Mr Speaker, it's clear that they have never been to a farm.
We learnt with some surprise that there was a growing industry, a grouping of payment distribution agencies, PDAs. That does underline the creative spirit of people - identify a gap, in you run and make quick money.
The problem is that they were never registered and to a large extent they were linked directly to the banks or to credit providers where the debt was incurred. However, they were not registered, and they didn't have to be registered, so they could run wild while they added on their fees.
What will happen now is that it is a process of formalising the arrangement, and they will be required to comply with strict registration requirements such as holding a trust account and being compliant with the National Payment Systems Act. Furthermore, credit providers will not be allowed to have a direct or indirect interest in the management or control of the operations of a PDA.
Then of course there is the rehabilitation of debt providers. Up to now it has been extremely easy when someone has gone into a debt review process - the creditors come in, they have a look at the terms, and they withdraw. Suddenly, they jump in first and probably run to the Sheriff to start attaching half your property.
Now, however, once they to come to the party, as it were, and agree that the person is in debt, that they would like to get some of their money back and that they would also like to enable the person to get employment, they can't jump out. Now I think that that is a major step forward.
Some of the words used, such as "prescribed debt", are only identifiable if you look them up in the dictionary. A lot of us think of medical prescriptions and the like. Very few people know what prescribed debt is.
When they then get a letter out of the blue after having being retrenched for two or three years, or after some awful tragedy had befallen the family, they get a letter demanding the money back. They do not realise that in spite of the threat that they will be taken to court, the likelihood of that happening is nonexistent.
The debt has been prescribed. They may pay it back, but unfortunately they are not at all familiar with what it actually entails.
Some of us in the committee were not familiar with that process. If you go to your own neighborhood, an estate, a flat next door or a townhouse, you will learn that not everyone is familiar with this term. We have had to intervene here.
I see that we have about one minute left. Therefore I want to point out that this Bill will go ... [Interjections.] I am now talking to the people of South Africa and not those who want to scream and shout. It will go a long way to restoring economic freedom.
It will go a long way in giving back some of that economic independence you may have lost by being so overindebted that you became enslaved to a credit provider with no hope of ever getting out of his clutches.
I would like say to the Minister that it took courage to bring this Bill here, but I am happy to say that a multiparty committee actively contributed to and supported the provisions. There was one member from Cope who could not cope with one of the clauses, but as a whole they supported the entire Bill.
Furthermore, I would like to thank people such as Deputy Director-General Ms Z Ntuli and her band of economists and helpers, and the National Credit Regulator's Ms Nomsa Motshegare, for also coming to the party.
It is important for all of them to realise the importance of working together, including all departments. We have a co-operative governance clause in our Constitution. We need to show the world that we can co- ordinate our work for the benefit of all South Africans. I thank you. [Applause.]