The first point you raised, hon Minister, is that you would like to strengthen the criminal justice system to recover stolen public funds, including those in offshore tax havens. We are mindful that this is not a task that you alone must deal with, but it's also part of the JCPS cluster. But you do contribute in actually dealing with this. I would want hon Minister to maybe recover stolen public funds. Even before you recover, there must be certain plans to decrease and not to have some of this. The vetting that the Deputy Minister has referred to, we welcome it. But however, we are concerned when the Deputy Minister refers that the vetting is probably resisted somewhere else.
I would wish to know that maybe if it was to be done, could you guarantee that all people who have been vetted suddenly become honest and there is no temptation for them to go back to their normal behaviour. You can't be able to answer that, hon Deputy Minister, because you still have to actually strengthen the vetting. But it will be a study that might actually help us because I would hope that there is no guarantee that after vetting, you suddenly become an angel for life. We are really supporting you on this because in your APP, you are focusing on this assessment.
All people of South Africa must feel free and must actually be able to feel supported. You are actually talking about building and strengthening systems to elect and to investigate cases of corruption focussing on targeted corruption.
Hon Minister, we would want to actually employ a principle that says yes that is true but the universal principle that host that it's better to prevent things before they happen so that if they do happen, therefore, they are at the lesser extent. So, we are repairing and treating things that are already there. Maybe we should be able to find a way of also combating them before they actually occur. We are encouraged by your statement that you want to be part of those who want to create a better South Africa contribute
to a better and a safer South Africa in a better world. The engagements that you hold bilaterally and multilaterally are among our things pointing to that.
The second point that I would like to actually raise from your speech is that you want to step up measures that act against private companies, financial services and agents that facilitate tax avoidance and illicit financial flows, profit shifting, illegal imports and import fraud thereby robbing the country of tax revenue.
We are aware that when people set up companies, they are motivated by profits. But we are therefore concerned when people are making illegal profits. I am not sure whether you are aware, some of the people do hire expects to say how I as a company operating normally start operating illegally so that I can defraud and maximise my profit.
We do not know whether government has set up such systems where we already among other things have such financial intelligence expects who we should actually be able to support you with going forward.
Some of these financial gurus who are pinned to do wrong things are motivated by known things that we find in the Freedom Charter. They
are not motivated by passion for human development, safety and security of our citizens. But are motivated by huge office, some of them derive illegally.
In our democracy, we have done so many things but would want to say much more still need to be done on these issues that are focussing on these very complicated and complex syndicates.
The last point, hon Minister, is with regard to ensuring the speedy implementation of lifestyle audits and broadens vetting and financial monitoring to cub corruption. We would wish that this does not really become song. Start somewhere, Minister. Start a lifestyle audit with this one. Start with me. If you start somebody else will know that you have started. Otherwise, if you don't start, nobody will ever think this is also going to be happening.
Amongst other things, hon Minister, we need to have an indaba. When there are people who have been found guilty, it's okay to say found guilty on this and that. Therefore, I have 10 cars, 10 houses but therefore what do I do to pay back R50 million, I do have it. Could we not have an Indaba like the one the President had last year with the Gender-Based Violence. Participants were saying there should be
a categorisation setting crimes; we should not have a bail on. There should be a minimum sentence for certain crimes.
When people say I will defraud as much as I can, I have money, I will part with R50 million, that's done, people will not actually stop. There should be certain measures we put in place to say for this and that, you shall not do beyond this.
We fully understand the presentation that you have made and the challenges that you have put in there. We are hoping we are comforted from the discussion we had with you this morning that the full permanent committee will appraised details of the High level Panel Report. Minister, please allow that committee to interact with that report as you plan to implement it. Maybe allow some recommendations that they might made.
Minister, one hopes that Budget cuts will not affect you in implementing the recommendations of this report. It's absolutely critical. We haven't looked at it. We don't know how it looks like. After all, it was just a day's activity for us to come and actually support the passing of this Budget. Thank you very much. [Applause.]