We have reduced the number of underperforming schools, under the ANC, from 85 to 23 today. When we took over the provincial government there was a shortage of 6 000 nurses; a vacancy rate of 34%. Today that vacancy rate is 1%. Those are the numbers of the DA's record in government, hon Sogoni. [Interjections.]
Turning now to the Division of Revenue Bill, the memo to the Bill says it is focused on promoting economic development, investing in infrastructure, and creating jobs. Unfortunately, like the fiscal framework, this Division of Revenue Bill is too conservative to achieve these objectives.
On Tuesday the Minister wondered whether the DA had suddenly became a radical party. The answer to that question, hon Minister, is no. We have always been a radical party. [Interjections.] Radical reform is the only way to tackle our economic problems and achieve our country's great potential. Radical reform is the only way to help the private sector to create the jobs we need. The agenda for that reform is contained in the DA's manifesto. This would set us on the path to drive growth up to 8% and help the economy create 6 million jobs, hon Minister. Those are not the DA's numbers, they come from a working paper written by Treasury's own researchers and published by the Reserve Bank last year.
This document shows our policy agenda. This document - our alternative budget - shows how we can afford to implement it within the fiscal constraints that this government has left us. I encourage all members to download the DA's alternative budget from the website, because it contains R8,7 billion's worth of tax cuts, R2 billion more spent on job creation, R9 billion more spent on education, R3 billion to put more capital in the hands of poor South Africans and R4,5 billion to secure our communities.
That doesn't mean that the DA believes we should live beyond our means. We cannot allow the Budget deficit number to run higher. But the good news is that we can afford all of this and still reduce the Budget deficit to 4%. [Interjections.]