Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members and esteemed ladies and gentlemen, let me first thank every member of the committee for their constructive contribution, constructive criticism and awareness of putting our beloved country first. You used your right to disagree in a mature manner and this gives me hope that we shall be an even stronger democracy as we move forward. I am indeed proud to be one of you. We all agree that there should be a better quality of life for all and that we all have a role to play in making that a reality.
Allow me to begin with the goal of the budget. I will then take a look at the different programmes of the budget and areas of interest, and perhaps concerns going forward.
Firstly, it is important to take note of the global and domestic financial climate. We did expect that the global economic crisis of the past few years would seriously affect key tourism markets and we were not surprised to learn that some of our markets had shown a decline in growth. We were greatly relieved to learn that we had continued to grow, while other countries had shown a marked decline.
However, the question still remains: With the hostile global financial situation, has the department done its best, given the available resources and capacities at its disposal? Our view is, largely, yes, though it could have done better in some areas, for example transformation, small business funding and support, job creation, and the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. The latter will be one of our areas of focus, as it assists in creating jobs, and job creation is a priority.
I now come back to the aim of the budget of the Department of Tourism, which is: To promote and support growth and development of an equitable, competitive and sustainable tourism sector, enhancing its contribution to national priorities.
That is what we have budgeted for, according to the Estimates of National Expenditure. Our budget for this year stands at R1,37 billion. The role of Parliament is to oversee the use of this budget via annual reports, quarterly performance reports, asking the Minister questions and oversight visits, among others. Different speakers will elaborate on the different programme areas, according to their areas of interest.
When we look at performance in general, we see that South Africa as a country has achieved a tourism growth rate that is above the growth vote of the South African economy as a whole, and better than that of global tourism. We thank the department and each and every stakeholder for this massive effort. In that regard, some of us have just voted for Table Mountain to be one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Indeed, Table Mountain, just outside here, is now one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, and I am proud to say that one of the votes that counted was mine! [Applause.] In spite of the difficult economic conditions in our traditional global markets, we have managed to have growth that any tourism destination in the world can be proud of. I thank you, Minister, and your team for that achievement. And surely tourism can do even better with more resources. Job creation and sustainable livelihoods are a national priority, as I have said before. Job creation in the services sector, especially in tourism, is very important, as many employees do not need to be highly skilled or experienced, making it very accessible to the youth and to unskilled and semiskilled workers, especially in the rural areas. With sustainable livelihoods and small businesses, entry barriers to some sectors within the tourism industry are low, and the greater the activity in the industry, the better the chances are for many small businesses to be established. More jobs will be created, which will lower joblessness, inequality and poverty, and many of the jobs will be sustainable.
As the Diagnostic Overview Report notes, South Africa has an overdependence on trading in resources, and this is unsustainable. Given the above, tourism growth gives us the hope of contributing to bigger growth and a bigger economy.
The overview continues as follows:
The country's exceptional biodiversity is internationally recognised and its economic and social importance is reflected in reasonably well- functioning institutions in formally protected conservation areas, which support an important tourism industry.
We have elephant and eland grazing next to rhebok, zebra and rhino, among many others. This makes us competitive as a destination, and also gives us even more reason and responsibility to save the rhino from extinction. The threat of the extinction of the rhino and its perceived rarity may turn into an opportunity for us. It has the potential of being a drawcard in the future. So, let us actively join the fight to save the rhino. Let us make it our duty to protect the rhino, for the rhino is our future. Let us not allow it to go the way of the dodo.
Beyond our biodiversity, we still have many stories of our journey as a nation that have not been told boldly enough. We are a nation of many pathways that converged in a new South Africa. We have precolonial trade routes through Africa. We had colonial wars, the sites of which are known. We had imfecane/difaqane [war]. The treks of many different peoples were seen in South Africa. There are caves, oceans and rivers in the journey of our worship, and the journey of our liberation, among others. Yet we are not telling the stories. We have to.
Quite often we relegate tourism, particularly cultural and heritage tourism, to the bottom of the list of our budgetary needs at all levels of government. Indeed, we need a paradigm shift in this regard, starting with the political leadership of different parties at all levels and coming down to every one of us. Tourism complements service delivery. It does not adversely compete with the delivery of basic needs.
Let us promote tourism even better, although I know we are doing our best with what we have. For instance, on our visit to China we learnt that in its five-year plan that country projects the entire number of global tourists to be about 80 million people. If we strive for just 1% of that, we are talking of 800 000 tourists. This is an opportunity worth looking at. Our political principals have opened the way for this possibility - let us use it. Then the question will be: Are our strategies in line with this emerging possibility?
Despite the many challenges, we believe that the funds will be under good stewardship. We support this Budget Vote. [Time expired.]