held off-line discussions with most of the political parties represented in Parliament. These discussions in Parliament confirmed what we found in the public consultation and in the government engagement process. There is broad support for the objectives of the plan – the elimination of poverty and the reduction of inequality and for the plan itself. People welcomed the plan as pragmatic, realistic and detailed. There is a tremendous amount of goodwill in the country and the comments on the plan reflect this.

It is fundamentally important that we understand that this widespread support of the detailed proposals emanates from the support of the general philosophy behind the plan. This philosophy is shaped by the strong forces of our history and the general consensus that we must rise above it. It can be summarised as: Firslty, the need to unite South Africans of all races and classes around a common programme to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality.

Secondly, the need for citizens to be active in their own development, in strengthening democracy and in holding their government accountable.

Thirdly, the need for a capable state able to drive a developmental agenda.

Fourthly, the need to focus on key capabilities of both people and the country. These capabilities include skills, infrastructure, social security, strong institutions and partnerships both within the country and with key international partners.

Fifthly, the need to raise economic growth, promote exports and make the economy more labour absorbing.

Sixthly, the need for strong leadership throughout society to work together to solve our problems.

There have also been criticisms of the plan, levelled from various quarters. Some have argued that the plan is uneven across the thematic areas with some being strong with others being incredibly weak. Some of the chapters contain too many broad, nice statements without confronting the trade-offs or addressing how the implementation will happen.

It has been suggested that the plan is weak on the precise role of the private sector in supporting the developmental agenda. Readers would know that the plan is critical of narrow Black Economic Empowerment, BEE, but does not provide sufficiently strong alternatives to promote economic transformation. Environmentalists have critiqued the plan for being too connected to our present areas of comparative advantage such as the minerals sector.

We have listened to these comments and criticisms and we welcome the sincerity with which they were expressed. The single biggest area of feedback is on the implementation of the plan. Most people who support the plan have raised questions about how the plan will be implemented, who will implement it and what steps will be taken to ensure alignment across all departments, provinces and municipalities.

These questions on implementation arise from several concerns. Firstly, there is a general recognition that there remain critical weaknesses in the capacity of the State, and that these weaknesses must be speedily remedied. Secondly, there are weaknesses in our accountability chain which need honest reflection and repair. Parliament is best placed to lead such reflection and begin the process of enhancing oversight and accountability – the debate yesterday on Parliament's Budget Vote was a big contribution in this regard. Thirdly, there is still too little recognition in society that implementation of the plan depends on all citizens and all sectors of society. We still have work to do in breaking the "government will deliver" culture.

The Commission is presently refining the plan. We intend releasing the refined plan in early August. Once the plan is presented, Cabinet will consider it and, it is expected, adopt the plan or at least an implementation framework embedded in the plan.

It must be stressed that accountability for the implementation of the plan rests on all of society including civil society, labour, business and government, led by the President and the Cabinet.

As mentioned earlier, Parliament plays a critical role in ensuring that the plan is implemented. Our sister department, the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, will begin the process of incorporating targets in the plan into performance agreements and delivery agreements. The work of the National Planning Commission does not stop when the plan is presented and adopted. The work of the Commission will focus on four broad areas: Continue to mobilise support in society for the plan and including its implementation; on-going research into critical areas of development to support planning and policy development; advising government on implementing the plan; and working with the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation to monitor the implementation of the Plan.

There are several priority areas where we, as South Africans, need more research and policy development. I want to remind members that the Green Paper detailing the establishment of the Commission indicates that, "on an on-going basis, the National Planning Commission would produce research reports and discussion papers on key cross cutting issues that affect our development."

In the course of the next two years, we will focus on the following priority areas: food security, water security and rural development; adaptation strategies and environmental resilience; more effective models of black economic empowerment; exercise, diets, nutrition and other preventative health areas; social cohesion and language; and disability policy and partnerships for innovation.

Hon Speaker, the budget for the National Planning Commission for 2012-13 is R95,6 million. This budget covers the cost of the Ministry, the running costs of the Commission, research and policy services, the secretariat, communication and public participation. The budget for compensation of employees is R36,8 million, just marginally higher than the R34,2 million estimated expenditure in 2011-12.

Also included in this amount is R20 million for the National Income Dynamics Study, Nids. This is South Africa's only national panel study tracking income and other social indicators for 9 600 households. At present, the third wave of Nids is under way, providing invaluable information to government and society on poverty and income dynamics.

Hon Speaker, I wish to thank the other 25 members of the National Planning Commission. There is a joke in the secretariat that says that commissioners are actually full-time, but we only pay them as though they are part-time. I have been amazed at the time and commitment of commissioners who each have day jobs and significant social, academic and business pressures. They have indeed taken up the challenge of the President in working for the country at large, unbound by silos and short-term interests. Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa has provided invaluable support in helping to steer the proceedings of the Commission, drawing from his experience in these very halls.

The NPC Secretariat is a relatively small unit – it comprises all of 22 staffers, ably led by Mr Kuben Naidoo, who has acted as Head of the secretariat since its establishment two years ago. The secretariat has not been a place for the faint-hearted or for clock-watchers. It is a centre of determination, diligence and intellectual energy. It is appropriate that I express that appreciation to the secretariat – pound for pound and rand for rand, they deliver a truly remarkable output and value for money.

I would also like to recognise Dr Cassius R Lubisi, the director-general in the Presidency and the administrative staff for their role in sustaining the work of the National Planning Commission. Being a new entity in the Presidency, we have had significant teething problems in setting up the administration.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the NCOP for their on-going support in nurturing what is a still new endeavour. President Zuma and Deputy President Motlanthe have held the hands of the commissioners as we walked through our first tentative steps. Without their support and encouragement, we would not been able to deliver what we have delivered. Their political steer, support and encouragement inspire us to do even more.

I want to leave you with a quote from our draft vision published in November 2011. It is important to note that our vision is written as though we are in 2030:

Government begins in the home, grows into the community, expands towards the city, flares toward the province, and engulfs the entire land. We know our leaders as we have elected them and pledged them into office: They are wise in the use of our wealth, wise in knowing and understanding our wishes and needs, wise in expecting us to express ourselves to them in any appropriate manner we have agreed to be allowable, wise in not silencing those who criticise, but enable them, through our rules of engagement, to be even more rigorous in supporting a just society. Our leaders' wisdom is ours, because we sense our wisdom in theirs. They do more than respond to us, they bring new thoughts and ideas. They share with us what they think. They inspire us, because we then seek to aspire with them. With them we renew our world continuously.

We have to believe ourselves capable of reaching that state in South Africa. That was the point we were at on 8 May 1996. We have to continue believing in ourselves and we have to continue inspiring all of South Africa.

There were moments, today, where I wondered about our ability to inspire, across the House. We bring down the decorum of decision-making, we refuse to listen and we send bad examples to all South Africans. Let us remember who we are, and most importantly, let us remember who we represent; the aspirations of the poorest South Africans and let us take that very seriously. That is what the plan offers to all South Africans. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

The SPEAKER: Hon members, there will now be a comfort break of 15 minutes. The bells will be rung again before we resume business. Please come back promptly. Business is now interrupted. Thank you.

BUSINESS SUSPENDED AT 17:37 AND RESUMED AT 17:59.

Debate interrupted.

Ms S C VAN DER MERWE

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The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

Ms S C VAN DER MERWE: Hon Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, the Presidency lies at the very centre of governance structures and serves as a centre for strategic co-ordination in government. This could not be more important now during this difficult time that we face as a country in a difficult world.

Our most pressing challenges are persistent ones like, poverty, unemployment and inequality. These are not individual challenges which stand alone and can be dealt with one at a time. They remain the major obstacles to the development of our society and must be confronted through a broad front of measures. Thus it is of critical importance that there is a co-ordinating centre - a strategic one, where the work can be approached in a comprehensive and co-ordinated manner.

There are many elements that make up the Presidency including the work of monitoring and evaluation, the National Youth Development Agency, international work, and others which will be addressed by my colleagues. But in order to do all the things we need to do, we need to grow - grow our people with new skills; grow and improve the services we offer; and grow an economy that offers jobs for everyone. I think it is fair to say that we all agree on the need to grow and develop our country. To do this requires co-ordination at the very highest level.

I wish to focus on three important areas of work in the Presidency which have been initiated in the past year, and which form part of the medium-term plans in this Budget Vote, and which underscore the importance of a strategic centre for pulling together the policy threads to weave the fabric of our new society. These are: the National Development Plan from the National Planning Commission which lies within the Presidency; the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordination Commission, which was established in July last year; and the work of Brand SA relocated from the Government Communications and Information System, GCIS, to the Presidency, also last year.

I focus on these three because together they show how important it is that there is a fulcrum around which our plans, hopes and actions can be mobilised to get us to that imagined place in 2030 described in the National Development Plan.

So firstly, through the National Planning Commission, the Presidency is developing the country's long-term vision, and makes proposals for how we get there. The Minister in the Presidency has already mentioned this. Once the current extensive consultation process is complete this vision must, and surely will, clearly articulate the long-term goals and aspirations of our people. This is the first such plan in our infant country's history and such planning has proven in other parts of the world, to yield better results.

Secondly, the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordination Commission, PICC, launched in July last year, will be the body that gives effect to, and co-ordinates the most ambitious infrastructure roll-out ever seen in our country, so that goods can get to markets; people can move and work; so that export products can reach ports and that we can communicate amongst ourselves and across our borders allowing us to play our full role in the modern world.

Thirdly, the Brand SA entity, which was established as the International Marketing Council in 2002 and now resides under its new name in the Presidency, and whose job it to market South Africa abroad, creating a positive and unified image of South Africa, and I quote from its objectives, "one that builds pride, promotes investment and tourism and helps new enterprises and job creation".

These three initiatives together, situated in the Presidency, provide the loom on which to weave our cloth, and we need to support every effort in this regard. We know that the National Development Plan, sketches for us a visionary look into the future and what we will need to do to get there. It talks about the capabilities all citizens need to enable them to thrive; a pact for mutual satisfaction and trust amongst us; the society we will remake; and the importance of the wisdom of our leaders.

The National Development Plan sets a vision, calibrates targets and proposes action. The vision chapter, as Minister Manuel has mentioned, is written as if we were already in the year 2030 and looking back. It sets the stage for the great project of building our nation. Now, in 2012, we need this vision to guide us as we plan and work towards this remade country.

Vision is important, target setting is necessary, and action is what we need. Action has been and continues to be elusive. But action can only take place at the pace that a myriad of factors allow, including the necessary but cumbersome organs of state, our ability to deal with and eventually eradicate corruption, the international circumstances at any given time and human fallibility, amongst others.

Again, a strong strategic centre of government is essential to smooth the way for action, to weave together the threads of policy and practice and produce a durable cloth for us to wear with pride. As we look towards the vision for 2030, what is important is that we make steady and meaningful progress, without hysterical short-term point-scoring tirades, but with measured steps and by learning lessons from the experience along the way.

I think it is fair to say, that having listened to the budget debates in this Parliament over the past few weeks, those Ministries dealing with the economy including Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Public Enterprises, and others, one has heard encouraging reports on progress made. There is evidence that policy decisions are being turned into practical programmes with the emphasis on building on sound policies, and tweaking those that have proved less suitable.

An example is the statement by the Minister of Trade and Industry when he talked about four important things that have been done: stabilised the clothing, textiles, and leathers industries; turned around the automotives industry; helped prompt an increase in employment in the business process services; and assertively adjusted public procurement so that it can act as a vehicle to promote local production. All these areas are creating jobs. Progress is being made, here and in other key departments.

Articulating the vision, setting the targets and mobilising the department to action, is the work of the Presidency. It is necessary and desirable that it is properly capacitated to do this work. I said earlier that the country needs to move forward with a broad front of measure to tackle challenges. Amongst others, we need people with the right capabilities, healthy people and communities, well-run and maintained ports and railways, and we also need innovation.

This was brought to mind when the Finance and Fiscal Commission tabled its 2013-14 report in Parliament on Friday. The report notes the new dimension to the challenges facing South Africa, that of the emergence of the knowledge economy. This requires new skills and new competencies from our people in order for them to participate fully in our growth.

In this regard, the Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, said in an article in March last year, "New knowledge, innovation and technological change have become the drivers of progress, growth and wealth in the world's leading economies". However, the article concludes that in developing our knowledge economy, and I quote, "South Africa compares well with middle-to low-income countries such as Hungary, but it ranks well below other developing countries".

This may well be about to change. As the President has mentioned here, through the work of the Department of Science and Technology and the co-ordinated efforts from many departments, led by the Presidency, South Africa will host two thirds of the Square Kilometre Array - the worlds largest ever telescope. [Applause.]

South Africa's knowledge economy will certainly receive a significant boost from this exciting mega project. Let it be the beginning of a new growth in the development of this new challenge. These are some of the broad-fronted measures that we will need to take to deal with our most persistent challenges that I have referred to.

Our aims and objectives include important and stirring words. The NDP talks of a pact for mutual satisfaction and trust; Brand SA's goals are creating a positive and unified image of South Africa - one that builds pride. These are big and sometimes intangible goals. They are bigger than anyone of us and need our combined ideas and work to achieve them.

We need a step by step progress, but we also need the thinking and capacitated strategic centre for their realisation. We can see progress towards a remade country – too slow maybe, but steady and purposeful. We need to redouble these efforts. We need to do so in a synchronised and co-ordinated way.

However, one thing is missing. We have yet to find what makes us South African – all of us. It appears that we have yet to learn how to respect one another. I believe that most people in the country want to discover what is common, different, and makes us South African. They also want to discover what the cloth that we are weaving will look like. But who is responsible and how do we do it? One thing is for sure - no one person, one office or one group is responsible for finding the solution to our South Africanness. That is the responsibility of each and every one of us. I thank you. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY

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Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 330

Ms S C VAN DER MERWE

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY: Speaker, His Excellency hon President Jacob Zuma, hon Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Brand SA Chairperson Ms Chichi Maponya and chief executive Mr Miller Matola, chief executive of the National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, Mr Steven Ngubeni, though represented here by the executive managers, hon members, officials from government, especially from The Presidency, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am honoured to take the platform to contribute to the Presidency Budget Vote for the year 2012-13. This budget submission comes against the backdrop of difficult economic conditions that should shape how we think, how we plan, as well as how we should utilise our resources.

Countries in the world continuously compete for investors' attention by projecting stability, opportunities and a far-sighted and strategic leadership. We therefore need to mobilise all social sectors as we, as a country, are not exonerated from social pressures, due to some of the external factors, and continues to experience the triple evils of poverty, unemployment and inequality, mostly affecting the youth of the country.

Prior to the dawn of democracy in South Africa through the historic 27 April 1994 democratic breakthrough, issues of youth development were never really prioritised or institutionalised. As a result, and as the Deputy President has already alluded to, the majority of the youth population are living with a tormenting fear of a bleak future. It is widely agreed that youth development issues cannot be left mainly to civil society and youth organisations alone, but they should always find expression within government structures, the legislation, policies, strategies and programmes.

It is evident that the key factors that define the welfare of young people in our own country range from education and skills development to youth access to economic participation and access to job opportunities. The youth of this country is no different from the rest of the youth in other parts of the world. They are continuously faced with challenges that include extreme youth poverty, a lack of or limited participation in activities that improve their wellbeing as young people, gender inequality and marginalisation. The UN had resolved in 2011 that there is a need to foster co-operation among young people and educate them about the ideals of peace, freedom, justice, tolerance, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, patriotism, solidarity and dedication to the objectives of progress and development.

The late former President of Mozambique, Samora Machel, is quoted as having said that "Youth is the best time to be rich and the best time to be poor". Nothing is closer to the truth. According to the African Youth Report of 2012, trends in the African youth population will generally remain higher – up to 70% of Africa's population – than in other world regions by 2025, and this youth bulge needs new strategies, new investments on youth, new ways of looking at the matter and, finally, it needs innovative response by the African leadership because it is happening here on our continent.

The large youth population in Africa should be seen as an asset and not a liability for the continent's development, if appropriate human capital investment measures are taken. South Africa has an opportunity to provide leadership and to ensure it is a matter of focus in the African Union, AU. Africa is faced with a cyclical phenomenon of nature, known as the youth bulge, something that happened in the 1960s in Western countries and was known as the Baby Boom at the time.

President and Deputy President, in South Africa young people constitute the majority of the unemployed, with no less than 70% remaining job seekers. According to the National Treasury strategy document on confronting youth development, unemployed people tend to be less skilled and inexperienced, with almost 80% having no formal further or tertiary education, while two thirds have never worked in their lives. This gives a view of the urgency of the need to attend to the youth unemployment challenge. It would however be ill conceived to seek to suggest that nothing is being done. South Africa, as well as the SADC countries, has demonstrated great commitment towards the advancement of the youth development agenda. This is also confirmed by the country with the establishment of the NYDA.

While the youth of 1976 fought for freedom and the creation of a democratic state, today's youth activism is directed towards successfully tackling the challenges of combating poverty, unemployment, HIV/Aids, personal development, economic freedom and the development of their own country, amongst others. This is encapsulated in the mandate of the NYDA whose responsibility, amongst others, is to initiate, design, co-ordinate, evaluate and monitor programmes.

President, you once said to me, when I arrived at the office, that you don't feel the voice of the young people and that we don't hear them speaking about the issues of their country, what they love about it and also criticising what is happening in the country. Processes have already begun to engage with the youth. We have started with the departments. We had a meeting with all the departmental youth directorates. What we have found, unfortunately, is that these directorates had been established and people are earning salaries, but when we look at the programmes and content of the programmes, it is just neither here nor there. People are looking at the month of June as the only activities that they are mobilising as departments. The mainstreaming of the youth agenda is not there, and we have agreed that we will meet them again in November, when we will invite the National Planning Commission Ministry to come and talk about its own findings about the youth challenges and provide its proposals, so that the youth directorates can hear it. Secondly, we will also invite the Ministry for Performance Management and Evaluation to assist with the development of measurement tools, assessment and evaluations, so that departments, in the mainstreaming of the youth agenda, can also be measured. Such reports will then be tabled to Cabinet.

We also find questions on the achievements of the NYDA. It has delivered on its mandate, and it does continue to do so, but due to a lack of adequate resources, it is unable to reach a bigger portion of the young people in the country. A total of 60% of South Africa's population is young, so if we give them meagre resources, obviously, they will not reach up very far. Maybe the question should be how much the country should be investing in the development of the bulging youth population.

Since the merging of the Youth Commission and Umsobomvu, the two organisations used to get a combined budget of R1,1 billion. The Youth Commission was receiving R600 million, and Umsobomvu was receiving R500 million. Since the merger, the NYDA got R386 million in the 2010-2011 financial year. In this financial year, they are even getting R10 million less. So, therefore, we are not investing properly when it comes to youth development and so forth.

I will also not agree with the members who will come to the podium and say that only those who are connected are benefiting. We will give you a list of names of the people who have benefited. Phone them at your liberty and ask them whether they are connected to anybody. You will find that these people just got information and, after receiving information, they phoned and were assisted. [Applause.] Almost 5 000 young people have benefited in as far as starting their own businesses and are now in business. Secondly, 49 000 young people were trained through entrepreneurship training. [Interjections.] We will give you that list, and you can phone them and check whether they were connected to somebody. There are quite a number of other programmes from which young people are benefiting, but it is not enough. There is only an amount of R386 million for a population of 60% young people, the majority of whom are unemployed and are not in school.

I went to Namibia recently, and I think that they have a better programme than we have. They do the following. The youth that is unemployed is being taken to youth camps. In all provinces in Namibia, there are youth camps. They go there for three or six months for what they call reorientation programmes. During that reorientation, there is nation-building, patriotism, and social cohesion courses. They are able to assess their strength in terms of intellectual capability and those who are not gifted are reassigned with career guidance to go and do something. By the time they come back home, they come back with a particular orientation that is positive towards contributing to the strengthening of their own country. I think that is something that we could begin to look at and learn from such countries.

When it comes to Brand SA, I think a number of speakers have alluded to the international aspect of it. I will focus more on the domestic side of things. Brand SA's domestic strategic focus is also to mobilise active citizenry through its innovative "Play Your Part" campaign. However, Speaker, through you to the President, we went around Pretoria, Tshwane, and then we looked at the buildings of government when the flag was half mast with deaths of former Minister Sicelo Shiceka and the late Minister Roy Padayachie. A number of government departments don't have their country's flag. They don't have flagpoles and that is something where we can say that we should play our part to the citizens. Let government play its part by also branding itself and ensuring that the flag flies everywhere and is everywhere. [Applause.]

Through an intense process of consultation and research, Brand SA managed to develop a new pay-off line, Inspiring New Ways. This is to ensure that the country remains relevant and competitive in this dynamic global environment. This new pay-off line carries a message of who we are and what we stand for as South Africans. With South African being an African country, it has also committed itself to work closely with our African peers to develop new ways to achieve sustainable economic growth and development. Therefore, initiatives are being taken to ensure that the trade flaws in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Angola and Mozambique are also being looked at.

President, just as I am about to conclude, yesterday, during the Youth Month launch, the youth wage subsidy was raised by representatives of youth organisations. They requested The Presidency to sponsor a youth consultative summit during the school holidays to be organised so that all the views of the young people, through the umbrella body SA Youth Council, can be expressed. They have the right to express their own views. Allow them to express their views, because this is the youth wage subsidy. All the views that are unfortunately dividing them can then be harnessed in that particular summit of four or five days so that they can emerge with a voice that can then begin to lead and assist government in concluding the matter of the implementation of the youth wage subsidy. There are certain modalities that they have concerns with. There are those who agree with it, yes, but there are those who do not agree with it. Let all of them convene under the SA Youth Council, because it is a representative body of organisations in religion, faith-based organisations, cultural organisations, political organisations, and so forth.

Also, earlier when hon Mazibuko was describing the Western Cape, I could just imagine that she was describing it as the biblical Jerusalem.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I didn't say that!

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY: I have just gone with Minister Chabane to Mbekweni in Drakenstein. We went there to present the Government Communications Information System, GCIS, budget focus and what we would be doing. After listening to us, all the people in the hall, having invited the Western Cape government which sent an apology but didn't go, all of them raised issues of hardships, fundamental issues of corruption, and housing allocation problems. I just wondered: where is this biblical Jerusalem that had been described in the Western Cape? [Interjections.]

Also, just this week, Mayor Patricia de Lille ... [Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order, hon members! Order!

The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY: ... alluded to it this week that the DA government in the City of Cape Town has not yet done well in African townships. So, that is an admission that we don't have a Jerusalem in the Western Cape, but that we still have challenges in the country and the Western Cape. Therefore, it cannot be an exonerated as the only "best example." There are other "best examples," in other provinces and indeed, we will then ensure that we deliver for our own people, and that is it. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr M C MANANA

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THE DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY

Mr M C MANANA: Your Excellencies, the President of the Republic, Dr J G Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, guests in the gallery, fellow South Africans, I greet you.

We debate this Budget Vote during this month of May when we, as the ANC, celebrate the life and times of president Pixley ka Isaka Seme, under the theme: Workers and the struggle for liberation. We reflect on the roadmap of the workers' struggles which led to the attainment of the democracy that we rightfully enjoy today.

The vision of president Pixley ka Isaka Seme and his generation to create a united, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa, found resonance in the ANC's inaugural meeting on 08 January 1912, in Mangaung. Today we reflect on and celebrate these historic moments on the backdrop of the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment that continue to torment our people, particularly the youth of our country.

Indeed this Budget Vote could not have been tabled at a better time than on the eve of Youth Month, when we equality recall the historic events of 1976, which helped to mobilise and unite the youth of our country to become part of the disciplined vanguard forces of our revolution, under the leadership of the ANC. They were serving as dedicated and gallant fighters in the forward ranks of our revolutionary struggle, whilst working on improving their level of competence in all fields in which they were involved, whether politically, militarily, academically or administratively.

The legacy of freedom bestowed upon our people by the sacrifices of the young people of 1976 has placed additional responsibility on the youth of today to defend and help entrench the value system that inspired the earlier generation of our youth. That value system was based on a set of moral injunctions that prescribed that revolutionary youth must be inspired by one objective and one objective only – to serve the people of South Africa with no expectations, in terms of personal wealth, power, position or prestige.

The achievement of political democracy in 1994 was the nexus for the militant youth of the pre-democratic era. The adoption of the democratic dispensation in 1994 brought to the fore a different set of new challenges for the youth in general. The challenge, from a political perspective, was to actively participate in the newly-established political and economic structures, and to make a meaningful contribution towards the future of our country.

Youth development in general is regarded as an urgent and complex challenge facing post-apartheid South Africa. Eighteen years after the official transition to democracy, it is young people who are most severely affected by negative socioeconomic factors, such as HIV and Aids, high levels of unemployment, poverty, unplanned pregnancies and lack of participation in political processes.

In his paper titled: A Decade of Youth Development - Creating an Enabling Environment for Democracy and Development, Nhlanhla Mtaka of Ingabadi Group noted that:

Like the greater society and population, there is telling inequality amongst young people along racial, gender, location - urban versus rural - available life changes and initial conditions of inequality.

It was against this background in that 1996 our country saw, for the first time, the institutionalisation of youth development, through the Youth Commission. These structures were set up by state institutions to lobby for and advocate youth development programmes. To respond to the legislation, the National Youth Commission Act 19 of 196, as amended in 2000, the National Youth Commission spearheaded the development and adoption of the National Youth Development Policy Framework.

Eighteen years into democracy we can say, with great conviction, that what the generation of 1976 stood for – democracy, equality, equal access to basic goods and services, and freedom from discrimination has been achieved, but more work needs to be done in this regard.

Let me sketch out what some of the pertinent challenges the average South African youth in either the rural areas of Limpopo, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga or the urban areas of Gugulethu in the Western Cape, Soweto in Gauteng and Ethekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, stand to face from birth to death; which are important in order to understand who it is we are speaking about when we speak of the youth of the Republic South Africa.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa states that there are 18,8 million youth in South Africa and that those aged between 15 and 19 are account for 27,8%, which is 5,2 million and those aged between 20 and 24 account for 26,7%, which is 5 million; whereas those aged between 25 and 29 and 30 and 34 account for 24,1%, which is 4,5 million and 21,5%, which is 4 million, respectively.

In appreciating this analysis, I must indicate that most of the above-mentioned youth – men and women – are expected to live only for 52 years. If we reach this age, we will consider ourselves lucky, mainly because of the scourge of HIV and Aids. The Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies states that HIV is so prevalent that 27% of females between 15 and 50 years, and 14% of males between 15 and 54 years have had to live with and die from this pandemic in our country.

The challenge of HIV and Aids has altered the family structure as we know it in South Africa, leading to the emergence of a uniquely South African phenomenon now known as the "child-headed household". Against this backdrop though, one still draws courage and applauds the efforts of individual persons, nongovernmental organisations and other formation for the work they do, alongside government, in curbing the spread and negative impact of HIV. Most applauded is the participation of young people themselves in this initiative.

Without a doubt unemployment amongst the youth of our country remains the toughest challenge facing all of us today, which demands a collective effort from government and the private sector. Unemployment in South Africa is highest amongst females, the black population and those aged between 15 and 24 years. By the end of 2009, 53,4% of young, black South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed, and this was three times worse that the unemployment rate of 14,5% amongst young, white South Africans.

According to Professor Malikane of Wits University, although South Africa became a signatory of the Youth Charter in 2009, the country remains racist, sexist and class-based, and has failed to confront patterns of ownership and control of the economy.

As previously stated, ours is an odd nation, due to historical reasons. As such, our urban and rural breakdown has been severely affected. Here, I am referring to the youth of South Africa; a youth facing very real and complex issue of real life and death. All this tells us of a possible human volcano which, if not well-managed, will soon erupt on all of us.

A broad range of measures is needed, if we are to make progress in expanding employment and alleviating the special problem of youth unemployment. These include measures at stronger investment and growth through our infrastructure build programme and economic support packages, and addressing skills constraints in the economy through measures to improve access to and the quality of basic, further and higher education. Tailored employment policies, including Community Work Programme, environmental sector public work programmes and the National Rural Youth Service Corps have all received additional allocations in this year's Budget, and this will help boost youth and overall employment in the short-term.

There have been a number of concerns raised around the proposed youth employment incentive. Discussions with social partners are aimed at mitigating these concerns. The rules, design and monitoring of a youth employment incentive need to ensure that it does not have negative unintended consequences, including potential displacement. The ANC would like to see these issues addressed fully in discussions between social partners at the National Economic and Labour Council, Nedlac, but with urgency as the challenge of creating jobs for young people cannot be indefinitely deferred.

Addressing youth unemployment requires both short-term and long-term measures that encompass the increasing demand for labour, improving education and skills and labour market interventions that improve the employability of young people. The one measure that has attracted the most media attention is the youth wage subsidy. It is important to recognise that no one scheme or model will solve the challenges of youth unemployment, as some in the opposition would like the nation to believe.

What the subsidy seeks to do, in essence, is to reduce the financial cost or risk associated with not knowing the productivity of the person to be employed, but as well it seeks to help the training of young workers more affordable to employers, particularly smaller employers. In essence, the subsidy lowers the relative cost of hiring a young person – while leaving the wage that the employee receives unaffected – and, therefore, increases the demand for younger workers. Another additional benefit is that the work experience and training gained during the period of subsidised work will improve longer-term employment prospects.

But, the challenge could be around the design, implementation and cost. Organised labour has advanced a principal concern that older workers, who are often the sole income workers in the households, could be dislodged with fatal consequences to the entire household, an eventuality that the ANC equally wants to avoid. This is why parties are locked in discussions at Nedlac to find a way forward to these current challenges.

No amount of howling from our detractors will sway us from a negotiated settlement as their howling is mere opportunism, political expediency and seeking to appropriate to themselves – which is what they always do – what an ANC-led government initiative seeks to address. It is, therefore, proper for South African to be clarified that all credit should go to the ANC-led government and no one else. If anything, what our detractors are likely to do, through their actions, will be to merely delay the outcome of an agreement by acts of detraction.

We are fully conscious that the process is not a simple one. It is open to abuse, may lead to youth laziness and could have a possible perverse impact. This is precisely why we are engaged with all stakeholders in negotiating an understanding that deals with the design, regulation and implementation.

Whilst it is not my intention to follow in the footsteps of the hon Mazibuko, I do want to caution her and other political parties never to ride on the plight of young people as a tool for political posturing. {Applause.] Some events that we have witnessed in parts of the country in recent times illustrate that amongst some people there is knowledge of rights, but a failure to appreciate that each right has a corresponding responsibility attached to it.

Recently, we have seen young people being used in destroying public amenities, including schools and libraries, which are so important in the development of communities. It is worth noting that such scenes were not limited to our townships, but were also witnessed in tertiary institutions. These developments, unfortunately, demonstrated a lack of youth leadership across the board.

The youth of South Africa have the will to be proactive and to address current day challenges. The country needs a youth leadership that will stand up against destruction and looting. A leadership that will realise that destroying public property is a setback in our quest to speed up development and service roll-out in our communities. We need a responsible solution-oriented youth leadership, as opposed to a leadership that is content with destructive life patterns, such as alcohol, drug abuse, corruption and self-enrichment.

Much has been said over the past years regarding youth apathy on political processes. There is an assumption that young people would rather engage in other social activities on voting days, for instance, unlike the generation of youth who were at the forefront of the struggle for political freedom. Of course, this is a simplistic take on what could be the real problems. But, our limiting factor is the failure for the youth sector to organise outside racial, geographical, religious and political lines.

If indeed we fail to recognise the diversity of young people and only focus on mainstream political occupation, and indirectly sideline groups such as religious and issue-based formations, then we will not solve the dire problems that affect young people.

There is, without a doubt, a greater need to come up with creative ways of involving youth, both organised and unorganised, in matters of policy making. On the other hand, it is up to the youth to demand that they be active participants. They need to provide leadership that will determine their future in the policy processes.

In this regard, it is evident that government has to create mandatory structures to encourage youth from all structures to participate in the transformation of our society. Structures such as the National Youth Development Agency and government in general should find new innovative ways of empowering young people, by creating new mechanisms for participation. These new mechanisms should treat young people as stakeholders in policy formulation, monitoring and implementation. Through these mechanisms, young people should feel that it is incumbent upon them to participate in policy formulation processes.

As I take my seat, I do believe that a time for the rise of a new young person is now - a new young person who will be at the forefront of the restoration of our cultural values, particularly the culture of ubuntu, which respects a diversity of views; a new young person who will stand up against crime and corruption in all forms and fight against any form of discrimination; a new young person who will have respect for all humankind, including his peers and elders; a new young person who will be at the forefront in ensuring broader youth participation in the mainstream economy.

In the midst of the reported doom and gloom linked to poverty and unemployment, South Africa needs her youth to start writing a new story - a chapter of hope and commitment to serving our people. By working close with government we can take charge and claim our space. We can begin to be authors of our destiny and write a chapter that will have a positive and far-reaching impact on the country's future. The ANC supports the budget. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Rev K R J MESHOE

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 332

Mr M C Manana

Rev K R J MESHOE: Deputy Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, hon members, the Presidency's reported mission is to realise the strategic agenda of government by, among other things, mobilising the nation towards a common vision. The strategy is based on the 10 priority areas identified in the medium-term strategy framework for 2009 to 2014 which includes building cohesive, caring and sustainable communities.

Deputy Speaker, I would be endeavouring to highlight what appears to be hampering this mobilisation of the nation towards a common vision and also negatively affecting the levels of patriotism in our country. In so doing I would be associating myself with the concern raised by hon Mulder yester during the Parliament Budget Vote debate.

It is true that Rule 103 makes provision for debates on matters of public importance while Rule 104 makes provision for debates on matters of urgent public importance. The fact that we have not had a single debate on such important matters in more than three years necessitates action in this regard. Therefore, on behalf of the ACDP I'll be requesting the Speaker to place, as a matter of public importance on the Order Paper, a debate on who is an African.

Among the challenges identified by the National Planning Commission and contained in the first diagnostic report that was released by Minister Trevor Manuel on behalf of the commission is that South Africa remains a divided society. I find the racial classification and profiling in the report not helpful as it will not narrow the divide but will continue to increase it.

The following four race groups are cited in the report, namely, African, white, coloured and Indian. The word African is used in the document exclusively for black people. This raises the question of whether or not black people alone are Africans. Yes, as the President has said this afternoon, we must talk about who is an African?

Deputy Speaker, we have to ask and answer the question of whether or not whites, coloureds, Indians, Khoi and San born in South Africa are Africans. If they are not Africans, then who are they? Am I wrong in believing that anyone born in South African is an African? The nation is divided on this issue and Parliament must lead the debate that hopefully will serve to bring us closer to one another.

The booklet Statistics in Brief, 2011 by Statistics SA has some inconsistencies that are also not helpful in this regard. On page seven it has a column about black Africans but on page 12 it refers to Africans. Are these black Africans on page seven and Africans mentioned on page 12 the same people, or what is the difference?

A relevant question to ask is why when a white man criticises a black man he is labelled as a racist, but when a black man criticises a white man he's not labelled as racist? The anger, controversy and threats of violence around the The Spear saga that is characterised as art, this past two weeks, also raised allegations of racism.

By the way, hon President, we in the ACDP view that painting with disgust and indeed it shows disrespect to you as the head of state. It is a known fact that the ACDP condemns all forms of pornography regardless of whether it depicts the head of state, politicians or the most vulnerable members of our society, particularly women and children.

In conclusion, I want to revert back to the question of race and ask whether racial classifications are appropriate in a country that is aspiring to build a nonracial society. I don't think so. In fact, I'm concerned about increasing racial polarisation and how the race card is used this country recklessly.

That is why I believe we need a national discussion on who is an African and which is the appropriate term to define us as the people of South Africa. There are valuable lessons we can learn from America, for example. Anyone born there, regardless of their skin colour, race or religion is considered American.

South Africa is a dynamic country with a racial mix that blends beautifully together. Let us work together towards accepting one another as Africans; build our nation together; and show the world the beauty of unity in diversity. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr I S MFUNDISI

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 332

Rev K R J MESHOE

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Hon Deputy Speaker, President, Deputy President and hon members, the Presidency is the window through which the South African public and the world sees the goings on in government. If the Presidency shows incapacity, the obvious statement would be that the entire government is in a crises. But if it is alive and kicking, our country will be like candlelight to moths of all types.

If someone on behalf of the government makes a controversial and provocative statement such as that made by the head of government communications on the occasion of introducing e-tolls when he said, "The e-tolls are not a dream and no one is going to stop them", the public ascribes that to government, actually to the President.

The result is that government is left with egg on its face and the efforts are being made to win back the hearts of the people. It is understandable why the President has introduced the Department of Performance Monitoring And Evaluation, as well as Administration in the Presidency as he is irked by the slow pace of service delivery in government. Even this afternoon he did indicate that. He has always kept his words that he is frustrated in so far as how government departments take too long to perform their duties. He has said this numerous times on national television.

There have also been quibbles about some Ministers and Deputy Ministers on leaving one department for another without handing over vehicles to their successors. This may sound petty, but this is unpleasant publicity for government and it extends to the President as head of the country. We know that government has decided to part ways with business as usual, hence some changes to the approach and outlook of issues.

The best thing to have happened is the establishment of the National Planning Commission. This commission, unlike in the case of many government programmes such as Curriculum 2005 and the National Curriculum Statements, NCS, did their homework. They followed the standing principle of research, development and diffusion. The commission has take time to bring all stake holders onboard. They have been to provinces, caucuses of political parties, they have addressed themselves to the general public and members of the commission continued to write articles in newspapers elucidating their views on the different aspects in the country.

Government has heeded the saying "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and that is why the commission is focussing on where this country will be in 2030.

As against the slogan in the early 1990s when the ruling party proclaimed that they were ready to govern, they have since realised that they are preparing to govern effectively as the commission has set its eyes on a capable state by 2030. This will also address the view held in other circles that this country has no long-term plans.

We wish to thank and congratulate the chairman of the commission who as the national executive committee member of his party recused himself whenever the commission brief political parties stating that he did so to avoid being construed as pushing the agenda of his party. We in the UCDP pray for the strength of Minister Manuel and all commissioners. They are worthy sons and daughters of the mother continent.

There is a bitter pill yet to be swallowed in so far as the National Youth Development Agency is concerned. All are in agreement that the youth and such matters should form part of the national agenda, but the difference is on how this are meted out. The astronomic salaries paid to members of the board while there is very little they can show with regard to reducing youth unemployment and social cohesion, is the cause of the displeasure. It has to be borne in mind that the greatest mission of this National Youth Development Agency, NDYA, is to reduce unemployment among the youth and to ensure that there is social cohesion.

Not much has been done to at least bring the youth of the country together from across the different social backgrounds, political outlooks or urban and rural divides. We have noted what the Deputy Minister in the Presidency said in this regard. This means that at least somewhere we are moving in almost the same direction of thought.

Whatever efforts that are made are the results of the schools and churches, in some cases political parties on their own initiatives, to cause the youth to mingle. Government still has that mammoth task to ensure that they come together.

To borrow Martin Luther King's words, the ideal South Africa would be the one where her children will not be judged by the colour of their skin or their political affiliation, but by the content of their character. The sooner we attain this the better it will be for the youth in this country. The issue of carrots being dangled in front of young people demeans them as they tend to do right through fear and not from a sense of justice.

Finally, we are aware of hosts of business magnates that accompany the President on some of his overseas trips and hope that, as much as the President does his utmost to invite investors to our country, they in turn will do all they can to open opportunities for the youth - be it jobs, offering bursaries and whatever it takes to make our young people be prepared to look into the future without flinching, wincing or even winking. The UCDP supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION: Mr E I EBRAHIM

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 333

Mr I S MFUNDISI

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION (Mr E I EBRAHIM): Hon Deputy Speaker, President and Deputy President, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we are living on the threshold of a new international order, in the midst of an epoch-making upheaval in world politics.

The economic crisis and implosion of western financial markets has eroded the authority and leadership of established powers, sharply accelerating the trend towards a multipolar world. Wealth and power is rapidly moving from the North and the West to the East and the South. After more than 200 years of western predominance, the rest are now making their return. This is the fast-changing context within which South Africa has to locate itself as we try to build a better Africa and a better world.

We have made Africa our top foreign policy priority. Over the past three years this administration has continued to play an important role, both bilaterally and through the African Union in promoting peace, good governance, integration and other public goods that are prerequisites for development. Through our collective efforts we have managed to energise the continent. At close to 6%, Africa's economies are consistently growing faster than almost any other region.

In its latest report released just a few weeks ago, the African Progress Panel chaired by Kofi Annan, noted that:

For the first time in a generation, the number of people living in poverty has actually fallen, and many countries have witnessed strong progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

As President Zuma pointed out in a speech recently, over the past decade, Africa has gone from being a hopeless continent to being a rising star - the next major growth pole in the world economy.

The key to sustaining this momentum is strengthening continental institutions so that they have the capacity to drive forward the African agenda. It is with this in mind that we accepted with humility the request of SADC to field Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for the position of the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union. We are of the view that the commission has the potential to play a much more dynamic role as the motor of the African Union.

If the continent continues to address its infrastructure backlog, it has been calculated that economic growth will receive a boost of perhaps as much as two percentage points a year. In view of this, the AU has set up the Presidential Infrastructure Championship Initiative, a committee of eight Nepad Heads of State, which President Zuma was asked to chair, to drive infrastructure projects forward. Our President is also responsible for championing the North-South Road and Rail Corridor project.

The SADC region is making good progress, as evidenced by the successful elections recently in Seychelles, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, and Lesotho, just this past weekend.

We are pleased that the recently adopted African Union Peace and Security Council Roadmap on Sudan and South Sudan has produced positive results. We have noted that South Sudan completed the withdrawal of its forces from Abyei and that Sudan has started the process of withdrawing its forces from the contested area. We are also pleased that negotiations between the two sides resumed on 29 May 2012 in Addis Ababa and will cover the outstanding postsecession issues.

You will recall that South Africa recently signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations with Somalia and that we have pledged R100 million towards assisting Somalis with governance, nation-building and reconciliation. In a follow-up to this undertaking, my department led a multisectoral visit to Mogadishu in late April 2012 to determine the best way to assist the Transitional Federal Government.

As a rising state, South Africa is assuming an increasingly important role in the emerging global political order, as part of India-Brazil-South Africa, Ibsa, the Brics, as the only African country in the G20, and as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council, UNSC. South Africa's South-South co-operation strategy is anchored on the Brics partnership mechanism with China, India, Brazil and Russia.

Our membership of Brics has three objectives: to boost job creation and the domestic economy; to support African infrastructure development and industrialisation; and to partner with key players of the South on issues related to global governance and its reform. As the host of the next Brics Summit in early 2013, we have a contribution to make to the realisation of the objective of establishing the Brics Development Bank.

South Africa firmly believes in multilateralism and that our institutions of global governance, which are mostly relics of the post-World-War II era, must be updated and renewed to make them more representative and responsive to the needs of the developing world. We seek to use our membership of the G20 to promote the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions to strengthen the position of Africa and of the South and to ensure that they reinforce the capacities of national governments to achieve developmental goals.

Our nonpermanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2011 to 2012 continues to provide a unique opportunity to contribute constructively to international peace and security. South Africa has taken a consistent and principled position against the use of the council as an instrument of power politics, and in favour of safeguarding civilian life through finding nonviolent, negotiated solutions to conflicts.

We served as the President of the Security Council for the month of January 2012 during which we convened a high-level debate on strengthening the relationship between the UN and regional organisations, in particular the AU, in the maintenance of international peace and security. President Jacob Zuma presided over this debate whose conclusion was unanimously adopted as Resolution 2033.

South Africa is playing a leading role in managing the global commons. At the historic Cop 17 in December last year, not only did we secure the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, a key outcome for Africa, but we also made history with the unanimous adoption of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action. In addition to this, we managed to achieve the establishment of the Green Climate Fund, the Climate Change Adaptation Committee and the Technology Mechanism.

I said that we are at the threshold of a new world order. But humankind has a long way to travel to achieve peace, harmony and development. The fight against poverty and hunger is a difficult fight. The recent massacre in Houla – and we did issue a statement yesterday condemning the massacre despite what the media reported today - the bombing of six children in Afghanistan this weekend, the senseless killings in Somalia, the fight for freedom in Palestine and Western Sahara, and the recent events in Mali, all suggest that the road to peace and freedom is a very long road. Therefore, we need to place the question of peace, security, freedom and human rights at the top of our agenda. South Africa has a crucial role to play in this respect, both in its interaction on the continent and its involvement in multilateral fora.

The President is correct when he states that South Africa is a respected member of the international community. This is because of the sound leadership of our President and our ubuntu-based foreign policy which places emphasis on values of peace, interconnectivity of people, human rights and basic freedom. We will always, under the leadership of our President, speak for the poor, the dispossessed and the oppressed of the world. I thank you. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, can I request you, before hon Mphahlele comes to the podium, to lower the level of noise because at this point it is unbearable. I know that we might lose concentration but members can just go out and comeback, if they are losing concentration, rather than making noise in the House.

Mr M L MPHAHLELE

UNREVISED HANSARD

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Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 334

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION (Mr E I EBRAHIM)

Mr L M MPHAHLELE: hon Deputy Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, hon members and esteemed guests, before I run out of time, I would fain it necessary to state in no ambiguous terms that the PAC supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]

The Presidency is like the cockpit of a ship. All systems have to work for the safety of all on board. We are all passengers on the ship piloted by captain Msholozi. If he sails into an iceberg, mistaking it for mist, we would all be in trouble. If he sails off course, none of us passengers can be on course.

Hon President, if at all you are off course, it is the PAC's solemn duty to warn you. For the sake of the country and the unborn generations that stand to inherit it.

Nxamalala, as the captain of this massive ship, which is South Africa, you need to ensure that participatory governance is real. Not just a slogan. Grassroots-based public participation is a must for any democracy deserving of the calling. Yes, we do have izimbizo and public hearings.

By and large, these are stage-managed by government officials and politicians, who parachute their agenda from above. Communities are never given a chance to initiate agendas from below. And there is a perception that these are the ruling party's izimbizo, because people with critical opinions are booed and ridiculed.

Msholozi, our education system needs some revamping, from basic level up to tertiary level. Most of the rural schools are still without laboratories and libraries. Learners have to travel many kilometres to and from school on empty stomachs. On metric results, all we have improved on is the quantity. This is demonstrated by the quality of most of our universities, which is going down.

The Central University of Technology in Bloemfontein, the Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape, and the Tshwane University of Technology are under administration. Walter Sisulu University last month, was struggling to pay staff. High quality academics are leaving campuses for greener pastures in public and private sectors. Education needs a serious financial injection. Until and unless we fix education, we will not realise our full potential as a people.

Hon President, all ships sail landwards. Unless we resolve the land question, we are sitting on a time bomb as a country. [Applause.] We know to whom this land belongs. We know who stole it and how. History will judge you harshly, Baba Msholozi, if you keep on postponing the date for the return of the land together with its flora and fauna.

Sesotho:

Ha e kgutle naha, mobu le matekwane a yona.

English:

So far, the returned land through land restitution has been a sad story of failure; or set-up for failure. There is no meaningful support from government to the land restitution beneficiaries. No wonder people are now leaving the land to seek employment elsewhere. This perpetuates a myth that Africans cannot farm commercially. As we restore the land to its rightful owners, government must overtax unused land in private hands. This will speed up equitable redistribution of the land.

Hon President, our freedom is tarnished by the fact that we still have political prisoners languishing in jails. With the stroke of a pen, you can release all of them. The PAC hopes you will release them this year. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr R B BHOOLA

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 334

Mr L M MPHAHLELE

Mr R B BHOOLA: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon President, our best wishes to you. We must not pretend as if considerable work has not been done. We want to applaud you, hon President, for the work that has been done. You are slowly but steadily putting the building blocks in place, internationally, India, AU, China, Bricks, Africa, and so on.

We must also give praise to the planning commission, lots of work is going on, and the Presidential infrastructure committee is starting to roll. The MF welcomes the attitude of the preferred commitment of the President, not to go for a quick fix solution but rather a long-term strategic planning - and we commend you for that.

Your attempt to create poverty relief to schools in the form of directing more funding for building classrooms, nutrition programmes and so on, are abundantly welcome. However, poverty continues to grow and the pace of transformation has to be increased. There has to be a more constructive role for monitoring and evaluation.

The issue of the rollovers are unacceptable and those officials who cannot spend funds fruitfully must be removed. The MF is concerned that this takes service delivery backwards and funds are returned also because of the incapacity of provinces. We must put the best brain for the job, Indians are also blacks, and I have noticed the marginalisation when it comes to job opportunities in the country the youth are disillusioned.

Hon President, we think that you are a bit too timid in the fight against crime and corruption. We urge you to take a bold and calculated approach. People want to be inspired that there is a tough dedicated approach. The issue of the National Prosecuting Authority must be resolved; the issue of the police commissioner needs to be resolved. These few issues are critical to leaping cohesion and a focused dedicated approach in law and order matters is needed.

We also draw your attention to the issue of the Labour Equity Law Amendment Act, which is before National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac. Mr President, the MF strongly believes that the law should be left the way it was, which was the national regional demographics, it forces equity, it is reasonable and it is fair. You cannot force spreading people out around the country by and large. If you take a provincial and regional approach you will get justice, but you cannot force and artificial spread of people throughout the country. We are speaking to you, hon President, on this matter we would like to know what your thoughts are.

We thank you, Mr President, for constantly building social cohesion. We noted with great respect that you found time to go and address the South African Hindu Maha Sabha for their hundred year's celebration. As you celebrate 100 years of the ANC, and finding time to reach out to other sectors of the community, undoubtedly reiterates the commitment, values and principles of our father of democracy, Mr Nelson Mandela. Mr President, you have done well building on that foundation, continue to march forward all the way.

We must develop our economy rather than allowing our economy to be developed by outside capital and our people merely becoming employees to outside capital. The MF notes that it is a new game as far as the continent of Africa is concerned that foreign investment is so high, and massive investment takes place. Like India, they are making businessmen and women of their own people; these are the skills we need to develop in our market economy.

It is important that we continue to provide a leading voice and continue to fight for infrastructure development throughout the continent of Africa in particular, and in Africa in general. We know that Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is eminently the right person to represent the country and the continent with dignity and expertise. As the MF, we are equally disturbed about the attack of the dignity of the President of the country, as the prerogatives of the Constitution, as far as it relates to the rights of privacy, the rights to human dignity, must be supported as a rights over and above those of freedom of expression.

However, a bold step forward is undoubtedly a challenging step to the top. Weak and scattered thoughts will always be weak and scattered forces. Strong and calculated thoughts are strong and calculated forces. Mr President, you have done well, you have stood tall and you have stood the test of time.

We acknowledge your deep commitment to raise the levels of expectations of serve delivery, and note your spirit of humility, togetherness and brotherhood to embrace multiparty democracy, which is encouraged. However, we cherish the hope that this also happens in provinces. Hon President, the mind is a useless servant but a great master. It needs to be focused in the correct direction and your direction to deliver all our people from the shackles of poverty, black and white, united in our diversity, is the correct path and you are on the right track.

The MF supports your initiatives in advancing the country to greater heights as we all fly under one flag - proudly South African. The MF will support the Budget Vote. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order hon member, order, please!

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT

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Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 335

Mr R B BHOOLA

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: Hon Deputy Speaker, Mr President, Mr Deputy President, hon members and colleagues, one of the curiosities of the rules of Parliament, is that they describe the parliamentary leader of the second largest party in Parliament as the Leader of the Opposition. I wonder if the hon Buthelezi or the hon Holomisa or the hon Mulder brothers or the hon Themba Godi or the hon Mphahlele recognise the hon Lindiwe Mazibuko as their leader, or see themselves as part of the opposition, some singular oppositional bloc. [Interjections.] It's for them to answer that question, but I want to ask the hon walking wounded and now departed Lekota something. He has squarely located himself as the underbelly, the libidinal voice of the DA, saying what many of the DA's own members actually think, but are too embarrassed to say out loud and in public. The hon Lekota's performance was frankly disgraceful.

The Brett Murray episode is perhaps not even fundamentally about constitutional rights. The right to the freedom of expression is very precious; the freedom of media. Some of us actually went to jail for fighting for the freedom of media. It's absolutely crucial, but so too is the right to human dignity, the right to dignity, not just for the President and the President's Office, but for all South Africans. This episode is not fundamentally a legal matter; it is not fundamentally a constitutional matter, it is about our collective responsibilities that we all have as South Africans to our country and its people, a country that is not yet Jerusalema, and is not even Canada.

Rights are also about responsibilities. In a calm discussion that we had with the editor of the City Press and, a calm discussion that the Minister of Arts and Culture has had with the director of Goodman Gallery, to their great credit, those two individuals recognised the importance of us all assuming responsibilities, upholding the rights of the Constitution, but understanding our location in South Africa. [Applause.]

I listened very carefully to what I thought were the wise words, for a change, of the Hon Mulder. I agree with him that we must not play the race card loosely and freely. I agree with him that we must not generalise about whites or blacks in South Africa. I am also encouraged to hear that, according to his calculation, some 80% of Afrikaans speakers, in a phone-in programme on SABC, deplored the painting. But what the hon Mulder left out was an important matter. I assume 80% of those that he calculated objected to the portrayal on moral and ecstatic grounds; they found the painting distasteful as the majority of us do.

We would however be making a grave mistake if we thought that for very many, many, many South Africans, black South African in particular, the feelings were only moral or just ecstatic. The portrayal provoked something much, much deeper. It caused great emotional hurt and it opened up unhealed wounds. This was so movingly illustrated and demonstrated when advocate Gcina Malindi, who is a hugely gentle and nonracial person, for any one who knows him, and who does not play the race card remotely, broke down in tears, in court. We all, especially us who happen to be white South Africans, need to hear, see and understand this profound reaction.

The DA, in the course of this week ... [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Deputy Minister, can you please take a seat for a while.

Mr J J MC GLUWA: Deputy Speaker, will the hon member take a very easy question? [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you going to take a question, hon Deputy Minister?

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: No, I will not take a question.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, he will not. You can please sit down.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: The DA, in the course of this week, understood tactically and perhaps if not emotionally, and recognised the complexities of this particular Brett Murray case, and chose to say very little indeed, wisely so, on this matter. But the hon Lekota barged in, bombastically treading on all of his hurts. I have been watching very carefully as you were speaking, hon Lekota. I watched the behaviour of the DA members in the House. I do not generalise, but quite a few of the white DA members were hyper- excited by what you were saying. You were expressing what their prejudices were and, which they did not dare utter. [Interjections.] To your credit, the Leader of the Opposition was much more restrained; I am not playing it ... [Interjections.]... I am making a point - I watched very carefully. But the hon Mazibuko and other black members and some white members, were more restrained. I think we need to understand that none of us must play loose and free with this issue.

On Sunday, the person that the Rules of Parliament curiously describe as the Leader of the Opposition, the hon Lindiwe Mazibuko, had a very interesting article in the Sunday Times. It was a plea to all of us in Parliament, as the title said "To rise above our rivalries for the good of South Africa". Now, that is a very noble sentiment, whereas as you can see, a call on Sunday does not translate into a speech on Wednesday. [Interjections.] The article correctly singled out the grave crisis of unemployment within our country, and particularly youth unemployment within our country and said that we should focus all of our attentions on this issue. The article was more silent on some of the other grave crises, which are linked to youth unemployment, like racialised unemployment, inequality and racialised property, but let us leave that to one side.

Now, let me read the article, and it goes on to say, "rather than asking if an economic proposal conforms to the principles of Keynes or Mills or Hayek, I, that is the hon Mazibuko, would like to see an above partisan approach that works". Now, in pretending to be above ideology, notice how ideologically limited she is; her iconic reference points are Keynes, Mills, or Hayek. Is that all? How Eurocentric she is. Has nothing happened in the last 60 years in China or Brazil or in Africa, for that matter?

That was on Sunday, but today is Wednesday and the hon Mazibuko fails to follow her own advice. Today, on Wednesday, she tries to label the National Development Plan, Minister Manuel, as Hayekian, as near liberal, and tries to label the New Growth Path as Keynesian. She then asks the President whether government's policies are near liberal or welfarest. Confusion, confusion, confusion! [Inetrjections.]

I thought that the hon Koos van der Merwe was completely out of order when he interjected during the course of your speech. I agree with the hon Kalyan that his interjection had strong undertones if not overtones of sexism. I completely agree.

We all know that the hon Koos van der Merwe has little hair and he has very little good sense, but at least we know that his hair is his own and his nonsense is his own. [Laughter.] But can we say the same for your contradictory ideas in your Sunday article on the one hand, and your Wednesday speech on the other? Are there different drafting teams in the DA? Is there factionalism in the DA or is it just ideological confusion? I think it is the latter. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Deputy Minister, there is a point of order again. What is the point of order hon member?

Mr A WATSON: Hon Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I maintain that the comments that the Deputy Minister has made about the Leader of the Opposition and her hair, are as... [Interjections.]... I am not talking to you... are as sexist as the remark by the hon Koos van der Merwe, and I would like you to rule on the issue.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: I said nothing about the hon member's hair. All I said was that we know that the hon Koos van der Merwe's hair is his own and that his nonsense is his own. I further said that I was not sure about whether the ideas that were promoted on Sunday and Wednesday were hers or were of some drafting factional team who wrote them. [Interjections.] I might have spoken about a swollen head without any sense of sexism whatsoever, but I did not do that either.

As the ANC, Deputy Speaker, and as the ANC-led government, we agree that as South Africans, we have to work together to address the challenges of our country, and indeed, of our global crisis-ridden epoch. [Interjections.] Working together doesn't mean that differences, including ideological differences disappear, or that we should suppress our debates. On the contrary - that is the very meat of democratic politics. As we debate, we should also do so with an overarching sense of responsibility to our country, our region, to the world in which we live, including our increasingly fragile natural world. [Interjections.]

I don't think that many of the contributions in today's debate, particularly those from the DA, have remotely appreciated the challenges and responsibilities that we all confront. Too often, the DA reduces working together to the idea of the government working together only with the corporate, private sector - life as a perennial market-driven public-private partnership, PPP. This government is committed to working with the corporate private sector, for no other reason than that there is a vast amount of wealth and resources, which often are not currently invested in productive activity that is to be found there. [Interjections.]

The DEPUY SPEAKER: Order hon members, please!

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: The private corporate sector is not the only partner. Take the question of the Youth Wage Subsidy. This government is committed to a multipronged strategy to address unemployment, especially youth unemployment, including skills training, learnerships, assistance to small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, co-operatives, the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, including the Community Works Programme, CWP, and, yes, also various forms of subsidies. But how do you subsidise the unemployed youth? By subsidising the employers - is the DA's answer. That is how you subsidise the youth. [Interjections.]

And yes, that might be a way of doing it, but it takes a peculiarly class-biased set of blinkers not to recognise that there are many potential pitfalls and abuses down that route and, there are plenty of international examples - including currently in Spain, to demonstrate how abuses might proliferate when you subsidise the bosses to employ the youth at lower wages. We need to address the issue seriously. As we address the unemployment crisis, we need to work closely with all sectors of our society, including organised labour and the unemployed in our communities. Any attempt to play off the one against the other, the organised labour against the unemployed, for narrow electoral purposes, is an exceedingly dangerous and irresponsible line of march.

One member talked about Nazism, throwing that term around loosely. I am not going to accuse any one here of Nazism, because it would be wrong. [Interjections.] However, let us remember that precisely marches of the unemployed directed against the organised working class in Germany were the foundation of the development of the Nazimovement there. So, I am not accusing you of doing that, but do not play free and easy with something that is extremely dangerous. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

Certainly, one of the most innovative and dynamic approaches to working together, Mr President, is the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, PICC, which you launched in October last year. Since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, we have understood that a major, state-led, multiyear infrastructure programme is our key, but not our only contra-cyclical strategy to sustain and dynamise, as best as possible, our productive economic activity and job creation.

The PICC, as you have mentioned, Mr President, has identified 17 strategic integrated projects. Catalytic infrastructure build projects that would unlock untapped resources that will: Contribute towards job creation, both in the construction and in the postconstruction phase; help to develop neglected rural regions of our country; link actively with our industrial policy action programmes; address the economic dysfunctionality and social injustices associated with the apartheid spatial form of our urban spaces; prioritise energy efficient infrastructure, for instance, rail over road; help to drive effective links with our region and our continent; and, in short, will help to place our country onto a new growth path.

The PICC is an excellent example of working together, firstly, as government. The PICC as chaired by the President and deputised by the Deputy President, is constituted by a range of relevant national line department Ministers, all nine, not eight, all nine Premiers with a strong support from all nine Premiers - let me underline that. Metro mayors are active members of the PICC, including the Metro mayor of Cape Town and the SA Local Government Association, Salga. We are working together across clusters and line departments, as municipalities and provinces, and across different political parties, as one country and one government, under your leadership, Mr President.

The PICC met again in a plenary session yesterday. There was a leadership recognised by the Premier of the Western Cape very actively and supported in the course of this infrastructure issue; recognised by the Mayor of Cape Town, very actively and strongly, and supportive of the programmes of the PICC. Correctly so. [Interjectiosns].

The PICC met again in a plenary session, yesterday, Mr President. There was one key item on the agenda. It was to evaluate the actual construction activity that is under way. Too often, an impression is created that nothing is happening; that everything is just a talk-shop, a succession of one plan on paper after another.

South Africa is however starting to become, once more, the vast construction site of which you have spoken of, Mr President - unevenly, of course, and with many challenges, yes. In the progress report presented to yesterday's PICC plenary, we were reminded, just to take one example, that the Medupi Power Station, which is now 39,2% complete, not 39,1%, or 39,3%, we are monitoring this extremely closely as the PICC, and it employs currently 15 787 not, 15 786 workers on site. [Applause.]

This is the largest construction site in the southern hemisphere, as we speak. Yes, there have been delays, and yes, this project started before the establishment of the PICC. The role of the PICC is to identify the reasons for the delays and to unblock problems. It is also, above all, to ensure that this massive, in this case, the electricity generation project is part of an integrated infrastructure, an economic and social developmental programme involving water, rail and mining infrastructure. Critically, it also has to ensure that the new city that is literally emerging in the veld at Lephalale, in the old Ellisras, is not just another apartheid-era mining town, but a green city, an integrated city, an economically functional and socially just city.

On Sunday, the hon Mazibuko piously called for us in Parliament to rise ... [Interjections.] ... yes, I do read, I am not blind, I am very genuine. On Sunday, the hon Mazibuko piously called on us all in Parliament to rise above our rivalries, to remain united and focused despite our differences on the big issues of our country and of our world. Too often in the course of this debate, the hon Mazibuko and her colleagues continued to barrack and shout; they have been doing exactly the opposite; sinking this debate into petty rivalries and into tweetable quotes.

In supporting this Vote, Mr President, the ANC knows that you will not allow yourself or the rest of us to be distracted from the important tasks that are actively under construction in our country, as we speak. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr K J DIKOBO

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 336

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT

Mr K J DIKOBO: Hon Deputy Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, hon members and guests, Parliament has a duty to, among others, exercise oversight over the executive. Parliament does so through portfolio committees that scrutinise the strategic plans of the various departments to ensure that plans are carried out in line with approved budgets.

Azapo regrets the fact that, so far, there is no portfolio committee that exercises oversight over the Presidency. This concern, Mr President, has very little to do with our attitude towards individuals who occupy positions in the Presidency. It is the right thing to do. It is the duty of Parliament.

Hon President, Azapo agrees with you that government has to change and improve the way it does things. We welcome government's intention to focus on education, among others. We share your concerns about the problems in education, like the late delivery of textbooks and other learning and teaching materials.

This week, South Africans had a rude awakening when we read about the children of Ga-Seanego in the Senwabarwana District of Limpopo whose school is "an informal school under a tree." What is even more shocking to Azapo is the fact that nobody within the bureaucracy seemed to have been aware of the situation until it was reported in the media. Somebody is sleeping on the job.

Government has to change the way it does things and deals with reports of financial mismanagement in different government departments. The Auditor-General's reports are full of references to unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditures. How should ordinary citizens explain the fact that, with qualified audit opinions and disclaimers, accounting officers and executive authorities continue to keep their jobs? Azapo calls upon you, Mr President, to change how government works by taking the lead in ensuring that action is taken against heads of departments and Ministers under whose watch the departments obtain disclaimers.

You are calling for the filling of funded vacant posts, Mr President, and Azapo supports you, but we submit that there are bigger problems because we hear now that doctors in the Eastern Cape have not been paid. This takes place in a country that has an acute shortage of doctors and other medical practitioners. Azapo commends those doctors and other public servants who work under difficult conditions.

We agree that Brand SA is respected internationally. It is, however, true that the brand suffered a knock because of South Africa's complicity in the UN Resolution 1973 on Libya. Azapo appreciates the role South Africa has played in the establishment of South Sudan as a sovereign state. We call upon your government to speak out against the bullying tactics of the government of Sudan under President al-Bashir – the bombing raids and violation of South Sudanese airspace.

Azapo supports South Africa's decision to relabel goods coming from Palestine. Israel is Israel and Palestine should be Palestine. The labelling of goods made in Palestine as "Made in Israel" is a tacit approval of the continued occupation of Palestinian territories. South Africa must stick with the truth. "Made in China" must mean exactly that. So too must "Made in Zimbabwe" or the UK.

Notwithstanding the above concerns, Mr President, Azapo supports Budget Vote No 1. Thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY

UNREVISED HANSARD

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Wednesday, 30 May 2012 Take: 336

Mr K J DIKOBO

The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION IN THE PRESIDENCY: Hon Deputy Speaker, Your Excellency, Mr President, Your Excellency, Deputy President, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members and honoured guests, the role of the Office of the President, as the highest office of the land, is to oversee and co-ordinate the work of government and the state as the leading institution on interstate and international relations. The Office of the President also has the responsibility to ensure that government achieves all its objectives and meets its targets in the electoral term.

The President of the Republic also assumes the role of Head of State, and has the responsibility to defend and uphold the integrity of this state. This is the role often forgotten or not fully recognised by our society. This is the role that includes overseeing and ensuring that other levers of state – which includes the legislature, the executive and the judiciary – are operating optimally. It is against this background that we have reconfigured the macro-organisation of the national government to ensure that government is able to operate optimally and allow the President the space to exercise his role as Head of State.

Let me remind the House that the Presidency's budget is intended to support the President in leading and galvanising the whole of government and society to implement the electoral programme; to serve as a centre for strategic co-ordination and implementation of government's programme so as to ensure that all energies and efforts are properly aligned behind the achievement of a common and unifying vision; to monitor whether the government programme is implemented; and to evaluate whether it is achieving its intended objectives.

The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and the National Planning Commission is fully functional and provides the necessary capacity for national planning, monitoring and evaluation to enhance the performance and efficiency of the state.

In the last financial year, much progress was recorded, once again demonstrating a capable institution geared to ensure that government's work impacts on the lives of our people. In our administration's midterm reflection, we noted that the introduction of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and The National Planning Commission not only impacted on and started to change the way government works, but have also introduced greater efficiencies towards improving the performance of government.

Another significant accomplishment for the 2011-12 financial year is that the executive has begun to focus on frontline service delivery monitoring, with the President and Ministers visiting institutions such as hospitals, schools, police stations and municipalities on an ongoing basis. With the term of the current administration having just passed its midway point, the Presidency has compiled a midterm report on which the President has already elaborated in the earlier address.

The Presidency has also institutionalised the monitoring of key priorities, with quarterly reports being presented to Cabinet through our office. There will be, moving forward, more engagement with Ministers who co-ordinate the key outcomes as well as regular visits to provinces, municipalities and communities to monitor whether government is serving citizens the way it should. The President will continue to meet regularly with Ministers leading the outcomes to ensure progress.

In this financial year and over the remainder of this administration, the Presidency will also focus its efforts on increasing engagements in the international arena. South Africa's participation and leadership in the international arena has been one of the hallmarks of the democratic order since 1994. The expectation for South Africa's leadership in SADC region, the African continent and the international community has increased even further over the past two years. The involvement of the Presidency in international and multinational institutions has increased tremendously.

The establishment of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordination Commission, PICC, was coupled with the establishment of the short-term Job Creation Commission, led by the Deputy President. The Presidency will provide necessary support to the President and the Deputy President in order to ensure that this critical priority of government is implemented.

Much has been said about Brand SA by the Deputy Minister – I won't dwell on it.

Turning to the budget, one of the key shortcomings highlighted in the previous strategic plan of the Presidency is the inadequate resource allocation to support the implementation of the organisation's strategy, and the related unsustainable funding model used to make budget allocations to the Presidency.

The allocation of our budget is shared between the administration with R397,667 million and the National Planning Commission with R95,575 million. The National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, received only R376 million, while Brand SA received an amount of R148,779 million. This is hardly adequate to meet the many demands of the Presidency to execute its strategy. In the recent past, the Presidency has received budget allocations which are not proportionate to its increased responsibilities.

The myopic, shallow and Russian roulette type of constitutional interpretation by one of the members here is dangerous to society. [Interjections.] No, I'm referring to the leader of Cope. [Laughter.] His analysis is a Russian roulette.

Let me point out a few facts. You can then pick some and analyse them. For the first one I will speak as an artist. If you allow artists to go on a free for all, you will end up with a nation which is just full of insults everywhere. That's why we have to act with restraint. [Interjections.] As citizens, we all have equal rights which are guaranteed by the Constitution and which include the rights to freedom of expression and dignity.

All institutions established by the Constitution, including the Presidency, must be respected by everybody. [Interjections.] The actions of individual members of society should not lead to the degeneration of society, distortion of our values, and creation of a disorderly society. [Interjections.]

The hon member has misread the role of the President in guaranteeing the rights of individuals - it is not the President in his individual capacity. The President has the responsibility to ensure that the institutions which are supposed to guard, protect and ensure that there's equity in the country, are functional and appropriate. Thank you very much.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, on that point, your time is up. Thank you very much. [Applause.] Order, hon members! The hon President will reply to the debate tomorrow.

Debate interrupted.

The House adjourned at 19:44.

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Hansard: Appropriation Bill: Debate on Vote No1 - Presidency

House: National Assembly

Date of Meeting: 29 May 2012

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