Madam Chair, the President has declared 2011 as the year of job creation. Achieving this goal requires unprecedented co-operation and co-ordination between government, private industry and the citizenry of this country, with government taking the lead.
This department's aim is to promote economic development through participatory, coherent and co-ordinated economic policy and planning for the benefit of all South Africans. Therefore government has an understanding that it will take systems thinking to solve our economic problems and create jobs. The department also states that transforming the economy requires a pro-employment growth path that addresses the structural constraints to absorbing large numbers of people into the economy and creating decent work.
However, government is currently embarking on various activities that have a negating effect on job creation and serve to introduce structural constraints into the economy. These activities serve to expedite the entropy of South African society as a whole, and are evidenced in four factors, amongst other things, underlying our economy: fuel, fuel transport costs, electricity and tax. Added to this mix is a type of privatised tax called the Gauteng Open Road System toll tariff. It is quite significant, as this tariff is built into a position of strangulation of the arteries of the economic hub of the country, namely the Gauteng freeway system.
Looking at the four factors, we need to be concerned about the lack of co- ordination and the imposition of structural inhibitors by government into a system that must create jobs.
Eerstens, die styging in die brandstofprys plaas die hele ekonomie onder druk. Tog het die regering beheer oor die plaaslike komponent van die brandstofprys. Belastingheffings kan verminder word, byvoorbeeld, en prysmededinging kan toegelaat word ten einde die brandstofprys te verlaag.
Tweedens, brandstofvervoerkoste is besig om te styg as gevolg van die koste verbonde aan die konstruksie van die brandstofpypleiding. Dit het gelei tot die heffing van 'n verdere belasting van 6,4 sent per liter op brandstof. Deskundiges is steeds oorbluf oor die styging in die konstruksiekoste van die brandstofpypleiding, en volle openbaarmaking daaroor is nodig. Intussen het die Nasionale Energiereguleerder van Suid-Afrika, Nersa, behalwe die nuwe brandstofheffing 'n styging van 59,9% in die pyplyntarief goedgekeur. BP het aangedui dat die verhoging tot 40 000 werksverliese lei en die ekonomie R1 miljard per jaar sal kos - dt terwyl ons eintlik werk wil skep. Dit maak glad nie sin nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Firstly, the rise in the fuel price is putting pressure on the entire economy. Yet the government controls the local component of the fuel price. Tax levies could be reduced, for example, and price competition could be allowed in order to reduce the fuel price.
Secondly, fuel transport costs are rising as a result of the costs involved in the construction of the fuel pipeline. This has resulted in the levying of an additional tax on fuel of 6,4 cent per litre. Experts are still dumbfounded about the increase in the costs of construction of the fuel pipeline, and full disclosure in this regard is required. Meanwhile, besides the new fuel levy, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, Nersa, agreed to an increase of 59,9% in the pipeline tariff. BP has indicated that the increase would result in 40 000 job losses and would cost the economy R1 billion per annum - this while we actually want to create jobs. It doesn't make any sense.]
Thirdly, electricity is also a major driver of our economy. Any rise in electricity costs has a holistic inflationary effect on the economy. The National Energy Regulator of SA, Nersa, granted Eskom an increase of 24,8% in this financial year, 25,8% next year, and 25,9% in 2012-13. Last year a 35% increase was granted. The socioeconomic impact of this multiyear increase will be dramatic. The above-mentioned increases are directly related to Eskom's building programme for the Kusile and Medupi power plants, and we need to address this as well. Laastens, belastingfaktore is baie hoog in Suid-Afrika. Suid-Afrikaners betaal tans omtrent 60% van hulle besteebare inkomste aan belasting, volgens mnr Matthew Lester van Rhodes-universiteit.
Die uiteinde van hierdie analise is dat die Departement van Ekonomiese Ontwikkeling nog baie werk het om 'n holistiese en gekordineerde plan op te stel om die ekonomie volhoubaar te stimuleer vir werkskepping. Daar is te veel strukturele defekte wat van die regering se kant af in die sisteem ingevoer word, soos ho belastings, brandstofpryse en elektrisiteitspryse. Dit lyk nie of die regering die werklike leiding wil gee om werk te skep nie, en dalk kan die Minister vir ons duidelikheid daaroor gee. Dankie, mev die Speaker. Dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Finally, tax factors are very high in South Africa. According to Mr Matthew Lester of Rhodes University, South Africans are currently paying approximately 60% of their disposable income on tax.
This analysis finally concludes that the Department of Economic Development still has a lot of work to do to develop a holistic and co-ordinated plan to stimulate sustained growth in the economy to bring about job creation. There are too many structural defects that are being introduced into the system from the government's side, such as high taxes, fuel prices and electricity prices. It doesn't seem as if the government really wants to provide leadership with regard to job creation, and maybe the Minister can provide us with more clarity on this. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thank you.]