Chairperson, hon Minister Rob Davies, hon Deputy Ministers, hon members of the National Assembly, ladies and gentlemen, at the Seventh Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in 2009, Prof Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank said, and I quote:
The responsibility of the state is to create opportunities for people, to support them, so that they can stand up for themselves.
I have every reason to agree with Prof Yunus and this is why we must create entrepreneurs and create opportunities for them. We must support them so that they can stand up for themselves.
Poverty is created by a system. Last Friday I was in Kokstad in KwaZulu- Natal, together with the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister Dlamini-Zuma. I had the privilege of visiting a bakery run from a container by five enthusiastic young men, led by Thembelani. This group is called the Sakhakulunge Co-operative Bakery.
An opportunity was created for them by the Greater Kokstad Municipality. The container was equipped, but the energy and the passion to run the operation had to come from the group. The leader of the group explained that if it were not for this opportunity, all of them may have been repeat offenders, with lengthy jail terms.
Initiatives such as these need further support from government. The challenge facing this co-operative is what many other similar micro enterprises face. It is the challenge of increasing market share, the challenge of increasing capacity and the challenge of making this a sustainable enterprise. We are prepared to establish more of these businesses in all the provinces. Let us work together with all members in this House. I invite all of you.
None of the co-operative members expressed the wish that this business should make them millionaires. They wanted to use the business as a vehicle to provide their families with an education, to improve their own skills, to provide a healthy product, to prevent other young people from doing crime by being gainfully employed, to contribute to the development of this rural area and to be economically active.
These five young people have expressed more eloquently than any policy could, the five priorities identified as national priorities by our government and in our ruling party's election manifesto. The priorities are health, education, job creation, rural development and crime prevention.
In our endeavour, not only to meet but to exceed the expectations of the five priorities of government, our department has looked at methods that, together with our colleagues at provincial and, to an extent, local level, can initiate this during this financial year.
I also had discussions with various people from academic institutions and from the private sector, who are offering to assist us in meeting our developmental goals. Wits University, for example, have already started on entrepreneurial development.
Last year I reported a process initiated by my office to meet all the provincial MECs of economic development in order to see if we could co- ordinate our work better. This, I am pleased to report, has been done and I wish to thank all the MECs for the extremely warm and collegial manner in which these meetings took place.
While the nine provinces differ in many areas, there were common points raised across the board. A report will be tabled in the portfolio committee soon. A full briefing will also be given on my findings and what we will do. Here are some comments related to these visits.
The main issue raised was the lack of a cohesive and efficient communication system amongst the three spheres of government, which has resulted in national government not always knowing what the provinces are doing, and vice versa. Through great effort of the Empowerment and Enterprise Development Division and the various provincial heads of departments, a forum has been established to map the way forward. This forum had its meetings and pilot projects have been identified that the Department of Trade and Industry together with provincial departments will initiate and launch during this financial year.
From the side of the DTI, we have assigned a provincial champion to spearhead projects in each province. The list of those champions is available so that we can hold them accountable if they don't deliver.
We are particularly, but not exclusively, focusing on projects that will revive industries in the former homeland areas. Together with our provincial counterparts, we have identified a number of buildings that belong to the former development agencies that have fallen into disuse. This must be revised. There is potential in these areas.
We acknowledge that resources are limited and we need to seek partnerships, if we truly want to transform the economic landscape of our country. We have therefore looked at partnerships, as mentioned earlier. We have also looked at other institutions that operate in the fields of enterprise development, co-operatives and finance for small enterprises.
I started with the story of the bakery co-operative. I said that they still have some challenges. They have received a leg up from the local municipality. What stops us, as the DTI, from pooling our resources with the province and other agencies, and even the private sector, to assist co- operatives such as these and others, who often need minimal assistance to flourish, for example, bridging funds to expand.
When driving through the town, I saw at least two supermarkets and a few schools, as well as a prison that could support this bakery. We have to get out there and assist, not from the comfort of our offices. We have to go to the actual areas where our communities are. Maybe then we will appreciate the fact that we have to work with a greater sense of urgency. Let's do well. Let's work harder and smarter.
On co-operatives for this year, we are speeding up our efforts to initiate the formation of an advisory body for co-operatives. I must be honest and mention that this has not been an easy task because not everyone shared a common perspective on the way forward.
We will convene an inclusive meeting to continue with our efforts and harness the collective wisdom of all parties to see this body come to fruition. I know I have the absolute support of Minister Davies for this effort.
As a believer, it is my conviction that the development of our people, no matter how daunting the task may be, can be realised. I believe that our country has the potential we need to eradicate poverty. All we need is a leadership that is ready and capable and equal to the task of responding to the aspirations of the people.
We can create a world-class economy, if we work together with everyone who is willing to do this. Let's work together. Poverty knows no colour, no political boundary and no race. If God be with us, no one can stand against us.
In addressing the noted challenges, our government has formulated the national co-operative strategy that outlines various interventions aimed at enhancing the support programmes and institutional capacity, geared towards the development of co-operatives.
Moreover, government has taken the decision to review and amend the current co-operative legislation. In this regard, our government intends to remove constraints and close the legislative gaps affecting co-operative development by amending the Co-operative Act, Act 14 of 2005.
To name just a few of those areas being amended, these include auditing requirements for co-operatives and voting rights of co-operatives ... [Interjections.] I thank you. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]