The hon Manuel. Under the hon Manuel it became, at least initially, the vanguard of economic freedom, trade and tourism. What we saw was the falling of protectionism, export subsidies coming down, barriers to small business being identified, and anticompetitive ideas being mooted. The flamingo, the iconic bird, started to rise, but not in formation. As time went by, and unsolved challenge followed unsolved challenge, the poor bird began to falter.
Firstly, mesmerised by beneficiation, we did not do more of what we were already doing at the time, such as taking more from the earth and shaking more trees for low-hanging fruit.
Secondly, we failed to turn the HIV/Aids crisis into an opportunity to develop our health biotechnology industry, and furthermore to transform our arms and steel industries into complexes for serving in peacetime.
Thirdly, what started as a people-centred Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, descended, by way of the arms deal and the opening round of black economic empowerment, into a cycle of history characterised by elite self-enrichment on the back of corruption, tender fraud and consumption-led debt. [Interjections.]
The result, colleagues, was the crowding out of caring for the poor, the jobless and the unhoused, which is why former President Nelson Mandela pleaded at the time for an "RDP of the soul". It is in this spirit that the DA today identifies five issues requiring resolution, so as to up our game and free the energy latent in our economy.
Firstly, empower our citizens with quality education! Only by having skills and knowledge can citizens master the environment, push new ideas, get a job, start a business and refuse to put up with incompetence, inferior service, and big brothers who think they know everything, presume what is good for us, and have the nerve to act on our behalf without being asked.
Secondly, remove all barriers to starting and running a small business! The Business Day's Peter Bruce once said that South Africa was not a nation of shopkeepers. He was wrong. Scratch below the surface, look behind the formal sector, and go on a ride with the SA Revenue Service, Sars, in search of greater revenue lines, and you will find a nation teaming with small businessmen and women, desperate to come up for air, under the weight of overregulation by this government.
Thirdly, investors need policy certainty! Under the ANC the direction of national policy changes, depending on the machinations of different factions within that party and its alliance partners. The absence of policy certainty and stability plague the ANC-led national government as it struggles to reach consensus around the National Development Plan. Especially difficult is the discord with some key trade union partners.
Fourthly, South Africa needs to be proactive about identifying potential investors and trading partners and to actively lobby them to invest in our country! In order to do this, we will need a coherent and focused strategy, properly trained diplomats who can promote South Africa as a reform-minded and business-friendly destination, and a redesigned, modern, combined foreign affairs and trade footprint located where it matters.
By the way, on the question of trade, I recommend that you all read Tony Leon's book, The Accidental Ambassador, to understand what needs to be done in the area of trade and diplomacy reform. Leon would know. He and his talented embassy staff almost doubled our exports to Argentina in one year, reaching a record amount of R1,3 billion by 2011. [Applause.]
Fifthly, the government needs to create the right business environment for business to flourish! This needs to be done so that both domestic and international players receive good returns on their investments. This requires that tax rates be competitive relative to other developing countries and that South Africa's physical infrastructure be upgraded and expanded to meet the needs of a vibrant and growing economy.
The Western Cape government is single-mindedly committed to maintaining our infrastructure to providing excellent service delivery and to providing a public transport network to connect every citizen to opportunities to work and to run a business. [Applause.]
My friends, our trading position today has never been so bad. Please listen up! Between 1994 and the year 2000 our trade balance rose from a positive R18 billion to R48 billion - the highest ever. By 2012 our trade balance was in deficit by R78 billion, worsening since. Our trade account over the last 18 years has been a function of the state of our mining industry, which is today in a crisis that this government seems singularly incapable of resolving.
We have not, as a country, developed diversified export lines, and we have remained reliant on imports for a range of consumer products. Our deficit has been financed by foreign capital that has, in turn, aggravated dividend and interest deficits. The reliance on foreign capital makes us extremely vulnerable. It raises the spectre of Icarus, where an unfocused and paralysed government, which tries to satisfy everyone and as a consequence satisfies no one, breaks the economy in the process.
What we need to do is to trade ourselves out of trouble, but the Department of Trade and Industry is not enough of a trade Ministry. The department spends 5,3%, which is R508 million - the second lowest item in its budget for 2013-14 - on advancing trade objectives. It should spend significantly more on aggressively championing our products and companies and many of our world-class CEOs in the markets that matter the most. My friends, you can find the same advice in the National Development Plan.
Minister Davies is more of an industry Minister. His department spends 72% of its budget, which is R6,9 billion, on promoting industrial development. Minister, spending money on infrastructure, economic development zones, incubators for small business development, incentive programmes for niche areas like agroprocessing and ship building, and providing some measure of relief in hard times to troubled sectors like textiles, albeit temporarily and without destroying low-wage jobs as a consequence, make sense and they are worthy of support. I want you to know that.
We are not opposed to the Ipap, Minister, only to projects that do not meet John Maynard Keynes's wise injunction. I quote: The important thing for Government is not to do things which individuals are doing already, and to do them a little better or a little worse; but to do those things which at present are not done at all.
Accordingly, we see no compelling reason why we must nurse so many projects that are part of the automobile sector. What the car companies require is to trade freely in the Southern African Development Community.