National Assembly - 17 September 2009
THURSDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2009 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:01.
House Chairperson Mr K O Bapela took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mrs S P KOPANE: Mr Chairperson, I give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates the devastating effect of the breakdown of traditional family and other social support structures as a result of the HIV and Aids pandemic, and possible solutions to the problems faced by the growing number of child-headed households in our communities.
Mr K B MANAMELA: Mr Chairperson, I give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC: That the House debates the current global crisis as an opportunity in the search of a just, humane and equitable world order – a world with greater security, peace dialogue and better equilibrium among all nations of the world.
Mr S J MASANGO: Mr Chairperson, I give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates the Expanded Public Works Programme and its effect on eradicating poverty, as it was initially intended to.
Mr M WATERS: Mr Chairperson, I give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House debates the logistical problems and personnel shortages hampering the roll-out of ARVs to people living with HIV and Aids, and possible solutions to ensure that the target set by the President is met.
SOUTH AFRICAN DAVIS CUP TENNIS TEAM PLAYING IMPORTANT TIE AGAINST INDIA
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Chairman, I move without notice: That the House –
(1) notes that the South African Davis Cup tennis team is playing an all- important tie against India this weekend in Bloemfontein;
(2) further notes the importance of this tie, as a victory would mean that South Africa will be able to rejoin the top 16 countries in the World Group;
(3) acknowledges the hard work and dedication of team captain John-Laffnie de Jager, team members Rik de Voest, Kevin Anderson, Izak van der Merwe, and Raven Klaasen, supported by the experienced Wesley Moodie, and Jeff Coetzee in building up this squad;
(4) trusts that they will do us proud, and put us back up in the ranks where we belong;
(5) wishes them the best of luck; and
(6) assures them of our undivided support.
Agreed to.
ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Mr Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that from Tuesday, 22 September 2009, our country will be hosting the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time since its inception in 1998;
(2) further notes that the ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament, and the Mini World Cup, as is popularly known, is the second biggest tournament after the “Cricket World Cup”;
(3) recalls that sport is an integral part of reconstructing and developing a healthier society;
(4) believes that youth cricket is all about enhanced fitness, team work and personal responsibility and that these are some of the qualities necessary for the challenging life;
(5) further believes that the hosting of the tournament demonstrates the confidence the world community has in our country’s ability to host major international events; (6) extends its best wishes to the organising team, the participating teams and the ICC leadership; and
(7) wishes our team, the Proteas, the best of luck in the tournament.
Agreed to.
LAUNCH OF SOUTH AFRICAN SATELLITE SUMBANDILA
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Mr Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that today, Thursday, 17 September 2009, the South African satellite known as Sumbandila is expected to lift into space on a Russian Soyaz Rocket in Kazakhstan at 17:55 South African time;
(2) further notes that, Sumbandila is the second satellite launched by South Africans, after SunSat 1, a modest satellite built by students and lecturers at Stellenbosch University in 1999; (3) acknowledges that the 81kg microsatellite, measuring 1m by 0,5m, is the product of a three-year satellite development programme commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology and implemented by Stellenbosch University’s engineering faculty;
(4) believes that the data to be collected by the satellite will play a meaningful role in monitoring sea and land temperatures, clouds and rainfall, winds, sea levels, ice cover, vegetation cover and gases;
(5) further believes that the data collected will be helpful in the management of natural disasters such as floods and fires; and
(6) thanks SunSpace and Information Systems, the University of Stellenbosch and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Satellite Application Centre and others who contributed to making this project a success.
Agreed to.
GANG-RELATED VIOLENCE IN MITCHELLS PLAIN
(Member’s Statement)
Mr G LEKGETHO (ANC): Chairperson, a 47-year-old father of three children, confined to a wheelchair, was carelessly killed by thugs in an area affected by drugs and gangs of Mitchells Plain just before midnight last Friday. This hero of Cape Town paid the ultimate price of his life when he left his wife Cheryl, family and house to voluntarily guard Lariat and Tallyho Streets in his suburb of Westridge.
Mr Vincent Naidoo was an executive member of his street committee in the Mitchells Plain community policing forum. Five months ago he started voluntarily to guard the area against gang and drug-related activities. Mr Naidoo and other residents were at a bonfire when thugs started wildly shooting at them. Mr Naidoo was killed, and Michelle Gurling and Hassiem Jansen were wounded.
The ANC hails Mr Naidoo, the wounded and all the people who have sacrificed with their lives and who have sacrificed their personal time to curb criminality. We hope his loved ones and the community will be consoled in the knowledge that Mr Naidoo served his people and the country to the full. We also bid the wounded a speedy recovery. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION OF NEW-GENERATION PRISONS
(Member’s Statement) Mr J SELFE (DA): Chairperson, in his state of the nation addresses in 2005 and again in 2006, the then President, Thabo Mbeki, announced that eight new-generation prisons would be constructed to alleviate overcrowding and to provide the Department of Correctional Services with a better opportunity to correct offending behaviour and to rehabilitate offenders. Four years and seven months after the first announcement only one new- generation prison is nearing completion and that one has been delayed by one and a half years.
The prison construction saga has been a chapter of mismanagement. Prison specifications and plans were drawn up and then withdrawn; money was appropriated for their construction and then returned to the Treasury; sites were identified and then abandoned; site works for the Nigel and Leeuwkop facilities were commenced and then discontinued.
In 2007, the then Minister of Correctional Services, Ngconde Balfour, announced that prisons would be constructed and run by the private sector by way of a public-private partnership. Shortly after taking office, the current Minister announced that she was reviewing this decision in order to establish whether we would get “value for money”. This, after the Treasury had already established that public-private partnerships were the most cost- effective option and after a number of consortia had already submitted tenders for the business at considerable cost.
We, in the committee, heard yesterday that 19 correctional centres accommodate in excess of double the number of inmates they were designed for. We need to get on with the construction of these prisons as a matter of urgency. To delay or, worse still, to abandon this process will irreparably damage the credibility of government. We have wasted enough time and money already. A decision to go ahead must be made and made fast. [Applause.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Chairman, I rise on a point of order. This is a problem that is going to develop. Unless we stop it immediately, it is going to get worse. We are here to make statements to the House, to which Ministers are supposed to respond. Yet when I look across to the benches where the Ministers are supposed to be sitting, I see a swathe of blank spaces. If we are going to have meaningful debate in this House, then these benches need to be filled. I would think, Mr Chairman, that you would take this back to the presiding officers so that they enforce the authority of this House and make sure that Ministers are in this House at the appropriate time. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, member. Order! I have already made the observation that statements are made and quite a number of executive members are not in the House. We’ll indeed take up the matter with the Speaker and follow it up with the Leader of Government Business.
ANTIRETROVIRAL AVAILABILITY IN FREE STATE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr D A KGANARE (Cope): Chairman, recently I stood up in this House to express my deep concern and anxiety about the lack of certain medicines in Free State public hospitals and clinics. If the President had been in this House then, he would have certainly shared my concern. It has not been so with members of his party on the other side who hackled me instead of supporting me. Worse still, the hon Minister in the Presidency: National Planning Commission, rising in response, declared to the House that what I had said was old news. Unfortunately, the situation today is as I had depicted it then.
The crisis started a while ago, but nevertheless remains an unresolved crisis even now. The ARVs that were unavailable last year still remain unavailable to queues of patients today. People who may have continued to live are now going to die because of an administration that has gotten its priorities wrong. It is immoral for the province to be spending R25 million on Letlaka Communications to bring out a weekly newspaper to sing only the praises of the premier and some of his MECs.
Furthermore, the province has allocated R45 million to the Mangaung African Cultural Festival – Macufe - and this vast amount of money will be jived away by the end of this month. Do people’s lives count for nothing? Is self- promotion and self-gratification more important to the elite in the ruling alliance than meeting the most urgent and dire needs of the people.
There is a clear moral choice to be made between what is nice to have and what must be had and between spending on jiving and surviving. Macufe must … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): The Chief Whips should have informed you that you only have two minutes to make a statement. Oh, it is one and half minutes, not even two minutes.
SERVICE DELIVERY
(Member’s Statement)
Ms M F TLAKE (ANC): Chairperson, service delivery and bringing facilities and services to the areas where people reside is at the core of the ANC-led government programme for the next five years. Once more, the ANC-led government is upholding the values of respect and the protection of human rights in order to give effect to the spirit and letter of the Constitution.
On 28 August 2009, at Botshabelo Stadium in the Free State, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Jeff Radebe, designated all magistrate courts as equality courts in order for them to be used as tools for gender transformation and a means to redress gender-based violence, the protection of victims of such violence and all other practices including traditional, customary and religious practices that impair the dignity of women, undermine equality between women and men as well as the dignity of the girl-child.
We call on all South Africans, including ourselves and the courts, to educate our constituencies about this Equality Act by raising public awareness so as to enhance understanding and public participation in order to enforce the principle, “Working together we can do more.” I thank you. [Applause.]
VIOLENCE IN TAXI INDUSTRY
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs C N Z ZIKALALA (IFP): Hon Chairperson, violence in the taxi industry has been a problem for some time now. We often read or hear about taxi bosses being murdered, and this trend seems to be continuing with no end in sight.
In Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in particular there seems to be numerous assassinations or assassination attempts on the lives of taxi owners, many of whom are in positions of leadership. In one of the most recent incidents, Bhekokwakhe Shezi, who was the vice-chairman of the MNR Taxi Association in Umlazi, was gunned down at his home in Montclair. His young daughter had to scream for help while he lay bleeding in the driveway.
The taxi industry is a crucial part of our transport system as millions of South Africans make use of this mode of transport daily. We cannot allow these assassinations to continue.
The IFP believes that the SA Police Service must set up a unit which is dedicated to rooting out violence in this industry. Competition must be free and fair without any intimidation or violence. We must clean up this industry …
… kuphele izinkabi Sihlalo [Ihlombe.]. Abantu abahlalela ukukhokhelwa ukuyobulala abanye abantu abanikwa igama esingalazi ukuthi laqhamukaphi elithi izinkabi. [… and do away with hitmen, Chairperson [Applause.]. People who get paid for killing other people have been given the name izinkabi and we do not know its origin.]
SMART-CARD ID TENDER DELAY
(Member’s Statement)
Mr J J MCGLUWA (ID): Chairperson, the ID calls upon Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to release the forensic audit report on the tender process surrounding the company that was initially awarded the State Information Technology Agency tender for the smart-card ID, as a matter of urgency.
The Minister gave a very confusing response to a question I asked for written reply surrounding the 14-month delay. The Minister said:
In the ensuing tender process, the department was advised by the State Information Technology Agency in April 2009 that the forensic audit of the tender process was being carried out to investigate the apparent irregularities.
However, she then explained that although the department had, by the end of August this year, still not been advised of the outcome of the forensic audit, the department had already decided to cancel the tender. This begs the question: What circumstances informed the cancellation of the deal?
Our people remain in the dark not only about the endless delays, but also about why the department is dragging its feet over a plan which R114 million was allocated to last year for this project.
We would like to know whether the Minister has received the forensic audit report, and, if so, when is she going to present it to Parliament and to South Africa? I thank you.
DIMBAZA BUS ACCIDENT
(Member’s Statement)
Mr J M MATSHOBA (ANC): Chairperson, it is with deep sadness that we note the tragic deaths of 10 people at Dimbaza on Saturday, 12 September, when their bus returning from Keiskammahoek to King William’s Town overturned.
The ANC wishes to express its gratitude to the emergency services for their swift response in attending to the injured. We wish those who were injured a speedy recovery. We urge the Department of Transport and the SA Police Service to investigate this tragedy without delay. We also acknowledge the efforts by our government to prevent the increasing carnage on our roads.
We further wish to urge public transport operators to heed the appeal made to them by the Minister of Transport, “to exercise extreme caution as we cannot continue putting the lives of innocent commuters at risk”.
On behalf of the ANC, I wish to extend sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. May they find comfort in prayer, and may the memory of their loved ones give them strength. Thank you. [Applause.]
SUMBANDILA MICROSATELLITE LAUNCH
(Member’s Statement)
Ms M S MANGENA (Azapo): Chairperson, South Africans, particularly those directly involved in the science and technology environment, have been holding their breath in the past two days praying for the successful launch of the Sumbandila microsatellite by a Russian rocket, as the Deputy Chief Whip indicated in his motion. The launch has been postponed twice in as many days due to technical hitches and adverse weather conditions in that part of the world. It is now hoped that Sumbandila will be launched today.
This 81kg microsatellite is a product of South African knowledge, skill and technological expertise. It was built by SunSpace, a company based in Stellenbosch, on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology.
The construction and launch of this satellite is one building block in the creation of a South African national space agency. Our country already has the capability to track and control satellites, as well as to download information and imagery provided by satellites. Thus far, we have been doing it for other nations or downloading data we have bought from satellites owned by others.
Our ability to plan towns and settlements better, monitor our agriculture and crop yields, communicate electronically, navigate the seas better, monitor our forests, manage national disasters and our environment, and fight crime will grow in tandem with the growth of our prowess in space science and technology.
Although our fingers are already sore and numb from being crossed for so long, we still keep them firmly crossed for the successful launch of Sumbandila tonight. We are all saying: “Sumbandila, fly!” [Time expired.] [Applause.]
OVERCROWDED PRISONS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms H N MAKHUBA (IFP): Hon Chairperson, our Correctional Services is plagued with many problems, one of which is overcrowding. South African prisons are notoriously overcrowded and are seen as a breeding ground for criminality. This is an unsustainable situation which must be remedied if various social and other objectives are to be reached.
The IFP therefore welcomes comments made by the Correctional Services Chief Deputy Commissioner of Security that overcrowding has been reduced from about 164% in 2004 to 142% this year. This is a step in the right direction, but much more still needs to be done as, while the situation has improved, overcrowding is still a major problem.
The IFP will therefore closely monitor the situation, especially the creation of additional capacity and progress being made with regard to the various completion dates, as highlighted by the deputy commissioner. As long as prisons are overcrowded, the rehabilitation of prisoners and other objectives will not be successful. I thank you.
EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs J C MOLOI-MOROPA (ANC): Chairperson, the ANC firmly believes that the emancipation of women is not an act of charity, nor is it the result of a humanitarian or compassionate attitude. The liberation of women is a fundamental necessity for the national democratic revolution, a guarantee of its continuity and a precondition for its victory.
The women of our country have conducted a struggle for the emancipation of women guided by the objective to defeat an unjust system that brought untold suffering to every African family. They have pursued the national liberation and gender struggles fully conscious of the fact that these are integral parts of the struggle to abolish all forms of oppression and exploitation.
In embracing the objective of the creation of a nonsexist society in our Constitution, the ANC ensured that in totality the people of our country commit themselves to the goal of gender equality. For this reason, we welcome the decision of the national executive committee to appoint Ruth Kgomotso Magau to be among its members. We congratulate her and wish her well in this new assignment. Thank you. [Applause.]
CALL FOR RELEASE OF GREEN DROP CERTIFICATION REPORT ON SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS IN SOUTH AFRICA
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs A T LOVEMORE (DA): Chairperson, the Green Drop Certification Programme is intended to measure the efficacy of South Africa’s sewage treatment works. It was launched late last year by the then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. We read every week of failures of our sewage treatment works. We read of raw sewage entering rivers that are choked with water hyacinth and potentially toxic algal blooms. We read of the death of rural residents, apparently after drinking water from contaminated rivers. We read of young animals in our famed Kruger National Park being at threat through exposure to faecal-contaminated river water.
The DA has visited numerous sewage treatment works over the past few months and has been alarmed to see the level of dysfunctionality in places like Umtata and Port St Johns. We have not, however, yet seen the Green Drop Report, which has apparently been an internal document for some months now. The DA has been told, off the record, that there is no good news in this Green Drop Report. We have been told that only 32 of South Africa’s sewage treatment works have been able to comply with the criteria for Green Drop certification, with 10 of those plants being in the Western Cape. These figures, if they are correct, are startling.
The South African public is entitled to transparency. It is entitled to know the threats with which it is faced and, more importantly, it is entitled to know exactly what action is being and will be taken to address these threats. The DA has raised numerous questions in this regard with no reply to most and has publicly called for the release of the Green Drop Report by the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, and we hereby reiterate that call. [Applause.]
INTERRUPTION OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TO SCHOOLS IN TSHWANE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr W M MADISHA (Cope): Chairperson, Cope calls on the Minister for Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as the Ministers of Basic Education and Public Works to intervene urgently to resolve the unfortunate interruption of the electricity supply to public schools in the Tshwane Metro Council area during a period when learners were writing their examinations.
Apparently, the electricity cuts are the result of nonpayment of property tax by the Department of Public Works. In some cases, the property arrears amount to hundreds of thousands of rand. The Tshwane Metro Council has reportedly entered into an agreement with the Department of Public Works to pay the arrear amounts on property tax by 1 August this year, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been done. We call on the relevant Ministers to stop the blame game and to accept accountability to resolve this serious problem as a matter of urgency.
Government is failing school-going children. Schools need all the support they can get from government to ensure that children are able to write their exams without these additional frustrations and unacceptable disruptions. And, while I have the floor, I would like to emphasise that we are not happy with the absence of Ministers and we hope that the Speaker will indeed look into this. Thank you. [Interjections.] TRANSNET’S EXCEPTIONAL PERFOMANCE
(Member’s Statement)
Dr G W KOORNHOF (ANC): Chairperson, against the background of the current worldwide economic downturn, one of the leading South African state-owned entities, Transnet, has been performing exceptionally well.
During the past financial year of 2008-09, Transnet has managed to keep their budget targets to produce a strong balance sheet, receive a clean audit report, successfully succeed in growing their core business, and reduce the cost of doing business in South Africa through the provision of port, rail and pipeline infrastructure.
Transnet is a shining example that it is possible to grow your business under difficult economic circumstances. This state-owned entity is under good management and is providing value for money to its shareholder, the South African government, in the roll-out of infrastructure development.
Transnet is continuing to dispose of their non-core assets in a responsible manner, which enables management to focus on the core operations of Transnet: strengthening the balance sheet of the entity further. In his 2009 state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma highlighted the importance of the performance of state-owned entities when he said: “We will also involve state-owned entities in the government planning processes and improve the monitoring and evaluation of their performance.”
We congratulate Transnet, including management, all workers and stakeholders, on their good financial performance during the past financial year. May they continue to grow in performing exceptionally well in their core business: creating a better life for all our people. Together we can do more. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Is that a point of order?
Mr P D DEXTER: Chairperson, yes. I would like to know whether the hon member is related to another Koornhof in this House, because they bear such a distinct … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): That is not a point of order, hon member.
Mr P D DEXTER: I’m sure it is a point of order, Chair.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): To us that is a relationship of an hon member. That’s not a point of order.
FREE STATE FARMER OF THE YEAR ORDERED TO VACATE FARM
(Member’s Statement)
Mr P J C PRETORIUS (DA): Mr Chairman, according to media reports, the Free State Female Farmer of the year for 2008, Ms Kero Kgobe, has been ordered by the High Court to vacate the farm Vergezocht, which she has been renting from the state. But she refuses to do so and now apparently lives in a vehicle on the farm.
According to reports, she was also found guilty in the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court in April 2009 for shooting two gemsbok illegally on a farm with an AK47.
The once-flourishing farm was sold to the state in 2007 for R8 million and Kgobe became the first farmer to rent it from the state. Today the farm is in shambles, with only a handful of cattle, sheep and pigs remaining. In addition to this, allegations have surfaced that she has been illegally operating a shebeen on the farm.
These shocking allegations indicate that there is no follow-up assistance and support from government for emerging farmers once farms have been awarded. Had government provided the necessary support and guidance, these disastrous circumstances involving an award-winning emerging farmer would not have developed.
There are many other emerging farmers faced with similar problems. The question remains whether, despite these allegations, Ms Kgobe could have made a success of the farm. But as a result of inadequate support and guidance, she is now faced with criminal charges. Why did the provincial government not anticipate these problems arising? What criteria were used to determine the winner? What form of support, guidance and mentorship does the government extend to emerging farmers? The government should account for that. I thank you. [Applause.]
GRADUATION OF 2 062 STUDENT NURSES IN KWAZULU-NATAL
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs T M A GASEBONWE (ANC): Chairperson, on behalf of the ANC, it is with great pleasure and pride that I extend our congratulations to the 2 062 student nurses in KwaZulu-Natal, who graduated on 15 September and 16 September this year after successfully completing their studies. This is indeed a reflection of the progress we need to make in our struggle to provide health care to our people and to advance towards a better life for all. The ANC trusts that these graduates will serve the people selflessly and help to build the caring society we desire.
The ANC government will continue to work to reduce inequality in our health care system, to improve health care in public facilities, to boost our human resources and to step up the fight against HIV and Aids and other diseases. I thank you. [Applause.]
SMART-CARD ID TENDER DELAY
(Minister’s Response)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: Chair, this is in response to the hon member who spoke about the forensic audit regarding the smart identity card. As you know, hon member, the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, is under the Department of Public Service and Administration. Naturally, if the Sita does a forensic audit, the report will be submitted to the relevant Minister.
In that regard, our Minister has not been furnished with the report. So, no matter how much we try to force her to release the report, she doesn’t have it. The decision that we took in requesting the National Treasury to take over this process arose from the concern that the mere fact that a forensic report had been commissioned meant that there were problems.
To pre-empt whatever problems there may be, we made a request to the National Treasury to take over this process to safeguard its integrity. When the report is ready, it will be made available. In the meanwhile, the National Treasury has been requested to take over the process to safeguard its integrity, so that we can move on with the smart ID card. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon Deputy Minister. Are there any more ministerial responses?
Hon members, I know you have raised the issue, and we will follow it up with the Minister. [Interjection.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Chairperson, I rise on a point of order. The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform is in the House, and one of our members, the hon Pretorius, raised a question directly related to his portfolio. I would like the Minister to respond. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Minister, do you want to respond?
The MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM: Hon Chair, I didn’t regard that question as having been referred to us; I thought it referred to agriculture. But the hon member may repeat the question and I will look at it, and then take it to my colleague. Thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon members, you have expressed a view and an opinion of the situation we see in the House now - that Ministers are not here. And I think we have agreed that we will refer the matter to the Speaker. Yes, this is not a good reflection on our working democracy. Also, this is not very good for Parliament’s image, integrity and standing in society. [Applause.] So, let’s just leave it at that for now until the Speaker takes up the matter up with the Leader of Government Business. [Applause.]
CELEBRATING OUR TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE FOR SOCIAL
COHESION
(Debate on Heritage Day)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon House Chair and hon members, our material heritage which is tangible, and our immaterial heritage which is intangible are embedded in the earthly and spiritual world respectively. The spiritual and earthly realms are, however, each other’s image. This reality is embodied in the maxim “As above, so below”.
In other words, if we know ourselves and our environment we can know and respect the origins and nature of the spiritual or intangible reality that informs our spiritual and material existence. This is important because self-knowledge is a key requirement for holistic, - that is, spiritual and material - human development.
The underdevelopment of black people and Africans in particular resulted, first and foremost, from the forcible deprivation of their intangible heritage, land and the natural resources from which they derived sustenance from time immemorial.
Heritage month is a time of renewal or rebirth of our identity and values, and a rededication to what makes us human. It is a time to recover our humanity and its values and principles of equality, freedom and justice for all. September is described as Heritage Month, because it offers us the opportunity to understand our origins, identity and interrelationships between our spiritual and material existence.
It also assists us to understand the critical importance of social cohesion and nation-building, and rural development and agrarian land reform as priorities for the current term of President Jacob Zuma’s administration. This strategic priority affords us an opportunity to restore our indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development. Hon House Chair, it is so noisy that I cannot continue.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon members, order please!
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: The founders of our democracy understood their spirituality and its relationship with the land and therefore waged protracted struggles to defend both. Even today we still have sacred spaces which require protection, for example the Motoulong and Makhakha caves in the Free State.
Our icon, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, traces the relationship between the ANC and the church back to the 1870s, when the Ethiopian Church Movement was formed as a response to the rapid land dispossession from the 1800s. The African clergy sought to free themselves from the fetters of the missionaries by establishing African independent churches that came to be known as Ethiopian churches.
The role that the missionaries played in the accelerated African land dispossession of the late 19th century called for a response from the African people in general and from African spiritual and religious leaders in particular. The response took a political form, on the one hand, and a spiritual form, on the other.
On the spiritual side, the response was sparked by racially discriminatory practices and the suppression of the African cultural heritage in the missionary churches. This led to the secession of the African clergy from missionary churches and the founding of the Ethiopian churches. The first breakaways were that of Nehemiah Tile, who founded the Thembu National Church in 1884. The most notable breakaway was that of Mangena Mokone, called the Ethiopian Church of Africa, which was founded in Marabastad, Pretoria, in 1892.
The Ethiopian movement was both a spiritual and a political movement. Though its fundamental basis was the African interpretation of the scriptures, it went well beyond the churches it had helped produce.
The fundamental tenets of the Ethiopian movement were self-worth, self- reliance and freedom. African people were forcibly deprived of these values by colonialism and cultural imperialism. Thus, the wars of resistance and later the struggles for freedom included the struggle for the recovery of the African humanity and its inherent values of self-worth, self-reliance, self-help and a sense of development and progress.
These tenets therefore drew the Ethiopian Christians like a magnet to the growing Pan-African nationalism of the early 20th century. This Pan-African movement was to produce provincial native congresses, which culminated in the formation of the South African Native National Congress in 1912, renamed the African National Congress in 1923. It is in this sense that our icon, Nelson Mandela, traces the seeds of the formation of the ANC to the Ethiopian movement of the 1890s.
The Ethiopian Christians fought alongside traditional communities during the Bambatha Rebellion, which marked the end of the wars of resistance and the birth of liberation politics.
In his speech to the Free Ethiopian Church of Southern Africa in Potchefstroom on 14 December 1992, the honourable Nelson Mandela had this to say on heritage:
The centenary of the Ethiopian Church should have been celebrated throughout the length and breadth of our country, because it touches all the African people irrespective of their denomination or political outlook.
He went on to say that:
The Ethiopian Church is the only surviving institution that is in the hands of the African people. This is a remarkable feature for which we have to give credit to the leaders of this church throughout the difficult years of final dispossession of the people. Indeed, our people were not dispossessed only of their land and cattle, but also of their pride, their dignity and their institutions.
The honourable Nelson Mandela also appreciated the positive role that our religious heritage can play to advance social cohesion and nation-building.
In his lecture titled “Renewal and Renaissance: Towards a New World Order”, delivered at the Oxford Centre for Islamic studies on 11 July 1997, Mandela pointed out that religion could provide spiritual leadership in bringing about the social renewal of our continent and the world. He observed, quite correctly, that African history had also been profoundly shaped by the interplay between these three great religious traditions: Islam, Christianity and African religion. He went on to say that the way in which these great religions of Africa interacted and co-operated with one another, could have a profound bearing on the social space we create for the rebirth of our continent.
Last, but not least, Mandela observed that the relationship of Islam and Christianity to one another and of these two to African religion may be pertinent aspects of the African rebirth and renewal. He called on Muslims to harness the more inclusive strands in their own theological heritage in order to contribute to a more humane Africa, acknowledging the humanity of those traditions that are unique to the continent.
In this regard, Nelson Mandela observed:
As with other aspects of its heritage, African traditional religion is increasingly recognised for its contribution to the world. No longer seen as despised superstition which had to be superseded by superior forms of belief, today its enrichment of humanity’s spiritual heritage is acknowledged. The spirit of ubuntu, that profound African sense that we are human only through the humanity of other human beings, has added globally to our common search for a better world.
In conclusion, Mandela observed the strength of interfaith solidarity in action against apartheid, which enabled each religion to bring its best forward and place it at the service of all. He then challenged all the religions of the continent to walk a similar path in the reconstruction and renewal of our continent.
In the struggle for preservation and development of our natural heritage, African people were not only degraded and dehumanised, but were also forcibly deprived of their land and its resources, which formed the basis of their natural heritage. The convener of the founding conference of the ANC and an advocate of unity and co-operation, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, responded by buying farms in the Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga, to promote agriculture and ensure food security.
Seme’s initiative was so successful that the white farmers called on the union government to take away land from African people and prohibit them from buying farms.
This was achieved through the enactment of the Land Act of 1913, which only allocated 7% of the total land surface of South Africa to African people. This percentage was increased to 13% in 1936. African people were then forced into native reserves, which were too small and barren for agriculture and livestock.
The loss of land and its natural resources deprived Africans of skills in farming and indigenous knowledge systems and their underlying intangible heritage. This denied Africans the means for self-help, self-reliance and survival. Thus, Africans were forced to become mine, farm and domestic workers and to live in shacks and single-sex hostels.
The resulting inhumane situation sparked off popular struggles for the recovery of African humanity, national pride, identity, self-determination, human and people’s rights. Thus, the Ethiopian and Pan-African struggles of our forebears were intertwined.
No wonder that the founders of our democracy were both religious and political leaders. The founding president of the ANC, John Langalibalele Dube for instance, called for a spiritual, humane and prosperous Africa as early as 1892. In 1905, Seme not only echoed these values, but also called for a unique civilization for Africa and Africans. The third president of the ANC, Z R Mahabane, articulated what became the ANC moral vision in his 1921 speech titled: “We are not political children”.
Mahabane observed that African people were landless, voteless, homeless, hopeless, degraded and dehumanised by colonialism and cultural imperialism. He maintained that in such circumstances the ANC had to strive to restore the humanity of the African people as a prerequisite for the restoration of the humanity of the people of South Africa as a whole. Thus, the 1923 ANC national conference adopted the first bill of rights on the African continent, which reclaimed the African humanity and the participation of African people in the economy. This Bill was amplified by the 1943 Africans’ Claims and the 1955 Freedom Charter, which laid the foundation of a value-centred postapartheid society.
The Freedom Charter was adopted under the stewardship of Inkosi Albert Luthuli, a worker, a lay priest in the Congregational Church, and a cultural and traditional leader. Luthuli also reaffirmed the need for the unique African civilisation propounded by Seme.
The African national liberation struggles were informed by spiritual, cultural and material conditions, including land dispossession. Thus, the struggle for land started long before the founding of the Union of South Africa in 1910.
Ubuntu values and principles found their way into both the 1993 and the 1996 Constitutions. This prompted President Zuma to say that we wanted to build a society based on ubuntu values and principles. The strategy and tactics document, adopted at the Polokwane conference, mainstreamed the spiritual philosophy of ubuntu and its inherent values of human solidarity, equality, freedom and justice for all. It calls for the creation of a truly united, democratic and prosperous South Africa in which the value of all citizens is measured by their common humanity without regard to race, gender and social status.
On 23 September 2008, President Zuma delivered the Gert Sibande Memorial Lecture in Secunda where he asked the gathering to honour the memory of Gert Sibande, a revolutionary leader, by remembering that he was a rural activist who stood for the distribution of land to many rural people who were exploited by farmers.
Gert Sibande’s life, therefore, was about the fundamental changing of the socioeconomic relations between farmers and farmworkers. He stood for the redistribution of land to those who worked it.
In conclusion, the President stated that September, our Heritage Month, “… marks the beginning of Ramadan for the Muslim communities, the beginning of the New Year for Jewish and African communities. Many African indigenous churches, for example the Zion Christian Church in Moria, also celebrate their New Year in September.”
The President used his memorial lecture to congratulate all cultural and religious communities, which had been celebrating their festivals, and invited all South Africans, both black and white, to take part in Heritage Month celebrations. At the Presidential Religious Summit, held on 27 November 2008, President Zuma told the delegates that, I quote:
Nation-building and achieving social cohesion are some of the most important responsibilities of the ruling party. Central to the two tasks is the need to reaffirm and recommit to the moral vision and the value system of our nation, as outlined in various historical documents and the Constitution of the land. The ANC has always valued the interaction with faith communities because its history and moral vision are rooted in the religious sector.
We, therefore, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mcebisi Xundu on his election as President of the National Interfaith Leaders Council.
September marks the beginning of a new year rooted in the spirituality of many ancient nations, including those of Africans, which transcend race, class and gender. The African New Year, in particular, provides a home- grown framework for cultural and agricultural festivals which are necessary for inculcating moral, social and economic values in our children. The adoption and mainstreaming of the African and related calendars would realign our spiritual and material existence and make us a truly value- centred society.
We need new ways of celebrating our national holidays and of using them as instruments for imparting moral and social values to our youth. A short exposition of the African calendar will illustrate the desired realignment of our spiritual and material existence.
The African calendar embodies the intangible heritage of African people that cannot and will not be understood without African history and languages. Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana and the paramount chief of Bamangwato, emphasised the importance of reclaiming our cultural heritage in emphatic terms:
We were taught sometimes in a very positive way to despise ourselves and our ways of life. We were made to believe that we had no past to speak of, no history to boast of. It seemed we were in for a definite period of foreign tutelage without any hope of our ever again becoming our own masters. The end result of all this was that our self-pride and our self- confidence were badly undermined.
Sir Seretse Khama challenged us to:
… try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own history books to prove that we did have a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul. [Applause.]
The African soul is embedded in its intangible heritage that calls for our attention today.
Western philosophers and scholars succeeded in convincing us and the world that we have no history and heritage by cutting us off from the ancient Ethiopian and Egyptian past and by attributing the achievements of Mapungubwe, Great Zimbabwe, and Meroë and Aksum in Ethiopia to foreigners. It is for this reason that Cheikh Anta Diop said that the history of Africa would not be complete until it was connected to that of Egypt. Pixley ka Isaka Seme connected it in his public lecture titled, “The Regeneration of Africa in 1905”. To these ancient monuments, Nelson Mandela added Carthage, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. Near home, we have Lwandali in Tshiendeulu and Thulamela.
The most decisive affinity between the ancient Egyptian, tangible and intangible heritage and our own can be found in the languages, religions, astral sciences and indigenous knowledge systems.
There is “ntu” in ubuntu, punt(u) and bunntu or BNNT. In Africa, south of the Sahara, there are about 400 languages and 2 000 dialects - belonging to the Bantu family of languages from which the ancient Egyptian language was derived. By neglecting our indigenous languages, we lose our soul, our past and our intangible heritage. Language and religion are also motive forces for nation-building and social cohesion. We can preserve indigenous African languages by making it compulsory that every person studying for a degree and every person who wants to enter the public service has to learn one indigenous African language. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr A LOTRIET: Agb Voorsitter, as ons kyk na wat ons tasbare en ontasbare kulturele erfenis insluit, kan ons inderdaad daarop trots wees dat ons met so ’n verskeidenheid geseën is. Ons het ’n ryk erfenis met uiteenlopende kulture, gebruike, tradisies, geskiedenisse en tale. Erfenisdag is die viering van hier die kleurryke verskeidenheid.
Die viering van ons erfenis gaan egter nie net oor die eie kulture van afsonderlike groepe nie, maar veelal ook oor uitreiking oor verskillende kultuurgrense heen. Elemente van nasionale eenheid, nasiebou en sosiale kohesie staan sentraal tot hierdie viering.
In die tema van vandag, val die fokus op die viering van ons tasbare en ontasbare erfenis om sosiale kohesie te bevorder.
Ten einde te besin oor die rol van erfenis in die bevordering van sosiale kohesie, moet daar ook gestel word dat erfenis veel meer as kommoditeite is. Erfenis bring ook die identiteit en waardigheid van individue en gemeenskappe tot uitdrukking. Dit is juis deur die ontasbare erfenis waar daar inhoud en sin aan die tasbare erfenis gegee word.
Die ontasbare erfenis sluit meer in as die eng definisie wat verwys na sang, dans, volksverhale, en orale vertellings. Dit verwys ook na sosiale waardes en tradisies, gebruike en praktyke, estetiese en spirituele oortuigings, artistieke uitdrukking, taal en ander aspekte van menslike aktiwiteite. Die betekenis van fisiese artifakte kan teen die agtergrond van sosio—ekonomiese, politiese, religieuse en filosofiese waardes van ’n spesifieke groep mense vertolk word. Uiteraard is dit moeiliker om ontasbare kulturele erfenis te bewaar as om fisiese voorwerpe te bewaar.
Dit is inderdaad ook so dat die waarde van kulturele erfenis tot ’n groot mate onderskat word. Ontwikkeling word dikwels gesien as ’n suiwer tegnologies en ekonomiese uitdaging met ’n onderbeklemtoning of totale miskenning van die ekonomiese waarde van kultuur en die feit dat waardevolle kennis opgesluit lê in die diverse kulturele erfenisse van Suid—Afrika se mense.
Kulturele erfenis, beide tasbaar en ontasbaar, is ’n wonderlike hulpbron. Dit kan mense bemagtig, en dit kan mense beheer oor hul lewens teruggee. Dit kan mense se waardigheid herstel en het die moontlikheid om swaarkry en armoede te verlig.
Dit is dus uiters prysenswaardig en selfs edel om ons kulturele erfenis in diens van sosiale kohesie te stel. Maar as ons eerlik wil wees en werklik ernstig wil wees oor die viering van ons tasbare en ontasbare kulturele erfenis vir sosiale kohesie, dan is daar kritiese vrae wat beantwoord moet word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Dr A LOTRIET: Hon Chairperson, when we look at what is included with regard to our tangible and intangible cultural heritage, we can indeed be proud that we have been blessed with such diversity. We have a rich heritage with diverse cultures, practices, traditions, histories, and languages. Heritage Day is a celebration of this colourful diversity.
Celebrating our heritage, however, is not only about embracing the inherent cultures of distinct groups, but is, in fact, often about reaching out across the different cultural boundaries as well. Elements of national unity, nation-building, and social cohesion are central to this celebration.
In line with today’s theme, the focus is on celebrating our tangible and intangible heritage in order to promote social cohesion.
Reflecting on the role that heritage plays in the promotion of social cohesion, it has to be stated that heritage includes more than just mere commodities. Heritage is also an expression of the identity and dignity of individuals and communities. It is precisely through intangible heritage that substance and meaning is given to tangible heritage.
Intangible heritage includes more than the narrow definition with reference to song, dance, folktales, and oral narratives. It also refers to social values and traditions, customs and practices, aesthetic and spiritual beliefs, artistic expression, language, and other aspects of human activities. The meaning of physical artefacts can be interpreted in context of the socio-economic, political, religious, and philosophical values of a specific group of people. It stands to reason that it is harder to preserve intangible cultural heritage than physical objects.
It is indeed a fact that the value of cultural heritage is to a large extent also underestimated. Often, development is perceived as a purely technological and economic challenge, underestimating or disregarding the economic value of culture and the fact that there is valuable knowledge inherent in the diverse cultural heritage of the people of South Africa.
Cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, is a wonderful resource. It can empower people, once again giving them control over their lives. It can restore people’s dignity and has the potential to alleviate hardship and poverty.
It is, therefore, highly commendable and even noble to employ our cultural heritage to attain social cohesion. But, if we want to be honest and really serious about celebrating our tangible and intangible cultural heritage to bring about social cohesion, then there are critical questions that have to be answered.]
Firstly, what is social cohesion? Do we all have the same sense of what it means? Do we all attach the same value to it? Secondly, we have to look at the scorecard. How successful has our cultural heritage been in promoting social cohesion? Can we indeed talk of social cohesion in South Africa?
Let us first look at what social cohesion is. It is a concept that we often encounter in many departmental documents such as policies and reports, as well as speeches. I wonder, however, how many people have actually asked what it is. Social cohesion can be seen as the glue that binds a society together. It has to do with social relations, norms, values and identities. Social cohesion is central to the social because it is impossible to have interactive social beings, collective identities and the social world without social cohesion. Social cohesion is reflected by the degree of harmony, co-operation and mutual respect that exist within a society.
The question then is: To what extent has social cohesion been achieved by means of celebrating our cultural heritage? In attempting to answer this question, we have to look at what the indicators are for social cohesion and how cultural heritage has or has not promoted it. The first indicator is a sense of belonging. Can it in all honesty be proclaimed that every citizen in this country experiences a sense of belonging - a sense, in the individual, of this is my country and I am welcome here, regardless of my race, my religion, my language, my own cultural heritage?
Is this sense of belonging fostered and nurtured by how elements of heritage are promoted and protected? Belonging also refers to identity, and part of one’s identity refers to one’s national identity. It is very easy to say that we are all South Africans, but it rings hollow when we hear of one’s South African identity being judged in terms of the political party one belongs to. This was the case last week when a statement was made by a member of the ANC that voting DA means you do not want to be a part of South Africa and Africa. When your commitment to the country is judged on the basis of your party affiliation, there can be no claim of social cohesion. If there is no sense of belonging created by how we accommodate all the different cultural elements and identities in our heritage, we are not working towards belonging, but towards isolation and marginalisation.
Secondly, social cohesion requires inclusion. Inclusion concerns equal opportunities of access as well as the sense of being included and being represented in the cultural heritage. Does our cultural heritage reflect the whole of our heritage - tangible and intangible - or is it selective on the basis of what is acceptable to some? Heritage is about memory. And if we are selective about what is considered to be acceptable, proper and politically correct, we will have an artificially constructed heritage and memory - made to fit a specific purpose but without the real soul of people who have traversed many roads to reach a specific destination.
How can we tell the story of all the people of this country when we do not include and add to our cultural heritage, but think it is wise to remove and replace and even destroy? How is social cohesion promoted and attained when photos, works of art, buildings and other elements of cultural heritage are discarded and neglected because they do not fit the politically driven construct of what our cultural heritage should be?
Thirdly, social cohesion requires recognition as opposed to rejection. Recognition refers to respecting and tolerating differences in a country where we have a variety of cultures, languages and heritage. Instead of assimilating or obliterating variety and diversity, diversity must be harnessed to showcase cultural richness. The diversity of our cultural heritage should not be used to wall us into specific enclaves and stereotypes of minorities and majorities, but should be used as bridges to cross for new knowledge and experiences.
To answer the question whether social cohesion has thus far been achieved through our cultural heritage, the answer is unfortunately no, not yet. There are still too many instances of exclusion, marginalisation, disregard and neglect. Working towards social cohesion requires an intricate balance between the different elements of social cohesion. When we celebrate our tangible and intangible cultural heritage, we should be mindful of this balance between the individual cultural heritage and the national aim of social cohesion, as well as the dangers of an inability or unwillingness to fully embrace the totality of our heritage.
Ten slotte moet ons egter ook onthou dat dit nie realisties is en dat daar ook nie aan die doelstelling van sosiale kohesie, deur middel van die viering van ons kulturele erfenis, uitvoering gegee gaan word as dit tot een dag beperk is nie.
Daar moet deurlopend en aktief daaraan gewerk word om aan almal in die land ‘n gevoel te gee dat hulle behoort en dat een en elkeen se kulturele erfenis belangrik is en gerespekteer word. Slegs so sal ons kulturele erfenis ook ’n kulturele nalatenskap vir toekomstige geslagte wees wat gesamentlik die toekoms in ’n oop geleentheid samelewing tegemoet kan gaan. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In conclusion, we should however also bear in mind that it is not realistic and that we will not be able to achieve the objective of social cohesion by celebrating our cultural heritage if it is limited to one day.
Continuous and active work is required so that everyone in this country has a sense of belonging and that each and everyone’s cultural heritage is important and respected. Only in this way will our cultural heritage also be a cultural legacy for future generations who, together, would be able to approach the future in an open opportunity society. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Mrs H N NDUDE: House Chairperson, the Freedom Charter declared boldly that South Africa belonged to all who live in it, black and white. Today we still affirm the validity of that sentiment and belief. Therefore, as we focus on Heritage Day 2009, we should pause and reflect on the power, potency and potentiality of that statement. We all know to whom South Africa belongs. On the other hand, do all people in South Africa believe that they belong to South Africa?
Will Heritage Day be celebrated with equal favour by everyone? In our Constitution, 11 languages are officially recognised and PanSALB is enjoined to promote and ensure respect for a dozen other languages, such as German, Greek and Gujarati, used by distinctive communities. This means that in our country, we have more than 20 different languages and cultural groups.
Each group has contributed significantly to enriching the tapestry that constitutes South African life, but do all these groups come out on Heritage Day in their unique dress, singing their unique songs, exhibiting their unique art, sharing their unique literature and making presentations of their unique cuisines? As I remember, there were people who merely wanted to make this national day a frivolous braai day. Government has been unable to get a buy-in from every community. This is a missed opportunity. On Heritage Day, every cultural group should be affirming itself and South Africa. The Swiss are all distinctly different people, but they display an indivisible common national pride.
South Africa is rich in the richness of its diversity. South Africa is unique in the way it affords each group the chance to develop its uniqueness. South Africans have so much to share with one another, yet when there is the time and opportunity to do so, there is no great sharing.
Government must assume the larger portion of blame for this. Government arrogated to itself the right to be everything to everybody on Heritage Day. It took centre stage instead of taking a back seat. It tried to reflect itself instead of letting cultural groups demonstrate what they were about.
It is certain that Heritage Day belongs to all heritage groups and therefore it should be entrusted to them to plan for it with a great deal of elbowroom. National, provincial and regional committees representing all cultural groups should take charge henceforth in order that every cultural group feels like seizing the opportunity to disclose its artistic and cultural treasures.
Years ago, I witnessed how the 11 national groups that constituted the then defunct Soviet Union participated in a national day in a way typically characteristic of itself. Heritage Day should not be reserved for boring speeches. It should be the most anticipated day on the calendar. Certainly, one dance, one song and one meal will say more than a thousand words. Celebrations should be just that. Speech-making should be reserved for Parliament.
Heritage Day could also help to unfreeze relationships amongst our various peoples. We all know that we occupy common space, but not any common feeling or common allegiance. Our token response of acknowledging one another across the various divides should be allowed to develop into a genuine understanding and appreciation of one another. We are tied by destiny to a journey into the future together.
We should therefore not delay the forging of our togetherness, because the sooner we do it, the sooner we can claim a safer and more prosperous future. Ethnicity should never be the reason for animosity; rather it should be the reason for reciprocity.
We are not the only nation celebrating Heritage Day in September. Many people in Europe are doing the same. In Sweden, for example, heritage day has a theme. This year the theme is: Sweden and Finland share a history. It will certainly be interesting to see what they do in exploring this theme and what outcomes are achieved. There may be a lesson for us in their experience.
As South Africans, we share one country but we have divided histories. When are we going to look for fusion in history, fusion in food, fusion in music? Fusion is the rage at the moment in the world, and we have vast scope for it here. The United Kingdom also has their heritage day in September. So what will our English counterparts be doing? For four days, English property owners will open their doors, free of charge, to the public. They will be saying that whatever is their legacy is also the legacy of their nation. On these four days, everyone in England can enjoy places of great historic heritage and architectural value.
If we in South Africa took a tiny little step to open our doors to our neighbours, what a giant step that would be. For much more to happen in the suburbs, the Minister of Police will have to walk his tough talk of stopping criminals in their tracks. We have constraints, but our opportunities to know and be known are greater in number.
Cope, as Comrade Smuts Ngonyama pointed out the other day, is promoting the idea of an activist state. For us it is important to take another big step forward from that which was taken in 1994. We cannot let our democracy stagnate.
For us, the potential that exists in our country has to be harnessed. This can only happen when the state comes down to the people, rather than asking the people to come to the state and then asking them to go away and come back again. We want the people of our country to be one and we want them to demonstrate that whoever they are, they enjoy being South Africans. We want them to put their destiny and that of their children in their own hands. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Prince M G BUTHELEZI: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon members, our heritage and ideals, our moral code and standards, the values that we live by and pass on to our children are magnified or diminished by how freely we exchange our ideas and feelings.
On Heritage Day we sing freedom’s song. In the stirring words of Abraham Lincoln, “Our defence is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.”
We, in this House, by common cause, are here because we believe that public service is a force for change. We, as the people’s servants, hearken to the voice of our heritage and ancestors. I rise to speak for my heritage. Following the post-Anglo-Zulu War partition of the Zulu Kingdom and the Land Act of 1913, which deprived the majority of the Zulus of their ancestral land, my nation desperately needed change. But was this change to be revolutionary or evolutionary? How was a young aspiring Zulu politician, like me, to help transform the living conditions and restore national dignity without eroding traditional values? I wished to see my nation prosper and coexist peacefully with other peoples. This is my heritage!
At the same time, I did not wish to see the resentment of the colonial era based on race transformed into envy fuelled by material advancement of the few at the expense of the many. I viewed my people, the Zulus, as individuals and members of strong self-reliant communities, not as political troops in a class struggle. This is my heritage!
We are also mindful today that there is insufficient regard for South Africa’s diverse linguistic and cultural heritage which traces its roots to the Dutch and British immigrants - white Africans - who first graced the shores of the Cape hundreds of years ago. The legacy of the Van der Merwes and the Mulders is my heritage. The legacy of the 1820 settlers in this province is also my heritage!
With this thought in mind, I would like to relate an anecdote of what happened when I attended the national celebration of Women’s Day, in Vryheid, in the Zululand District, last month. I was invited by the hon Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities, the hon Ms Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya, to join her and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, the hon Dr Zweli Mkhize. The guest of honour and guest speaker was His Excellency Mr J G Zuma, the President of the Republic of South Africa.
This event starkly confronted me with the question of whether we are truly the Rainbow Nation that we market ourselves to be. I’m not going to raise the argument about whether the notion of a Rainbow Nation is right or not. I wish we were a Rainbow Nation, but my own view is that we are, rather, a great nation because of our dazzling multiculturalness, one that is more comparable to a delectable bowl of salad.
We are rich because we are all Africans in the sense which was so elegantly stated from this podium by His Excellency, President Thabo Mbeki, in his memorable evocation, “I am an African!” We are rich because of our diverse cultures. We embrace all these cultures as our own, whether we are Africans of different ethnic groups, or English or Afrikaans, coloured or Indian.
Yet, in all the past 15 years that I have attended all these functions - so- called national events – I have been struck by the fact that not one of them has been representative of all our people. Only Africans attended the function in Vryheid, for example. Less than 10 whites were present. I saw two Indians, who were officials. There was not a single coloured present.
So, I asked myself: “Where is the Rainbow Nation?” Is it our fault, the African majority? Maybe we have not opened our arms wide enough to embrace the other race groups, particularly minorities? I do not know. I’m groping. I’m groping around in search for an answer. It could be that the minority groups, so far, have not accepted that we are one nation. It could be that they simply do not feel safe in the midst of the majority. We look in a mirror dimly, but after 15 years, my dear brothers and sisters, we must come face to face with this brutal question.
Must it only be in the soccer and rugby stadiums that we see all the black and white faces? I boldly assert today the truth that the best way to build a united South Africa is by cherishing and respecting all its constituent parts.
Yes, South Africa is one country and it is building one nation, but its future will only be secured if all its constituent traditions are respected. One way to approach the process of building an authentic national consensus is with an open mind and with honesty.
The case for freedom, the case for our constitutional principles and the case for our heritage has to be made anew in each generation. The work of freedom is never done. We are also mindful this week especially, that South Africa should be free to recognise its diverse religious heritage, and doing this is not the same as creating a government-sponsored religion.
Our diversity is also reflected in the glory of creation. It is written in the narrative, too, of South Africa’s ecology. As we approach Copenhagen, we are mindful as custodians of this fragile land that it is not just the honour you take with you, but also the heritage you leave behind. I thank you.
Hon Chairman, since I have not exhausted my time, I wonder if you could allow Africans to clap. I want to sit down please. [Applause.]
Mr L W GREYLING: Chairperson, the ID believes that South Africa has a rich cultural and natural heritage in which we can all take pride. Tragically, the history of our country was such that our rich diversity was not celebrated as a strength, but rather as a means to divide and oppress the majority of our people.
We were taught to be suspicious and weary of each other’s cultures and we engaged in a zero-sum game where one culture was promoted at the expense of others.
As a nation, we need to unlearn this practice and we need to build a common African heritage, which we can all celebrate as our own. To do this we need to step out of our comfort zones and take the time to discover the humanity that resides in the different cultural expressions of our country.
As the ID, we are committed to this vision and we will continue to encourage all South Africans to bridge the divides of the past, which are still tragically reflected in the poverty of the present. I thank you.
Mr N M KGANYAGO: Chairperson, hon members, I would like to use this opportunity to speak about one of the least-considered consequences of the crisis at the SA Broadcasting Corporation. The mandate of the SA Broadcasting Corporation, as the public broadcaster, directly relates to the protection and promotion of our diverse cultural heritage. To this end, we pay television licences, and through this Parliament we have approved additional taxpayer money to keep the SA Broadcasting Corporation afloat.
What has happened over the course of the past year is that the SA Broadcasting Corporation has systematically failed to pay local production companies for the content they have made. This alone has forced many of these local producers to the brink of bankruptcy.
In the aftermath of the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s shenanigans earlier this year, there has now been a radical reduction in the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s expenditure on locally produced content. Not only does this directly lead to a massive increase in foreign – often, poor quality - content on the airwaves, but it also threatens to decimate the local creative industries.
Many thousands of artists, performers, technical crew and businesspeople will lose their income, and the country stands to lose a significant chunk of the domestic industry that is truly committed to South African cultural heritage. This is a tragedy and the equivalent of the cultural genocide … [Inaudible.] [Time expired.] [Laughter.]
Dr C P MULDER: Hon Chairperson, in celebrating our tangible and intangible cultural heritage for social cohesion, we have to start from a sound and solid base. The hon Chief Whip of the ANC referred throughout his speech to the African people, and I understand what he means, but I need to point out to him that I am also an African. My family came to this continent in 1685, that is 324 years ago, before most Americans went to the United States, Canadians to Canada and Australians to Australia. I am an African!
When the hon Dr Buthelezi, at the end of his speech, asked the Chairperson to allow Africans to give him a good hand, you would have seen that all members in this House jointly gave him a good hand. We are all Africans.
We have to accept and understand that at this stage we do not have one single united cultural heritage. We will only succeed with social cohesion and national reconciliation if we follow the right recipe.
We will not succeed with nation-building and social cohesion by stumbling from one sporting event to the next. We need the right recipe. Maybe, that recipe we may find in the preamble to the Constitution, which I do not think we often read, where it clearly says: “We, the people of South Africa … believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.”
That is a reality of South Africa. We are a very diverse nation. Let us respect our differences, then we can become united and succeed with social cohesion and through nation-building, as Africans, all of us. Thank you.
The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Chairperson and hon members, indeed it is my pleasure to be part of this important debate of the Ministry of Arts and Culture, when we celebrate Heritage Month with the people of South Africa.
As we all know, September marks the annual Heritage Month celebration in our country. This month, we invite all South Africans, irrespective of race, class or gender, to be part of the celebrations and to come out of their cocoons, as the Freedom Charter states quite clearly that South Africa belongs to all of us, black and white, and this government has always welcomed people from all races in all its activities and programmes. I agree with uBaba uShenge ukuthi nami ngangikhona eVryheid azange ngibabone abanye abantu angazi ukuthi kwakwenzenjani … [I agree with hon Shenge that I was also present in Vryheid and I did not see other people, I am not sure what was happening …] and this happens year in and year out.
In recognition of the value created by the craft segment of our economy, we have this year, as the Department of Arts and Culture, adopted the theme: “Celebrating South African Craft, our Heritage” as the focus of the 2009 Heritage Month celebrations. This theme is an opportunity to highlight the socioeconomic value of the craft industry, especially in our rural areas, and it encourages further development of our communities. This theme enables us to encourage not only further investment in the craft sector of our economy, but also to contribute to nation-building and social cohesion.
The main Heritage Day celebrations will take place in Moroke, at the Ntwampe stadium, in the Greater Tubatse Municipality in Limpopo. This event will be addressed by our Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, as it will be an official national programme.
In this month, therefore, we recognise the importance of our heritage and our diverse cultural expressions that together shape and build our national culture. We also pay attention to the artefacts made by our ancestors through the generations that have preceded us. We celebrate these men and women of wisdom, whose accomplishments are testimony to the fact that great works of art can come from a culture rooted in the realities of our people.
It is in this context, therefore, that yesterday we launched Heritage Month at one of our World Heritage sites, the Mapungubwe National Park, which is found at the meeting place between ourselves, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe where the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet.
This offered us an opportunity to admire the cultural and economic wealth that came from the Mapungubwe people, whose architects built a royal residence and whose blacksmiths built tools and artworks out of iron and gold many hundreds of years ago. They were part of a thriving Indian Ocean trade system. This is where the golden rhino and bowls, tools and pottery, as well as glass beads and jewellery were found.
Through our knowledge of Mapungubwe and Thulamela, of the finds of the Klasies River and Blombos Cave, and through archaeological studies of rock art, we can say that South Africa has a rich heritage that is unique in the evidence it provides of our earliest human beings.
We should be proud, therefore, that South Africa possesses such vast natural beauty and heritage of outstanding universal value through our eight World Heritage Sites, namely Mapungubwe, Robben Island, Vredefort Dome, the Cradle of Humankind, the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, the Richtersveld, the Isimangaliso Wetland Park and the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. We also know that in our part of the world, humans have lived for about 2 million years and history books tell us that between 200 000 and 100 000 years ago modern humans, the hunter-gatherers, also resided in South Africa. Our heritage is universal.
South African heritage tells the story not only of our nation, but also of our world. Through our liberation struggle, our cultural workers also showed us the path to building a people’s culture. As the liberation movement grew in strength, these artists created social awareness and asserted our right to have our own history and develop our culture. Against all odds, they triumphed against apartheid. They asserted what Amilcar Cabral pointed out, which is that “National liberation is necessarily an act of culture.”
They contributed in giving us an identity not rooted in oppression but in liberation. Learning from these lessons of our struggle through telling and retelling our stories and working with our cultural workers, we can do more to strengthen and promote our culture and heritage. This is why we say today that culture must be rooted in the realities of our people, in our daily lives, in our struggles and victories.
In building our nation and taking forward the national democratic revolution, our people must continue to be inspired by a culture that addresses their needs and that helps them to build on the freedom won in 1994.
The National Heritage Council is initiating a national liberation heritage- route project, as a story that will tell and depict the journey of liberation through the struggles against colonialism and apartheid.
During Heritage Month, we reaffirm the rights of each and every one of us to lead a rich and productive cultural life. It is in the context of contributing to the world and building our country and our continent that the creative industries are critical to us and to nation-building. They create critical opportunities to uplift and empower our people economically, especially our women, the youth and people with disabilities.
This year we focus on the role that crafts play in building our nation. Our people, through their creativity, are constantly developing traditional cultural expressions, such as the design and production of crafts, basket- weaving and songs. These expressions make meaning and establish identity. The works of art are made from clay, paper, cardboard, wire and plastic bags, among other things. This collective creativity provides a basis for social cohesion and sustainable development.
Studies indicate that 1,2 million people earn their living through crafts and related trade areas. The key is to strengthen the sector and to create enabling conditions for these areas to flourish. The Department of Trade and Industry estimates that South Africa’s craft sector alone contributes about R2 billion to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product annually. Yet, despite an abundance of individual and community artistic and entrepreneurial skills, there is still exploitation, with primary producers selling their goods through middlemen. This limits their earnings and prevents their full and active participation in the industry.
The problems are compounded in that there is no recognised representative body that promotes the rights of crafters, and most raw materials are imported and are thus unaffordable for many of our people. Through our Investing in Culture programme, we are addressing these and other concerns. Since 2005, we have spent over R300 million on supporting craft projects so that they can become self-sustaining small businesses.
We are equipping crafters with business skills through this programme to enable them to compete and market their products. Working together with all our stakeholders, we shall improve on these initiatives.
We believe that we should focus on women, especially rural women, as far as craft and craft production are concerned. Sustainable craft development also requires sustaining the participation of women in the crafts industry. We are proud that the majority of projects funded since 2005 are projects led and carried out by women. We acknowledge that more needs to be done in this regard. We also believe that crafts can contribute meaningfully to the government’s rural development objectives.
The focus on crafts therefore is part of our commitment to the development and revitalisation of our rural economies. It is our belief that tangible programmes and strong marketing campaigns in the craft sector will contribute to rural development. This year, for the first time, we held the National Craft Awards to showcase and encourage craft enterprises throughout the country and to raise the profile of the craft industry, by rewarding selected works that demonstrated great skill and innovation.
We need to acknowledge that South Africa is recognised today as a global player in the arts, culture and heritage sector. This year’s Heritage Month celebrations come at a time when South Africa is gaining ground in the world’s arts, culture and heritage landscape. Let us consolidate the work we are doing to showcase our arts, crafts and heritage for the 2010 Fifa World Cup and, of course, we are ready for the World Cup.
From 21 September to 23 September 2009, we will host the Afrikaans-Dutch festival conference called Roots, with the Minister of European Affairs from the Netherlands and with Flemish co-operation. Mr Mulder, we do recognise Afrikaans as an African language, and we will be having a discussion with the Dutch to look at the roots of Afrikaans, which, of course, were planted in South Africa on the African continent. This will not only help to strengthen our cultural relations with the Dutch government and people, but will also build on the solidarity that started during the apartheid years.
Next week, we are also hosting the Fourth World Summit on Arts and Culture for the first time on African soil. This will be held from 22 September to 25 September in Newtown, Johannesburg. All these platforms offer us the opportunity to demonstrate the centrality of arts and culture in development and in promoting opportunities for our artists to exchange ideas with others and forge common projects across the globe. Our task, therefore, is to strengthen further our sense of belonging to South Africa. Through our crafts and through our arts and culture programmes we will nurture a common value system that strengthens our unity as a nation. I do believe, hon Lotriet, that this government has worked hard to ensure social cohesion and unity in our nation.
Many of the museums and programmes that were started during colonialism and apartheid times are still there. We still have the Voortrekker monument, and nobody has messed with it. We only have the Albert Luthuli museum as one of the new programmes that were started by this government. All we are asking for is to open up these facilities and to welcome all our people, even those that were marginalised before.
As we transform our country, we need to ensure that through heritage, arts and culture we build cohesive, sustainable and caring communities. Only in this way do we play our part in the common effort to expedite our national development. Only in this way do we remain true to the Freedom Charter, which directs us to discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life.
I take this opportunity therefore, Chairperson, to invite all of you to participate in our National Heritage Day celebrations in Limpopo and also in celebrations that will take place in all our provinces on 24 September
- I also hope that I will not be disappointed, as the hon Buthelezi was, by many of our people, particularly the minorities, not participating on that day. I want to wish all of you a happy Heritage Month and a happy Heritage Day. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs C DUDLEY: Chair, the country’s heritage could, in part, be described as the conservation of the creativity of people past, which enriches the lives of people present. Today that creativity has expanded to include not only historic buildings, ancient bridges, etc, but all aspects of life, with sport, recreational activities and tourism holding their own.
Tourists from around the world and residents alike have come to expect and increasingly demand a more responsible tourism that supports the conservation of the natural as well as the cultural environment. This, in turn, has had the effect of creating a favourable development climate for new heritage products, driven by market needs for innovation and diversification. Today our culture can be experienced in many ways including Robben Island pilgrimages, underground mine visiting, bungy jumping, township dancing, cuisine, etc.
While conserving and promoting our cultural heritage, it is equally important for us to have regard for expanding urbanisation, and the establishment of rural growth points to promote a higher standard of living and heritage for rural and marginalised people. South Africa was singled out, before the granting of the venue of the 2010 World Cup, in the “Tourism 2020 Vision” as one of six countries predicted to make great strides in the tourism industry in the years leading up to
- As the preparations for the Soccer World Cup escalate, capacity and infrastructure are expanding to meet exacting international standards, moving us closer each day to this vision. While 2010 offers South Africa the opportunity of showcasing our country to people who might never otherwise have visited our land, Madiba sees another advantage. The World cup, he says, will help unify our nation.
Sport, recreational activities and tourism could be said to have deepened democracy in their own way. They create and foster identity and, through interaction between cultures, promote the social cohesion necessary to move South Africa closer to being a peace-loving and prosperous nation, a heritage worth the effort. Thank you.
Mr R B BHOOLA: Chairperson, first of all, South Africa must be complimented on recognising and preserving its rich heritage. In KwaZulu-Natal we are proud of the fact that the government is restoring the very rich heritage the province has.
We must also remember that, in the heritage basket, we must not forget the contributions made by the broad cross-cultural society. In this province where Parliament is seated, we must never forget the original inhabitants and the contribution made by the Malays, the Dutch, the French, the Portuguese and the English.
Social cohesion is vital in preserving our rich heritage. I may add that, when we visit other countries, the greatest tourist attractions are the heritage sites.
The erstwhile Minister of Arts and Culture, Dr Jordan, emphasised on the occasion of Heritage Day Celebrations that it was not only a day on which all South Africans were given the opportunity to pause, reflect and look back on all the good things that had been passed on to us by those who came before us, but that it was also a day to celebrate and to relive the heritage that was given to us by our ancestors.
The role of heritage in social cohesion is recognised internationally, and hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup will indeed create a golden platform and opportunity to market South Africa as a popular and desirable destination.
The MF strongly believes that heritage promotion offers South Africa the opportunity to use culture, cultural expression and the country’s rich heritage as a vehicle in improving the lives of millions of South African role-players in the cultural industries.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the greatest integrity in an individual is his culture.
We come from different ethnic beliefs and diverse religious backgrounds, but we are one nation. Indeed, we are one nation, proudly South African. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs D VAN DER WALT: Hon Chair, as we reflect on the importance of South Africa’s Heritage Day, we need to ponder on whether our collective national effort enhances or detracts from the very foundational provision of our supreme law, the Constitution, which stipulates that we need to –
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
It is my contention that as we truly embrace the essence and spirit of this provision, without negating the other constitutional injunctions, we can be firmly rooted on the path towards a more fundamental and sustainable social cohesion agenda.
Furthermore, a true observance of this injunction will have drastically positive implications for both the tangible, i.e the institutions put in place for our democratic agenda, and the intangible heritage, which includes the collective national mindset in which a democratic culture of tolerance not only thrives, but can also be bequeathed to future generations.
A cursory look at our national political discourse suggests that we have yet to fully embrace a culture in which we “Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights”. The sad consequence of this is that we, perhaps inadvertently, are on a sure path towards social disintegration.
It is simply an exercise against the entrenchment of democratic values when a leading figure of the ruling party, Mr Gwede Mantashe, finds it easy to call members of our Constitutional Court - which is a critical institution for the advancement of our democracy – “counter-revolutionaries”.
What is more worrisome is the conspicuous silence of many in the ruling party in rejecting Mr Mantashe’s rather unfortunate assertion. What does this say about the maturity of our democracy and, by implication, the building of our democratic project?
In order for judges to exercise their duties without fear or favour, in defence of our democratic values, they must be immune from politically inflammatory statements such as the one from Mr Mantashe and his miniature carbon copy, Malema. If time was permitting, I could have mentioned many other examples. Mature democratic values – which we must leave for our children – require an acceptance that opposition parties are there to enhance our democracy. We must respect all institutions which are created to safeguard our democracy and not denigrate them for the momentary pleasure of scoring political points.
The narrative that the building of democracy is the monopoly of the ruling party must be rejected. Firstly, freedom was not won by the ANC alone; it was the collective effort of all South Africans. We must ensure that this mindset permeates all our political exercises and, by extension, our heritage. Secondly, elevating the ANC to the role of a divine ruler is bad for our democracy.
We must attend urgently to the troubles faced by our cultural institutions such as the Robben Island Museum, the National Library and many of the other museums we have. But, on the eve of Heritage Day, I must mention that the very portfolio committee in this Parliament responsible for this task is currently not holding any committee meetings. It only held meetings to discuss the budget and its strategic plan; no other meeting took place after that.
Tangible and intangible cultural heritages are symbiotic and we cannot have one without the other if we wish to have successful, sustainable social cohesion.
The DA believes that the heritage that we should indeed let the future generation of South Africans inherit, is a country with an open-opportunity society in which every person is free, secure and equal, in which everyone has the opportunity to improve the quality of his or her life and pursue his or her dreams, and in which every language and culture enjoys equal respect and recognition.
This heritage is grounded on the defence, promotion and extension of the following principles: the fundamental rights and freedoms of every person, including the right to freedom of conscience, speech, association and movement; the rejection of unfair discrimination on any grounds; the supremacy of the South African Constitution and the rule of law; the language, cultural and religious rights of individuals and the communities they create through free association; equality before the law; the separation of legislative, executive and judicial power; a judiciary that is independent; elections that are regular, free and fair; a representative and accountable government elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage; the devolution of power to locate government as close as possible to the people; a clear division between the ruling party and the state; respect for the right of a vibrant civil society and a free media to function independently; the rejection of violence and intimidation as a political instrument; the right of all people to private ownership and to participate freely in the market economy; the progressive realisation of access to housing, health services and social security for all people who are unable to help themselves; the protection and conservation of the environment; the right of all people to protection by the state from crime and violence; and the right of all people of access to education and training.
Allow me to close with the 1946 Afrikaans translation by H A Fagan of Enoch Sontonga’s Nkosi Sikelel, which he wrote and composed in 1897:
Uit duisende monde word die lied gedra. Ek sluit my oë; soos ’n serafskoor val daar stemme strelend op my oor: Nkosi Sikelel i’Afrika — Ons vra U seën, O Heer, vir Afrika. Ek kyk, en sien die skare voor my staan: Zoeloe en Xhosa, Sotho en Sjangaan, en ek, ’n Blanke — vele volkre, ja — almal verenigd. Uit duisende monde word die lied gedra, om God’s seën te vra op net een tuiste, net een vaderland, want die Alwyse het ons saam geplant en saam laat wortel in Suid-Afrika: Nkosi sikelel I’Afrika — seën, Heer, die land wat vele volkre dra.
Ek dank u. [Applous.] [I thank you.] [Applause.]] Nkk M D NXUMALO: Ngiyabonga Sihlalo. Sihlalo, oNgqongqoshe ikakhulu uNgqongqoshe WeZobuciko Namasiko neSekela lakhe. Amalungu ePhalamende ahloniphekile noNgqongqoshe bonke namaSekela abo. Le nkulumompikiswano yenzeka ngesikhathi esifanele ngenyanga yamagugu, inyanga kaMandulo. Lesi isikhathi sokuqala kwekhalenda labantu bokudabuka kulelizwe. Kuye kube yiyo inyanga yokuqala ukulima, kulandele nezinye izinto ezihambisana nezempilo kwimpilo yabantu abamnyama yokulwa nobubha ngokuthi basebenze ngokulima baphinde babelane ngokudla emva kwesivuno.
Sinezinyanga zonyaka ezisemthethweni njengesizwe esimnyama. Lokhu okubizwa ngekhalenda. Leli khalenda libeka izikhathi zokulima nokuvuna zonyaka. Linika ulwazi ngemithetho elandelayo kwezolimo nezokulapha okuyizinto ezisetshenziswa ngokwesilungu futhi akuvezwa ukuthi zazivele nobani. Imiphakathi yendabuko ayihlomuli kulezi zinto.
Ngenxa yokwehlukahlukana kwamasiko, kumele lisetshenziswe leli khalenda lendabuko ukuze linikeze amasiko esizwe nesizwe ithuba lokuthuthukisa amagugu aso.
Ukuze sikwazi ukwenza ngcono lolu lwazi lwendabuko, kumele siqale kabusha, sisebenzise leli khalenda labantu lemiphakathi yendabuko ngoba amasiko ethu avuselelwa kulo. Isigaba sokuqala saleli khalenda, siqala ngoMandulo, okuyisiqalo sonyaka omusha njengoba sazi ukuthi isikhathi sokuqala ukulima. Izimvula ziye zine ngenyanga kaMfumfu, kwenziwe nemigubho yokubonga uNkulunkulu ngokuna kwemvula nokuvunda kwenhlabathi.
Ngenyanga kaLwezi, izimbali ziyaqhakaza nemvelo yonke iqhakaze kabusha, kuthenwe izihlahla ezithelayo. Lesi isikhathi sokugubha ubuhle bemvelo nokubaluleka kwayo. Ngenyanga kaZibandlela, kuba nomgubho wokweshwama. Ngesikhathi sezithelo zokuqala, le migubho ihambisana nemithandazo kamoya kubantu bendabuko. Isigaba sesibili saleli khalenda, siba phakathi kukaMasingana nenyanga kaMbasa. Kuyavunwa amasimu kudliwe kube mnandi kube njeya kudunyiswe noNkulunkulu ngesivuno esihle kwenziwe neminikelo.
SinguKhongolose sithi: Akuvuselelwe izinsika nezinkambiso eziqhakambisa ziphinde zikhuthaze amasiko ethu. Uhulumeni oholwa uKhongolose uzibophezela ekwakhiweni kwesizwe esibumbene esakhelwe phezu kwesisekelo soMthethosisekelo wentando yeningi ohlonipha wonke amasiko abantu abaseNingizimu Afrika ngokuhlukahlukana kwabo.
UMongameli wezwe, uMsholozi, uNxamalala waphonsa inselelo enkulumeni yakhe yokuvula iPhalamende ngenyanga kaNhlangulana, ngiyamcaphuna:
The ANC-led government has once again committed itself to create a united cohesive society out of our fragmented past. We are called to continue the mission of promoting unity in diversity and develop a shared value system, based on the spirit of community solidarity and a caring society. Our shared value system should encourage us to become active citizens in the renewal of our country in which we build a common national identity.
Okunye okufanele singakulibali malungu ahloniphekile ePhalamende, ukuthi amasiko nezinkambiso zendabuko kuwumthombo wolwazi nakunoma yimuphi umntwana okhulayo ukuze akhule ezazi ubuyena, eqonda kangcono izinto ezamukelekile nezingamukelekanga emphakathini. Ukulima nje kukodwa kufundisa abantwana usiko lokuzisebenzela into anayo nokwazi ukuthi kumele ayisebenzele ngokuzikhandla ukuze aphumelele.
Lokhu kukodwa kuyisikhali sesizwe sokulwa nobugebengu obunjengobusela. Umlando wethu ubhalwe emasikweni ethu khona ukuze kuqondwe kangconywana ngemvelaphi yesizwe esithile,kubalulekile ukuthi wazi amasiko nezinkambiso zaso.Lokho kukhuthaza nenhlonipho phakathi kwezizwe.
Lokhu kwenza kubelula ukuthandana nokubumbana nokukhuthaza ukungacwasani phakathi kwabantu abaphila ndawonye. Thina bantu baseNingizimu Afrika singabantu abahlukene ngokwamasiko nemvelaphi, ngakho-ke kuyadingeka ukuthi sikhuthaze imigubho yezinto ezingamagugu namasiko ngokuhlukana.
Asibuye isithunzi sethu ngokuthi sizazi ukuthi singobani, sivelaphi nokuthi sibhekaphi. Siyazi ukuthi ukuqi nelwa ngabezizwe, esikubiza phecelezi nge- colonialism kwaba nomthelela ongalungile obumbanweni lwabantu baseNingizimu Afrika.
Lokhu kwaphinda kwakhuthazwa nayimithetho yokugweva nendawo, okuyiyo eyenza ukuthi abantu bokudabuka kuleli lizwe baphucwe amalungelo abo omhlaba, baphelelwe usiko lokuzenzela umnotho ngokuhwebelana ngemfuyo nezidlo ezitshalwayo. Abantu bakithi benziwa izigqila zokusebenzela amanye amadoda bashiye phansi okwabo.
Inselelo isenkulu Sihlalo. Yiliphi ikhambi esizolisebenzisa ukuvuselela nokulondoloza amasiko nemfundiso yendabuko? Kunenkulumo eyabekwa ubaba umhlonishwa owayenguMongameli uThabo Mbeki mhla zingama-24 kuMandulo ka- 2004, ngiyamcaphuna:
The weavers of iHluzo and Isilulu, the baskets from Hlabisa woven with care by Reuben Ndwandwe and Beauty Ngcongo, the makers of Ntwana dolls, the Letsema of the Basotho women, the iNcwala the Reed dance are only some of the traditions that have survived the passage of time. We must confront this challenge every day and ensure that we bring to a halt the erosion and destruction of our traditions and beliefs. This is necessary because if, as Africans, we are to claim the 21st century for ourselves, we have a duty to preserve our tradition and heritage.
Le nselelo idinga mina nawe nabantwana bethu omhlophe nomnyama siyithathe ukuze sakhe isizwe esibumbene ngokwempilo sihlukane ngamasiko; sibe nokuhlonipheka okususelwe esisekelweni somkhombandlela woMqulu weNkululeko othi:
The doors of learning and culture shall be opened! The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life. All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands.
Kumele senze izimo zempilo zibe ngcono ukuze sikwazi ukwabelana ngolwazi lwazo zonke izinto esizenzayo empilweni. Imiphakathi idinga ukuthuthukiswa ngokuthi kwakhiwe izindlela zokulondoloza lezo zimfundiso zendabuko nezindlela zokuphila zasemandulo. Angenze nje izibonelo ezimbalwa,emkhakheni wezempilo, ezesayensi kanye nezolimo.
Ngesikhathi sangaphambili imiphakathi yabamnyama yayingayazi lento okuthiwa ukuhlinzwa komuntu uma ebeletha. Kwakunezinto ezenziwayo uma ingane ingavumi ukuguquka uma umama ebeletha.
Kwakungekho muntu ohlinzwayo. Kwakwaziwa ukuthi uma kunomoya ovunguza ubheke endaweni ethile kusuke uchaza ukuthini. Kwezolimo abalimi bomdabu babazi ukuthi uma izitshalo uma zishintsha umbala ngaphambi kokuzithelela kusuke kudingeka ukuthi kushintshwe izitshalo kutshalwe enye into kuleyo nsimu. Ngiyabonga Sihlalo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Ms M D NXUMALO: Thank you Chairperson. Chairperson, Ministers, especially the Minister of Arts and Culture and her deputy, hon Members of Parliament and all the Deputy Ministers present here, this debate takes place at an appropriate time which is during heritage month, September. This is the beginning of the calendar of the indigenous people of this country. This is the time to start ploughing, and other things, which pertain to the health and livelihood of the black people, would then follow. And they devise ways of fighting poverty by ploughing and sharing food among themselves after the harvest.
We have our own official calendar as black people. And this calendar stipulates the times for ploughing and harvesting. It also provides knowledge about the rules that are followed with regard to agriculture and medicine - there are things that are used in western medicine of which the origins are never revealed. Indigenous communities do not benefit from these things. And because of cultural diversity, this indigenous calendar must be used so that it can provide each ethnic group an opportunity to develop its culture.
In order for us to improve this indigenous knowledge, we need to start afresh by using the calendar of the indigenous communities because our traditions are revived through it. The first phase of this calendar starts in September which is the beginning of the New Year, as that is the time to start ploughing. Seasonal rains start falling in October and then the celebrations for thanking God for the rain and the fertile soil are held.
And in November the flowers blossom and the whole of nature blossoms again; fruit trees are also pruned. This is the time to celebrate the beauty of nature and its importance. In December, there is the celebration of the first fruits. And during this time of the first fruits, indigenous people pray to their ancestors. The second phase of this calendar is between January and April. During this phase fields are harvested, feasts and celebrations are held and sacrifices are made in order to thank and praise God for a good harvest.
As the ANC we are saying that we should strengthen the pillars and revive the practices that distinguish and promote our cultures. The ANC-led government is committing itself to nation-building, which is done on the basis of constitutional democracy which respects all the different cultures of the people of South Africa.
The President of the country, Msholozi, Nxamalala issued a challenge in his state of the nation address in June, and I quote:
ANC-led government has once again committed itself to create a united cohesive society out of our fragmented past. We are called to continue the mission of promoting unity in diversity and develop a shared value system, based on the spirit of community solidarity and a caring society. Our shared value system should encourage us to become active citizens in the renewal of our country in which we build a common national identity.
Another thing which we should not forget hon Members of Parliament is that, culture and traditional practices are the source of knowledge to any growing child in order for him/her to grow up knowing his/her origins, and to have a better understanding of the norms which are acceptable and those that are unacceptable in the community. Ploughing, on its own, teaches a child to fend for him/herself and that in order for him/her to get something, he/she needs to work very hard to achieve it.
This, alone, is a nation’s weapon to fight crimes like theft. Our history is engraved in our traditions. In order to understand the origins of a certain tribe better, it is important to understand its culture and its ways of life. And that encourages respect among different ethnic groups.
This makes it easy for the different ethnic groups to adore one another, and to be united. And it also discourages discrimination amongst people who are living together. We, the people of South Africa have different traditions and origins; therefore it is imperative that we encourage the celebration of our heritage and traditions separately.
Let us bring back our dignity by knowing who we are, where we come from and where we are going. We know that colonialism had a negative impact on the unity of the African people.
This was also encouraged by the Land Act which resulted in the indigenous people losing their rights to land ownership, subsequently forfeiting their rights to creating wealth through trading with livestock and agricultural produce. Our people were made slaves by working for other people leaving behind what was theirs.
The challenge is still big, Chairperson. Which remedy are we going to use to revive and preserve our traditions and indigenous teachings? There is a speech that was made by the former hon President Thabo Mbeki on 24 September 2004, and I quote:
The weavers of iHluzo and Isilulu, the baskets from Hlabisa woven with care by Reuben Ndwandwe and Beauty Ngcongo, the makers of Ntwana dolls, the Letsema of the Basotho women, the iNcwala the Reed dance are only some of the traditions that have survived the passage of time. We must confront this challenge every day and ensure that we bring to a halt the erosion and destruction of our traditions and beliefs. This is necessary because if, as Africans, we are to claim the 21st century for ourselves, we have a duty to preserve our tradition and heritage.
This challenge needs you and me and our children both black and white to use it in building a nation that is united in life but diversified in its traditions; to be respectable through the values that are entrenched in the guidelines of the Freedom Charter, that states that:
The doors of learning and culture shall be opened! The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life. All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands.
We need to make the living conditions better so that we are able to share all the knowledge of the things that we do in life. The communities need to be developed by creating ways to preserve those indigenous teachings and the traditional ways of life. Let me just mention a few examples with regard to health, science and agriculture. In the olden days black communities were not familiar with giving birth by Caesarean section. There were things that were done if the baby could not come out head first. They never gave birth by Caesarean section.
Indigenous people knew what it meant when the wind was blowing from a certain direction. And in agriculture, indigenous farmers knew that if plants changed colour before they could be watered, it meant that they should remove those plants and plant something else in that plot. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Thank you, hon member. That concludes the debate. Hon members, I have been informed that the Second Order of the Day will stand over, so the Secretary will read the Third Order.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON BASIC EDUCATION - ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION IN PRETORIA ON 11 AND 12
AUGUST 2009
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): I now call the hon chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Ms Chohan.
Ms F I CHOHAN: Chairperson, hon members, it isn’t possible for me, in the five minutes allowed to me, to deal very comprehensively with the report that we are tabling in the House today, suffice to note a few things. The first is that it is rare to find a situation such as the one that prevails currently with regard to the department in the sense that, technically and legally speaking, the Department of Basic Education does not exist. So, this report should actually be the report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on its visit to and engagement with the Department of Education. This is just a legal technicality and, practically speaking, for all intents and purposes, there is of course work that is being done on behalf of the Department of Basic Education.
Very briefly, one of the chief concerns, as always, is the issue of the delivery of quality education in our schools. I hesitate to say this simply because I have such a little time. But it is incorrect to paint all schools with the same brush. We have some really excellent schools.
Overall, I think that there is a huge concern that the legacy of apartheid has left us with an enormous burden as far as quality education is concerned. There are many and varied factors pertaining to this, all of which … [Interjections.] I am not sure what you are disagreeing about. All of the factors are critically important to address.
We certainly, from our side, are aware that, overall, our schools, when compared to other schools in other countries, do perform badly. It is of great concern that they perform badly when compared to other countries on the African continent, particularly countries poorer than South Africa. This, clearly, is a big issue. Happily, we found a department that is very focused on this issue and is particularly driven to deliver an upgrade on this matter. We are particularly pleased that the Minister of Basic Education stated upfront that for her and for her department it was a singular priority to deliver on the curriculum, and all efforts would be made to ensure that the department does indeed not lose this focus.
Unfortunately, we know that this is not just a simple matter of leaving it to the national department alone to reverse the legacy of apartheid in our education system. Indeed, every single one of us has to play a role. We need to be more committed to the culture of learning – and we have been talking about the issue of culture today.
I do think that one of the things that need the specific attention of all South Africans, is the culture of learning and teaching. Certainly, from our side, as the portfolio committee, we hope to be quite instrumental in leading a campaign that will resuscitate this particular and very vital issue.
To illustrate the point that I am making about the department not being able to deliver on its own some of the very commendable targets that it presented to us, we were very fortunate to be there when they presented the manual for the Foundations for Learning Campaign. This is really a manual aimed at being a teaching aid for teachers in the foundation phase - Grades 1 to 3 - to guide them, amongst other things, through their day. So this is really a very comprehensive, really good quality manual that should be on the desk of every teacher in every school.
However, some portfolio committee members phoned the schools in some of their constituencies and found that some schools had the manuals while others did not. This was not, interestingly, the schools in the far-flung outer reaches of our country. but very much those in the urban areas.
So it is these issues that we need to highlight and assist in rectifying. One of the biggest challenges for the department is going to be actually getting those efficiencies in order, and we certainly will be keeping tabs on this, amongst other things. Thank you very much for your time. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I move:
That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF STANDING COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS -
FOURTH QUARTER EXPENDITURE REPORT AS AT 30 MARCH 2009
(Consideration of Report of Standing Committee on Appropriations thereon)
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): I now call the hon the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Mr Sogoni.
Mr E M SOGONI: Chairperson, the executive, colleagues and members of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, the democratic government has since 1999 adopted the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the MTEF, a three-year tool of budgeting that allows for proper planning, certainty and predictability. That means that every department knows more or less how much they will receive the next financial year or two years later.
The Division of Revenue in 2008 enjoined every department to start planning their infrastructure projects for the following year by June to avoid any kind of delay in implementation. Many departments heeded the call, although some struggled to comply.
On the occasion of the opening of Parliament, the President made a clarion call on all departments. He said: “Government will have to act prudently - no wastage, no rollovers of funds - every cent must be spent wisely and fruitfully.”
However, the analysis of the expenditure of the fourth quarter report of 2008-09 reveals that the former Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, as it was called then, underspent by R505 million – that is 7,7% of their budget. Of that amount, R250 million had already been rolled over twice, thus being in contravention of section 6(4)(3) of the Treasury regulations which prohibits that practice. In other words, they can only do this on the basis of approval by National Treasury. We did not see that that was done.
We also noted that the Department of Labour underspent by R73 million owing to a number of vacant inspector posts, inspectors who are critical to the work that the department does in monitoring all kinds of compliance by employers. The reason for these vacancies was attributed to low salaries paid by the department.
The Standing Committee on Appropriations feels that the department cannot afford to do without labour inspectors. They are central in protecting vulnerable workers who are not unionised.
We also noted that Home Affairs did not spend the R110 million that was mentioned earlier. However, the Deputy Minister did respond to this.
However, the standing committee is of the view that it will, in collaboration with the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, invite the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, in order to resolve this matter. Another instance of underspending was by the Department of Health as a result of the withholding of funds, because the Western Cape delayed the issuing of the tender for the building of the hospital in Khayelitsha, thus depriving the people of Khayelitsha access to health care.
Also, the Department of Agriculture could not spend R60 million on a project called Ilima, because they had not finalised service level agreements with the Development Bank of Southern Africa that was identified to carry out the project. This project was meant to promote security for the poorest of the poor. So, the poor were, again, deprived as a result of the inefficiency of officials. Clearly, Parliament can protect the poor through tighter oversight and accountability.
The Department of Transport experienced overspending in a programme dealing with bus subsidies, because they did not have sufficient funds. The committee was informed that this matter was being resolved or discussed with the department and National Treasury by clarifying policies on subsidies.
All these matters need to be resolved sooner rather than later because the poor are always the victims. Parliament has thus a duty to protect the poor.
We will not create the 500 000 jobs unless the departments charged with their responsibility to do capital expenditure, start spending appropriately. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I move:
That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
THE CHALLENGES POSED BY THE CURRENT GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS ON THE
DEVELOPMENTAL STATE
(Subject for Discussion)
Ms J L FUBBS: Chairperson, comrades, colleagues, hon members of this House, indeed this is not simply a challenge in the title, but for all of us here and even internationally highly topical. About a year ago we heard about the collapse of Lehman Brothers and that signalled a global economic crisis that has reverberated around the world, encouraging many states to run and call for protectionist cover. Exports from developing countries were knocked down, leading to the closure of factories and retrenchment of workers. Retrenched workers joined their unemployed brothers and sisters. The most vulnerable members of our society have become victims of unbridled greed.
We may well ask ourselves: How can South Africa combat the challenges of the current global economic crises? However, we have already learnt this year, in this term of Parliament, that we have indeed been more fortunate than a number of countries in Africa and in the South and, in fact, in the West itself. There is absolutely no doubt that the financial fundamentals that we have developed over the past 15 years have stood us in good stead, for example, the National Credit Act and the Extended Public Works Programme, and more recently the infrastructural programme around Fifa. We have, even prior to the stimulus package, taken a decision to actually allocate more than R7 billion to infrastructural investment and construction and development.
What is interesting, however, when we talk about how we as a developmental state overcome these challenges, is that we will often think of the experiences of the Asian Tigers, that mythical miracle that collapsed about 20 years ago. We may ask ourselves whether that wasn’t touted as a developmental state, and indeed that was, but that’s about all it was. It certainly understood about state intervention but it relied upon government by decree. It was an authoritarian regime which pursued its development to become an industrialised state that would rival that of the major powers of the West but at the expense of workers and civil liberties.
Indeed we know that that is not what our people fought for. Of course people fought against apartheid, but we seem to forget that they also fought for human rights. We had a Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP and a Freedom Charter before. That all came together in our own Constitution with the Bill of Rights.
Certainly, our idea of a developmental state is more along the lines of, as Gandhi put it, “the cornerstone of the developmental state is one where there is constant dialogue and listening to the voice of the people.” Which is why we find in this fourth term of Parliament that in one sense we are returning to our roots, as we move around among our communities more earnestly and stop talking but rather start listening to what people are saying and include that in the way in which we are managing government, and in this Parliament the way in which we are exercising our oversight.
Indeed, a developmental state, as we understand it in an ANC government, is one that is people-driven and one that directs the pace and nature of the economy in pursuit of transformation. It also requires, as other members of the ANC team will put to the House, a radically different public service mindset. In the executive we also have a reconfigured Cabinet to capture this new approach. In the Presidency itself evidence of this is in the National Planning Commission and in the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration.
What you now have is a clear understanding that a developmental state is not just going to be about policy and it not just going to be about rights. It is about responsibilities, performance, planning for that and about actually monitoring and evaluating it and reviewing it if necessary and not trying to run postmortems five years later. It is also one in which you find that the ANC government’s commitment to fighting poverty and arresting jobless growth is absolutely key in a developmental state and is not simply an economic question.
There is absolutely no doubt that, unlike that which was launched in the Asian Tigers and indeed in Japan itself, we actually understand that a developmental state will collapse unless it is directly linked to social and economic development.
In this way we cannot have jobless growth. We have also put a stop to deindustrialisation and we are funding companies in distress, reinvigorating the agricultural sector and rural development. Rural development is not simply digging in a field, it will have industrial development alongside it and it will venture forth through new systems of transport and with field workers who will actually work within a South African and African system and not try to impose something that will not work in our country. We recognise that, as President Zuma has said over and over again, the silo concept of implementation cannot work in a developmental state. To combat the current global crisis we will need an integrated co-ordinated approach to planning and policy implementation. It requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, not only the public and private sector working together, but both working together with the unions and civil society.
The core of all of this in the productive sector itself is our workers, and we will recognise that the biggest and most sustainable investment we can make is to invest in employment and not to simply see the cost of employment as paying out wages all the time, but as also contributing directly to increasing the productivity base of South Africa.
In conclusion, it is important to clarify that the kind of work that we are looking at is decent, quality work, retraining and upgrading the skills and recognising and developing the potential of the people in our developmental state. That is the basic of combating the economic global challenges facing us today. I thank you. [Applause.]
Dr P J RABIE: Hon Chairman, hon members, what South Africa needs is a viable economic policy that encourages the creation of sustainable jobs. The ANC’s response to the present job crisis - after having listened to the hon Fubbs - is to implement the so-called “developmental state”. But this is not clear because there is no consensus within the ANC on what a developmental state entails.
South Africa is going through a severe economic recession. The question that every South African must ask is whether this particular policy that relates to a developmental state will lead to sustainable growth and sustainable jobs, or if a developmental state is just another experiment for short-term political gain. The fact remains that thousands of members of pension funds and South Africans from all walks of life have become poorer during this present recession.
This particular economic model, namely the developmental state, was used - as the hon Fubbs said - in a number of Asian economies to industrialise and attain economic growth, with varying degrees of success. At the same time, the obsession with centralisation in these countries impeded the evolution of democracy. Whether we believe it or not, the key to sustained economic growth is also economic freedom. I think the hon Fubbs quoted Japan, but there are a number of other countries such as Korea and Taiwan. One of the outstanding characteristics of these particular developmental states was a very efficient public service that was able to deliver. The question we have to ask ourselves is how our present Public Service will fulfil the requirements and needs of a developmental state.
What we need is less debate around redesigning South Africa’s entire economic growth model, and more time spent on addressing fundamental economic deficiencies within our particular system. First and foremost, the inefficiency of the public sector is untenable. Regulatory issues that impede South Africa’s global competitiveness must be taken into account.
The skills mismatch with an educational system, which is not responding to the needs of the South African economy, is also of grave importance. Our university enrolment rate is only 15%, and I am quoting this from the latest edition of the Global Competitive Index. Somebody must take responsibility for this particular state of affairs.
Another factor which impedes economic growth in our country is our onerous labour regime. Parastatals such as Eskom and others are poorly managed and fail to provide adequate power for economic growth. Something else that impedes growth is the poor security situation and the cost of crime and violence. The question that is often asked by members of the public is whether the police are able to provide adequate protection.
During this economic recession, it is of vital importance that we keep our economy competitive. Therefore, the appropriate reciprocal relationship between the private and public sectors must exist. In fact, we must strengthen this particular relationship. Die ANC is reeds vir meer as 15 jaar aan bewind. Word die ontwikkelingstaat nie deur Luthuli-huis as ’n model gebruik om meer beheer oor die ekonomie te verkry nie? Waarom moet beplanning en beheer sentraal geskied? Dit is ’n vraag wat nie net in Suid-Afrika gevra word nie. Dit word regoor die wêreld gevra. Die staat speel wel ’n sleutelrol in ekonomiese ontwikkeling. Sy kernfunksie is dié van reguleerder, maar die privaatsektor is ook belangrik. Tewens, as ons byvoorbeeld kyk na die private gesondheidsektor, sien ons dat die private gesondheidsektor die openbare gesondheidsektor nodig het. Daar moet ’n simbiotiese verhouding geskied en vice versa. Ons kan nie van die ekonomiese werklikhede wegkom nie.
As dit by ekonomiese ontwikkeling kom, gaan dit oor meer as net woorde. In die 15 jaar van die ANC-bewind, is daar etlike gonswoorde deur die ANC gebruik soos Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa; Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP; Growth, Employment and Redistribution, Gear, en andere. Die DA sê, in wese gaan dit oor die uitbou van ’n ope geleentheidsgedrewe samelewing wat spesiale klem plaas op die ontwikkeling en bemagtiging van al die mense in Suid-Afrika, nie net ’n klein minderheids- of elite groep wat noue politieke en ekonomiese bande met ’n politieke party, naamlik die ANC, het nie. Ek is bevrees dit is die toedrag van sake, of ons dit nou wil glo of nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The ANC has been in power for more than 15 years already. Is Luthuli House not using the developmental state as a model to get more control over the economy? Why should planning and control be centralised? This question has not only been asked in South Africa. It has been asked throughout the world.
The state is indeed playing a key role in economic development. Its core function is that of regulator, but the private sector is also important. Besides, when we consider the private health sector, for example, we find that the private health sector needs the public health sector. There has to be a symbiotic relationship, and vice versa. We cannot escape the economic realities.
When it comes to economic development, paying lip-service is not enough. In the 15 years of ANC rule, a number of buzzwords were used by the ANC, for instance, Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, Asgisa; Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP; Growth, Employment and Redistribution, Gear, and some other buzzwords. The DA is saying that it is in essence about the development of an open opportunity society with special emphasis on the development and empowerment of all the people of South Africa, not only a small minority or elite group who has close political and economic ties with a political party, namely the ANC. I am afraid this is the state of affairs, whether or not we want to believe it.]
One of the positive outcomes of the Asian developmental state was that the small business sector in Japan and Taiwan grew at a phenomenal pace because an entrepreneurial culture was cultivated. It is tragic that South Africa does not have an entrepreneurial culture and that the ANC government’s actions do not promote this. In fact, they run counter to it. Government makes it more difficult for entrepreneurs and small businesses to operate and save due to excessive red tape and a regulatory framework that is not favourable to business creation and sustainable job creation. We can look at the facts.
Instead of building an Asian tiger, the government is creating an African ostrich. I use this metaphor of the African ostrich because it is of vital importance that we face the real economic challenges that pose a threat to our economic wellbeing in a courageous, bold manner and not hide behind a controversial economic model which was used in the 70s and 80s in Asia. Thank you, Mr Chairman. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr L S NGONYAMA: Hon Chair, Cope agrees that this is a big question that has to be interrogated soberly by all South Africans. Within this context, Cope notes that our country in the post-apartheid period, in spite of progress made, still has vast pockets of unemployment, poverty, skills deficits and inequalities. Even though the world has opened up to a democratic South Africa, we have not developed our people adequately and we have not developed sufficiently as an export-driven economy.
We are still too reliant on our mineral resources. How will our economy survive if demand for gold, platinum, steel and coal were to decline sharply? This is not idle speculation. Even as I speak, the demand for manganese, ferrotungsten, ferroalloys and ferrochrome has been severely depressed for many months now. Our challenge, clearly, is not to be solely and entirely dependent on mining for our export income. This would be a huge mistake. We need to invest in manufacturing.
It is alarming to note that it is the domestic demand that is driving two thirds of the real growth of our domestic production. We in South Africa have not learnt lessons from the Asians who fostered domestic savings to fund their industrial growth. We in South Africa have negligible savings, and this stifles credit creation and investment in new projects.
In our country, growth is more dependent on consumption than it is on investment. According to the World Bank, investments cannot contribute only 25% to the growth of GDP, believe it or not. This is alarming as it is unsustainable. We urge that government address this glaring failure urgently. We urge that government take steps to support vigorously the creation of a culture of savings on the part of our citizens. The previous Minister of Finance was persistent in urging people to save. We most certainly need some extraordinary measures in this regard. Despite all the above challenges, we have to save as South Africans. We have to save.
While we are on the topic of the Asian tigers, as espoused by the hon Fubbs, we also need to make the point that our trade needs to focus on Bric countries for expansion and growth – that is Brazil, Russia, India and China. This would be in line with what Doreen Massey terms “Power Geometry”. Yes, we need to reconfigure our trading patterns.
Another enormous challenge is that of price—fixing. Cartels continue to operate in our country, keeping prices artificially high through collusion. Cartels have operated in the food industry, in bakeries, in energy, in the construction industry, with regard to plastic pipes and in many other areas. As a result of cartels, price-fixing is endemic. Price-fixing is a major challenge to our economy and a major inhibitor of economic growth.
This is a challenge that has to be met head-on, and the government has actually failed us in this regard. It has to be met on every front. It must be defeated because it locks out or marginalises smaller businesses. Producers of steel in South Africa, for example, have been charging import parity prices to South African companies for the last seven years. This is so utterly wrong. Iron ore is locally mined and our country is a net exporter of steel. Yet, manufacturing is constrained through such collusion. As a result, we import stainless pots from Korea and elsewhere rather than making them here. In essence, we are exporting jobs. This is what we are doing, and we cannot tolerate this. We have to change it. The South African government has to uproot this practice.
The next challenge to our economy and our government is that of labour productivity. We don’t fare very well internationally in this regard. Lack of skills, long journeys to and from work for workers, inadequate nutrition and limitations in education and training have all taken their toll on productivity. If we were internationally competitive in this regard, our GDP, according to the World Bank, could have grown by at least 3%. That would be a staggering growth increase.
Another very obvious challenge comes from the cost of capital. An industrialist in the UK or in the USA could probably borrow money for investment at four times less the price than what it is in our country. In this regard, we suggest that government make available approximately R10 billion to the banking sector at approximately 2% for lending to investors and farmers at half the market rate. Stringent conditions will apply to ensure that funds are used for purposes of new investment and nothing else. It is better to use taxpayer money to help out than to bail out companies. Viable companies and small, medium and micro enterprises – SMMEs - should have the propensity to borrow, and banks should have the propensity to lend. By ring-fencing a special pool of investment capital at half the market cost, investments will be stimulated. Economic analysis has shown that borrowing for investment purposes is sensitive to real interest rates. We are therefore proposing a two-tiered lending approach.
Finally, we need to meet the great challenge of our political and economic role in Africa. We face what is called the “hegemon’s dilemma”: small though we are in the world, we are very big on the continent. We must seek integration and multilateral co-operation and not domination on the continent. What we need is the fostering of a national consensus through partnerships and solidarity. We need a new way and a new agenda for change. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr N SINGH: Hon Chairperson, firstly, I would like to thank hon Fubbs for the motion. I think this is a very interesting debate, one that we have had before in the third Parliament but one in terms of which the issues cannot be overemphasised. I am also glad that the hon Fubbs emphasised social development and not only pie-in-the-sky things that one normally talks - Asia, Japan and the rest of the world.
However, I want to submit that the challenges that are posed by the global economic crisis and the developmental state are challenges that we accept. We know what happened globally; we know what happened in the US; and we know that that has had an impact on the South African economy, to a lesser extent because we had a very good banking system.
However, what I want to submit to the hon Fubbs through you, Chair, is that it is not only external factors that are going to cause us not to meet this “Manna from Heaven” developmental state that we want, but also internal factors and internal weaknesses in the way government implements a number of programmes that are put on paper. I will refer to this a little later on. The situation in South Africa is no different to that in any other part of the world.
As I said, while we might not have felt the adverse effects of this crisis as harshly as other countries did, there is no doubt that it has impacted negatively on us. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost, while hardly any are being created; people are losing their houses and assets; and more people will be pushed into poverty.
However, we have just had the hon Sogoni present his report of the Standing Committee on Appropriations which this House accepted, and we saw how departments were not spending money. It has been reported by Treasury that Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have already blown their budgets to the tune of R5,8 billion – R5,8 billion! They have run up R260 million a year on cellphone calls, travel and accommodation bills, costing our taxpayers money. Regarding education, Dr Brown from the Treasury said that South Africa spends a lot on education, but the outcomes don’t reflect it.
Closer monitoring would allow for early interventions to deal with these challenges. We are also told that overspending worries the Treasury. It hits the provinces’ bank balances and can slow down service delivery for years ahead, especially as the slowdown on the economy, owing to the global financial crisis, has put pressure on the provincial income. When looking at investment, what South Africans need is a return on their investments. Taxpayer money of R767 billion needs to be spent wisely. All of us in this house, in government and in the executive have to ask ourselves if we are doing enough to enough value for money. The simple answer to that is no.
We welcome the monitoring and the evaluation, but until and unless we sort out internal weaknesses in the way in which our government operates, we are not going to have this developmental state we talk about. However, I think we need to look for a seed of a hidden opportunity in every instance of adversity. And that seed for us is to sharpen our pencils and be alive to the global economic crisis … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mrs E M COLEMAN: Hon Chairperson, Deputy Minister and colleagues, let me start by dedicating this speech to my mother who is turning 76 years old today. [Applause.] I want to say to her, Mom, I thank you. I really thank God for giving me a mom of your calibre, and may God bless you with many more years to come.
Thank you very much, hon Chairperson, for the opportunity afforded me to discuss this very important topic. The ANC sees a successful developmental state as that which has a strong planning capacity and the capacity to intervene in strategic areas, meaning that it is a state that acts as an effective system of continual co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of government programmes and projects.
The ANC further understands that in order to achieve this, we need to have a public service that has the capacity to execute the tasks with which it has been entrusted and that does so through placing the right personnel in the correct positions. I think we are the first people, hon Singh, to acknowledge that we need the right personnel in the right positions and, where this is not the case, corrective measures need to be implemented through training and redeployment.
Yes, this is a problem, but it is important not to find fault, and rather, as a good citizen, to say that these are challenges – as you have been saying - and this is where we think we will be able to go. This particular topic is very important, because we have created a platform in terms of which people can assist in responding to the very same challenges we are facing today. You have that opportunity then to assist because, as the current government, we understand that we are servants of the people and we open our ears, not just to listen, but with the understanding that you are here to contribute. Whatever you are contributing is very important, especially if that contribution is towards reshaping our country, because nobody has the remedy for the challenges that we have.
The global economic crisis has increased the demand on the state to speed up its pace of delivery, while, at the same time, posing the challenge of increasing the pace of our response to the economic crisis. To me, it challenges us to transform our attitudes on how we do our business, meaning that we have to apply a professional ethos and values, while not running the risk of moving towards stagnation and chaos.
Previous speakers mentioned how countries like China have succeeded, but they also cautioned that when we do transformation or put reform systems in place, we must guard against being very hasty, because if we are too hasty, we may face chaos in the process. But, if we are too slow, we may face stagnation.
Good governance demands a very alert public service that is responsive to the needs of our people, especially the rural poor. The public service needs to respond in an equitable and transparent manner. One should remember that the state must be able to intervene as and when needed. For it to respond, it needs a quality, professional, committed and responsive public service. What is also important is for there to be a well- designed set of institutions and systems for budget formulation and execution. I agree with Mr Singh there, because that will help to define how public funds are raised, allocated and managed. To me these are quite serious prerequisites for financial prudency.
I want to join the speakers who always argue that our challenge lies in an incapacity to co-ordinate, co-operate, monitor and evaluate our brilliant and responsive programmes, policies and legislation that are already in place. If we are to see more of an impact, we have to refocus our energies towards results-based budgeting and performance budgeting which the Public Finance Management Act was geared up to achieve.
The only problem with the Act is that it is too compliance-based and it also promotes budgeting that directs planning rather than vice versa. Although it promotes transparency and timeous reporting, it lacks the mechanisms to foster this. Moreover, the authority to budget and spend lies with the accounting officer, who is an official and is not forced to consult, even though he could consult an executing authority regarding allocations to priority programmes and projects.
We also need to remember that timelines are not entirely flexible within the Public Finance Management Act regulations. If executing authorities are not vigilant, they find themselves rubber-stamping what officials have already concluded. This then concretises the criticism that planning follows budgeting. We have to turn the situation around in a speedy manner in order to avoid the repetitive cycle so that we can avoid the same occurrences in the future, especially starting from the next financial year.
I want to put forward a case study that was done in Mpumalanga around early childhood development, which we all know is a national priority - and we all know that many people refer to the lack of early childhood development as an impediment to development in our rural areas.
This illustrates the dangers related to the lack of co-ordination and synergy within our programmes. In Mpumalanga, for instance, we have a population of more than 3,6 million people and, of that population, 7% are children between the ages of 0 and 4. About 20% of those children are orphans.
Based on statistics from 2006, more than 2% live in abject poverty, more than 3 000 are in pre-Grade R, and 27% are in Grade R. They are served by 268 early childhood development centres, of which 220 are community based. They are subsidised at R4,40 per child in the rural and previously disadvantaged areas, while the private ones are subsidised at R11,00 per learner, per month. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr L W GREYLING: Chairperson, this global economic crisis has brutally exposed the shallowness of our economy. We have clearly failed over the past 15 years to diversify sufficiently our industrial base from that of a minerals–energy complex.
We have also undergone a period of deindustrialisation in which we have become overly reliant on our commodity exports, and have in turn imported most of our manufactured goods. This has led to our entering into this economic crisis with the vulnerable position of a current account deficit. It is now time for us to be bold in our development planning and put measures in place that can truly build up an industrial base that caters both to local needs and positions us as a leader in the emerging fields, particularly those related to the green economy. I thank you.
Mr S Z NTAPANE: Chairperson, the global economic crisis is one year old - if one measures from the time it became public when several major American financial institutions were on the brink of collapse owing to dubious credit practices. Since that time the effects triggered by that financial crisis have reverberated around the world and have even been felt in countries, like our own, where stringent financial and credit regulations are in place.
We do not dispute that the global economy has had an effect on us, but we should not lose sight of two important factors. Firstly, we knew about this crisis from the outset and that government was in a position to devise adequate responses.
Secondly, external pressures do not negate the constitutional obligations of government, nor do they nullify the promises upon which the ruling party won its electoral mandate. It is exactly this context that should have made the government use each cent wisely and stop turning government functions into extravagant and costly pageants that are barely disguised political rallies for the ruling party. Thank you.
Mr N E GCWABAZA: Hon Chairperson, hon members, the conception of a developmental state can be traced back to the Freedom Charter, to the Reconstruction and Development Programme and to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa – and, most recently, to the ANC’s 52nd conference resolutions and the ANC 2009 election manifesto. Therefore, there is an explicit commitment by the ANC government to the creation of a democratic developmental state. This is based on the belief in the ANC that government cannot overcome the current challenges facing our country outside of the developmental state. These challenges, worsened by the global economic crisis, are fighting poverty, fighting inequality and fighting unemployment, as well as delivering services to our people.
We firmly believe that it is through direct state intervention that the economy will become globally competitive, that it will increase investments, that it will achieve high growth rates and create decent employment.
Eminyakeni eyishumi nanhlanu yombuso wentandoyeningi, kunobufakazi obungephikiswe bokuthi uhulumeni kaKhongolose uqale ngempumelelo ukwakha iNingizimu Afrika ethuthukayo. Lokhu kubonakala ngezibalo zenhlolovo ezithi phakathi konyaka ka-1995 nonyaka ka-2002 umnotho wakha imisebenzi eyisigidi eziyi-1,7 kanti phakathi kuka-2002 ukuya ku-2006 kwakhiwe imisebenzi eyisigidi-eziyi-1,2 ngaphezu kwalokhu sikhuluma nje bevile ezigidini eziyishumi nambili abantu abathola izibonelelo. Ngisho phela impesheni yobudala,yokugula kanye nemali yokondla izingane.
Kanti okunye okuyizinkomba zentuthuko kuhulumeni zalo hulumeni kaKhongolose ukuthi zevile ezigidini ezintathu izindlu asezakhelwe abantu bakithi kanti nezibalo zezingane ezifundayo zenyuke kakhulu kuleminyaka eyishumi nanhlanu yombuso wentandoyeningi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[In the fifteen years of democracy there is undeniable evidence that the ANC government started with great success in building a developing South Africa. This is proved by the statistics of a survey which shows that between 1995 and 2002 the economy created 1,7 million jobs, whereas between 2002 and 2006, 1,2 million jobs were created, over and above the fact that there are more than 12 million people who receive grants. By this I mean pension for the elderly people, the disability grant and the child support grant.
Notwithstanding that some of the indicators that the ANC government has built are that there are more than 3 million houses that were built for our people, and that the number of children attending schools has increased tremendously in the 15 years of democracy.]
Recent studies show that relative successes of the democratic developmental state have brought about a significant improvement in the quality of life of most South Africans. Using the lower poverty line of R174 per person per month and the upper poverty line of R322 per person per month, both relative and absolute poverty on both the upper and lower poverty lines declined by between 5% and 8% between 1995 and 2008.
Abasebenzi abangaphezulu kwezinkulungwane ezingamashumi amane sebelahlekelwe yimisebenzi lokhu kwaqala loluhlevane lokwehla komnotho emhlabeni jikelele.
Amazinga okukhiqiza nokudayisa kwezimpahla emazweni angaphandle ngokunjalo kwehlile kakhulu. Kunezibalo ezikhishwe ngonyaka odlule ezikhomba ukuthi abantu baseNingizimu Afrika banezikweletu ezibalelwa ezigidigidini eziphindwe kathathu eziyi-1,4 zamarandi kodwa uma sisonke thina esisebenzayo sihola izigidigidi eziphindwe kathathu eziyi-1,1 zamarandi. Lokho kukhomba ukuthi akuqalanga namhlanje ukuthi thina bantu baseNingizimu Afrika sizwele lesi simo esikhona njengabo bonke abantu emhlabeni wonke jikelele.
Yingakho ke uhulumeni kaKhongolose oholwa nguNxamalala, uMongameli uJacob Zuma ufake uhlelo lwentuthuko oluzodla izigidigidi eziyi-787. Okuthokozisayo ukuthi phezu kobunzima izwe elibhekene nabo lokwehla kwezinga lokuqoqwa kwezimali zentela ngezigidigidi ezingama-80 zamarandi. Uhulumeni kaKhongolose usazibophezele kuloluhlelo lwentuthuko.
Ukwakhiwa kwemigwaqo, amabhuloho, izikole, ukwakhiwa nokuthuthukisa kwamachweba izikhumulo zezindiza kanye nojantshi bezitimela sekwakhe amathuba amaningi emisebenzi futhi kuzokhuthaza ukuthuthuka komkhiqizo, ukutshalwa kwezimali ezimbonini nokwakhiwa kwezimboni ezintsha. Sekuzoba lula nokuthuthwa komkhiqizo ngaphakathi ezweni kanye nokuthuthwa kwezimpahla ezidayiswayo emazweni angaphandle. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Since the recession started, over 40 000 workers have lost their jobs.
The levels of producing and exporting goods have also dropped tremendously. Statistics published last year show that the people of South Africa have debt which amounts to approximately 1.4 trillion rand, but all the workers are collectively paid R1, 1 trillion. This is a clear indication that we as South Africans, didn’t start now to feel the crunch as compared to other people around the world.
That is why the ANC government, led by President Jacob Zuma, uNxamalala, launched a programme that will cost R787 billion. The good news though is that despite the difficulty we are facing with regard to a deficit in tax collection amounting to R80 billion, the ANC government is still committed to this development programme.
The building of roads, bridges, schools, harbours, airports and railway lines has led to the creation of many job opportunities and it will also stimulate the improvement of products, investment in the industries and the building of new industries. It will be easy to transport products around the country as well as the transportation of exports.]
The 2010 Fifa World Cup could not have come at a better time. The construction of football stadiums has created job opportunities that go beyond the 2010 World Cup. For instance, the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Ethekwini is going to generate economic, sports and recreational activities well beyond 2010.
It has been suggested that the agricultural industry employs about 70% of the active labour force. There is therefore also a need to focus our attention on the agricultural sector, including the development of the agro- processing industry. Indeed, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries confirms that there is serious work in progress in this regard. Special attention must be given to the emerging black farmers as well.
The ANC government is committed to the mobilisation of small businesses and co-operatives in order to bring the majority of our people into the mainstream economy. We will ensure that there is financial support, mentoring and monitoring of small businesses and co-operatives. We will also ensure that those co-operatives with the potential to grow and venture into large business operations are exposed to the export market. This is where the Department of Trade and Industry agencies such as Khula, the National Empowerment Fund, the Industrial Development Corporation, the SA Microfinance Apex Fund, the Small Enterprise Development Agency, the Enterprise Organisation and others must play a decisive role. Where there are weaknesses, Parliament will intervene effectively.
We must pursue the transformation of informal economic activities and integrate these into the formal economy. The development of the Warwick Avenue in Ethekwini is a case in point.
Economists have been suggesting that the world should recover from the current recession in the next 18 months. We must be ready to take full advantage of that. The democratic developmental state must be ready and determined to intervene and influence the direction and pace of economic development, instead of abandoning this task to the market forces whose god is profit and their church the market. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr S N SWART: Chairperson, the global financial crisis continues to have an impact on economies around the world. Budget deficits have soared to unprecedented heights as tax revenue has fallen sharply. Employment, as we know, is falling in almost every country, with South Africa not being an exception. Clearly, this crisis presents a huge challenge to the developmental state, requiring government intervention as far as possible.
In this regard, the ACDP supports the framework agreement between government, labour and business and the measures that were announced recently. It must be borne in mind that such co-operation was the essence of the success of the Asian tigers. So, we look forward to further co- operation in this regard.
We can also appreciate the counter-cyclical approach adopted by government, as well as the foresight of having the R787 billion infrastructure programme that was announced way before this crisis hit us.
Clearly, the most urgent challenge relates to protecting jobs. Yesterday the Minister of Labour provided details of the R2,45 billion training lay- off scheme. We would like to see that implemented far quicker. It is interesting to note that Brazil has created almost 500 000 jobs in this climate whilst it has come out of recession in a six-month period. We know that this is a target that we are also looking at. So, it might help to look. And, whilst we appreciate that their economy is much stronger than ours, we could learn lessons there as well.
The best weapon that government has is the budget surplus that we built up in the boom years, which now allows for our deficit to be financed and for government spending to continue. However, the real challenge will be to spend the limited funds better, to do more and better without additional resources.
For us to emerge stronger from the recession, we need to focus on microeconomic issues, such as providing cheaper bandwidth, reliable electricity and uncongested ports. We also agree that we need to address inefficiency in the public sector, regulatory issues that impede our global competitiveness, the skills shortage and - let us not forget - business collusion. This is how the challenges posed by the current global economic crisis can be met. Thank you very much for this debate, Ms Fubbs.
Mrs D R TSOTETSI: Hon Chairperson, hon members and our distinguished guests, it is important for us to acknowledge the fact that the economic crisis is not only experienced by South Africa, but by the world at large. This situation is a call on the nation to exercise a high level of patriotism and to reconsider our expectations.
It is equally important to state the causal factors of the situation. There are many factors. A few factors include insufficient capacity and resources to deal with the imbalances or inequalities of the past. What makes this global challenge more difficult to address is the nonrepentance of the majority of the perpetrators.
A developmental state is people-centred and includes other partners such as trade unions, organised labour and business. The word “people” is inclusive of women. This is a factor denied by the ruling party in the Western Cape legislature. This is an example of perpetrators who resist development and the recognition of potential. The ruling party excluded women, but it was men and women who put them in power. The message is that it is only the premier who has the potential. Such an attitude is a hindrance towards a developmental state.
The developmental state, under the leadership of the ANC, is open to criticism, both positive and destructive, hence the institutionalisation of public participation. The Green Paper titled National Strategic Planning of September 2009 talks about gaps in our system. This is self-criticism, acknowledging weaknesses and seeking ways to improve. Our government still faces serious challenges in intergovernmental co- ordination, even though there have been significant advances over the past decade. Interdepartmental and intergovernmental co-ordination and integration should be prioritised in the system of accountability of the executive, the administration and the legislatures. It means that people cannot be held accountable if there is no monitoring and evaluation. We need an agency that authoritatively and forcefully can drive planning, monitoring and evaluation and that can make institutional improvements. We say we need an agency and not consultants. We need a clear mechanism for weighing up options and for making hard and unpopular choices where there are fiscal limitations and policies are contested.
The Green Paper further cites some international experience. This is information we gathered through research and international study tours. Government does this in order to copy best practices and improve on the cost of doing business. Monitoring the short- and long-term plans on a daily basis will automatically identify danger zones on time, thus preventing irreparable damage.
The level of corruption the country is experiencing threatens good governance. The abuse of state resources is also a challenge and a threat to development. Very often we talk about the lack of capacity in government, but the capacity to steal taxpayers’ money is amazing. Nothing beats good planning and monitoring. Remember that you cannot monitor what you cannot measure. Therefore, our plans must be realistic and prudent.
Plans are implemented by people, and implementation cannot be effective if employees are in acting positions for a long time - especially in senior positions. An acting position for a long time creates uncertainty and affects one’s performance. It also results in premature and uninformed resignations. The global world we are competing with needs consistency not for people to die in positions, but at least a reasonable time of five years in office. It is also not a sin to be in office for more than five years, as long as government does not keep deadwood as it is detrimental to the developmental state. Let us reduce the import of labour and rely on our own capacity. This can only happen if people are trained in skills relevant to the economy.
Some people lament that the ANC has been in government for 15 years and should have responded to all the ills of the past. How does government deliver optimally when it has to clean the mess that was created over 40 years? For instance, social grants must close the gap resulting from discrimination on the basis of race and gender, with the objective being the eradication of poverty. Some information I gathered from the library indicates that the budget for social pensions in 1980 was as follows. I will read exactly what the Minister in 1980 said with pride:
I am glad that I am able once again to announce meaningful concessions to pensioners and other social beneficiaries. Full participants of the proposed concessions are set out in a document which I shall lay upon the table this afternoon. The concessions include an increase in social pensions of R12 per month in the case of whites, which means the pension will increase to R109 per month for whites. The increase for coloureds and Indians amounts to R8 per month and for blacks R5,50 per month.
I can quote more. This happened some time ago, but its impact is still felt as it is still perpetuated, albeit subtly.
However, let us ensure that the developmental state is as inclusive as possible. Let us follow the footsteps of our President and not correct a wrong with a wrong. The ANC government says: “each according to need”. We are also consistent with the Freedom Charter - that is, South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. We therefore have an obligation to develop South Africa so as to sustain jobs and all other achievements.
Modulasetulo ka bokgutshwanyane re a tseba hore ke kgomo ya moshate, o a e hapa, o molato, o a e tlohela, o molato. Nka etsa mohlala ka botlokotsebe bona boo re llang ka bona kamehla le matsatsi, ebile re tshosetswa hore ha e le 2010 re keke ra bona ketsahalo ya teng. Empa ha letona Commissioner a re ya bolayang ka tjhaka o tla bolawa ka tjhaka, e le ha a lwantsha dikebekwa tse hlaselang batho ba se nang molato ba sa kgoneng ho ka itshireletsa, ke mona moo ho thweng o tswile taolong, o hloka boikarabelo. Ha a sa etse jwalo le teng ho thwe ke moetapele ya se nang boikarabelo.
Ke yona kgomo ya moshate, empa rona re re ha re bontsheng boetapele. Re lwanetse Afrika Borwa, mme ba sa ntsaneng ba na le boipelaetso hore ha re pusong, re tla ba bontsha. Re tla tswela pele le ka dikgetho tse tlang, re nne re buse ka tsela e jwalo. Mme re re ho ba ileng ba bona boetapele Afrika Borwa, pele-a-pele. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, in short, we know that we are faced with a huge dilemma, where we are damned if we do and we are damned if we don’t. I can make an example with crime. We complain about it every day, sometimes we are even threatened that we will not be able to see the 2010 event because of crime. But when the Commissioner says that the police must shoot to kill when fighting criminals who attack innocent people who cannot protect themselves, he is regarded as being out of control and irresponsible. If he does not do that he is also regarded as an irresponsible leader.
This is the dilemma I am talking about. But we are saying that we have to show leadership. We fought for South Africa, and those who still doubt that we are in government; we will show them. We will prove them wrong by winning the upcoming elections and continue to govern. To those who have been in leadership in South Africa, well done.]
Prof B TUROK: Chair, it is rather strange that this kind of debate about the role of the state is now being internationally recognised. In the Financial Times of a week ago, the Prime Minister of France had the following to say:
The crisis has modified Europe’s ideological landscape … even the British government, once firm proponents of liberal, free-market economic policies, had accepted that opening up markets was not sufficient and that more state intervention and investment was now needed.
You can see from that comment that it is not only in South Africa that our government … [Interjections.] Somebody here is “Baracking” me. I will come back to you. Just a little louder, please. So, what we are saying is this: while the DA and the hecklers seem to think that the ANC has embarked on some reckless procedure, reckless policy … [Interjections.] Did you hear that? That’s what they think. But you see, the Prime Minister of France doesn’t think that. [Interjections.] On the contrary, he thinks that the model that you espouse - let me read it again: “… free-market economic policies and the opening up of markets is not sufficient and that more state intervention and investment was now needed”. More state intervention is needed. [Interjections.] Chair, I will need more time if these fellows are going to waste my time.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Order, hon members, please! Could you let the hon member continue.
Prof B TUROK: Could you please fix the clock, Chair, because this is wasting my time. [Laughter.] Nevertheless, I am quite entertained. [Interjections.]
Furthermore, the commentator in the Financial Times says that strategic partnerships between government and big business in Europe are now being blamed by many economists for stifling growth, and for stifling small and medium-sized enterprises. In South Africa, we have huge conglomerates and monopolised industry, and what the DA wants us to do, precisely, is to create a partnership between government and big business, which will stifle the possibility of small growth and small enterprises. [Interjections.]
So the point is … Yes, okay. Fine. Now I hear you. I think that this debate has shown quite considerable consensus in the House around state intervention, around the important role of the state. I’ve heard the debate. I have listened to all you guys and I can see that there is a certain amount of agreement that in South Africa we need a state which is going to intervene and which must exercise a considerable amount of influence on the economy. But what I haven’t seen is a clear focus on where we are going. Now my own view - and I’m trying very hard to get to the heart of the matter – is the fact that in South Africa a large part of our population is not engaged in productive work. You can talk about capital and savings and investment, about technology, about skills - all those things are important. But, really, the heart of the matter - and I think this debate is intended to get to the heart of the matter; let us not engage in frivolous side issues
- is that in this country of ours, a large proportion of the population is not engaged in productive work. And if you make comparisons …
An HON MEMBER: Why?
Prof B TUROK: Okay, I’ll come to the why. You know the why; you were members of all sorts of funny parties, which were responsible for the why. [Interjections.] [Applause.] So, we know. We know. So, it’s okay. I’ll shout if you want me to. [Interjections.] But that is the heart of the matter: that a large proportion of our population is not engaged in production work, and if people are not engaged in productive work – I’ll have to yell - there are all kinds of social consequences. You will find that there is inequality … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Hon members, please! Order! Order, please!
Prof B TUROK: Chair, I will have to sit down if these guys continue like this.
Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Chairman, we would really appreciate it if Mr Turok sat down. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Prof B TUROK: You know, the way to dodge debate … You know, these people always say we must debate, that “the ANC does not want to debate”, but when we debate, they heckle, they yell. I really will withdraw if you wish me to. But, you see, if I withdraw, I will go on the SABC tonight and I will say exactly what I want to say now. [Interjections.] All right. The key problem … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Order, please! Order!
Prof B TUROK: Chair, I have to cut my speech short. Could you give me some more time?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana): Hon Turok, just continue.
Prof B TUROK: So that’s the central issue. The central issue, whatever party you belong to, is that a large number of our people are not engaged in productive work and we need a developmental state to cure that, because your private sector will not do it. You see, they have realised in Europe that you cannot depend on the private sector to remedy the kind of structural problem that we have, and so we need a developmental state.
People have been talking about South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and so on. I was very fortunate a year or two ago to interview Prof Ha-Joon Chang, who is a South Korean economist at Cambridge University. I asked him, what exactly happened in South Korea? We get the wrong impression by reading newspapers and so on about what happened in South Korea, and it is highly irrelevant to us. He said the key to South Korea’s success was the development of productive capabilities by investment in machines, education, infrastructure, research and development. That was the key. He said that as far as we are concerned - now listen carefully – we must build more domestic linkages internally. We must ensure that there were tens of thousands of subcontractors, people who work in small enterprises, people who grow their enterprises by relying on procurement from large firms – which is what they did in South Korea - small enterprises that depend on procurement from the large firms and from the state, and that we must constantly raise the proportion of parts and components that are bought from local producers and not imported.
Indeed, in South Korea there were rules and laws which said that a company, including a multinational company, could not be allowed to operate and import goods which could be manufactured locally. So the emphasis in South Korea was not just on the big chaebols [conglomerates] and the big motorcar manufacturers by foreign firms. The emphasis was actually on building small capacity by small people - in this country, that would mean black people in the main - in order to ensure that you built the economy from below.
So the key to South Africa’s problem of the large number of people who are not in productive work is not welfare; it is not your view about the state not intervening and so on.
On the contrary, what the state must do in South Africa, increasingly, is to raise the capabilities of domestic firms by training, by promoting opportunities, by ensuring that state agencies buy South African and not overseas goods, and that the private sector too is regulated in that what it uses are primarily South African resources, produced by South Africans that are trained in South Africa - and that there is not export-oriented growth, which, I’m afraid, we have been following for some time.
Let me end by saying this: South Africa is a very rich country. It is rich in resources; it has huge amounts of mineral resources and natural resources of all kinds; and huge human potential resources. Those human potential resources have not been put to work and that is why I return to the main point of this debate.
The main point is not about big states, small states, the private sector or not the private sector, but it is about the large proportion of South African people that are not engaged in productive work. And your policies will never make it happen, but we will, because we are the ANC. [Applause.]
Mr S J F MARAIS: Chairperson, this debate is the manifestation of the ANC fantasising about the idea of a developmental state as a rescue formula for the failure in living up to the promises made, and for dealing with the global economic challenges.
In following up on my colleague’s statement, this fantasising personifies the African ostrich with its head in the sand and purposefully ignoring the realities, in contrast to that of the Asian Tigers that represent the classic example of the successful Asian developmental state models. One of the reasons why the Asian developmental state models were successful was the support of especially the United States of America as a major export destination of manufactured goods. America offered these countries preferential access to its markets on favourable terms without expecting much in return.
From all evidence documented, it is clear that a classic developmental state is focused on one cohesive objective, which is to achieve the highest economic growth rate with all other elements as less important.
The concept of a developmental state is much more than just the involvement of the state in economic development. It certainly implies a specific institutional dispensation in which the role of society, in particular the private sector, and the rule of law should be non-negotiable. Furthermore, this implies a national consensus on the economic objectives, which must include the willingness to make substantial sacrifices in achieving these objectives.
How can this be related to South Africa’s realities and the challenges for real economic development? Since 1994, we have heard of political jargon and super-rescue strategies like RDP, Gear and Asgisa. There was no real benefit for the millions of marginalised citizens. These, quite evidently, were failures. Are the new buzzwords replacing these outdated and failed concepts now called the “developmental state”? Without real developmental characteristics, this is more an ideology than a serious economic development policy. Is this not a method of increased centralisation of power, influence and control? We need less dependency on the state, more real and sustainable jobs, and less trade restrictions as basic requirements for a real economic development revolution where more can share in the wealth on offer in South Africa. We also need to support and encourage an education regime that can deliver globally competitive knowledge and skills.
Die vraag moet gevra word of Suid-Afrika ’n ontwikkelingstaat is en kan wees, gegrond op die erkende modelle of variasies daarvan. Suid-Afrika het sekerlik ’n paar voorbeelde van sulke elemente, byvoorbeeld die ontwikkelingsprogram in die motorbedryf, die strewe na die verryking van minerale, die druk op die finansiële sektor om meer risiko’s te neem en die poging om ’n nywerheidsbeleid te implementeer. Dit alleen kan nie van Suid- Afrika ’n ontwikkelingstaat maak nie.
Een van die noodsaaklike elemente, volgens die ekonoom Jac Loubser, waaraan Suid-Afrika moet voldoen, sluit in ’n klein, maar elite meritokratiese burokrasie wat die staat se nywerheidsbeleid moet formuleer en uitvoer, waarvoor die beste talent in die land gewerf moet word. Oral is kundigheid en vaardigheid ’n voorvereiste vir volhoubare ekonomiese ontwikkeling. Wat nodig is, is ’n politieke bestel wat aan die burokrasie genoeg ruimte verskaf om effektief op te tree met die behoud van die noodsaaklike vereistes van die regstaat.
Wat nie nodig is nie, is die regering se gereelde ingryping in die markprosesse deur regulasies, eerder as regstreekse deelname en steun aan die privaatsektor, wat die indruk laat dat daar nie ’n simbiotiese verhouding bestaan tussen die staat en die privaatsektor nie. Die regering se rol moet ondersteunend aan markkragte en kompetisie wees en nie ter markvervanging nie. Met ander woorde, die regering moenie die markkragte en –tendense probeer manipuleer nie, maar dit eerder navolg.
Noodsaaklik is ’n leidinggewende organisasie wat so ’n beleid moet dryf, soortgelyk aan die Japannese MITI. Twyfel bestaan of die Departement van Handel en Nywerheid in sy huidige formaat strategies geposisioneer en toegerus is om so ’n rol effektief te kan vervul.
In die globale handelsomgewing van die Wêreld-handelsorganisasie sal dit onwaarskynlik wees dat ons regering beskerming teen buitelandse mededinging sal kan bied, asook dat ons uitvoersubsidies sal kan gebruik om ’n uitvoerbedryf te hervestig. In die huidige ekonomiese klimaat kan dit in elk geval nie deur die fiskus bekostig word nie, en is dit bekend dat Suid- Afrika ’n ernstige tekort aan vaardighede en kundighede het. Die vrye beweging van kapitaal oor landsgrense en ons afhanklikheid van buitelandse beleggings beperk ook die beweegruimte van ons beleidmakers.
Soos ons weet, het Suid-Afrika nie ’n natuurlike afsetgebied vir sy vervaardigde goedere nie. Vir baie lande en organisasies is Suid-Afrika ook nie meer die alleenpoort tot Afrika nie, en ook is ons nie meer die Big Brother en redder vir baie Afrikalande nie. Die huidige dilemma en verleentheid met die ekonomiese vennootskapsooreenkomste wat die bestaan van die Suider-Afrikaanse Doeane-unie bedreig, is maar een so ’n simptoom wat ons verlies aan kompeterende voordele in die globale markomgewing verteenwoordig. Suid-Afrika het eerder ’n herverdelende staat geword met die fokus op sy definisie van die transformasie van die ekonomie in die samelewing en die oorregulering van die handelsomgewing om spesifieke uitkomste te bewerkstellig. Met die huidige resessie het ons sterk beleid- en aksieplanne nodig wat ’n nywerheidsrevolusie kan ontketen om buitelandse investerings te lok, om volhoubare permanente werk- en kompeterende uitvoergeleenthede te skep. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The question should be posed whether South Africa is or can be a developmental state, based on recognised models or variations thereof. South Africa certainly displays a few examples of such elements, for example the developmental programme for the motor industry, mineral enrichment endeavours, the pressure on the financial sector to take more risks, and the attempt to implement an industrial policy. This alone cannot make South Africa a developmental state.
According to the economist Jac Loubser, one of the essential elements to which South Africa needs to conform is a small but elite meritocratic bureaucracy that should formulate and implement the state’s industrial policy, which requires the recruitment of the best talent in the country. Everywhere expertise and skill are prerequisites for sustainable economic development. What is required is a political system that leaves the bureaucracy enough room to operate effectively whilst maintaining the essential requirements of the constitutional state.
What is not required is government’s constant intervention in market processes by means of regulations, rather than direct participation and support to the private sector, which creates the impression that there is no symbiotic relationship between the state and the private sector. Government’s role should be supportive of market forces and competition and should not be to replace the market. In other words, the government should not try to manipulate market forces and market tendencies but should rather pursue it.
What is essential is an organisation that is able to lead and drive such a policy, similar to the Japanese MITI. It is doubtful whether the Department of Trade and Industry, in its present format, is strategically positioned and equipped to fulfil such a role effectively.
In the global trade environment of the World Trade Organisation, our government will probably not be able to offer protection against foreign competition, and it is unlikely that we will be able to use export subsidies to re-establish the export business. In any case, in the present economic climate it is something that the fiscus cannot afford, and it is known that South Africa has a serious shortage of skills and expertise. The free movement of capital across borders and our dependency on foreign investments curtail our policy makers’ room to manoeuvre.
As we know, South Africa does not have a natural outlet for its manufactured products. For many countries and organisations South Africa is also no longer the sole gateway to Africa, and we are also no longer the Big Brother and saviour of many African countries. The current dilemma and embarrassment regarding the economic partnership agreements that threaten the existence of the Southern African Customs Union, is but one such symptom illustrating our loss of benefits to compete globally in the market environment.
Instead, South Africa has become a state of redistribution, focusing on its definition of economic transformation in the society, and the overregulation of the trade environment to attain specific outcomes. Regarding the current recession, we require strong policy and action plans which can unleash an industrial revolution in order to attract foreign investments, and to create sustainable permanent job and competitive export opportunities.]
It would thus be misleading to refer to South Africa as a developmental state. Government should rather question the role they are to play in support of our economy and its unique circumstances to weather the global economic storm without ideological prejudice and with lots of pragmatism. The answer for the African ostrich is to pull its head out of the sand and to transform it into a goal-orientated, strong and courageous African eagle which embraces the principles of an open-opportunity society for all. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms J L FUBBS: Hon Speaker, I must say I never thought the day would come when I would agree with the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, or the World Bank, but the day has come. I was quite alarmed to hear that the hon Marais – and I have the greatest respect for him in the committee and so on
- thought the Asian Tigers had made a great success of things as developmental states, and I don’t know what else.
In fact, the IMF, the World Bank and the rest of them said that the reason why the Asian Tigers had the financial collapse was precisely because three critical things were lacking among many others. These three things were: a sound financial management system; good governance, which is entirely absent and dependent upon an elite bureaucracy which actually wrote their policies; and a democracy which had no relationship whatsoever with its civil society other than, of course, trampling them underfoot.
This is not me talking. Read the IMF reports of the time; read the World Bank; read any respected journal outside this country. [Applause.]
I want to tell you that right now you must read the papers, the press, the media. Listen. They are saying that the freedoms and rights the developed states removed from the people and gave to the markets have been seen as an error of judgment. And now in countries like Britain, America and the United States, they are busy desperately trying to reclaim these freedoms from an irresponsible market economy.
For once in my life I have agreed with the IMF – I don’t know when it will be again, but I understand they are also undergoing a democratic change. But I do want to say one thing: there have been a number of valuable inputs. Even in the hon Marais’ own input, one could say there were some gems here and there. [Laughter.] So, let us not throw everything out. I am sorry the hon Narend Singh is not here, because a lot of what he had to say one had to agree with. It’s just a pity it became a little parochial in the end.
I want to end off by mentioning one thing. It is something, perhaps, that I didn’t make very clear – and, of course, I should have realised this. It is that so much is seen as buzzwords, this, that and the next thing. Indeed, you are quite right. But, I don’t think anyone in this House would say “RDP” is a buzzword. Maybe we should stop saying “RDP” and call it by its proper name. We all agree with the principles and concepts of the Freedom Charter.
I was looking into Gandhi when I looked into this. He said that politicians should be aware, from wherever they are sitting in this House, of their own integrity and ensure that it doesn’t get destroyed in their own ideological fervour.
But to come back to this issue: those two words – RDP and our own Constitution - can hardly be called buzzwords. They are the basis of a developmental state. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 17:40. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Bills passed by Houses – to be submitted to President for assent
(1) Bills passed by National Council of Provinces on 17 September
2009:
a) Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2009] (National Assembly
– sec 77).
b) Taxation Laws Second Amendment Bill [B 11 – 2009] (National
Assembly – sec 75).
- Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
(1) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following
Bill as a section 75 Bill:
a) Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Bill [B
12 – 2009] (National Assembly – sec 75)
National Assembly
The Speaker
-
Membership of Committees
1) The following members have been appointed to the Ad Hoc Committee to consider and report on the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning – September 2009:
African National Congress Mufamadi, Mr T A Rasool, Mr E Mataboge, Mr D K Suka, Mr L Nhlengethwa, Ms D G Mashishi, Ms A C Tlake, Ms M R Mushwana, Mrs F F Democratic Alliance Davidson, Mr I O Trollip, Mr R A P Congress of the People Shilowa, Mr M S Inkatha Freedom Party Singh, Mr N ACDP Swart, Mr S N Independent Democrats Maynier, Mr D J (Alt)2) Mr T A Mufamadi was elected Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee to consider and report on the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning – September 2009 on 17 September 2009.
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
a) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the
People’s Republic of China concerning Mutual Legal Assistance in
Criminal Matters, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the
Constitution, 1996.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement between the Government
of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
concerning Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters
c) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the
People’s Republic of China concerning Surrender of Fugitive
Offenders, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution,
1996.
d) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement between the Government of
the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
concerning Surrender of Fugitive Offenders.
e) Report on the upliftment of the provisional suspension of a
magistrate: Ms A Bacharam, an additional magistrate at Scottburgh.
f) Report on the provisional suspension of a magistrate: Mrs N E
Ndamase, an additional magistrate at Pretoria in terms of section
13(3)(c) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90 of 1993).
g) Report on the provisional suspension of a magistrate: Mr C M Dumani,
a magistrate at Graaff Reinet in terms of section 13(3)(c) of the
Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90 of 1993).
h) Proclamation No R.50 published in Government Gazette No 32494 dated
14 August 2009: Commencement of sections 8 to 10 of the Judicial
Matters Second Amendment Act, 2003 (Act No 55 of 2003).
i) Government Notice No R.841 published in Government Gazette No 32494
dated 14 August 2009: Scale of fees payable in respect of matters
referred to in section 80 of the Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No 53 of
1079).
- The Minister of Human Settlements
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Servcon Housing
Solutions (Proprietary) Limited for 2008-2009, including the Report
of the Independent Auditors on the Financial *Statements and
Performance Information for 2008-2009.
- The Minister of Public Enterprises
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Alexkor Limited for 2008-
2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the
Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
- The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform
(a) Report and Financial Statements of Vote 27 – Department of Land
Affairs for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor-General
on the Financial Statements and Performance Information of Vote 27
for 2008-2009.
- The Minister of Communications
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the National Electronic
Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) for 2008-2009, including
the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements and
Performance Information for 2008-2009.
National Assembly
- The Speaker a) Report of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority on proposed policies on Parliament’s Budget and Travel, dated 25 August 2009.
CREDA INSERT - T090917e-insert 1 – PAGES 858-872
CREDA INSERT - T090917e-insert 2 - PAGES 872-878
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
- Report of the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the appointment of 12 non-executive members of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Board, dated 17 September 2009:
The Portfolio Committee on Communications, having considered and examined the matter of the appointment of 12 non-executive members of the Board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, reports as follows:
The Committee invited the public to nominate persons by means of advertisements in the print and electronic media for consideration and recommendation to the President for appointment to the Board. Responses were received from 230 individuals.
On 01 September 2009, 32 candidates were shortlisted to be interviewed, namely:
Ms Jane Barret, Adv Princess Nonkosi Cetywayo, Mr Sembie Danana, Mr Max du Preez, Mr Zola Luxolo Fihlani, Mr Cedric Sabelo Gina, Mr Desmond Khalid Golding, Ms Philippa Mary Green, Prof William Mervin Gumede, Mr Peter John Harris, Mr Kenneth Herold, Mr Khotso Moses Khumalo, Mr David Harris Lewis, Mr Michael Louis, Mr Magatho Anthony Mello, Ms Barbara Joyce Mosima Masekela, Prof Luka David Mosoma, Mr John Matisonn, Mr Andile Milton Mbeki, Prof Shiela Onkaetse Mmusi, Mr Haroun Moolla, Mr Nkomotane Clifford Motsepe, Dr Baldwin Sipho Ngubane, Mr David Clephane Niddrie, Ms Clare Frances O’Neil, Ms Ntebo Peri, Ms Felleng Lorraine Sekha, Ms Sibongile Shongwe, Ms Tselane Tambo, Dr Danfred James Titus, Dr Frederick van zyl Slabbert and Ms Suzanne Christina Vos.
Two candidates, namely Mr Michael Louis and Dr Frederick van zyl Slabbert, withdrew from the process.
After having interviewed the above candidates in Parliament on 08, 09 and 10 September 2009, the Committee resolved that the House, in accordance with section 13 of the Broadcasting Act, (No 4 of 1999), recommends to the President that the following candidates be appointed as non-executive members to the SABC Board:
Mr Cedric Sabelo Gina, Mr Desmond Khalid Golding, Ms Philippa Mary Green, Mr Peter John Harris, Ms Barbara Joyce Mosima Masekela, Mr Magatho Anthony Mello, Mr Nkomotane Clifford Motsepe, Dr Baldwin Sipho (Ben) Ngubane, Mr David Clephane Niddrie, Ms Clare Frances O’Neil, Ms Felleng Lorraine Sekha and Ms Suzanne Christina Vos.
Report to be considered.