Hon chairperson, hon Minister Pule, hon Deputy Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams, fellow hon members, Department of Communications, family and its entities fellow South Africans and distinguished guests ...
... make ngisho ngokuzidlulela ukuthi okhokho bethu bebengavuka lapho belele khona uma sizovuma ukuthi siziphathe sengathi akwenzekanga lutho ngomhla ka-27 kuMbasa 1994. Savumelana ngokuthi sizokwenza izimpilo zabantu zibe ngcono, sizoqhubeka sikwenze lokho singabi namahloni. Ngeke sibenamahloni ngoba siyazi ukuthi indlela ngeke ibelula, kodwa asingabavumeli nakancane labo abangazi ukuthi bameleni la eNingizimu Afrika nakule Ndlu esikuyo. [Ihlombe.] Ngivumele ngisho ukuthi ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... let me say in passing that our ancestors would rise from the dead if we behave as if nothing happened on 27 April 1994. We agreed to make people's lives better; we will continue doing that with no shame. We will not be ashamed because we know the journey is not going to be easy, but we must not let those who do not know what they stand for here in South Africa and in this House derail us. [Applause.] Allow me to say that ...]
... our theme for this year's budget is "Connecting South Africans", as the Minister has said.
Sengikushilo lokhu bengikusho ngizindlulela. Ingxoxo yami izogxila ekutheni senza kanjani ukuthi izinguquko [transformation] esizenza emiphakathini yethu ibambeke. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[I have said this and I was just saying it in passing. My discussion will focus on how we are going to attain transformation in our communities.]
The Budget Vote debate of the Department of Communications must be understood in a manner that sees communication as central to the battle of ideas, therefore the information and communications technology, ICT, sector must reflect the interests and aspirations of the majority who have placed their trust and hope in the ANC-led government. [Interjections.]
Hhayi, bayekeni labo ngoba abazi ukuthi bameleni la kufanele ngabe basezinkantolo. [Ihlombe.] [No, leave those people be, because they don't know what they stand for here - they must be in court. [Applause.]]
For far too long it has been an open market for all interested parties who in theory ... laba abangasesandleni sami sokunxele [those on my left] ... agree with transformation of the sector, but in practice they reflect a very different posture. My input to this debate seeks to place the transformation of the ICT sector as central and material to the socioeconomic advancement of our society.
While embracing globalisation intensification by ICT, it has also sharpened inequalities between and within communities, in particular for rural and poor communities as well as workers in general. Despite the constant growth of the ICT market pattern, the ownership of the ICT sector and participation by black-owned and emerging companies is minimal and requires support from government. The only government that can provide support is the ANC government. [Applause.]
Speeding up the pace of transformation is exactly what we intend to do; it is actually exactly what we are doing, and we intend to ensure that no one distracts us. Hon Minister, stay as focused as you are. There should be local manufacturing of ICT products for domestic and export purposes. Government ICT procurement should benefit South African companies, including small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, without compromising quality and efficiency.
As one hon member has said, further education and training colleges should be used as schools of excellence to create opportunities for out-of-school and unemployed youth. Media and ICT studies should also be made available in all provinces. Government should introduce a comprehensive e-skilling development plan that would include incentives to mobile communications industry to co-operate for the benefit of young people investing in our future.
It is very important for us to say that whatever building blocks we are making today are not for us, but for our kids and the future generations. That is why we applaud, welcome, show appreciation for and will ensure that the emerging National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa, Nemisa, walks the talk.
Ukuze ingane iqoqeke iphinde ibenehlonipho kuthiwa igotshwa isemanzi. [For a child to grow up well behaved and respectful, people usually say that he or she must be trained from an early age.]
Basic computer literacy should be introduced in all primary schools the focus on advanced e-skills, including software programming and end-user computing for tertiary institutions and FETs. I must also emphasise that it is critical for us to not only know how to use IT gadgets, but to also know who to install programmes, how to fix them and also how to manufacture them. That is critical; in fact, it is the real economic transformation we are speaking about.
In order to realise our goals we must ensure that we implement a comprehensive programme that focuses on the war on poverty, which addresses the challenges of poverty in the rural areas, in inequality and underdevelopment, and is based on advancing and defending human rights as articulated in Chapter 2 of our Constitution. Having considered the National Development Plan, NDP, we as the ANC have agreed that it forms an important basis for the development of a long-term plan to build a national democratic society that is nonracial, nonsexist, democratic, united, prosperous and seeks to advance the national democratic revolution. The ANC is convinced that fellow South Africans are going to give us another mandate to rule and lead this country over the next five years. [Applause.] The ANC will take decisive and resolute action to overcome the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment which are at the heart of South Africa's socioeconomic challenges. We intend to transform - and we continue to do so - the structure of the economy through industrialisation, broad-based black economic empowerment, addressing the basic needs of our people, including those of rural women in particular and the youth, and strengthening and expanding the role of the state and the role of state-owned enterprises.
Ngiyamangala uma ngabe bethi uhulumeni wethu kufanele unikeze abantu abazimele noma izinkampani ezizimele [privatisation] ukuthi zihole le lizwe. Ngeke sikuvumele lokho. Abantu abasithume lapha abashongo ukuthi sihambe siyoshaya imithetho bese sima eceleni komgwaqo sicele ama-lift. Akusoze kwalunga uma kuzoba kanjalo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[I am very surprised that they are saying that our government must leave privatisation to private companies in order for them to lead this country. We are not going to let that happen. The people who deployed us here did not say that we must make the rules and then stand beside the road and ask for lifts. It is not going to work if it's going to be like that. [Applause.]]
We need a political and socioeconomic system which places the needs of the poor and social issues, such as health care, education, basic services and a social security floor, at the top of the national agenda, in which ICT has a major role, as hon Morutoa has alluded to earlier on. We need accelerated growth and development in a mixed economy, which includes state and private capital as well as co-operatives, a worker-based community and other forms of social ownership of the means of production - it is very critical that we control the means of production - an active developmental and leadership role of the state in the economy and the pursuit of full employment and decent work.
The interventions required to speed up change, especially with regard to economic and social transformation, can be understood as marking a second phase in the transition to a national democratic society. This second phase of the transition should be characterised by decisive action to effect thorough economic transformation and democratic consolidation.
The ongoing problem that faces the South African society is that the media and the information and communications technology reflect patterns of ownership, control and distribution of the past. That is the reality which the hon Minister is trying to deal with and you call it interference. I wonder what interference is. This is the objective reality that faces the ICT sector today and what needs to be confronted head-on. There has been a focus on redressing and correcting past discriminatory practices in terms of race, class and gender as well as providing a firm foundation in policy for a communications sector that embraces all South Africans and treats them equitably. I am sure that our media partners will endeavour to do that without being biased to anyone.
The National Development Plan in respect of ICT should be underpinned by a policy focus and desire to ensure universal access to affordable and quality high-speed infrastructure and services throughout the country. There is therefore the need to provide a detailed ... [Interjections.]
... lalela lungu elihloniphekile. [... listen, hon member.]
There is therefore the need to provide a detailed sectoral plan to strengthen the implementation of the National Development Plan which is embraced by all of us in this House. The creation of a coherent and co- ordinated national policy framework and strategy on ICT should include promoting the provision of universal access - which was alluded to - quality and affordable networks and services to ensure that government, communities and business and all our people become part of the information super-highway and the knowledge economy.
Further, it must outline the different roles of the state and the private and community sectors in achieving this goal and aligning the uptake of the development and usage of indigenous knowledge systems and the revival of the local content industry, which the SABC is part of and endeavours to do in their daily programming. The transformation of the ICT sector needs institutional practical measures to drive transformation with milestones and measurable outcomes. As part of the national ICT policy vision, the ANC- led government should target completing the ICT sector transformation process by 2030. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]