Hansard: JS: Unrevised hansard
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 15 Feb 2022
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
JOINT SITTING
WEDNESDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2022
____
PROCEEDINGS OF THE JOINT SITTING
Watch video here: Joint Sitting (Hybrid)
Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces assembled in the Chamber of the National Assembly at
14:00.
The Speaker of the National Assembly took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Hon members, in the interest of safety for all present in the chamber, we request that you please keep your masks on and seat in your designated areas. Thank you.
REPLY BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE DEBATE ON THE STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Amos Masondo, Deputy President of the Republic, David Dabede Mabuza, hon Ministers and hon Deputy Ministers, hon members, representatives of South African Local Government Association, Salga, and all those who are present, let me start of by thanking you hon Speaker and hon Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces for allowing me to participate in the debate on the virtual platform. It enabled me to listen very carefully and to take copious notes of some of the issues that were being raised here.
Tshiven?a:
Ndi dovhe hafhu ndi livhuwe na vhathu vho?he vhe vha amba, na
zwo?he zwe zwa ambiwa musi ndi tshi vula Phalamennde. Ndi a
livhuwa, ngauri ndi vhathu vhanzhi vhe vha amba. Ndi livhuwa
zwo?he, zwivhi na zwivhuya zwo ambwaho. [U VHANDA ZWAN?A.]
English:
As I concluded the state of the nation address, last week, Icalled on every South African to rally together in our fight
against corruption, in our fight to create jobs, and in our fight to achieve a more just and equal society. I called for a
new consensus to unite our people and our country in a moment of great crisis, behind an agenda for change and renewal.
In the debate over the last two days, several members of the two Houses of Parliament have answered this call. Although
they represent different parties and different perspectives, many of the speakers in the debate affirmed their commitment to this shared goal.
We have heard many valuable contributions on how we may more effectively address the many challenges that confront our country right now. But we also heard a lot of vitriol. We also heard a lot of attacks. There is no need to respond to insults that were launched here ... [Applause.] ... because in the end the insults that were hurled here do not contribute to a meaningful debate about the challenges our country faces.
[Interjections.] Instead, I am motivated to reflect on the constructive criticisms and sincere suggestions that have been put forward with a view to improving the state of our nation.
I refer here, for example, to the contribution on behalf of the hon Buthelezi on the characterization and appropriate response to state capture. I refer to the suggestions by the hon Whitfield on moving the SAPS into the 21st century by introducing modern, cutting-edge training for police officers and the more effective use of technology. I refer to the call by the hon Malema on the industrialization of cannabis in a manner that benefits local farmers in places like the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. Put aside many other things that he said, including the fact that I was wearing a cheap
suit. [Interjections.] ...
Xitsonga:
Ndzi vi le na xivutiso xa leswaku xana sudu ya mina yi nghena
kwihi eka mhaka leyi? A nga yi rhandzi. Xana a nga rhandzi ku
vona vanhu van’wana va sasekile ke? A ndzi sasekile swinene. A
fanele a vurile leswaku Presidente, namuntlha mi sasekile mi
ambale sudu ya kahle. Ematshan’weni ya sweswo yena wa ndzi
rhuketela.
English:
I will not comment on that. ... I refer here also to the
comments by Premier Ntombela on rural infrastructure and
development, and the suggestions by the hon Letsie on
solutions for youth unemployment.
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Another example of valuable suggestions was those made by the
hon Nodada on the prioritization of reading, writing, language
and numeracy in the foundation phase, and on ways of assisting
those learners that have dropped out of school.
We appreciate the call by the Deputy Chair of the NCOP, hon
Lucas, for government to develop the necessary tools to
accelerate the implementation of the Gender Responsive
Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Auditing
Framework.
We agree with the hon Herron that whilst other people want to
move offshore because of the many challenges that we face,
there is still room for opportunity for many South Africans
here in this beautiful country.
The hon Hlengwa makes an important point that since all
development is local, municipalities should be empowered
through increased budget allocations to meet the demands of
development. These are some of the contributions that have
made this debate worthwhile, and I expect that in addition to
the many issues that were raised by Ministers who are
responsible for government work on this platform, and expect
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that government officials will have taken note of the many
issues, suggestions and criticisms that were raised during
this debate. I thank you all for all the inputs that you have
made. In the end, the criticisms and inputs will make us a lot
better than what we are. I don’t know what the insults will
do, but it’s okay. [Laughter.]
As I began the state of the nation address, last week, I said
that the speech would focus on the measures we are taking to
and ought to take to enable faster economic growth and the
creation of employment. That was the main heart of what I
wanted to impart to you all and to the nation. This is because
fixing the economy is our most pressing challenge at this
moment, and is essential to progress in almost every other
area of the lives of the people of our country. Our focus on
the economy does not, however, diminish the importance of the
many other areas of government’s work. It does not diminish
the many other aspects of our people’s lives. Many of these
issues have been raised in the debate and will be dealt with
in greater detail in upcoming Budget Votes and public
engagements by Ministers.
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As we reflect on the state of the nation, and as we look to
the year ahead, we should always remember where we have come
from and what our country has endured. We cannot escape the
basic truth that we have an economy and a society that is
still largely defined and scarred by its colonial and
apartheid past.
Despite the great progress that has been made in the last 28
years to address the legacy of dispossession and exploitation,
the material divides between black and white, men and women,
rural and urban, still persist until today.
The steady economic recovery, expanding employment and
increasing investment that followed the advent of our
democracy was disrupted by the 2008 global financial crisis.
It was also disrupted by falling commodity prices, by severe
energy constraints, by inefficient network industries, and
lately, by the negative impact or destructive impact of state
capture on so many vital public institutions.
At the same time, our economy has become less and less
competitive. We could not sustain investment in economic
infrastructure. That has persisted over a long time.
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As public spending rapidly increased, the benefits of
increased spending declined, to a point where the cost of
servicing our debt has been crowding out our social spending.
This was the situation that this administration was elected in
2019 to correct, and we took several decisive measures to turn
the economy and the country around.
Yet, just as we were emerging from more than a decade of low
growth and deepening unemployment, and from the era of state
capture and the assault on the institutions of the state that
accompanied it, we were hit by the worst global health crisis
in more than a century. We cannot disregard the fact that the
pandemic has caused our economy severe damage that will take
years to repair. Unless we appreciate these facts, unless we
characterize the current situation correctly, our response may
well be ill-considered and may also be misdirected.
It is wrong to say that there has been no action as a number
of people who spoke here said. We have achieved remarkable
progress in spite of the constraints of the present and the
challenges that have accumulated over a number of years.
Confronted with the worst global health crisis in a century,
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we were able to rise up to the challenge and protect our
people.
In less than a year, we have undertaken the most extensive
public health campaign in our country’s history, constructing
new hospital bed capacity in many locations, deploying
dedicated health workers to care for the sick throughout the
country and administering more than 30 million COVID-19
vaccine doses to over 18 million South Africans.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we increased social grant
payments, and within the space of only a few weeks, we
established a brand new grant that initially reached six
million South Africans and now reaches some 10 million South
Africans. [Applause.] I know of no other country on our
continent that has been able to do as much as we have done in
dealing with the COVID-19 disaster. [Applause.]
We mobilized a national effort, working with industry and
public research institutions to build things such as
ventilators and produce hand sanitizers, medical-grade face
masks and gloves, therapeutic drugs and cutting-edge vaccines.
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These, we were able to do in response to the moment that faced
our nation.
We introduced an unprecedented social and economic relief
package, which amounted to some 10% of our gross domestic
product, GDP, to provide vital support to businesses in
distress, to workers facing retrenchment, and to households
that were threatened with deepening hunger.
When we are looked at more globally, as a middle income
country, we measure up well in the leagues of those high
income countries as well. We confronted the COVID-19 pandemic
with great strength and great commitment to save the people
and the businesses of our country. Our collective actions in
response to the pandemic saved tens of thousands of lives and
kept millions of people out of dire poverty.
While most of the Members of these two Houses of our
Parliament are firmly committed to building a united, equal
and prosperous nation, others have different interests and
priorities.
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Where some preach despair, we see hope. We see that hope in
the 10 million people who now receive the Social Relief of
Distress grant. We see it in the new work and livelihood
opportunities created by the initiatives that we have taken,
including the Presidential Employment Stimulus that will soon
reach over a million people. We see it in the bridges that are
being built so that children can go safely to school. We see
it in the sector master plans that are driving new investment
which creates new jobs and the revival of key industries in
our country. That is what progress looks like. It is not doom
and doom and no action.
Where some create doubt, we see renewed confidence. We see it
in the most significant reform of our energy system in nearly
a century, creating conditions for cheaper, cleaner and more
plentiful electricity. Where even as we transition from where
we are, we will be able to ensure that it becomes a just
transition that cares for the workers in our mines and the
communities that live in the towns and the cities that produce
electricity.
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We see this in the long-delayed reforms like the spectrum
auction and the revised critical lists that are being
implemented by this government.
We see it in the concrete steps that we are taking to
modernize our ports and rail infrastructure, and to get our
passenger rail services back on track. Some of these may be
taking time, but we are coming from a very broken situation
which we are sewing up and building up all the time and not
sleeping on the job. That is what progress looks like.
Where some are determined to sow division, we are working to
unify our country in the fight against corruption. We have
strengthened the ability of the National Prosecuting
Authority, NPA, to pursue those responsible for state capture
and corruption, rebuilding its capacity and establishing a
dedicated unit in the investigating directorate. We are
already seeing the results of a strong and independent
prosecuting authority in several cases as well.
Let me be clear, yet again, on the matter of prosecution
because somehow, this notion is embedded in the minds of the
members here. When they look at me, they often say, when are
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you prosecuting all these people? [Interjections.] I do not
prosecute. [Applause.] I would like to make it very clear.
Some even suggests that the President may be using the
prosecutorial agencies against those that they perceive as my
opponents or enemies. It is not within the power of the
President, and it shouldn’t be within the power of the
President to initiate criminal proceedings against anyone.
[Applause.] I have said this repeatedly both here and
elsewhere that I am not the one who initiates criminal
proceedings. It is the sole responsibility of the relevant
director of public prosecutions. It is important that I state
this so that this thought and notion that is embedded in our
heads should begin to melt away.
Our task as the executive is to capacitate the NPA and make
sure that it has all the resources that it needs to prosecute
wrongdoing as an independent authority. That’s all.
[Applause.]
As government, we have supported the State Capture Commission
to complete its work, and enabled the commission to share vast
amounts of information with the investigators and prosecutors,
and we signed regulations to that effect. We are taking
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disciplinary action against government officials implicated in
procurement irregularities and have started to recover
billions in looted funds. [Applause.] This has not often been
done in the past but it is happening now.
We have put in place capable leadership at previously captured
state-owned entities, public institutions ... [Interjections.]
... and have reversed - you may care to listen first - the
decay at Sars, the Public Investment Corporation, PIC, Eskom,
Transnet and many others. You not agree but that’s precisely
what we have been doing. [Interjections.] That to me is what
progress look like, for those who care to look.
We are on a long and difficult journey to renew the promise of
our democracy. At times, it may seem that the path is too
long. It may also seem like it is not achieving much. It may
also seem like the climb is too steep, that the risks are too
great, but it is at precisely that moment that the courage and
resilience is required. [Applause.]
Even though we disagree in this House, across society, there
is broad agreement that as we grow the economy, create
employment and fight poverty and hunger, no person should be
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left behind. We have a responsibility, first and foremost, to
those South Africans who are poor, marginalized and
vulnerable.
This informs all our policy choices and all the programmes
that we seek to pursue and are pursuing. This is the hallmark
of our developmental state. Leaving no one behind, means
focusing on small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, small-
scale farmers and on the informal economy. A number of other
countries have a huge and burgeoning informal economy that
sustains and supports the lives of ordinary people. That is
not so with us. This is the direction that we do need to take.
It is in these areas that small-scale enterprises and most
jobs will be created and through which poor South Africans
will be able to earn a livelihood.
We are removing constraints on the establishment and growth of
these businesses and also providing them with access to
finance, skills and various capabilities. This explains the
work being done by the Department of Small Business
Development to lower barriers to entry and remove impediments
to growth through, amongst other things, a review of key
legislation like the Businesses Act. It explains the redesign
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of the bounce back loan scheme so that small businesses can
more easily access the funds that they need. And it is our
focus on small business that informs the expansion of the
employment tax incentive to make it easier for small companies
to hire more people. As you recall, this initiative was
launched to make it easier for firms and companies to hire
young people. It has done extremely well. It is to this effect
that the Minister of Finance will speak about it when he
presents his budget. The work that is underway to reduce red
tape will have benefits for companies of all sizes, unleashing
investment and growth.
The establishment of a team in The Presidency to tackle red
tape, which will be headed by Sipho Nkosi, is similar to
initiatives taken by governments around the world. [Applause.]
It is located in The Presidency because red tape is not found
only in one department and there is no single department that
can tackle red tape on its own. Not only does red tape
increase the costs of doing business, but it also constrains
South Africans in their everyday lives and in many of their
interactions with government. Whether it is a matter of
getting a building permit – I waited for three years and more
to get a building permit to extend a room by four metres –
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That in itself was a constraint. A title deed. When people
wait for title deeds ... We need to find out exactly what it
is that makes the system come up with the impediments. People
wait for years for things such as water licenses because of
the bureaucratic inefficiencies that has become embedded in
our system. I am pleased to have heard that either the Western
Cape or Cape Town also has a red tape unit. [Interjections.]
We will be able to compare notes to see how best that works.
[Applause.] We are already comparing notes with what happens
in other countries. Countries that have been able to reduce
red tape and regulatory impediments. Countries that are now
rolling out the red carpet instead of the red tape to those
who would want to move on with a number of initiatives,
whether business related or just personal initiatives that
they embark on.
While all businesses will benefit from these reforms, it is
small and informal businesses that will benefit most, whether
from a stable electricity supply or cheaper data, similar
regulations or a more efficient state. But in the end, it is
our people who will benefit the most. Through this unit, we
will be able to focus on areas that our people find as huge
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constraints that form road blocks to the progress of their own
lives.
Our commitment to the transformation of the economy so that it
benefits all South Africans is unwavering. We will not abandon
our commitment to the protection of the workers, to supporting
and growing black business, and to affirming black people and
women in the workplace. [Applause.] We will not abandon our
support for the poor and the working class, nor our commitment
to build a more just and equal society.
As this government, we are quite clear about where our
policies come from. Our policies were not formed over a few
months or a few years, but are defined by a constant
progressive thread that spans over decades.
The programme of action that I outlined in the state of the
nation address is founded on seminal documents like the
Freedom Charter, the Ready to Govern document, the
Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, as well as the
National Development Plan, NDP.
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As this government, we are quite clear what our mandate is. We
have a manifesto for which the people of this country
demonstrated overwhelming support – that is a bold and
coherent plan to achieve a better life for all. [Applause.]
My call for a new consensus for change and renewal is informed
by the challenges of the present and is also guided by the
strength of the electoral mandate we got in 2019.
The focus on job creation, which I outlined in Sona has given
rise to a useful debate across society on the relative roles
of the state and the private sector in fostering economic
growth and creating employment. I have enjoyed listening to
different voices talking about this concept. In many ways, it
was about time that as South Africans we engage in this
debate. Some speakers have taken a crude and self-serving
approach to a complex issue, but for the most part,
commentators have engaged meaningfully with one of the most
important questions facing our country today. They have
earnestly sought to answer the central question of who will
create the jobs for the 11 million unemployed people in our
country.
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The state has a clear role to play in job creation through
state-owned – Listen - enterprises, the state employs a lot of
people, through public employment programmes, which I spoke
about, through the impact of its industrial policy, through
the implementation of its competition policy, through
infrastructure investment and through the employment of the
public service itself. [Applause.]
The reality in our country – listen first - as in most other
countries – this is now the stark reality - is that the
private sector creates the most jobs. [Interjections.] The
private sector in our own country creates three quarters of
workers jobs and accounts for over two thirds of investment
and research and development expenditure.
In South Africa, the number of people employed in the public
sector increased from 1,9 million in 2002 to 2,8 million in
2017. That is quite a sizable increase. Over the same period –
this is facing the reality of our situation - the number of
people employed in the private sector increased from
8,2 million to 13,5 million. South Africa is not alone in
seeking to rapidly expand our productive capacity by
unleashing the potential of the private sector. What we are
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seeking to do is to do what we have often said that we want to
crowd in the private sector so that they can let go of these
monies that they hold so that they can create jobs. We want to
continue creating the conducive environment so that they do
create the jobs. One just needs to look, for example, at the
approach taken by China under Deng Xiaoping – I read quite a
lot of the things that Deng Xiaoping did – His experience was
to mobilize when he began to change China and modernize it.
Deng Xiaoping embarked on a process of mobilizing private
capital to promote private enterprise to meet the country’s
developmental needs.
As noted by the Vice Chancellor of the University of
Johannesburg, Prof Tshilidzi Marwala, in his article just
yesterday, he published an article where he said:
In 2018, 87% of urban employment in China was from the
private sector compared to 18% in 1995. At the same time,
the total GDP increased from US$734 billion in 1995 to
US$13 trillion in 2018.
We, therefore, do not accept that we must make a choice
between a developmental state that drives economic and social
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transformation, and a vibrant expanding private sector that
fuels growth and employment. We do not agree that by
recognizing the role of business in creating employment that
we diminish the central role of the state in co-ordinating,
planning and guiding the development of the economy.
[Applause.]
It is evident from the programme that I outlined in Sona, we
envisage both a developmental state and a dynamic and agile
private sector, which work together and complement each other.
This is precisely the policy approach of the ANC for a mixed
economy. [Applause.] This is what we mean when we talk about a
mixed economy that draws on the resources, the strengths and
the capabilities of both public and private sectors. If you
have both working together – they may continue to be sworn
enemies – to agreed goal, then you are able to grow the
economy. This is precisely how other countries like China,
which was quoted “ad nauseam” by hon Xivambu, was able to grow
and to be the gigantic power that it is today, to a point
where the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ICBC, the
biggest bank in the world is now listed on the New York stock
exchange. And yes, it is still owned by government but they
brought in the private sector and floated their shares on the
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New York stock exchange so that the ICBC can grow. The same
applies to China Mobile, the largest mobile telephone company
in the world, they followed exactly the same trajectory. Deng
Xiaoping said: “No matter if it is a white cat or black cat;
as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.”
Leaving no one behind, means expanding opportunities for young
people in our country, expanding opportunities for women and
also for people living with disabilities so that they can
participate more meaningfully in the economy. We are focusing
on the economic empowerment of the women of our country. Had
we not been diverted by COVID-19 when we were the chair of the
AU, we would have wanted to see this women empowerment
programme being expanded throughout the continent, not that it
is not being done. Not only is this an important part of the
fight against gender-based violence, it is also a fundamental
matter of social justice and essential if our economy is to
draw on the potential of all our people. We are determined to
make greater progress on the decision to set aside at least
40% of government procurement for women-owned and women-run
businesses. [Applause.] This is what we want to see happening.
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This year, we will ratify the African Union Protocol on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which amongst other
things, includes the right to work. It places a responsibility
on government to promote opportunities for people with
disabilities to initiate self-employment, entrepreneurship and
so that they able to have access to financial services as
well.
The Employment Equity Amendment Bill has been tabled in
Parliament to regulate the setting of sector-specific targets
for representation of black people, women and persons with
disabilities.
Leaving no one behind, means supporting those who are
unemployed. One of the most important successes of the
Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan is the Presidential
Employment Stimulus as well as the number of structural
reforms that we have embarked upon. As I reported in Sona,
this initiative has provided work and livelihood opportunities
for over 850 000 people in the 16 months since its
establishment. The programme is making a real difference in
the lives of many in our society whose potential would
otherwise be lost to unemployment. It includes more than
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100 000 small-scale farmers who have received vouchers to
expand their production. Hon Singh spoke about this,
yesterday. He said that the halt that has been put to this
programme should now be restarted so that it can continue
contributing positively because he is one of those who has
seen the impact that it is having particularly in the rural
areas in the various provinces.
We have announced that we are massively increasing the scale
of this programme to reach a quarter of a million small-scale
farmers and transform our rural landscape. [Applause.] If the
fiscus challenges that we face were not an impediment, I would
have wanted to see a million of the small-scale farmers being
made to participate in this programme. As small-scale farmers
participate, we find that it is quite empowering to them. The
late Prof Karaan from Stellenbosch had said that:
Agriculture has the potential to create a million jobs. I
do believe that we can unleash that potential and create
even more than a million jobs for food security and a
number of other purposes.
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The Presidential Stimulus Programme includes the artists,
musicians and film producers. Minister Mthethwa will talk
about that when he presents his Budget Vote. These are the
people who have received grant funding to continue their work
as well as the museums and cultural institutions that have
been saved from closure. It includes the many thousands of
people who have been employed to build and maintain rural
roads. Hon Xivambu, said that we are talking about pavements.
I want to take you around the many areas in our country where
rural roads are being paved, not only where I went in Limpopo.
We now want to move to the industrialization aspect where the
bricks are made right in the villages where our people live
... [Applause.] ... so that they can pave their own areas. If
you fly around the country and see the mud roads in our
country, you will have the belief that as we pave our roads,
we are not paving pavements but roads which will enable our
people to walk and to drive on. This is an enabling process
and it enables our people to take their products and services
to the markets. It also includes the young people whom we are
helping to access opportunities through the Presidential Youth
Employment Intervention. We have implemented these programmes
and continue to do so.
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What gives me pride about these programmes is that they were
done within a short space of time right across the country. As
they were being done, there were no middle people - men and
women. There was no corruption in the implementation of these
programmes. They have impacted on the lives of those that were
targeted for these programmes. Much as we face severe fiscal
constraints, because of the challenges that we have, these
programmes are making an impact and are also yielding economic
value for those who participate in them.
If we had more resources available, we would scale up all
these initiatives and we would be able to reach more
unemployed people. What we would prefer to see, is seeing less
unemployed people but more people productively involved and
participating in economic activities in our country either
through programmes in the public sector or programmes in the
private sector. Through these and other measures, we are
supporting the dreams of millions of young people and even in
the most difficult of conditions, finding opportunities for
them to succeed and to be economically active.
It is worth noting that this programme is being co-ordinated
from The Presidency, bringing together 14 government
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departments to implement the largest and fastest expansion of
public employment in our country’s history where we have
gotten rid of silo working mentality, where departments work
together being properly and co-ordinated effectively, yes, at
the centre of government which happens to be The Presidency.
[Applause.] This is not the work of a bloated Presidency. It
is not a parallel state that some people say it’s being set
up. It is a Presidency that is at work to drive a coherent and
effective programme of action across government. [Applause.]
This is a government elected by the people, for the people and
which carries the trust of the people of our country. This is
a government that remains united around a common goal and
programme of action and that will not be deflected or diverted
from its course because of statements like it is a bloated
Presidency.
I preside over a Cabinet of Ministers that are committed to
their responsibilities, Ministers in whom I have the greatest
of confidence as President. [Applause.] More importantly ... I
will wait until you want to listen ... [Interjections.] ... in
whom the people of our country also have confidence and the
highest expectations. [Applause.]
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Hon members, leaving no one behind, means - this time around
we mean it when we say leaving no one behind -
[Interjections.] ... it means expanding social protection to
reach those who are in need. Whilst we have focused in this
Sona on growth and employment, millions of South Africans face
the immediate challenge of feeding themselves and their
families. It is estimated that food poverty affects some
5,5 million households. Without monthly grants for children,
the elderly and persons with disabilities, many South Africans
would face destitution.
We know that grants have provided an effective system for
income redistribution and poverty alleviation in a society
with unacceptable levels of inequality and unemployment. Given
the scale of unemployment and the impact of the pandemic, the
interventions we are undertaking to create jobs will take many
years to reach the 11 million South Africans who are
unemployed.
We are as we have said extending the R350 Social Relief of
Distress Grant for another year precisely to reach those
people who are unemployed and to stave off hunger. We are
doing this within a fiscal environment that has been badly
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worsened by the pandemic. We do need to do so while making
sure that we do not further weaken our macroeconomic position
and that we do not allow our debt service costs to further
crowd out social spending. The Minister of Finance will
elaborate on this when he presents his Budget, next week. He
will paint the full picture of what servicing our debt does to
our budget and what we need to do. He will outline all that so
that we all gain a better appreciation. Some would suggest
that it doesn’t matter; borrow more money. Some would even say
it doesn’t matter even if our debt servicing costs keep
burgeoning and going up. We seek to be prudent. The Minister
of Finance will be presenting all these in his Budget, next
week.
As a country, we nevertheless, need to fill the gap in social
protection to achieve a minimum level of support for those who
cannot find work. Finding a sustainable, affordable and
effective solution must be one of the central pillars of the
renewed social compact that we have undertaken to build. It is
this that the social partners are going to deal with. What do
we do with the 11 million people who are currently out of work
and look at the extent to which we can create jobs that will
absorb those people?
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There are several other aspects of social protection that are
receiving attention. This includes strengthening our child
protection services in areas such as adoption, foster care,
and the protection of the rights of children. We have
programmes, for example, Risiha Programme, is a community-
based programme to protect orphans and vulnerable children,
including those living in child-headed households, and those
living and working on the streets. This is all part of our
efforts to develop a comprehensive social protection system
that in the end leaves no one behind.
Leaving no one behind, means improving the quality of our
education system as well. To achieve the transformation of our
economy in the long run, we must improve our education
outcomes. It starts with early childhood development, ECD. The
Presidential Employment Stimulus has provided support to close
to 60 000 early childhood practitioners that were affected by
the pandemic. With the transfer of responsibility for the ECD
into the Department of Basic Education, we are now better able
to manage the transition from early childhood development into
pre-school and into schooling.
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There is significant work under way to strengthen Basic
Education through addressing the school infrastructure
backlog, which Minister Motshekga will speak about in her
Budget Vote. We are also focusing on the training and
equipping teachers to promote early grade reading, and
bringing new teachers into the system through the Funza
Lushaka Programme.
The appointment of over half a million young people as
education assistants in over 22 000 schools around the country
has been welcomed by teachers, school management and parents
as a valuable contribution to the quality of learning and
teaching. We have been able to do this just within the past
year. We will be continuing this programme into the next phase
of the Presidential Employment Stimulus.
The expansion of access to Higher Education is a great
achievement that will benefit the economy and our country for
many years to come. Together with the work being done to
strengthen Basic Education, the growth of post-school
education will ignite the skills revolution that we have so
often spoken about. Minister Nzimande will also speak about
that more when he presents his Budget Vote. Importantly, these
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skills revolution will have the greatest impact and children
from poor and working class families, helping to break the
cycle of poverty.
To ensure that skills training is linked directly to the
demand in the economy, we are pioneering a fundamentally
different approach to skills development for unemployed youth.
This approach links payment for training beyond the placement
of candidates in a job opportunity. The first phase will
provide training to up to 4 500 unemployed youth to secure
employment in the digital and tech sector with funding from
the National Skills Fund, the Sector Education and Training
Authorities, SETAs, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s
Labour Activation Programme.
By addressing the educational needs of children and young
people at every point in their development, and by helping
them to transition from learning to earning, we are working to
ensure that we leave no young person behind because we are
committed that no one must be left behind. [Applause.]
Across the world, the pandemic has severely damaged economies,
undermined livelihoods and set back human development by many
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years. The experience of the last two years underscores the
need to ensure that all South Africans have access to quality
health care regardless of their ability to pay. The massive
inequality in access to quality health care is one of the
greatest constraints on social and economic progress. The
COVID-19 pandemic has required the diversion of significant
health resources. As a result, we have not paid sufficient
attention to other public health crises affecting our people.
We are still in the midst of the Aids pandemic. Our country
has the largest number of people living with HIV in the world.
We are far behind other countries in achieving our testing and
treatment targets. We must and will accelerate the
implementation of this programme to save lives.
Just as we drew on the experience of our HIV programme to
respond to COVID-19, we can now draw on our experience of
managing COVID-19 to strengthen our HIV response. In the same
way that South Africans have had to adopt safe hygiene
practices to prevent COVID-19 infection, we must encourage
similar discipline in pursuing healthy lifestyles to minimize
the prevalence of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension
as well.
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In advancing the health and the wellbeing of South Africans,
we must do everything we can to ensure once again that that no
one is left behind. Every person in this country has a right
to be safe and feel safe. The murder and rape of women by men,
the children killed in the crossfire of gang wars, the theft
of cables and other infrastructure, the intimidation and
extortion at construction sites are a daily reminder of our
far removed goal to achieve a better life for our people. Yet,
despite the scale of the challenge, we are taking real and
practical measures across a range of fronts, yes, to respond
to crime, violence and instability.
Working with partners in civil society and other communities
across the country, we are confronting gender-based violence
and femicide. We are confronting the attitudes and practices
that demean and disempower the women of our country. We are
strengthening the legal protections that women and children
have, we are improving support to victims and we are working
to ensure that perpetrators in the end do see justice.
Due to the legislation that this government introduced and
which this Parliament passed, a woman can now apply for a
protection order online and does not have to face her abuser
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... [Applause.] ... a child is now able to testify via CCTV in
one of the new Sexual Offences Courts, a victim can be
confident that they will find an evidence kit at a police
station, a suspect will find it harder to get bail.
[Interjections.]
We are strengthening our police service, tackling corruption
within its ranks, setting up specialized multidisciplinary
teams to tackle specific types of crime against our people and
our economy.
The report of the expert panel into the July unrest is
damning. But it also provides critical insights and makes
important recommendations that we will use to strengthen our
entire approach to the security and stability in our country.
[Applause.]
By the same measure, we expect that the report of the State
Capture Commission will make far-reaching recommendations that
will empower us to take those steps necessary to prevent and
act against corruption. In regard, we would like all of us to
work together; this Parliament in unison with the executive
should be able to join hands so that we tackle corruption in a
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more effective way. [Applause.] This is not a government that
seeks to hide problems. We expose them and we work to fix them
and we work to fix them. [Interjections.]
Our principled commitment to equality and justice extends
beyond our borders. Through all our international engagements,
in our relations with other countries and in our participation
in international fora, we continue to work for a more just and
equitable global order. We continue to advance the interests
and needs of poorer countries, particularly on the African
continent, and ensure that they are properly represented in
all multilateral institutions.
We continue to work with our neighbours to promote peace,
stability and development. That is why we are supporting the
Southern African Development Community’s efforts to deal with
the insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province and
ongoing assistance to Eswatini and Lesotho to resolve
political challenges that they are facing. We cannot accept
that there are still people in the 21st century that continue
to languish under colonial occupation. Our support for the
self-determination of the peoples of Palestine and Western
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Sahara remains ... [Applause.] ... a central pillar of our
work towards a just, equal and peaceful world order.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important it is
that no country, no community and no person is left behind in
the drive for vaccines, treatment and care.
Through the positions that we occupy in the African Union, AU,
and on international bodies, we have consistently fought for
developing economies to receive financial assistance to
respond to, and recover from this pandemic. We will be caring
this message across once again as the African Union when the
AU meets tomorrow and day after tomorrow in Europe, where I
will be travelling to. [Applause.]
We have consistently fought for equity in access to vaccines,
and through our efforts, we have secured over 500 million
vaccine doses for the African continent. [Applause.] We, as
South Africa, have also donated vaccines to some of our
African sister countries. [Applause.]
Despite these achievements, there is much more that needs to
be done to ensure that the global recovery is inclusive and
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equitable. At the G20, we have advocated for the
redistribution of newly issued global reserves, known as
special drawing rights, towards our continent.
There is much more that needs to be done to ensure that
wealthy countries honour their commitments to support the
actions of developing economies to respond to the effects of
climate change.
There is much more that needs to be done to reform the United
Nations and to democratize other global institutions. If, as a
global community, we are committed to ensuring that no one is
left behind, these are the urgent tasks that we need to
undertake.
Hon members and fellow South Africans, this debate has
unfolded at a time and in a place of great significance. It
was from the balcony of this building that the father of our
democracy and our nation, Nelson Mandela, addressed a jubilant
crowd after his release from prison on 11th February 1990. The
crowd which gathered on the Grand Parade could not have known
the events that would follow, but they knew one thing: that,
we, as the people, would prevail.
As we confront another turning point in our history, we must draw on the same spirit, courage and determination. Twenty-five years ago, this month, our democratic Constitution came into effect.
As we look to the year ahead, we are reminded of our solemn responsibility as the representatives of the people of this country gathered here to heal the divisions of the past and to establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. We need to work together despite our many differences to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person. We must remember that it is possible to stifle a country with cynicism, and it is possible to inspire a country with hope.
Going forward, our task is clear. We must build a new consensus to revive our economy and renew the promise of our country, and we must leave no one behind. Let us be the merchants of hope, let us be the merchants of confidence and let us go out and spread hope and confidence amongst our
people instead of cynicism. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you very much, at
this point, I take the opportunity to thank the hon President for his address and response. That, hon members, concludes the
debate on the state of the nation address and the business for the day.
The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces adjourned
the Joint Sitting at 15:18.
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