Hon Chairperson, the unprecedented opulence in our country of two nations contrasts with the deprivation, destitution and economic oppression. Overcoming this problem has to be a central part of economic development.
The severity of inequality in South Africa is reflected in the country's Gini coefficient, which is currently at 0,7. Employment statistics released yesterday showed that unemployment has increased by 100 000 in the last quarter. At present 4,6 million people are unemployed and 2,3 million are discouraged work seekers.
According to the annual national perceptions audit of 2012, 54% of respondents agreed with the statement: "I'm afraid I might never get a job in South Africa." This situation is untenable. There is no silver bullet that solves the problem of unemployment, whether ideologically shot from the left or the right.
Poverty and inequality cause unemployment, and unemployment causes poverty and inequality. It is a vicious cycle that must be broken. The best and most useful economic strategies must be employed, with no total commitment to ideological leanings.
If poverty and inequality are to be reduced, policy-makers cannot rely on the so-called ruthless growth that leads to increased income inequality. Contrary to some perceptions, inequality hinders growth. If South Africa is to accelerate economic growth, it has to mainstream the eradication of poverty. It has to be the core priority of our economic policy.
Poverty is widening and deepening. Solutions are absent while promises abound. Let us make no mistake; this is a ticking timebomb, and the real danger lies in failing to genuinely address poverty, inequality and unemployment. Now is the time for concerted and concentrated action.
The National Development Plan, NDP, and the Industrial Policy Action Plan, Ipap, talk about long-term visions and long-term programmes. What is needed at the present moment is for the NDP to be divided into five yearly programmes, so that it is effective and properly monitored. The relationship between the unwieldy Department of Trade and Industry, DTI, and the slimmer Department of Economic Development must be sorted out so that the mandate of the economic department must be clarified and be explicit.
Overindebtedness of South Africans is a matter of great concern. In July 2012, Property24 reported that 6,2 million consumers had impaired debt records. Of these, 2,3 million had their accounts handed over for collection. Another 3,8 million were three months and more in arrears with some of their accounts.
Predatory microlenders and unsecured lending offered by African Bank, the country's biggest unsecured lender, amongst others, is deepening the financial crisis and exacerbating poverty. We need to know why this is allowed to happen despite the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, Fica, being in place.
On the question of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises, SMMEs, the development finance institutions, DFIs, must make finance as well as professional business support available, and not act like banks by making the interest rate exorbitant, unreachable and unaffordable to ordinary people. In addition to finance, training needs to cover entrepreneurs who lack formal education in business. The private sector incubators alone cannot be relied upon.
Industrial development zones, IDZs, and special economic zones should be concentrated in areas where there is existing infrastructure. Here I refer to places like Dimbaza, Bophuthatswana, Qwaqwa and even here in the Western Cape, in the Atlantis area. Idle infrastructure deteriorates and creates no jobs. It is deplorable that government is not making use of these available resources to create jobs.
Economic initiatives such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and the Joule electric car, which cost our country billions of rands, were quietly written off. Why was this allowed to happen? We have also not been answered satisfactorily on why Mthombo, the proposed refinery in Coega, has not yet come to fruition. What else is going on at Coega?
With regard to manufacturing, the government has failed to create downstream beneficiation of our natural resources like gold, diamonds and platinum. We are effectively exporting jobs to other countries, hence the higher unemployment that is facing us. The model that renders the automotive sector workable is to be commended. However, why is a similar model with regard to agroprocessing not adopted? Perhaps the Brazilian model should be used in this case.
While having some of the best universities on the continent, South Africa has not exploited the available capacity for research and innovation that would make our country the owners and developers of intellectual property. The Joule car is an example of a lost opportunity.
With regard to international trade - through the International Trade Administration Commission, ITAC - we have experienced agreements that expose our country to the dumping of cheap goods in our markets, especially from the European Union, EU. However, the relevant Ministries have not intervened in this regard. Why is the worsening of the balance of trade not being properly monitored?
With regard to the management of our Budget, the national debt has increased by R1 trillion in the past five years. At the same time, the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, has continued to be lower than projected. If the national debt had been incurred to accelerate infrastructure development only, the borrowing and expenditure could have been regarded as countercyclical, but unfortunately this is not the case.
Loss of moral values has seen a squandering of resources without consequences. The more than R240 million spent at Nkandla is a national scandal, and an insult to the poverty-stricken of our country. The discontent of the workforce has therefore increased, as evidenced during the Marikana massacre, and Ficksburg, where Andries Tatane was mowed down by the SAPS.
The same kind of desperation that inflamed the Arab Spring is now increasingly evident in our country. The landing of the Gupta plane at a national key point ... [Interjections.] ... shows how pervasive the moral loss in our country has become. [Interjections.] Fair play no longer exists, and blatant favours open the way for the well connected. The continuation of this state of affairs will create a negative investment environment for our country. [Interjections.] Some intervention needs to be made in this regard.
The Public Infrastructure Co-ordinating Committee must be fully energised as this can set a very good platform to create more jobs. The department earned an unqualified audit, and therefore has the opportunity to come out of the shadows and to exert itself for the betterment of South Africa. A small window of opportunity is all that is left as the clock continues ticking. I thank you. [Interjections.] [Applause.]