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I wish to thank all Members, and particularly those who participated in the debate, for
their contributions and suggestions.
It was a meaningful debate that engaged with the issues that most directly affect our
people.
The debate was conducted with decorum and respect – respect for each other,
respect for the dignity of the House and respect for the people that we have all been
sent here to represent.
It was built by our people, for our people, and it belongs to our people.
The dignified manner in which the debate was conducted was very much in accord
with what our people expect from their representatives in this, their House.
As Honourable Members met yesterday to debate the State of the Nation Address,
ordinary South Africans have also been discussing it over the last few days.
Many South Africans have been expressing their views on social media and in
traditional media, many have commented on government communications platforms,
and some have shared their views when we pass each other in the corridor or on the
street.
This morning I had occasion to take my early morning walk in Gugulethu, joined by
people from the area, many of whom commented on the speech.
Since delivering the State of the Nation Address on Friday night, I have been
humbled and encouraged by the response of people from all walks of life to the call
to work together to build a new, better South Africa.
They are galvanised by a sense patriotism that elevates the interests of the country
above narrow, selfish interests.
They are moved by a conviction that tomorrow will be better than today.
They have, to a man and a woman, all been saying they are ready to lend a hand to
build a South Africa that benefits all its people.
I have received messages from many people consisting of only two words: “Send
Me”.
What emerged clearly from the debate yesterday, is that all the members of this
Parliament are committed to build a nation where progress is measured not by
growth in gross domestic product or global competitiveness rankings, but by how the
lives of the most vulnerable and marginalised are changed for the better.
We are building a nation where our greatest concern must be those in society who
have least. The poor. The unemployed.
The most important people in this country are not those who walk the red carpet in
Parliament, but those who spend their nights on the benches outside its gates.
The most important people in this country are those whose shacks are flooded with
every rainfall and whose taps run dry whether there is a drought or not.
It is those who have been looking for work their entire adult lives, who have had to
drop out of school, who are suffering from preventable diseases, who have been
orphaned or abandoned, who rely on an old age pension to feed their families, who
do not have the seed or the implements to work their small piece of land.
In everything that we do, as government and as a society, these are the people
whose interests and needs must come first.
They are the people we all collectively are being sent to – to improve their lives, to
heal their wounds and to make their hope a reality.
At the centre of our approach to improving the lives of our people is the Madiba way
of getting our people involved in changing their lives for the better and making them,
as Madiba urged, ‘their own liberators’.
It is to advance their interests that we have called for a new social compact founded
on the principles of social justice, solidarity and equality.
It is only by bringing all social partners – and all South Africans – together in pursuit
of a common national agenda that we will be able to defeat poverty and inequality.
Collaboration, partnership and consensus building are essential features of our rich
African past and will be central in determining our future.
Throughout our history, we have used collaboration and partnership to overcome the
greatest of difficulties and resolve the most intractable of problems.
It is our intention, through initiatives like the Jobs Summit and Social Sector Summit,
to bring together the skills, insights, experiences and capabilities of all South
Africans to address critical challenges in our society.
We should remember how the Freedom Charter was written, how volunteers spread
out across the country to collect the demands of the people for discussion at the
Congress of the People.
We should remember how we wrote the Constitution, where we received around 1.7
million submissions from ordinary South Africans.
Now, we need to mobilise all South Africans to achieve the vision of the Freedom
Charter and the values of the Constitution.
I am confident that – while there will necessarily be much contestation and vigorous
debate – all parties represented in this Parliament are committed to work together to
make this a reality.
I concur with the sentiment expressed yesterday that we need to unite as political
parties to support the pursuit of a developmental state and an inclusive economy.
On such fundamental matters as the redress of the injustices of the past, we should
not simply agree to disagree.
Yesterday, there was a concern raised about black economic empowerment and
affirmative action.
There was a suggestion that young white people are excluded from jobs, bursaries
and opportunities based on the colour of their skin.
Rather we must engage with them, for the statement that young white South Africans
are unfairly disadvantaged by our affirmative action policies is not borne out by
reality.
Data from Statistics South Africa indicate that white young people still do better in
development indicators such as education, employment, entrepreneurial
opportunities and wellbeing.
Employment prospects still favour white young people as compared to their black
counterparts.
They are still more likely to complete matric and progress to tertiary education.
They are more likely to complete tertiary education and proceed into the labour
market with better prospects.
White South Africans, particularly men, still dominate at the senior levels of the
economy.
We have made significant progress since 1994 in addressing these racial disparities,
but we clearly have a long way to go.
We should emphasise that the task of building a united nation that belongs to all
South Africans, black and white, does not suggest that we ignore the legacy of our
apartheid and colonial past.
On the contrary, the creation of a non-racial society requires the liberation of Africans
in particular and black people in general from political and economic bondage.
Let us remember the contract we all entered into as South Africans when we
adopted our Constitution.
It says:
This commitment we all made must inform the debate we need to have on all
fundamental measures of redress that we need to undertake to heal the divisions of
the past in order to establish a society based on democratic values, social justice
and fundamental human rights.
The return of the land to the people from whom it was taken speaks to precisely how
we can heal the divisions of the past.
We need to respond to the view that what we propose represents a violation of the
spirit and intent of our democratic Constitution.
There are few in our country who would contest the fact that dispossession of black
South Africans of their land contributed fundamentally to the impoverishment and
disempowerment of the majority of our people.
This morning, while walking in Gugulethu, I met Mr Cedric Alberts, who was forcibly
removed from District Six in 1969.
His family’s story illustrates in vivid terms the pain and damage caused by the former
rulers of this land.
We will need to determine, collectively, how we can implement this measure in a way
that promotes agricultural production, improves food security, advances rural
development, reduces poverty and strengthens our economy.
For it to serve this purpose, we will need to locate this measure within a broad and
comprehensive land redistribution and agricultural development programme.
We owe it to our ancestors and to our children to ensure that we fulfil it.
In dealing with this complex matter, we will not make the mistakes that others have
made.
We will handle this matter in the same way we have handled all difficult issues our
country has had to handle.
This includes, Honourable Buthelezi, how we will handle the Ingonyama Trust issue.
No-one is saying that land must be taken away from our people.
Rather it is how we can make sure that our people have equitable access to land
and security of tenure.
We must see it as an opportunity to free all of us from the bitterness and pain of the
past.
Another grave historical injustice that we need to correct is the economic inequality
between men and women.
It is a task that requires both a deliberate bias in economic policy towards the
advancement of women and a fundamental shift in almost every aspect of social life.
This is one of the ways we are working to build a nation that is prepared to confront
the many different ways in which women are subjugated, marginalised and
overlooked – a nation that wages a daily struggle against patriarchy, discrimination
and intolerance.
We must all work together to tackle the chauvinism experienced by women in the
workplace and other social settings.
We must confront the social and economic factors that prevent young women from
completing school, entering higher education and graduating.
Government has adopted an integrated programme of action to eliminate all forms
violence against women and children.
These are crimes that often occur within the family and it is therefore critical that we
do not make this a purely criminal justice issue.
It is a social issue that must engage, involve and mobilise the whole of society.
The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young
democracy.
Members will recall that the Commission of Inquiry headed by retired Judge Farlam
investigated the direct and root causes of the tragedy.
Three broad areas were identified for action: compensation to those injured and the
families of those who lost their lives, examining the procedures of public order
policing and preparing valid cases for prosecution according to applicable laws.
Government is making progress in continuous engagement with the legal
representatives of the victims, especially on the matter of reparations to families who
lost their loved ones.
This must be concluded in the coming months.
The incident also brought into sharp focus the distress felt by people living in mining
communities.
I would like to use this opportunity to address the role that I played in my capacity as
a Lonmin director in the events of that tragic week.
In this, I am guided by the needs and wishes of the families of the 44 workers who
lost their lives.
Alongside Marikana, the Life Esidemeni tragedy stands out as an instance of the
most appalling dereliction by the state of its duty to the people.
We welcome the arbitration process led by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang
Moseneke and are determined that we should never allow anything like this to
happen again in our country.
Honourable Members,
What has become clear over the last few days is that South Africans really want to
contribute to making a difference.
Let me cite just two examples, of Cape Town residents that I happened to meet
yesterday morning.
One of the people I met was a gentlemen who runs a factory manufacturing textiles
that employs 65 people.
He said that after listening to the State of the Nation Address, he was so enthusiastic
about the prospects for our country and the need for everyone to lend a hand that he
has decided to expand his business and employ 65 more people in his business.
He said his confidence in the economy derives from the commitment of government
to provide sound leadership, create certainty, root out corruption and end wastage.
A young woman I met spoke enthusiastically about her plans to start a business.
The only thing she asked was that government takes steps to bring down the cost of
data, which was the greatest impediment to the success of her business.
This shows that South Africans are not short of ideas and initiative and potential.
One of the ways we are responding to the particular need of this young women is to
bring down the cost of data through the competition market inquiry into data
services.
As indicated in the State of the Nation address, we will therefore expedite our
engagement with industry to conclude the allocation of radio frequency spectrum,
creating regulatory certainty and predictability.
She needs to have a factory and looks to her government to build the infrastructure
that can make her business grow.
The frustration that these entrepreneurs have to endure at the hands of the very
state that is supposed to assist them is a matter of great concern.
It is clear that the failure of some government departments to pay suppliers within 30
days has a devastating impact on small and medium-sized businesses.
Honourable Members,
A number of speakers in the debate yesterday highlighted the urgent need to
address the financial, operational and governance problems at state owned
enterprises.
In addition to the steps announced in the State of the Nation Address to address
governance and financial management at specific SOEs, we are developing an
overarching SOE strategy to support a developmental growth trajectory.
We will soon be completing work on a new, centralised ownership model that allows
for better strategic alignment, improved coordination and more effective oversight.
The new ownership model would incorporate new methods for funding SOEs, which
could include a shift towards a greater mix of debt and equity finance.
We are going to be meeting the Board Chairs, CEOs and CFOs of these companies
to clarify their commercial and developmental mandates and discuss their plans for
financial sustainability and the promotion of local manufacturing.
On one of the matters raised by both Minister Patel and the Honourable Shivambu,
government will continue its work on the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund in
line with the resolutions of the 54th National Conference of the governing party.
We have looked at the experiences of countries like Singapore, China and Norway,
which have all successfully built up sovereign wealth funds which act as custodians
of the resources of the nation for future generations.
There are a number of industries that have an important role to play in growing our
economy and creating jobs.
We mentioned some of these in SONA, like agriculture, mining and tourism, but
there are others that also need support and investment.
We were reminded by Sipho Sithole, the founder of Native Rhythm Records, that the
cultural industries make a significant contribution to our economy and employ many
people.
Cultural industries have great potential for growth, but require closer attention and
backing from government.
As we indicated in the State of the Nation Address, the work being done to grow the
economy and create employment, needs to take place alongside decisive
interventions to support people who are poor and vulnerable.
We agree that the high levels of long term unemployment means that we must think
differently about social grants.
Changes of this nature need to be well considered, they should be evidence based
and should not be made in haste.
This review, which we expect to take several months, will be based on a thorough
analysis of the suitability and cost of the existing configuration.
It will involve broad consultation so that the views of a broad range of stakeholders
are considered and so that South Africans understand the rationale for the decisions
that will ultimately be made.
I have noted during the course of the debate several comments about members of
the Executive.
Whatever views one might hold about members of Cabinet, this does not justify in
any way the kind of character assassination and insults we have heard.
The work we must undertake to tackle corruption and state capture has, quite
correctly, featured prominently in the debate.
It is time that we implement our resolutions on the conduct of lifestyle audits of all
people who occupy positions of responsibility, starting with members of the
Executive.
Institutions like SARS, the Reserve Bank, the Financial Intelligence Centre and our
law enforcement agencies work together to detect and prosecute tax evasion.
South Africa will continue to play a leading role in international efforts – through
structures like the OECD and G20 – to tackle the various forms of tax avoidance.
We were reminded in the House of the responsibility that we have as South Africans
to those peoples on our continent and around the world who continue to suffer
occupation, discrimination and oppression.
We reiterate our call to the Israelii government to engage in meaningful dialogue with
the Palestinian leaders to find a resolution that affirms the equal rights of both people
to self-determination, freedom and security.
On Friday last week, on the day that the State of the Nation Address was delivered,
the South African training vessel ‘SA Agulhas’ returned from an Indian Ocean
research voyage.
Providing 20 young cadets with on the job exposure to being at sea, the voyage
lasted 80 days.
Two of these young people are present here today, Ms Ayanda Miya and Mr Mluleki
Khwela.
Ms Miya is from Empangeni and studied Maritime Studies at the Cape Peninsula
University of Technology.
We invited them to join this joint sitting today because they are among the young
people who have seized the opportunities available to them to develop their talents
and pursue the careers of their dreams.
They are among the new generation of South Africans who are at the forefront of our
national effort to develop our Ocean Economy.
We welcome you to this joint sitting and wish you all the best in developing your
skills and furthering your careers.
I also want to thank the people of South Africa for having responded so
enthusiastically to the call that went out in the State of the Nation.
There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I am certain that if we harness the
energy, wisdom and talents of all South Africans, we will surely succeed.
Let us all rise to the task that our people have given us and say, ‘Yes, send me.
Thuma mina’.
I thank you.