Chairperson, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Gill Marcus, warned the committee in April this year that South Africa would be confronted with a toxic mix of low growth and high inflation. She indicated that our economy was not in a good place and that we require certain interventions to address our stagflation problems. The challenge for us today, and also during the year, will be how to improve growth and to contain inflation in a better way.
In this regard, statistics fulfil - and we all know this in the committee - a vital role in decision-making and should be used as a base for planning and policy development, specifically when it comes to these challenges of low growth and high inflation. Economic statistics, I believe, such as the consumer price index, CPI, and producer price index, PPI - and the Minister has alluded to that - provide the evidence we use to monitor progress and evaluate fiscal performance. The unfortunate reality is, however, that South Africans continuously face the burden of increasing costs. The increases in electricity, fuel, food and public transport have all made the cost of living more expensive. Many more increases, unfortunately, are on the way. E-tolling, increases in rates and taxes in municipalities and increases in the cost of water are likely to hit in the near future. The reality is that the poorest of the poor are the ones hardest hit by these factors.
How do we address this - this slow grind of poverty that my colleague Tim Harris alluded to? How do we address this, and how do we bring hope to the poorest of the poor in this country? The National Development Plan, NDP, gives us a way forward. It envisages that South Africa can eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. The recent economic downturn in the South African economy triggers the demand for quality statistical information, if the 2030 vision is to be realised. Then we can look at the work programme of our committee. In this regard, I would indicate that Statistics SA in the 2013-14 financial year focuses on the implementation of the NDP strategy and commits to the publishing of monthly, quarterly and annual industry statistics. This information is vital in the growth policy implementation, and we are very grateful for this. I was therefore encouraged by the proposed implementation of the strategy by Statistics SA in improving statistical themes for statistical production in the areas of economic growth, prices and sustainable resource management. It will be most helpful as a base for our planning in the future.
The NDP further envisages the economy almost trebling in size by 2030 - and I know the hon Manuel has worked very hard in this regard - a target that requires an annual economic growth rate of 6,2%. The unfortunate reality is once again, however, that South Africa has an economic growth rate of only 2,5%. It is a steep climb for us and there are steep goals to be achieved. South Africa created about 1,1 million jobs between 2004 and 2008. South Africa now faces high unemployment levels, as figures released by Statistics SA last week show that unemployment increased by 100 000 between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2013.
Since 2008, 400 000 jobs have been lost. Indeed, as many analysts and experts indicate, it is a disaster. If somebody saw The Justice Factor on Sunday, that was also the word Justice Malala used. Statistical information with regard to unemployment indicates now that two out of every three persons under the age of 24 are unable to find and sustain a job. It is indeed scary stuff. Vital information in Statistics SA's latest report measures unemployment at four to six million persons. It depends on what definition you look at. The value of these statistics indeed fulfils a vital role in decision-making, and we can use that as a base for planning.
Chairperson, the next issue that I would just like to touch on is with regard to the release of the Census 2011 results. May I say that the DA was extremely concerned about Statistics SA's decision to grant government early, exclusive access to its findings. It effectively stonewalled the media, opposition and civil society from informed comment, specifically noting that this was just before consideration of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, as we all know. The upshot of this move was that government would have had the opportunity to review the Census 2011 results, whilst all other interested parties were left out of the loop. Whilst we think it sensible for the census results to be released early - and we were grateful that the results were released early - given the importance of evidence-based decision-making, we were of the belief that the findings should be made available to all South Africans.
I am therefore today encouraged, however, that our committee took a decision in terms of our recommendations that a policy should be developed with regard to the release of the census results. We champion this as a victory for transparency to the South African public. We would also like, as the DA, to thank the Minister for meeting with the party to discuss our concerns before the release of the results.
The DA remains, however, also very concerned about the qualified audit received by Statistics SA. It is indeed a huge setback for building credibility for Statistics SA. In stark contrast to the previous five years, the financial management and organisational structure did not perform as well as we thought it should have been performing in this financial year. I think material losses amounting to R34,4 million were written off as irrecoverable, and that, we believe, is unacceptable.
We learnt with shock that late allocations from Treasury in terms of budgeted amounts for the census - very much needed to conduct a good census - to the extent of R200 million were experienced. The total budgeted amount for the census was R3,4 billion and allocations made were R3,2 billion. It was a last-minute request - that was our information - for R200 million, and a roll-over allocation of R286 million was then made to see that we effectively run the census.
We would like to wish the department well in the next census, and we hope that we can rectify these mistakes. We trust that Statistics SA will learn from its past mistakes and not repeat the issues with regard to the qualified report. I thank you. [Applause.]