Hon Speaker and hon Bheki Radebe, South Africa has and continues to promote deepening regional integration in Southern Africa as an essential component of our wider international economic relations.
Our approach is founded on two arguments. Firstly, South Africa's stability, security and economic development cannot be assured if the region continues to confront underdevelopment, instability, poverty and also marginalisation.
Secondly, regional economic co-operation and integration offered an opportunity for regional industries to overcome the limits of small national markets and will achieve economies of scale and enhance competitiveness as a platform to participate in the global economy. We do need to acknowledge advances that have been achieved in the integration agenda.
In 2008, under the Southern African Development Community, SADC, Trade Protocol, SADC achieved the status of a Free Trade Area wherein 80% of goods are traded freely in the region. We are also continuing to work on the rules of origin, regional standards and trade facilitation that could consolidate the gains made in opening our regional trade.
However, in our view, the single most serious constraint to a more equitable and balanced flow of trade in the region remains underdeveloped production structures across SADC economies. In this context, South Africa has and will continue to advance a work programme which focuses on regional industrialisation and economic diversification.
Regional industrial policies that expand and diversify value-added production are necessary prerequisites to ensure that SADC countries are able to take advantage of market openings at the regional level. I thank you.
Thank you, Comrade Deputy Minister, for elaborating when answering the question.
You have indicated that 80% of the goods flow freely within the SADC area, but as a country, we know that there are lots of subsidised goods which are dumped in the SADC countries. There are also lots of pirated goods which are dumped in the SADC countries. At the end of the day this undermines the growth of our SADC economy.
Is the department, or the countries involved in SADC, doing anything about this, like, for example, training the border officers so that they are able to screen for the goods which are dumped in the SADC region?
Speaker, I would like to thank the hon member very much for the supplementary question.
Indeed, we have continued to experience challenges around subsidised goods, not only on the continent, but all over the world. Hence, we are dealing with the rules of origin.
But, in relation to pirated and counterfeit products, the Department of Trade and Industry is going to launch an antipiracy campaign next month and we are going to work with the Department of Home Affairs to engage the South African Revenue Service, Sars, component of the Department of Finance, to ensure that there is border control over goods that get to our markets via our borders. A programme will be launched in September and all Members of Parliament will be informed about it. I thank you.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Deputy Minister, you mentioned the decisions around SADC as a Free Trade Area. How far along is the government with this, and when will you implement SADC as a Free Trade Area?
Together with that, can you tell us how government sees the role of the SADC tribunal in cross-border asset disputes within SADC, such as the current land claim dispute between Zimbabwe and South African agri- investors? I thank you.
Hon Speaker, the hon member has asked me three questions in one.
I will first attend to the issue of the Free Trade Area. I think we all know that the President was in Namibia recently, where the ministerial task force reported on the summit on the developments of regional integration. To us, regional integration cannot be imperative. Before we deal with issues of industrialisation, before we can even look at issues of the tribunal, it is very important for South Africa to concentrate on building strong regional industries. I think issues of the tribunal will be addressed as and when the report has been tabled.
On the issues of Zimbabwe, I think the President gave an adequate report of what was discussed at the summit. I thank you.
Thank you, Speaker. Hon Deputy Minister, you have mentioned how the free trade is going to take place. I want to raise the fact that there are two bodies, the Southern Africa Customs Union, Sacu, and also SADC, running the economy. In terms of harmonisation and integration, how does Sacu affect SADC as a whole? How would that affect the work that needs to be done? We know that there are countries who signed the Electronic Passport, ePass, with other countries. How does that integration affect that relation? I thank you.
Thank you, Speaker. Hon Kotsi, you have has raised a very important question about how the ePass is affecting our regional economies. As you are aware, South Africa has not signed this ePass. As a member of SADC, it is very important for us to discuss industrial harmonisation. Hence the engagement continues, in order for us to help the poorer countries to industrialise, so as to avoid the situation where there is an over dependency on our markets. There are frequent engagements on the matter.
At the last meeting Lesotho acceded that it is very important for us to hold back on the issues of the ePass until we, as SADC countries, have agreed on the matter.
We will engage the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Comesa, for instance, in order to have the entire continent, not only the region, harmonising its trade. I thank you.
Thank you, Speaker. Hon Deputy Minister, you have now dealt with the obstacles to the economic integration of SADC. If we understand the obstacles so well, why has South Africa's role in driving the previously much-acclaimed New Partnership for Africa's Development, Nepad - which is another initiative of regional integration - lost so much steam over the last two years? I thank you.
Hon Speaker, this is a normative statement; it's not based on facts. We have not yet lost steam. South Africa is keen on engagements. Hence, the Minister of Trade and Industry has been engaging individual countries to try and solve this matter. I thank you.
Effect of job losses on department's position regarding intended wage subsidy
111. Mr A Louw (DA) asked the Minister of Labour:
Whether the impact of job losses, especially amongst the youth, has had any effect on his department's position on the intended wage subsidy mentioned by the Minister of Finance in his February 2010 Budget Speech; if not, (a) why not and (b) what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?