Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, I don't know if I am mistaken, hon Minister, but I do believe that it is legally imperative in some countries of the world that people have to comply with the request for providing statistical information, either as corporates or as individuals, and maybe that is something that we need to look at as we develop our Statistics Act.
It saddens me though, hon Chairperson, that this debate is not very well attended. Maybe it is not a sexy debate; if we were talking vital statistics we might have had more people attending this debate. I think a lot of members, not only hon members of this House but members of the public, underestimate the importance of statistics and statistical information; not only in looking at how a country should perform as it moves forward, but also for businesses which, to a large extent, use statistics: how many refrigerators are sold; how many beds are sold; whether they should increase or lower production, etc.
It is a pity that not more people are here, or that not many people even take an interest in statistics. Having said that and for that reason, hon Chairperson, we as the IFP will fully support this Budget Vote. [Applause.] And that is because Statistics SA is an entity that we can be very proud of. It is ranked very highly internationally. The hon chairperson of our committee spoke about the influence of Statistics SA on the African continent as well. I think all credit should go to the men in yellow coats and blue shoes, and I think he has put that away forever. Credit should also go to the wonderful team of statisticians that produced the results of Census 2011.
Obviously, there were some concerns about some of the statistics and findings that were released, but I think when you are looking at millions of people and trying to get information from all of them you are bound to have a margin of error. However, hon Koornhof did speak about a margin of error of about 12% or 14%, and I think it's something that we can look at and see how we can reduce this margin of error to well below 10%.
Hon Chairperson, it is not in the production of statistics that we have a problem but in the interpretation of the statistics that are released. And to this end, I was a bit concerned last week when I read a statement by the hon Minister of Economic Development, who queried the unemployment figures that were released by Statistics SA - I think it was 140 000 - and the Surveyor-General had his interpretation of this figure of 140 000. But the Minister of Economic Development, at the World Economic Forum, indicated that there were 140 000 new people that came into the job market in 2013 and only 40 000 were placed. So, 100 000 were still without jobs.
I think it is important therefore, hon Chairperson, that we interpret the statistics correctly. It is to this end that I think we need to look at the rules of the game. And these rules of the game can only be contained in the Statistics Act, which is kind of outdated; 1999 is 13 or 14 years ago.
One needs to relook at the Statistics Act so that we can standardise, not only the way to interpret statistics, but the way statistics are collected. Because when you look around there are other agencies, who will remain nameless for now, that also release statistical information. When you compare that statistical information with what has been released by Statistics SA, you find that they are different, and that is where arguments ensue. So I think, Minister, that is one of the things that you really need to look at.
The other area that we have to be looking at is the statement by the Acting Chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission, Mr Bongani Khumalo. He remarked that to utilise the statistics that are produced once every 10 years in ensuring that service delivery takes place at local level, and that we focus on the right areas of delivery, is problematic. Whilst one may agree with him that 10 years is far too long, and the Act talks about a five-year survey, I think the reality is that if we have to have a five- year survey it has to be matched with adequate human and financial resources. And it is we, hon Chairperson, or rather it is our committee that has to look at the resourcing of Statistics SA. If we want them to produce those tiniest statistics that can be utilised, then we have to make sure that more money is allocated to Statistics SA in carrying out its particular duties.
I just want to quote the Acting Chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission. He referred to "the need to update data within formulas to keep pace with the rapidly changing delivery context, like urbanisation." He also said that community surveys need to be more regular, and one cannot but agree with him, but we have to look at the mechanisms.
Chairperson, we also have to look at human resource capacity within Statistics SA and the training and other opportunities that are given to young graduates that come out of universities.
I do understand that these interns were well paid when they were brought in to Statistics SA, something like R10 000 a month, which is a reasonable salary, but of late they are being paid something like R3 000 per month for the first two years. I don't think that this is satisfactory. Nobody with a degree would want to come into the job market and earn R3 000 a month. I may be incorrect in this regard but I think, hon Minister, this is something that ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]