Thank you very much, hon Speaker. Hon members, in 2008 the recession was triggered by the unregulated manner in which the American banks repackaged debt and marketed such debt as assets. So, there was a financial meltdown.
The response was informed by the understanding that we should not pull back from investing in infrastructure and ensuring that as few jobs as possible would get lost in the process.
At that time unknown to us, was the fact that the banks in America were actually in a much healthier state than the banks in Europe. That is what we had no sight of. It is all public knowledge today that our economy was directly affected.
We lost close on a million jobs, but our response was aimed at saving jobs, as well as saving South African companies from going down the tubes; hence these measures. The measures were negotiated and agreed to by organised business, organised labour and the communities, as well as government.
The monies allocated for lay-off schemes were utilised, though not fully, and many jobs were in that sense saved, but some job cutbacks were inevitable and we could not do anything about that.
The plan to invest in infrastructure continues. It is part of the New Growth Path, because the New Growth Path arose from that response at that time.
Now, of course, we are faced with a completely different challenge in that the USA is also in a dicey situation and they may default. The situation in the eurozone is well known to all of us. So, this calls for the kind of response that hon Koornhof alluded to - that we should diversify and move with speed.
In regard to the implementation of build infrastructure and investments, the government has established a commission on infrastructure which is chaired by the President, because we realise that the normal method of making allocations to the provinces and municipalities may not be able to address the infrastructure backlog, particularly with regard to the rural areas as well as the townships. That is why we as the national government have now established this commission.
The idea is to try to follow the approach that we employed in preparing for the Fifa World Cup, where we identify areas in which such infrastructure should be developed, set the timelines and co-ordinate the three spheres of government, so that we are able to implement this within the shortest possible time. That is the approach and I think it will address the key question of whether this money has been spent or not. Thank you. Position regarding steps taken to ensure the answering of all parliamentary questions
16. Mr A Watson (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether he has taken any action in respect of any Minister who failed to answer oral and written parliamentary questions (a) within 10 working days and (b) before the question lapses at the end of an annual session; if not, why not, in each case; if so, in each case, (i) in respect of which Minister and (ii) what action;
(2) what corrective steps have been taken to ensure that all parliamentary questions are answered (a) within 10 working days and (b) completely;
(3) whether he intends to ensure that all parliamentary questions to the executive are answered before the end of the annual session; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? NO4350E