Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Van Schalkwyk, hon Deputy Minister Xasa, hon members and distinguished ladies and gentlemen ... [Interjections.] ... our President, His Excellency Jacob Zuma, announced recently that tourism in South Africa has achieved a growth of 10,2% in arrivals which is more than twice the global increase of 4%. We thank the Ministry and the national Department of Tourism, together with SA Tourism and all leadership in provinces and participating municipalities. What a remarkable performance! This gives us hope that the challenges of inequality, unemployment and poverty can be eradicated effectively, sooner and sustainably.

Lokhu kusinikeza ithemba lokuthi izinselelo ezikhona zobubha, ukungalingani nokuswelakala kwemisebenzi sizokwazi ukukwehlisa ngokushesha ngoba umsebenzi wezokuVakasha uqasha bonke abantu labo abangenawo amakhono kanye nalabo abanamakhono. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[This gives us hope that poverty, inequality and unemployment can be eradicated effectively and sooner, because everybody can be employed in tourism regardless of whether people are unskilled or skilled.]

This cannot be done without passion, hard work and inspirational leadership. This also demonstrates that Cabinet made a wise move in making the Department of Tourism autonomous. The focus is sharper, resources are better aligned and there is time to do more despite a reduction in the budget.

Lokho kuyakhombisa ukuthi uhulumeni ngokwenza kwakhe uMnyango wezokuVakasha ukuba uzimele. Kwenze ukuthi ukwazi ukubona ngendlela ecacile indlela eya phambili, ukwazi futhi ukuhlela nezinsiza zokusebenza kangcono ukuze kutholakale imiphumela engcono. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[This also demonstrates that the Cabinet made a wise move in making the Department of Tourism autonomous. This has enabled it to sharpen its focus in order to better align resources so that the way forward becomes clear and to achieve better results.]

The reorganisation of government has also set the scene for the optimisation of the legacy of the 2010 Fifa World Cup tournament. But for this nation to realise its full potential, a politically integrated approach between government departments on the one hand, the different spheres of government and the private sector on the other, has to be encouraged and supported.

UMnyango wezokuVakasha awukwazi ukuzimela wodwa udinga eminye iMinyango njengoMnyango wezokuThutha, uMnyango wezokuPhepha kanye nohulumeni basemakhaya. Ngakho-ke kufanele ukuthi ngendlela esibambisana ngayo sikwazi ukubambisana kuyo yonke le mikhakha kahulumeni. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[The Department of Tourism cannot be independent; it needs other departments such as the Department of Transport, the Department of Safety and Security and local government. Therefore in our partnership we must be able to work together in all these spheres of government.]

That will be in line with the inclusive way of doing things as stated in the National Development Plan, NDP. The seeds of the NDP are beginning to grow.

At the core of our economic growth is the need for an increase in jobs, sustainable livelihoods and equitable growth, with tourism being identified as one of the primary drivers in addressing the issues.

According to the NDP, for our country to succeed, it has to have a capable state that can meet its goals by being adequately resourced, thereby minimising preventable occurrences like theft, fraud and mismanagement. How does the Department of Tourism then feature in this? The Department of Tourism has taken action on a certain number of fraud and corruption cases. Some are being investigated and others are in court, all for the sake of good governance so as to realise a capable state.

Like the NDP, the National Tourism Sector Strategy, NTSS, is inclusive of diverse stakeholders in the tourism sector and is already yielding results. Tourism as a sector should definitely try harder to increase its NDP share optimally.

Looking at governance, internal control is very important. The resources and structures for internal control are there and are capably resourced with competent people.

The internal audit meets the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, and it is as active as is expected by the PFMA. It seems that management is doing its work well. This sets a good foundation in terms of the requirement for building the capable state that I've alluded to before, as envisaged in our blueprint - the National Development Plan.

On the issues of transformation, there is compliance with the requirements of equity in the department and in all areas, except for ownership of products that are dependent on a politically integrated approach. The mandate of the national Department of Tourism is to facilitate tourism and to act as a catalyst.

There is no budget to build the structures and assist in other fundings. There were funds available in the Department of Trade and Industry, but they have not yet been transferred. The ownership of products is dependent on the politically integrated approach, a bigger budget and the three spheres of government working together in an industry where 80% of tourism infrastructure is privately owned.

I now come to international tourism. As the number of emerging countries constitutes more arrivals in South Africa, we should position ourselves to accept tourists from different countries like China, Brazil and India and be in a position to serve them.

One of the problems that emerged is that after having let direct flights come from China into South Africa, we still don't have banks that exchange the yuan for the rand. As we develop, we still have teething problems. We are moving forward as a nation.

There are other areas of tourism that need further research like heritage, cultural tourism and synergies. The Marula Festival and the Mganu Festival are essentially about benefits from the same fruit, but operating under different names in different provinces. The two festivals should be consolidated, and we have to take advantage of their existence and then try to derive some synergies from them.

The department is further focussing on domestic tourism and this will be dealt with by one of the other speakers.

SA Tourism does a lot to promote South Africa ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]