Debate on the 2016 Adjustment Appropriation Bill by Ndabakayise E Gcwabaza (ANC)
6 December 2016
Honourable Speaker
Hon.President and Dep.President
Hon.Ministers and Dep.Ministers and
Honourable Members
While the Adjustment Appropriation Bill the ANC presents to this House today and recommend that it be passed, to meet the immediate government spending requirements, the ANC is mindful of the urgent need to take decisive medium and long-term actions whose aim is to stimulate growth, to create decent work, to address inequality and strengthen the national fiscus in order to invest more funds in the productive economy.
If we agree, as we all do in the post-colonial apartheid era, that the exclusion of the black majority from ownership, management and control of the means of production was not assigned by birth or divinely ordained, but that it was engineered by man through legislation with diabolic and dehumanizing intensions, then we must also accept that a total transformation of our economy can no longer be delayed.
South Africa's wealth is split along racial and gender lines. The wealth of the richest one percent 1%0, most of whom are white males, has doubled in the past twenty years. It has recently been reported that the two richest white males own wealth equal to that owned by almost 27 million poor South Africans, the majority of whom are black.
In the corporate sector, the Employment Equity Commission reports that 10% of the economically active white population occupy 70% of the top management positions and only 30% is held black people. The proportion of black Chief Executives has decline from 15% in 2012 to 10% in 2015.People with Disability are hardly considered for executive positions. Thus race and gender exclusion remain impediments to socioeconomic transformation.
Radical transformation of our economy must include acceleration of re-industrialization and diversification of the economy. We must strengthen the competitiveness of the mineral resources for domestic consumption and for export markets, increase production in the automotive, chemicals, oil and gas and expand the tourism and agro-processing sectors. Re-industrialization and diversification must be accompanied by increased access to the growing export market in the African continent.
Kufanele Uhulumeni kaKhongolose uqinise imithetho eyenza kube lula ukuthi osoMabhizinisi abasebancane namaCooperatives bangene ekuphatheni umnotho,basimame futhi bakhule,kakhulukazi labo abasemalokishini nasezindaweni zasemakhaya.Futhi kufanele sikuvimbe ukuthi laboSomabhizinisi abancane bakhutshazwe noma bagwinywe yilezikhondlakhondla zezinkapani ezingongqoshishilizi emnothweni wakulelizwe.
Ngokunjalo kufanele izikhungo zikaHulumeni eziphethe izimali zokuthuthukisa oSomabhizini nomaCooperatives abantu zibhukule,zishintshe indlela yokusebenza futhi ziqinisekise ukuthi uxhasozimali luyafinyelela ngokusabalele nangokuphuthumayo koSomabhizinisi abamnyama.
KODWA KUMELE SENZE KONKE OKUSEMTHETHWENI UKUTHI KUNQANDWE UKUXHASHAZWA NOKUNTSHOTSHWA KWEMALI kaHULUMENI.
Ngokunjalo abaphathi bezimboni zikaHulumeni ake bayeke ukusebenzisa budedengu imali kaHulumeni ngoba bethembe ukuthi uMnyango WeZezimali uzobatakula njalo uma bephelelwa imali yokusebenza.Izimboni zikaHulumeni ezinjengo Eskom,SAA,PRASA sezikhathazile ngalomkhuba wazo omubi.
Kanti yizo kanye leziNkapani zikaHulumeni ekufanele zifake isandla kakhulu ekusizeni ukuthuthuka kamnotho.
It is equally critical for the ANC government to facilitate and accelerate investment into the historically neglected regions especially former homelands, through Special Economic Zones,
rural agri-parks and hubs to ensure rural economic development. Collaboration investment by government and the private sector vital in these initiatives.
A capable developmental state rapid economic growth and inclusive transformation depend on improving and increasing skills for all South Africans.
An urgent conversation of government, the private sector and the Post-school Education and Training institutions must take place about the production of skills and competencies that are required in the public service and the industry so that all institutions tasked with producing the country's human resource on the quality and throughput. This should include the SETAs, the National Sills Development Fund and all other skills development scheme which are funded and subsidized by government and the corporate sector. The transformation of the Post-school Education and Training and other skills development structures cannot continue to be outsourced. Therefore, the legislative framework which governs all these structures need to be revisited. There must be more transparency and accountability.
The National Development Plan says that the skills profile of the public service must mirror the national skills profile. This suggests that the same quality and quantity of skills available to the public sector must equally be available to the private sector. Shared skills would enhance growth and ensure a better life for all.
What does the Ocean Economy and aquaculture mean to the poor communities populating the South African coastline and the big rivers and dams? Surely access to fishing licenses, equitable distribution of fishing quarters and inclusive participation in the fishing and aquaculture industry must mean a better life for these communities. It cannot be correct that a rich business person in Johannesburg has a fishing license in Cape Town or Saldanha Bay but a local access to fishing. It cannot be correct that foreign fishing companies harvest our ocean resources but the local communities cannot actively participate in the industry.
The digital revolution is upon us. Government is rolling out Wi-Fi and broadband. In order to benefit from the digital economy we need to focus on creating more digital jobs. No economy will remain competitive if it does not in developing a digital workforce. Technology is becoming a tool to modernize the economy, improve the ease and affordability of doing business. Technology must be seen by the employers and accepted by the workers as a tool to increase productivity and encourage multi-skilling, not as a retrenchment tool.
To get out of bad economic conditions such as we are experiencing we need growth and that depends on accelerated re-industrialization, we need to diversify our economy, we must beneficiate our mineral resources and expand the agricultural value chain. We must strengthen trade promotion and market access for our export goods.
There is an urgent need to accelerate the construction of social and economic infrastructure.
Inclusive Growth and inclusive transformation has to aim to widen the tax base to strengthen the national fiscus so that the country is able to transit from a welfare to a developmental state.
