Madam Deputy Speaker and hon members, the concept of a developmental state implies a certain ethos of a caring government. The ethos is underpinned by a recognition that uplifting the poor and defending the weak among us is the first and most important duty of any truly democratic and just society. It is an ethos that says that those that have will not only give to those that do not have in order to promote their self- interest and protect their prosperity from the eventual wrath of those with nothing. Much to the contrary, it is based on the sort of thing that says that I can view myself as prosperous if my neighbour and his neighbour and everyone of my fellows are also prosperous. That worth is not something that resides purely in an individual but depends on the general wealth and wellbeing of the entire society.
The social, political and economic implications of the developmental state for the poorest of the poor are thus benevolent. If indeed we accept this sort of ethos within the state, then we must also adopt it in the larger context of our nation's interaction with the outside world, especially our neighbours. It therefore, means that in as much as our neighbours do not prosper, we cannot prosper. As much as they do not succeed politically, socially and economically, we do not.
Thus, it is entirely contradictory to combine this ethos with the talk of hegemony or South Africa assuming such status in the region. It goes without saying that South Africa has not only the biggest economy in the region, but also the biggest on the continent. Indeed, our natural and human resources outstrip those ... [Time expired.]