Thank you, Madam Chair. The hon Fubbs might not realise it, but Minister Gugile Nkwinti has just bought my farm - well, not the Minister personally, although he probably has a farm somewhere near Indwe - but I do have some cows for sale if hon Fubbs wants to buy some. [Applause.]
Madam Chair, this Bill is a very important one. In fact, one of the achievements of this Parliament in the past 20 years has been to pass important and world-class legislation for financial, banking and credit reform. In fact, a lot of it is regarded as the best in the world.
Without credit an economy cannot grow and flourish. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has shown that. The National Credit Act is credited - no pun intended - with being one of the factors enabling our economy to weather the 2008 global crisis.
We must have a fair balance between lenders' risks and borrowers' needs for credit, and this applies to the rich borrowers as well as poor borrowers or low-income borrowers.
We must remember that the regulated micro-lending industry plays a genuinely important, even vital, role of providing credit for many members of our society. They provide a kind of bank overdraft facility.
There are concerns. Let us remember that it was the hon Mario Oriani- Ambrosini who brought an amending Private Member's Bill to the House in late 2012. He then came here again in February 2013, but his ill health made it difficult to proceed further. The Bill and this amending Bill have the support of Cope. There are some very, very good improvements in it.
However, what is of concern is the process; the way in which it was rushed through from early on in January. In fact, proof of this is that the Minister released a press statement this morning at 12:00, in which he said that he was already going to regulate Notice 387.
I have one or two questions for the Minister for when he replies. Is it not ultra vires to pass a Notice in terms of a Bill that has not been passed? Is he satisfied that he has the correct authority to do so; and when was that Notice drafted? Was it drafted in January or was it drafted during the past few days?
The other concern that we have is that this Bill is a challenge to the Twin- Peaks policy in terms of governance. The Treasury and the Reserve Bank were obviously a little twitchy about it. The Department of Justice was also affected by it, and I believe that the Department of Trade and Industry is going to encounter certain problems along the way, although we did our best in the committee.
Let me say that in the committee ...
... en laat ek dit sommer in Afrikaans s: die DA het geskitter in hul afwesigheid! [... and let me just say it in Afrikaans: the DA were conspicuous by their absence!]
However, we did our best with the Bill to address the concerns of Treasury and the Reserve Bank. [Interjections.] Now at the last minute we have a really interesting and important Bill. However, the provision for the complete expunging of credit records is short-sighted.
There was important evidence from the Credit Providers Association which the Minister and chairlady of the committee chose to ignore. I believe it is dangerous to put our reputation in terms of credit bureaus at risk.
Madam Chair, on a personal level, this is my last speech in Parliament. I first came here in April 1974. I am very well aware that the gap that a politician leaves is similar, hon Sisulu, to when you pull your hand out of a bucket of water! [Laughter.]
In the past 40 years I have made four maiden speeches. However, my real pleasure is to speak in this debate and say that I can look back on 20 years of democracy.
My commitment to achieving a nonracial democracy started 50 years ago when, in 1964, I joined the Liberal Party of Alan Paton. I think that he, Edgar Brookes, Jordan Ngubane and Peter Brown would have been thrilled, just as I am, to be living in South Africa today.
I have been privileged to have been part of and to have lived through these changes. I have enjoyed myself tremendously.
There is no utopia in any human society, but there is no doubt in my mind that a parliamentary democracy with regular and free elections is the finest flower of human civilisation. It is a beautiful but a fragile flower. The price we have to pay is constant vigilance. That is the price of liberty.
I am confident that there are more than sufficient members in this House, and in all our political parties, who are deeply committed to protecting and deepening our democracy and its Constitution.
South Africa, Madam Chair, I believe is in safe hands. The cause for which I entered politics half a century ago has been achieved, so there is no sense in hanging around any longer. [Time expired.] [Applause.]