Hon House Chairperson, hon Minister, hon committee chairperson, hon Members of Parliament, the Statistician-General and his team, distinguished guests, my speech has the theme "People's Statistics for People's Power". This is mainly because the Statistics SA evolution, as, obviously, succinctly narrated by the committee chair, inter alia, moved from serving the interests of the few to its current state of serving the entire nation's interests.
In sustaining the apartheid system, which was absolutely morally repugnant, the oppressive government of the past ensured that statistics were produced only for three of the four recognised population groups, to the exclusion of the majority of South Africans.
Central Statistical Services, CSS, was not the sole provider of statistics in South Africa at the time. Statistics branch offices were erected in 4 of the 10 so-called independent Bantustan states. Additionally, independent institutions selectively collected data on some aspects of the black population, depending on what they wanted to prove or disprove.
Now the question that the hon Harris and others must obviously address is: If so many statistics enterprises were in place in the past, then why are there so many questions around statistics now, as compared to the past and, more so, from the private sector? I think we must help each other in addressing that question.
To begin with, it is surprising that the obsession with biased statistics went unquestioned for so long among the research fraternity. Typically, researchers should continually strive for perfection in measurement and extrapolation. However, the CSS and related institutions devoured engineered statistics information to feed political and unsavoury motives.
The favoured type of information collected during this time put limited emphasis on the economics questions that would have exposed the brutality and blatancy of the regime under which statistics were collected and applied. The credibility of statistics information in the past was undermined by a range of factors, as already alluded to by most of the speakers. The million-dollar question for me and all of us is: Why the deafening silence then?
As the ANC, we argue that questions about the credibility of statistics produced by Statistics SA must be understood in the context of competing interests for territorial control of a powerful tool called Statistics SA. The ANC-led government seeks to demystify statistics and to use them for public good. We do not benefit financially from statistics production, but gain spiritual energy to continue to strive for a better South Africa far removed from the injustices of the past.
We are guided by the united front created by the Freedom Charter and its vision for an equal society in which all South Africans are employed, have access to the basic necessities such as housing, electricity and sanitation, and can participate in building a national democratic society. Our concern with respect to credibility is grounded in a deep concern for human life and development planning.
With the advent of democracy, a more people-centred statistics practice was introduced through the Constitution of South Africa. Through the revised Statistics Act of 1999, our statistics became more dependable because the science was guided by international best practice, as cited earlier, and not by personalised forms of self-interest. Aside from this, our government is not shy and has no intention of isolating itself from the global arena.
The ANC strategy and tactics document underscores the importance of engaging with the broader world in order to shape one's response to challenges. Part of this engagement in statistics involves sourcing indicators that reflect the critical matters in the country, such as the 10 themes of the Presidency, namely economic growth and transformation, employment, poverty, inequality, household and community assets, health, education, social cohesion, safety and security, international relations and good governance.
In addition, our mission of creating credible statistics involves revisiting or, in some cases, revising indicators regularly based on findings emerging from monitoring and evaluation projects, as conducted by the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.
In concurring with the hon Adams, a true test of statistical credibility lies in measuring the extent to which development planning can influence the creation of a society free from the constraints of the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality, as referred to by the chairperson. I am proud to say that statistics from Statistics SA have met the test of credibility, even by internationally recognised standards from the United Nations, as concluded by the hon Mthethwa.
Geographical hierarchy has made the job of improving statistics production very difficult for Statistics SA. This is compounded by the fact that statistics science regressed a lot under apartheid. The democratic government has had the job of not only overhauling an entire state, but also of refining and updating an entire discipline.
In this respect, the ANC welcomes Statistics SA's intention of improving the capacity of its organisation and entrenching itself amongst the people by building district offices in all nine provinces and by improving maths and the statistics skills base of its staff over the medium term.
Ironically, the responsibility of statistics production cannot be restricted to the realm of data collectors only. As public servants and civil society who are surveyed by research bodies, such as Statistics SA and other institutions, we have the responsibility of providing correct and current information.
Telling untruths in the hope of rigging data for favourable reasons generates statistical series that are unreliable and useless for development planning. Peddling lies and turning the wrong statistics into political truth is very unfortunate and must be deplored by all. I hope, Mr Harris, your advocacy of Adcorp's statistics won't lead you into that particular trap of peddling lies at the expense of the truth.
As the ANC, we are working to ensure that service delivery for marginalised areas ...