27 February 2004
Madame Speaker, Deputy President, and Honorable Members,
In his SONA, the President said, "The Budget is one of the principal instruments in the hands of the democratic state to bring about the changes we need to make, to achieve our revolutionary goals. For us, the Budget is not merely an annual record of revenue and expenditure figures decided by the government to address whatever issue might seem important during a particular year."
As we speak here in parliament today, there is general agreement that our country's economy has never been better managed.
Consistent growth, even though at lower than the optimum rate, has resulted in a more competitive economy with increasing volume and diversity.
Workers' rights are protected,
Vulnerable workers such as domestic workers and farm workers have been given greater protection, and
Funds made available for black people to own businesses as one aspect of Black Economic Empowerment.
Despite this our country still face some very serious challenges.
At the heart of our challenges are two linked concerns - we must create work and roll back poverty. To achieve this we need stronger partnership among all South Africans, A People's Contract for a Better South Africa.
Thereof we commit ourselves in our election manifesto, in the President's state of the Nation Address as well as in the Minister of Finance's Budget speech, to practical measures to ensure A Growing Economy and Sustainable Livelihoods
Madame chair as ANC we commit ourselves to these programmes because discrimination and abuse still take place, and women are still found in very large numbers among the poorest sections in our society.and too many young people are unemployed, and millons of them come from poor households.
It is exactly this reality that ignite the inherently sick and opportunistic tendencies in opposition parties such as the Desperate Alliance. As ANC we speak with confidence because we have been at the head of this national effort to change our country for the better. We know that together with you we can do more, better.
Just as an example, we have seen here that under an ANC/NNP government in the Western Cape,more people from historically disadvantaged areas benefited from Procurement.
Before December 2001, under DA control, there existed a policy that prevented the majority of black companies from tendering for contracts worth more than R2 million. We have changed this and the results are obvious, especially after putting in place a 40% target for HDI's.
| Dateline of Contracts | HDI Value | Percentage |
| Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2001 (DA) | R222 Million | 26% |
| Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2002 (ANC) | R328 Million | 38% |
| April 1 - Mar 31, 2002/03 (ANC) | R345 Million | 48% |
Flowing from the Growth and Development summit a number of far reaching agreements have been reached with social partners, giving effect to our approach that a lot of what needs to be done, should be in partnership with our people.
As an example, in the Western Cape, in partnership with the Proudly South African campaign, Clothing and Textile Workers Union, the Provincial Government has fought persistently to retain jobs in this industry. The Cape Town Fashion Festival has been the basis for a solid partnership. Also worthy of praise is the initiative encouraging local design, currently happening at the Design indaba in Cape Town.
Allow me Madame Speaker to inform this house and the our people across the country, but especially the unemployed matriculated youth from the Southern Cape towns of George and Langeberg about the double standards of the DA. How the DA mislead the voters by telling them something and then doing the opposite.
Flowing from the Presidential imbizo in the Western Cape sometime last year, I started working in the constituency of George and the surrounding municipalities in the southern Cape/Klein Karroo on a project to enhance the skills level and hence the employability of matriculated youth from those areas. The idea was a very simple one. The SAPS states as a requirement that applicants must possess a valis driver's licence. The fact that for most of us from previously disadvantaged communities, the only vehicles that we privileged to be in has been minibus taxi's, busses and trains, leave alone having drivers' licence. Instead of moaning, blaming and complaining about this we decided to embark on a project with the support of the local municipalities and the District Municipality to assist recently matriculated youth to get their drivers'licences. The Provincial MEC for Community Safety, Mr Leonard Ramatlakane after being informed of our project, together with the perovincial commissioner of the SAPS then agreed to allow these young people the opportunity to enter the psychometric testing of the SAPS recruitment process and further committed to accommodate some of them in the May/June take up into the SAPS. As part of this process we interacted with all the municpalilities in the region and I personally caaled and spoke to the DA mayor of George, Mr Marius Swart.
Of the seven local municipalities, 5 decided to participate and contribute financially to the project. Two of the three DA controlled municipalities in the region decided they were not going to give the young people of their towns the opportunity to enhance their skills. This is the same party that complains about low skills levels, unemployment and too few police on the street, yet when provided with an opportunity to do something for the youth in towns where they govern, they chose to turn their back on the youth of this country. Then they have the nerve to ask young people to vote for them?
Madam Speaker in preparing for this debate, I must confess, I did something that could potentially be very harmful for my own education and sanity, I visited the DA website and was struck by the bankruptcy of ideas and policies on the part of the official opposition. In their economic policy there are only four sentences on BEE. And even in these few sentences they do not provide any policy framework.
Despite a footnote that says "a separate document sets out the DA's policy on Black Economic Empowerment in full", numerous searches provided no such policy. The only other reference to BEE is in response to what ANC leaders have said on the subject.
Allow me now to illustrate to you how the DA tell the people of South Africa one thing and then do the exact opposite. How as a party desperate for a few votes, they do not allow the truth to stand in their way when they go and visit our poverty stricken areas in their protective clothing,like exited school children on field excursions. This is what Mark Louw, the DA spokesperson on Trade and Industry said.
South Africa …., deserves genuine and effective broad-based empowerment that focuses on job creation, on skills development and training; that starts at the bottom, hh In his reply to the statement of the minister of Trade and Industry, during March last year, Louw continues: "The DA strongly supports black economic empowerment as a means to growing our economy and ensuring that all South Africans have access to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. But we have to do more than that, much more.
On the 14th of February 2004 Hon Tony Leon said the following about what he expect of his party's public representatives:
"…they will not just represent the Democratic Alliance. They will represent the people of South Africa-all of the
people.
Every single thing you do must be done on behalf of the people who elected you, let me now move on to the BEE act adopted by this parliament.
The Memorandum on the objects of the broad-based BEE Act reads as follows:.
South Africa's economy cannot operate to its full potential because the majority of SA'ns earn very low incomes and are still excluded from ownership of fixed assets and the possession of advanced skills. This is to the detriment of all SA'ns and it is therefore necessary that steps are taken to increase the effective participation in the economy b y the majority of South Africans.
Every single public representative of the DA voted against this in parliament.
The Objects of the Bill include the following:
The term "broad-based" is used in the Bill's title in that the Bill seeks to-
The memorandum to the act continues to state the objectives to-
It is clear the DA does not care. They do not care for the young, for the workers, women, disabled.
Therefor in supporting the appropriation bill let us call on the voters of this country not to be fooled by the two-faced DA, and vote for the party that made the change happen, that is caring and continuing to provide a better life for all, Vote ANC.