NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Madam Deputy Speaker, colleagues, hon members and dear friends, one of the privileges I have is to welcome the members of the National Planning Commission, NPC, a number of whom are with us here this afternoon, seated in the directors- generals', or DGs' box.
This House has just acknowledged the remarkable lifelong contribution of Mama [Mother] Albertina Sisulu, one of the most distinguished former members of this House ever. Her life as mother, wife and comrade was a sterling example to all of us of what it means to live one's beliefs. Ma Sisulu lived life true to the best values of our struggle and of our Constitution. Her selflessness and humility have inspired generations of freedom-loving South Africans. It is a privilege for me today to address this House to honour one so great who has been amongst us. It is in paying tribute that we also seek to advance those issues that our Mother lived and struggled for. So, it is fortuitous that the NPC can offer its first outputs to this House and all the people of South Africa on this day.
Today the NPC is releasing the elements of a vision statement for the kind of country that we must attain by 2030. We are also releasing a diagnostic report, analysing the key challenges that confront our country and people. The elements of the vision and diagnostic report lay the basis for a national conversation about the country that we want by 2030, the key challenges in achieving our vision, and how we fix them collectively as South Africans.
In April 2010 President Zuma appointed 25 members of the NPC from civil society to work with me to develop this plan. These appointments were made against the backdrop of a Green Paper that had been debated in this House.
In inaugurating the NPC in May last year, President Zuma was abundantly clear about his expectations of the commission. He said, and I quote:
The mandate of the commission is to take a broad, cross-cutting, independent and critical view of South Africa, to help define the South Africa we seek to achieve in 20 years' time and to map out a path to achieve those objectives. The commission is expected to put forward solid research, sound evidence and clear recommendations for government.
The commission will also work with broader society to draw on the best expertise, consult the relevant stakeholders and help to shape a consensus on what to do about the key challenges facing us. Government has often taken a sectoral and short-term view that has hampered development. Taking a long-term and independent view will add impetus, focus and coherence to our work.
The establishment of the National Planning Commission is our promise to the people of South Africa that we are building a state that will grow the economy, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of our citizens.
This mandate given to private citizens is without precedent anywhere in the world. As a rule, governments examine their strengths and weaknesses behind closed doors, and the marginal changes that flow from these processes seep unnoticed into society. In a show of confidence and entirely in the spirit of our great Constitution, the President took this measure in the interests of ensuring a better quality of life for all of our citizens.
This boldness should not go unnoticed. It is not premised on party- political lines. It is an act of commitment to our shared beliefs. It is an act of strength, not weakness. So the steps taken by President Zuma are based on a deep belief that democracy is built with the people, not merely on their behalf. As we say, "Amandla awethu!" ["The strength is ours!"]. It is possible, because we are of a people and of a generation that was able to make the most remarkable strides to deliver a constitutional democracy premised on the highest values.
The task of the NPC starts with this experience and builds on it. It has a mandate against forgetting, and for change. The path that it has chosen has involved undertaking a detailed analysis of the achievements of our still young democracy. It has also identified those issues that we can measure as preventing the fruits of democracy from touching the lives of all. It is an approach that requires that we recognise what we have achieved and what remains to be done. We have called the part of this that focuses on what remains undone, a diagnostic. In the diagnostic report very particular challenges for all of society have been identified.
To address these we will have to draw on all our strengths, capabilities and collective experience of uniting and achieving a common purpose. South Africans are a remarkable people. We have done the following: stared into the abyss of violence and disintegration in the 1980s and decided that dialogue was the only way forward to achieve a peaceful settlement; come together to negotiate a transition from apartheid to democracy in a process that today is still the envy of the world; held our first election on the basis of equal suffrage peacefully; and drafted a Constitution that has given all South Africans dignity, rights and freedoms that seemed unachievable years ago.
Since then we have united as South Africans to achieve so much. The experience of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission taught us humility and to appreciate the suffering of people with different views and historical experiences of South Africa. Since 1994 we have established institutions of state, integrated racially divided public institutions, and established provincial and local government, and key economic governance agencies. We have a respected and independent judiciary and legislatures tasked with making laws and overseeing the executive.
Our economy was turned around, employment grew, and the health of public finances was stabilised; we achieved unity on the sports field and numerous successes in the international arena. Today we are nonpermanent members of the United Nations, UN, Security Council, partly in recognition of the fact that we have taken our place in the family of nations, striving for peace and security on our continent and in our world.
We have indeed delivered a better life for many people. More people have access to housing, water, electricity, sanitation and schooling than ever before. These are tangible improvements in the lives of millions of South Africans, which will make all of them proud. I can go on for much longer singing the praises of our country, people and government, but my job today is not to be an imbongi [a praise singer]. My task today is to present on behalf of the NPC, represented by its members here, an honest, critical appraisal of what our key objectives are, and to list the key challenges in achieving these objectives.
South Africa needs to recommit to the kind of country we want, a place where we can raise our children in comfort and security, with renewed and ongoing hope, and opportunity. The NPC has been tasked by the President with helping to develop such a vision for our country and a plan to deliver that vision. The document we are releasing today contains the elements of the vision statement that are drawn from the preamble of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which in turn are drawn from the tradition of the Freedom Charter.
This is not yet the vision statement from the NPC. These elements are the key pillars or parameters of what we think should be covered in the vision statement. In launching it today, we invite all South Africans to discuss, criticise, add to and remove from it, and to contribute to a process that will culminate in the Vision 2030 that we will publish in November this year.
Our vision statement contains 10 elements. Firstly, there is a democratic state, rooted in the values of our Constitution, working with all sectors of society to improve the quality of life; secondly, people are united in diversity, recognising the common interest that binds us as a nation, and we have achieved greater equality for women in all aspects of life; thirdly, high-quality education and health care, and adequate provision of housing, water, sanitation, energy and transport give impetus to human development; fourthly, a system of comprehensive social security covers all citizens in need; fifthly, our natural wealth is harnessed sustainably, in a way that protects our environment, using science and modern technology to ensure a growing economy that benefits all; sixthly, people who are able to work have access to jobs, workers' rights are protected, and the workforce is skilled; seventhly, business is afforded an environment to invest and profit, while promoting the common interests of the nation, including decent work; eighthly, an efficient state protects citizens, provides quality services and infrastructure, and gives leadership to national development; ninthly, individuals and communities, at work and at play, embrace mutual respect and human solidarity; and tenthly, government, business and civil society work to build a better Africa and a better world.
These are the elements that we put before our nation and say, "Discuss them! Disagree with us! Amend them! But come back and talk about these issues." That is because we in the NPC fervently believe that these 10 elements are amongst the planks of the kind of society that we want to construct in 2030. We present them to begin that process, so as to involve all citizens in this national dialogue.
Despite all our achievements, our conclusion as the National Planning Commission is that we have not made sufficient progress in ensuring that growth is inclusive, and that the benefits of growth are shared amongst all South Africans. Poverty and inequality remain stubbornly high. Eliminating poverty and reducing inequality are our key strategic objectives, objectives that are an obligation of our Constitution and, we believe, are shared by all South Africans.
Apartheid was designed to achieve social exclusion and marginalisation, and actually did so with stunning success. This has not been adequately reversed. Using R524 per person per month as a benchmark, the percentage of South Africans living in poverty has fallen from about 53% in 1995 to about 48% today. This suggests that we have made some progress, but clearly not sufficient progress, given the length of time since democracy and the pace of economic growth. Too many people live vulnerable and precarious lives in informal settlements without services, seldom in employment, burdened by diseases, and having accumulated too few skills or too little experience to transform their lives.
The level of inequality in our country is amongst the highest in the world. By most measures, this elevated level of inequality inherited in 1994 has not fallen sufficiently. In 1995, the richest 20% of the population earned 72% of national income and the poorest 40% received about 6% of income. Today that picture is almost identical, with the richest 20% receiving 70% of income and the poorest 40% a mere 6%.
There has been a change in the racial composition of the top 20%. In 1995, about half of the top 20% were black. Today it is about two thirds. This is a significant positive development, but it does little to change the pattern of poverty. The poorest South Africans are still black, mostly female, and live in the former homelands. What is deeply concerning is that the income received by 40% of the poorest has shifted from wage income and remittances to social grants. Social grants are a positive development, but mask deep marginalisation and exclusion from the labour market.
Our diagnosis identifies nine key challenges that we face in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. We raise these issues so that we can come up with solutions to ensure even faster and more inclusive progress going forward.
Our challenges are as follows. Firstly, too few South Africans work; secondly, the quality of school education for most black people is substandard; thirdly, poorly located and inadequate infrastructure limits social inclusion and faster economic growth; fourthly, spatial challenges continue to marginalise the poor; fifthly, South Africa's growth path is highly resource-intensive and hence unsustainable; sixthly, the ailing public health system confronts a massive disease burden; seventhly, the performance of the Public Service is highly uneven; eighthly, corruption undermines state legitimacy and service delivery; and ninthly, South Africa remains a divided society.
These challenges have been identified following an exhaustive process of research, consultation and engagement. If left unattended, they will delay the achievement of our objectives and could even reverse the progress that we have made since 1994. Progress and development are never a given; they must be worked for actively, consciously and continuously.
While all nine of these challenges are important, in the view of the Planning Commission two stand out as being our priorities. These are that too few South Africans work and the quality of education for the poor is substandard. They are the biggest factors in explaining the persistence of high levels of poverty and inequality. Tackling these two challenges should be our highest priority, and if we are to make progress in doing so, it will support our efforts in dealing with the other challenges.
For every 100 adults between the ages of 18 and 60, only 41 work. This ratio is extremely low by international standards. In most countries, in excess of two thirds of adults do some sort of work. The causes of the low level of employment are the product of centuries of social exclusion and decades of racism in education, in where people live, in what jobs people can do, in land ownership, in owning a business and in accumulating assets. The structure of our economy has built into it a bias against employment, and in particular a bias against the advancement of black and unskilled people in the economy. Despite progress since 1994, these biases are still present and still formidable.
Our country inherited a legacy of apartheid education that really stifles our human potential. Despite progress in increasing school enrolment and in achieving a greater degree of equity in the financing of school education, quality for the majority of learners remains poor. Of the 68% of learners who passed matric last year, only 15% received an aggregate mark of above 40%. I want to repeat that. Of the 68% of learners who passed matric last year, only 15% received an aggregate mark of above 40%. So, the question asked should be: What about the rest?
We also know that a significant proportion of young people drop out of school even before reaching matric. Poor performance is predominant in schools that are formerly African and Coloured. These statistics are derived from the Department of Basic Education's own reports. Government is aware of these problems and has put in place several positive initiatives to address these challenges. The day before yesterday, President Zuma, Minister Motshekga and Minister Chabane were in the Eastern Cape dealing with precisely these kinds of issues. Nevertheless, the performance of township and rural schools remains a major blot on the copybook of the entire nation.
Contact time in township schools is almost three hours a day less than in former Model C schools, and absenteeism is high. Improving the quality of teaching and getting better school principals are our biggest challenges, apart from significant backlogs in school infrastructure, which must be attended to.
Allow me to briefly elaborate on the seven other challenges that we have identified. South Africa missed a generation of investment in our infrastructure. The infrastructure we have is often poorly located and designed for a set of economic activities and settlement patterns that have changed since the early 1990s.
While the increase in public spending on infrastructure since 2003 signals a positive shift towards renewing and modernising our infrastructure, this level of investment is still too low to meet the needs of our economy and people. It is of concern that we seem to have an inherent bias against maintaining our infrastructure, which will cost us very dearly in the future. We lack institutional mechanisms to co-ordinate, design, finance, operate and maintain our infrastructure networks.
The spatial effects of apartheid remain with the poorest, still living in remote rural areas far from economic activity today. Even in urban areas the poor live far from city centres. These settlement patterns have probably been made worse since 1994, with many new housing settlements on badly located land. They reinforce social exclusion, raise the cost of living and make it harder for the poor to break out of poverty. Our economic path, settlement patterns and infrastructure all combine to place our country on an unsustainable growth path from a resource utilisation perspective.
We are the 27th largest economy in the world, but produce more carbon dioxide emissions than all but 11 countries in the world. We are a water scarce country, but use our water inefficiently. We have to change these patterns of consumption and learn to use our natural resources more efficiently. We must do this with appropriate consideration for jobs, energy and food prices.
We confront a quadruple burden of HIV and Aids, and other communicable diseases such as tuberculosis; high rates of infant and maternal mortality; high levels of violence; road accident fatalities and injuries; and rising epidemics in noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases. At the same time, we know that our health system is ailing, both because of the disease burden and also because of policy errors that we have made since 1994. Addressing these challenges will require the following: more resources, but also a firm commitment to improving the quality of health care in public institutions; putting the concept of care back into health care; and dealing with longer-term causes of ill health such as our lifestyles, diets, the level of violence, and our bad driving.
For many South Africans, the quality of public services is poor. We confront deeply embedded weaknesses in the Public Service that relate to poor skills, weak management, inadequate oversight and accountability, complex policy and regulatory systems, and significant unevenness in fiscal and human capacity across the country. The National Planning Commission has raised this issue of the capability of the state as central to our diagnosis. Planning for a future that is better, without dealing with the weaknesses in the state, is to set ourselves up for failure.
Levels of corruption are high and negatively affect our ability to deliver services to the poorest South Africans. The reasons are complex but include weak systems, insufficient oversight and accountability, fragmented capacity to tackle corruption, and poor ethical standards, not just in the Public Service, but in society at large.
The last of our diagnostic observations is that, despite good progress in uniting our country, we remain a divided society. Despite improvements in deracialising the top end of the income spectrum, race is still a major dividing line. High levels of inequality fuel these divisions but, more importantly, the lack of progress in creating jobs and improving education limits opportunity and fuels the divisions.
Redress measures are correct, both politically and economically. In several areas we have not made sufficient progress in implementing these measures effectively. The commission is of the view that, while these redress measures are correct, they are more likely to be effective in a context of faster economic growth, rising educational standards and greater social mobility. In the absence of such a dynamic environment, corrective measures appear as win/lose measures, leading to social tension and strife. Social cohesion is a necessary element of a successful nation and is critical to achieving our objectives of reducing poverty and inequality.
As we tackle each of these nine challenges to achieve our objectives, we must do so being mindful of the environment within which we live and operate. Of course, our world is changing. The rise of China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets is reshaping the global economy in complex ways. Similarly, democratisation and economic growth on the African continent provide an exciting backdrop against which to consider our own development plans.
The world is confronting several broad developmental challenges, from climate change and the need to produce more food to water security. Technology has already changed our world and provides a basis to fast-track progress and to include more people in social and economic integration than ever before. Migration, demographic transitions and urbanisation are also likely to be influential in shaping our future. These driving forces of change provide for a country like South Africa both opportunities and risks. A collective understanding of these issues will help us navigate the next two decades.
These are formidable challenges and complex issues that we are raising. They are the product of extensive research and engagement with experts, nongovernmental organisations, NGOs, and civil society. We raise them knowing that we can and must change; we can and must confront these challenges and we shall defeat these obstacles. As a country, we have united to achieve many great things since 1990. We require that same spirit that gave rise to our miracle transition, culminating in our Constitution, to once again unite to achieve these objectives. Success requires the participation and leadership of all South Africans.
On behalf of all the members of the NPC, I would like to thank President Zuma for the boldness and faith that he has shown. We table today elements of a vision statement and an overview of the diagnosis. Five supporting reports will be released on our website today - on human conditions, material conditions, nation-building, the economy and institutions, and governance - and a host of background material that serves as evidence. By tomorrow we will certainly have 150 papers that the commission has worked with on the website. So, if there is any member of this House, any member of society, who suffers from insomnia, we have solved your problems! Work with us and find the solutions!
The diagnosis report is not a plan. It is a basis for collective agreement on the key challenges that confront us as a nation. It is the first step towards developing a plan that is acceptable, credible and implementable. Starting today, over the next three months the commission will actively engage with South Africans on the vision and diagnosis.
To listen to what South Africans think and feel about the future and their solutions to our challenges we will use the following across the country: meetings with communities, experts and stakeholders; email, voicemail, text messages, online jams and social networking; and good old-fashioned written letters. We will do so in all languages in South Africa. It is imperative that our people participate in these processes. [Applause.] Parliament has a clear role to play in facilitating a national dialogue on both the elements of the vision and the issues raised in the diagnostic.
Based on the public engagement and consultation, we will release the vision statement and development plan in November this year for consideration by the country and Cabinet. In 2012 and beyond the commission will produce a select number of detailed reports on key issues stemming from the development plan. Achieving our objectives of eliminating poverty and reducing inequality will require the collective effort and self-belief of all South Africans. Drawing strength and courage from Mama [Mother] Albertina Sisulu, our struggle for a united, prosperous, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic South Africa lives on. Thank you very much for your patience on this. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, the DA is committed to resolving the many issues that exist in South Africa today and that prevent us from moving forward as a prosperous nation, and that offers an opportunity to everyone to become everything that they are capable of being.
At the start of the process, when the National Planning Commission was established, we were sceptical about the real impact this would have on the lives of real people in our country, who suffer the burden of poverty and unemployment and the real prospect of life without hope and without the economic liberation that our people are hungry to achieve.
In his briefing the Minister provided a diagnostic report - it's not a pretty picture. The Minister identified the need for a vision statement, which needs to be developed over time, and the need to address poverty and inequality. We agree. The 10 elements form the pillars on which our society is built, and we need to consider them closely. The DA welcomes the candid outcome of this phase of the commission's work. There is no doubt that a great deal of hard work and effort was required to sift through the information that the commission was required to digest. The outcome is not particularly surprising, but the process does force the key problem areas into the spotlight.
On the nine challenges that the Minister mentioned, we know that too few people are employed in our economy. Inherited structural defects and subsequent barriers to economic activity erected by the government restrain our capacity to grow and our ability to absorb more people into employment.
We know that the quality of our education is well below par, and that schools in affluent areas far outperform those in disadvantaged areas. The skills of educators, who must deliver the quality education we seek, are widely disparate and this is reflected in the school performance and subsequent success in the lives of our learners.
We know that our aging infrastructure is crumbling and slows down the pace of our economic activity.
We know that the apartheid era spatial divide has not been breached and that people who can least afford it must travel long distances to work, which is expensive.
We know that our resource-intensive economy subjects us to a wide fluctuation in our economic fortunes and that we must diversify it and develop a modern, greener economy that will take us into the future.
We know that our health care system is ailing and that it does not deliver value for money or deliver the basic foundations on which to build a healthy population.
We know that our Public Service is uneven and that the delivery is worse outside the urban area and worst in places that need it most.
We know that corruption undermines state legitimacy and that we already face the real consequences of declining confidence in our systems and institutions.
We know that South Africa remains a divided society, particularly by race, with the gap between the rich and the poor threatening to destabilise our nation.
We do not agree with the commission's division of our people into the categories, African and non-African. We are all Africans and that cannot be overemphasised in a climate where the President of the ANC Youth League can drive racial divisions and not be called to order. The Minister mentioned nation-building - perhaps this is where we should start. We should start by telling Mr Malema that we are all Africans and belong in Africa, irrespective of what our race happens to be.
The Minister has suggested that our attention should be focused on the human conditions, material conditions, institutions, our economy and nation- building. These cut across the silos of government departments and won't be easily breached.
The fundamental question that comes to mind is how the work of the commission on the economy will interface with the New Growth Path, and how the work of the commission will be implemented. The burning question must be whether the New Growth Path has not eclipsed the National Planning Commission.
We agree that the idea of stimulating debate is good and that this will prominently focus our attention on the key issues, so that the possibility exists for creative solutions to emerge.
The DA will respond to the challenge. We already have policies that we believe can make a substantial impact on eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. We also recognise the need for redress and reconciliation, and will take this opportunity to put forward our proposals that will build a road out of poverty through the barriers to economic growth and development, which constrain the lives and dreams of our people.
The Minister put forth possible future scenarios. If we continue our economic growth without social equality and equity, we are heading for disaster. The DA agrees. If we focus only on social equity and adopt the unworkable populist economics of nationalisation and expropriation without compensation, as spat out by Mr Malema, we are heading for disaster. We need to grow our economy and broaden social equity at the same time, and therefore our policy instruments must be designed to achieve this objective.
The DA believes that this is possible, and we look forward to the next phase of the commission's work. It will not be easy for the envisaged public engagement process to find a coherent message. Therefore, we encourage full participation by everyone who is interested in making South Africa a better place for all of our people. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Chairperson, Cope welcomes this visionary development document towards a better future South Africa in 2030. It is always exciting and challenging to try to look into the crystal ball of the future, and it is good to plan ahead, as it gives hope to the younger generations and purpose to those who are doing it.
We are living in difficult times after the great recession, where national interests have been put above international preferred agreements, and Tim Cohen of Business Day reminded us earlier this week about our dilemma. I quote:
... can democracy work as well during times of economic decline as it does during growth?
The answer lies in whether voters, trade unions and business are sensible, broadminded and foresighted enough to accept that sometimes governments must provide fewer services, pay lower wages and ask higher taxes to balance the national accounts, to make sure that they do not destroy the economic outlook for a country.
Therefore, the important role of engaging all South Africans in the next three months, and a successful buying in of all stakeholders to embrace this vision and this plan, and our ability to agree on issues of national interest and stick to them, will make or break this initiative.
Let's use this opportunity to agree on a more dynamic economy, willing to change and to adapt. Let's agree to allow part of the economy that is not competitive to cease to exist to create space for something new. Then, according to Jac Laubscher, viable growth will appear.
In 2008 Kenya embarked on the development of their Vision 2030, with the objective of turning Kenya into a "middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens". There were mixed reactions three years later. The International Monetary Fund, IMF, recently commented on Kenya's Vision 2030 and noted a number of concerns which can materially affect the realisation of their vision. A change of government, post- election violence and no proper binding in by stakeholders have derailed the process. In 2010, the Kenyan government acknowledged that the road towards Vision 2030 is bumpy - the great recession has spoken. Let us learn the lessons from Kenya timeously.
South Africa is the land of miracles; we do have the people and skills to make this work. However, we must accept that for us to be successful will require determination, a cohesive political climate and consensus on all issues of national interest. The quality of our political leadership will play a vital role in guaranteeing the success and outcomes of this process. Let us embrace this good news project, work together, discuss things with open minds, reconcile and put our country first. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Chairman, the National Planning Commission was established two years ago to provide a national vision for the future of the country. Two years later we receive a proposal on how to conduct a diagnosis of our problems. I listened very carefully to the Minister and there is nothing in his "state of the nation address" that I can disagree with - the observations, the descriptions, the benign platitudes and the obvious identification of problems and challenges are common cause.
I promise that I will carefully read whatever is posted on the Internet to see whether there is a greater measure of substance. The crisp issue is this. Minister, I promise that we will take on your challenge, an invitation to make concrete proposals. We have made concrete proposals in all departments and hopefully they will receive a greater audience in your commission than they have in respect of other departments and policy centres. We would really like it if you could go to the extent of organising a meeting for us to make those submissions to the entire commission.
The difficulty that we see, though, is how your commission fits into this process. The vision is overdue. The implementing actions are long overdue. What is required is a change of attitude. The proposals exist and they will be put forward. They are painful. Who is to impose the pain? Pain today is gain tomorrow. It is the path of each and every society which has sought to develop a better future.
Through you, Mr Chairperson, to the hon Minister: Is your commission endowed with the political power to bring together and implement a vision? Are we not trying to lead from a centre supplementing the lack of leadership which exists elsewhere? Are we not trying to address a problem which is much bigger? We know what our problems are. We have no long-term vision for the industrial development of the country, beyond the current flood of subsidies and the extensions of the welfare state to our industry. I refer both to state subsidies and our private subsidies which consumers are forced to contribute because of cartels, corruption, high import tariffs, regulatory constraints, preferential procurement, etc. What happens when the subsidies stop? Or are they meant to go on forever and ever? I raise this issue because this is an issue that we have been discussing in the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, where the discussion gets stopped. We are subsidising what we have and we cannot move forward.
It is the same thing with education. Education is not a challenge; it is a disaster. It is a problem. Now, who is going to have the political guts to restructure the entire process, recognise the mistakes which were made in 1994, and scrap the outcomes-based education? Will your commission do that? There is no greater investment in national assets than in education, and if we lack that investment, everything else falls - that is the flaw. We have no longer ...
Order! Hon member, your time has expired.
Mr Chairman, you seem to be at odds with the clock. Oh, my humble apologies - I misread it. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon Minister, this document was a long time in coming, but I think it was well worth the wait. It certainly paints a very honest assessment of the challenges that we are going to have to face up to as a nation over the next 20 years.
The challenges it identifies are not a huge surprise though, and I think most South Africans would concur with its assessment. Even though it is not a huge surprise, it is nevertheless sobering, and it does force us as a nation to focus our attention on how we can concretely overcome some enormous constraints in our quest to become the country we all are aspiring to have.
Identifying the problems though is, with respect, Minister, the easy bit. The real difficulty will lie in developing a plan to overcome them, and having the political will to implement it. Rising to these nine challenges will require more than just policy changes. It will require a fundamental rethink of our approach to governance. As Einstein said:
Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.
In essence we will need a revision of our society, one in which every South African can become part of generating and implementing the solutions, in a spirit of common purpose. My reading of the development literature has revealed that a common factor of countries which have been able to lift themselves out of poverty over the past 50 years has been that of high levels of social cohesion.
Given our divided history and the persistent levels of inequality, it is going to be difficult to build this social cohesion, but I hope that the public participation process you will now run will go some way in forging the social compact that we so desperately need if we are going to succeed in this task. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon members, there is an old saying that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. For many years our country has moved from one administrative bungle to another due to the government's poor planning. Where there was a semblance of departmental planning, government often worked in silos, without proper co-ordination between its various spheres and departments. We hope that the strategic roadmap for South Africa presented to us here today by the National Planning Commission Minister marks the end to poor departmental planning.
The UDM believes that this strategic plan provides enough detail on how we intend to commit present resources to long-term infrastructure development, such as South Africa's energy infrastructure needs, that is, the building of Eskom power stations. Furthermore, the National Planning Commission needs to take a long-term view of the effect of the capacity of our ports on economic growth.
We therefore support the broad strategic framework the commission has developed regarding the best way to allocate South Africa's scarce resources in pursuit of a common vision for our future. I thank you.
Chairperson, the meeting with Minister Trevor Manuel last night was very informative, and I want to thank him for the opportunity.
The National Planning Commission has produced an excellent diagnostic report that has identified key challenges we need to overcome as a nation. Among the challenges the commission has identified is the fact that South Africa remains a divided society. The commission has pointed to what I believe is part of the solution by saying:
Tackling these challenges will require the involvement of all South Africans and co-ordination and co-operation across society and government.
While the racial classification and profiling in the document are helpful in assessing the challenges and gains of different race groups, I can foresee that the definition of the word African is going to raise further challenges. We have to build a national consensus on who is an African before we can succeed in being a people united in diversity. If white people born in Africa are not Africans, then who are they? What about coloureds? Are they Africans or not? The ACDP believes that an African is anybody who is born in Africa, be they black, white, coloured or Indian.
Chairperson, I believe the commission should do more research on the question of who an African is in order to encourage all race groups to come on board. To narrow the divide between South Africans, it will take a collective effort from all race groups in our country, black, white, coloured and Indian, who love Africa because they are all classified as Africans. So, Chairperson, I believe if this question of who is an African can be solved, many people will come on board, but at this stage they are not seeing themselves as Africans. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon members and the Minister in the Presidency, hon Trevor Manuel, the tabling of the diagnostic overview must be welcomed, as it seeks to address the main challenges confronting our democratic Republic, those which we at this point in time are debating in our respective Budget Votes. Critically it examines the vexed question of the underlying causes of the main and contradictory challenges facing the nation.
Its approach is typically and correctly a research methodological approach, scientifically extrapolating the base of the contradictions and not the superstructure. It emphasises causes and effects in its approach, and such an overview would of necessity have multiple dimensions. It deals with the essence of the contradiction and not the form. Therefore, its approach is dialectical.
Certainly, research institutions, both nationally and internationally, will study this with keen interest, for its approach is equally applicable in many countries on our continent. Importantly, it states, and I quote:
If South Africa is able to reach broad consensus on its principal national challenges, it will stand a better chance of coming up with sensible and achievable solutions.
This House would do well to understand the statement, for it is equally applicable here in the House.
The focus of the diagnostic overview locks onto the economy, human conditions, material conditions, nation-building and institutions of governance. The depth of the commission's work is impressive and, equally, the approach suggests that the commission has taken a grounded research methodological approach in producing its findings.
This is the only manner by which we can objectively address the challenges we face. Certainly, the scope of stakeholder inputs alone suggests a very inclusive approach has been adopted, drawing up experiential learning and academic reports.
I quote from the foreword of the report:
Given its advisory role, the commission needs to convince the country and Cabinet of its arguments through evidence, well-considered proposals, and ideas that are tested with the public and experts. The mandate of the commission allows it to be objective and, where necessary, critical. These criticisms are made with an understanding of our historical context and an acknowledgement of our achievements so far; driven by a commitment to do better, to fix what is wrong and to deliver a better life for all.
Let me say a few words about strategic planning management, a subject that is very relevant in the context of the Presidency. Strategic planning management and leadership are concerned with the overall effectiveness and choice of direction of the state within a dynamic, complex and ambiguous environment. Capabilities that have to be further developed and strengthened include, among others, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and transformational leadership.
Strategic planning management is primarily concerned with strategic planning, which means developing strategies to balance the resources, capabilities, values and objectives of the government with its external environment.
For that matter, strategic leadership at the level of the Presidency means leading the entire government, and more broadly, the state, something which requires an understanding of the entire government and state, domestic and global environment within which the Presidency has to operate. This understanding will assist in creating strategic change and positioning the developmental state and democratic government within the domestic and global environment with a view to ensuring both the short-term stability and the long-term viability.
While the strategic planning management and leadership relate to management of the strategic decision-making process, the success of the government will be determined on the basis of the effectiveness and efficiency of its strategic managers. For this reason, the Presidency has to develop a strategic management capacity that will ensure that the whole bureaucracy functions properly.
Without doubt the strategic capacity and capability of the government requires a strong capacity for formulating and co-ordinating policy in the strategic centre of the government, that being the Presidency. In fact, the strengthening of strategic management at the centre should be understood within the context of developing the strategic capacity of the government, which all levels of the government require to intervene in all issues, especially service delivery. Because service delivery primarily occurs at the level of provincial and local government, it becomes critically important for the centre to ensure that strong strategic capacity is also developed at these levels of the government.
The strategic planning management of the government must be understood within the context of transforming the state and developing institutional capacity for a developmental state. A strong centre remains an important characteristic of the developmental state, something it requires to produce decisions that are well informed, with the costs and benefits of alternative policy options identified, and responses to problems co- ordinated.
Let me return to the diagnostic overview. The outputs of the workshops and some of the papers produced have been put on the National Planning Commission website for comment, further strengthening the overview, to which the Minister has already alluded. The root causes of challenges are central to analysis, which in itself throws up the additional linkages connecting them and their being critical factors that need to be studied.
For the ANC, what is critical is to establish whether the findings in the diagnostic overview support its policy thrust in addressing the challenges we have in building a national democratic society. The diagnostic overview supports the ANC's long held and articulated view - even if some amongst us may want to continuously contest it - that since 1994 we have made substantive and deep-seated progress towards a more just and inclusive society.
Amongst the ANC's five priorities the overview reflects substantive progress, as well as access to basic services. This confirms our view that we have been able to change the lives of the nation to a qualitatively better position, although with much more still needing to be done. In fact, the report reflects remarkable progress in health, education, access to water and formal housing, and the development of a more representative nation. In this respect, progress in addressing the national question has taken a huge, qualitative leap forward.
Again, the diagnostic overview supports the correctness of the 2011 programme of the ANC of economic transformation as our national project and nation-building programme. The key to this is the creation of decent work and overall vastly improving employment levels. Our deep concern about the economic situation of the masses of our people is reflected in this sentence in the overview: "Economic performance has been mixed".
Eliminating poverty and reducing inequality are key objectives of both the ANC and the government. Again, the overview speaks of the deep-seated economic struggles of the majority of our people and the need to create jobs for more people and to improve the quality of education, especially for poor black children.
Particular areas bring new information, one of which is new evidence on whether we experienced jobless growth in the mid 1990s and, secondly, the description of the nature of the problems around education.
Certainly, in the ANC's strategy and tactics adopted at the 52nd national conference in 2007, it identified key characteristics that underpinned a developmental state. One of these was state organisational capacity in ensuring that its structures and systems facilitated the realisation of a set agenda.
Issues of macro-organisation of the state, which include permutations among policy and implementation organs with each sphere, allocation of responsibilities across the spheres, effective intergovernmental relations and the stability of the management systems, are all matters that the ANC government is currently seized with. This is emphasised in the Diagnostic Overview. With our responsibility for oversight as parliamentarians, this becomes critical in the period that lies ahead of us.
In addition, the diagnostic overview is also concerned with other defined attributes of the developmental state in technical capacity and ability to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects to ensure their implementation. Amongst other things, this depends on the proper training, orientation and leadership of the Public Service, and on acquiring and retaining skilled personnel.
There is much similarity between our thinking as the ANC and that of the diagnostic overview. As the ANC, we welcome this absolutely critical and strategic intervention examining the underlying causes of our objective conditions and presenting researched evidence regarding how we should tackle these going forward. The ANC do not celebrate the challenges identified by the commission; we take them seriously. They represent what we as the ANC spoke about many years ago, when we indicated that the challenges facing our country were deep-rooted.
We would like to make a firm commitment to the commission, the Cabinet and the entire country that we will always march ahead with our people to address the challenges, because we know their origins. We hope that all of us in this House will commit ourselves to working hand in hand with the commission regarding what it continues to recommend in order to be able to respond to these challenges, because that will be in our best interests, as well as those of generations to come. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Chairman, I rise on a point of order. I question whether it is indeed worth making statements to the House. The purpose of statements to the House is for members to rise on current issues, ventilate them and get a response from the executive. As I look around the horseshoe, I find exactly two Ministers, two members of the executive, here. What is the point of members' statements when the members of the executive treat this House with contempt? The benches are empty. What is the point of making statements to the House? I ask you to rule on that, Mr Chairman.
I will gladly do that, hon member. Hon members, there is nothing in the Rules which suggests that members' statements may not proceed if the attendance of members of the executive is poor.
I do note the concern though, and I might add that the Speaker has previously raised this matter with the Leader of Government Business. The consequence of the absence of members of the executive unfortunately means that the executive is unable to present its side on the issues raised by members, thereby depriving members of essential information they need in order to exercise effective oversight. I will raise the matter with the Speaker, hon members. You were correct, hon Davidson, but we will proceed because there are no Rules preventing us from proceeding. We now come to members' statements.
Debate concluded.