Mr Speaker, hon President, Deputy President and hon members, the UDM supports Budget Vote No 1. [Applause.] We have taken note of government's decision to name and shame people who are found guilty of corruption.
I would like to join this campaign by sharing with the nation the negative effect of political directives on government tenders, which create a breeding ground for corruption. You will recall that political directives gave birth to the controversial arms deal and other related transactions.
For instance, in January this year, hon Minister Pule received and, together with her senior officials from the Department of Communications and the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa, Usaasa, approved a half a billion rand application from Cell C for the roll-out of broadband infrastructure in the Emalahleni Local Municipality. Shockingly, this application was approved without being subjected to the normal adjudication processes as required by law. Had it not been for the refusal on 16 April 2013 by Mr Mmatlou Morudu, Usaasa executive, Business Development Service to implement the project after receiving a written instruction from his chief executive officer, Mr Zam Nkosi, half a billion rand would have been released to it.
If your office does not intervene, Mr President, chances are that Mr Morudu will most probably be removed from his position in order to ensure the unrestrained looting of state resources.
It is strange that government was prepared to pay half a billion rand for this infrastructure at Emalahleni Local Municipality, when it only paid R13 million for the same infrastructure roll-out at Msinga Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, a municipality twice the size of Emalahleni Local Municipality. It makes you wonder.
Another example of the rampant looting of state resources in this department involves a multimillion rand tender awarded to Mthinte Communications to roll out broadband infrastructure to 120 centres around the country.
According to Usaasa's 2012-13 exception report, the total rand value amount of the 80% subsidy for Mthinte should have been R24 million, but the final rand value subsidy amount given to Mthinte was R33,1 million. This means that Mthinte was overpaid by a whopping R8,9 million. In addition, this lucky company was paid a further R2,3 million for the branding of Mpumalanga centres that was never done.
Close scrutiny of this first phase of the project reveals an interesting statistic. As many as 23 out of these 33 sites are in KwaZulu-Natal, while only 8 are in Mpumalanga and 2 in the North West province.
The deadline for the connection of these centres was set for 31 March 2013. However, according to the Usaasa 2012-13 exception report, as at 7 May 2013, only 9 out of 120 Mthinte Centres were operational.
Conspicuous in this broadband infrastructure roll-out programme is the absence of plans for other provinces. This leaves the children of other provinces to fend for themselves in order to get access to computer laboratories with Internet connections. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Speaker, when the Reserve Bank governor, Ms Gill Marcus, says that we are facing challenges of critical proportions, it means South Africa is approaching an economic tipping point, with the real danger of a slide from which there is no return.
What is causing it? The world recession has little to do with our present economic problems. It is caused by irresponsible trade unions that demand 60% wage increases; an inflexible labour market that favours Cosatu; low productivity; and confusing comments of ANC leaders, where some are proposing socialist and others free-market solutions.
We traded one million jobs for higher wages for those remaining employed. No country does this in the midst of an economic slowdown. The result is very serious: a slow growth rate, more job losses, uncertainty and foreign investors voting with their feet.
The President says other countries also have trade unions. That is true, but their labour laws capture their economies and aren't there to pamper Cosatu. Current labour law amendments by the portfolio committee are going to cause more unemployment, and will not solve these problems.
The President will have to choose: Cosatu's or South Africa's interests, 2 million Cosatu votes or 6 million unemployed votes, inflexible labour laws or economic growth. I am afraid those are the choices.
Verlede jaar het die President gewaarsku dat die emosies oor grond nie op 'n onverantwoordelike wyse opgejaag moet word nie. Ek stem absoluut saam, maar dit geld vir almal. ANC-lede het nie 'n alleenreg om emosies oor grond op te jaag nie. Ons het net soveel emosies oor grond aan opposisiekant.
As 'n ANC-voorsitter s dat niemand uit Europa hier aangekom het met grond op 'n skip nie, heropen hy ongelukkig die debat oor wie eerste in Suid- Afrika was en wie wie se grond gesteel het. Dit is 'n nuttelose debat. Daardeur sweep hy emosies op. Nou word dit 'n debat van datums. Wanneer het wie in Suid-Afrika aangekom? Gaan ons terug tot by die "Cradle of Mankind" [die Wieg van die Mensdom], toe ons blykbaar almal hier was? Gaan ons terug tot by die Khoi- en San-mense wat voor die wittes en die Nguni- en Sothosprekendes hier was?
Die logiese vraag is dan: Watter grond het die Nguni- en Sothosprekendes saamgebring toe hulle vanaf die Kongo oor die Limpoporivier Suid-Afrika ingekom het? Of het hulle dan nou weer die grond by die Khoi en San gesteel?
Hierdie tipe debat bring ons niks nader aan oplossings nie. Die enigste manier om die grondkwessie op te los, is om met koue feite na voedselsekerheid, na verstedelikingspatrone, na die huidige grondbesitpatrone, ook na die kommunale gebiede, te kyk en dan met wen-wen oplossings te kom. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Last year the President warned that the emotions about land should not be swept up in an irresponsible way. I totally agree, but this goes for everybody. ANC members do not have the exclusive right to sweep up emotions regarding land. We have just as many emotions on the side of the opposition.
When an ANC chairperson says that nobody came from Europe with a piece of land on a ship, he is unfortunately reopening the debate about who was the first in South Africa and who stole whose land. That is a fruitless debate. In that way he is stirring emotions. Now it becomes a debate about dates. When did who arrive in South Africa? Are we going to return to the Cradle of Mankind, when all of us were apparently here? Are we going back to the Khoi and San people, who were here before the whites and the Nguni- and Sotho-speaking people?
The logical question would then be: What land did the Nguni- and Sotho- speaking people bring with them when they entered South Africa from the Congo across the Limpopo river? Or did they steal the land from the Khoi and the San?
This type of debate brings us no closer to solutions. The only way to solve the land issue is to look at food security, patterns of urbanisation, the current land ownership patterns, as well as communal areas, with cold facts and then to come up with win-win solutions.]
As little as the ANC likes Mrs Thatcher, you need some of her labour union reforms. Is the President prepared for new thinking on labour and economic policy directions to resolve the economic crisis?
Is the ANC capable of less emotional and more factual debates to resolve the difficult land problems? If the answer is no, the economic slide is inevitable. If the answer is yes, then surely there is hope for us and you will get the co-operation of all of us to make South Africa a better country for all. [Applause.]