The politics of 2012

Note to editors: This speech was delivered taoday by the DA Parliamentary Leader, Lindiwe Mazibuko MP at the Cape Town Club under the theme: 'The politics of 2012'

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be here with you today to speak on ‘The Politics of 2012'.  

Our political environment is changing fast, and 2012 is shaping up to be an exciting time. Some developments are welcome, but ominous clouds are also gathering on the horizon. Difficult days lay ahead at home and abroad, and we must carefully fashion our response to them. 

The Democratic Alliance is particularly concerned about the African National Congress's suggestion in their policy review that the Constitution might be fundamentally amended. 

Helen Zille has made it clear that the DA will stand on principle. We will oppose changes that would overturn the foundational values and principles of our Constitution: non-racialism, the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and its composition, and maintaining unity and equality in diversity.

As I said in the National Assembly yesterday, if amending the Constitution is the answer, then we are asking the wrong questions. But this cannot be said of the DA.

The DA is playing a full and effective role as the official opposition in Parliament. We are leading and shaping public debate, asking penetrating questions, and, most importantly, providing evidence-based alternatives. 

I would also say that our engagement with the government, as befitting a properly functioning democracy, has improved markedly in tone and substance. I believe this is due to both the enhanced profile of the DA - we cannot be ignored as a major political reality - and generally a more appropriate climate in government/opposition relations.

As we meet, Parliament is receiving a day-long briefing on the National Development Plan by the National Planning Commission. The DA made a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu that the NDP be comprehensively examined and discussed by Members of Parliament. 

This represented a victory for parliamentary oversight and the DA's efforts to ensure that the NDP is scrutinised and engaged with by all political parties represented in the legislature. 

The willingness and the speed with which the Speaker has organised this briefing is an example of the kind of work which helps contribute to the building of an effective and relevant Parliament. This is especially welcome given the widespread concerns about the sidelining of Parliament as a public centre of debate and discussion.

We believe that Parliament must be the place where big ideas are born, ambitious pro poor policies conceived. 

The NDP, unlike some of the government's recent economic and planning proposals, understands that economic growth is the prerequisite for people to get the opportunities they need to get out of poverty.

Its overarching philosophy complements the DA's vision for an Open, Opportunity Society for All. 

I would therefore like to spell out how the DA will interrogate 10 key areas of the NDP by interpolating them with existing DA policies:

On creating jobs and an opportunity society, the NDP needs to state more crisply the need for high economic growth rates to reduce South Africa's unemployment rate.

As you will know President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address, and its emphasis on infrastructure-led development, prompted widespread commentary that South Africa is set to follow the path of state capitalism. 

While increased increased state spending on a viable programme of infrastructure development and maintenance are essential drivers of private sector growth and investment, we believe that the state must do more to ensure that it also creates a climate which is conductive to job-creating economic growth.

The DA is in the process of developing just such a plan: our 8% Growth Plan. We believe that it is only at the intersection of education and the economy that we will reduce poverty and inequality in South Africa. We look to Brazil, among other African, Latin American and Asian countries, as an example of this approach.  

As jobs have been created and increased revenue has been directed towards expanded welfare programmes, poverty in these countries has declined.

According to the World Bank, poverty rates in Brazil, through its Bolsa Familia family-focused welfare programme, have been dramatically reduced. 

If our economy were to grow by 8% a year it would double within ten years. By 2012, we would have R2 trillion to spend on service delivery a year - double what the Finance Minister announced in his recent budget.  

The DA also places special emphasis on innovative ways to capitalise the poor by making it easier for poor and low-income earning South Africans to acquire assets. 

This includes schemes for home ownership, and access to micro-credit to start small businesses.

We must promote tax incentives for employee share ownership schemes. In addition, responsible land reform, in line with the Constitution, is also long overdue. 

Our model would bolster entrepreneurial growth, domestically and internationally. Investors - both foreign and local - are looking, above all, for predictability. The Fraser Foundation's recent report into international mining companies makes this clear. 

Businesses are asking: is it reasonably easy and safe to do business in South Africa? At present, it is much easier to start up a small business in Kigali than it is in Johannesburg. 

As a recent edition of Foreign Affairs noted, as one looks across Africa, one can see that education is the engine of the continent's impressive economic and political renaissance. Educated citizens, the spread of new technologies and improved economic policymaking are transforming Africa as a place for foreign investment. Yet South Africa is behind the curve. 

And while our financial institutions avoided the worse effects of the 2008 financial crisis, it is equally true that we lag behind in financial innovation. 

Strategic Growth is a central component of our plan because it speaks about how we bat for South Africa internationally. 

Here public diplomacy and ‘soft power' strategies are of the essence. This is about building solid relationships with key trade partners that amount to more than trade. 

The observance of human-rights, decent working conditions and building social capital in poor communities must also be an integral part of our trade policy. 

Together, the joined-up initiatives of the DA's 8% growth plan, combined with strong leadership, would put South Africa on a path to growth that would end poverty and inequality.  

The NDP chapter on transforming urban and rural spaces is somewhat vague and unrealistic. 

The DA agrees that people living in rural South Africa need to be given more opportunities. The NDP therefore needs to be more detailed and focussed on how this will be achieved.

The DA strongly agrees that all South Africans deserve access to quality healthcare. There however remain concerns about the feasibility of a National health Insurance (NHI) system, without improving the public health infrastructure first. We need to get the basics right first.

I fear that unrealistic expectations may have been raised about the viability of a NHI system here, and that scant consideration has been given to how it will be funded. Here, leaders have to honest. We do not have the means to create a European ‘cradle to grave' healthcare system, but we do have a constitutional obligation to provide basic healthcare at the point of need.

A capable state is an essential ingredient of any development plan. The DA welcomes the blunt admission that there is political interference in the public service. The politicisation of the public service has been a worrying trend for a long time.  

The DA supports the NDP's position that political will and leadership are essential to fight the corruption which pervades South Africa like an odourless gas. 

We support the recommendations for greater resources and specialised state entities to be directed towards the fight against corruption. 

However, we would not propose centralising large and long-term tenders. This would be too bureaucratic.

Within this context, the Deputy-President, Kgamela Motlanthe has shown commendable speed in asking the Public Protector to investigate bribery allegations against his partner. 

By doing so, he has expressed confidence in the Office of Public Protector and he has demonstrated the much-needed political will to show that corruption allegations must be investigated independently. 

As a slight aside, this should not detract our attention from the bigger story: the possibility that South Africa is being used as a transit point to provide Iran with parts for military helicopters in contravention of UN sanction resolutions.   

As an overlapping member of the AU, BRICS, SADC and the Commonwealth, South has a role to play in upholding policies for countering terrorism, achieving non-proliferation, and helping create stability in the Middle East. 

Mr Motlanthe's swift action is in sharp contrast to the long-running saga of the arms deal. The arms deal casts a long shadow over South Africa's poor reputation for transparency. This damage urgently needs to be repaired if South Africa is not to be seen as a shady place for shady people to do business.  

Tomorrow, I will be asking President Zuma if he will release the full and unexpurgated final report of the commission of inquiry he established to investigate the arms deal. 

I will also ask Mr Zuma if any steps will be taken against those implicated in the report. Anything less will fail to draw the sting from this issue that has blighted South Africa for too long.

The DA agrees that South Africa remains a divided society, scarred by our history of racial discrimination, inequality, and ruthless stereotyping. We support action to put right the indignities and deprivations caused by apartheid. 

We also support programmes targeted at the development of those who still suffer the consequences of past discrimination and hiring and promotion practices.

We agree that Broad-Based Economic Empowerment (B-BEE) codes need to be reformed to make them more effective, and drivers of economic growth. The DA will be shortly unveiling its own BEE proposals. We will seek assurances that BEE will be used to benefit the millions of South Africans who continue to live in poverty. 

The DA agrees that dramatically improving the effectiveness of our country's criminal justice system and enhancing professionalism in the SAPS are crucial elements in the fight against crime. The DA also agrees with the demilitarisation of the SAPS. 

The NDP's recommendations on improving education correspond with the DA's position. Many of these recommendations are being carried out by the DA-run Western Cape government which enjoys the highest matric pass rates in the country. 

We agree with the approach to providing learners and graduates the skills that they need to compete in a global knowledge economy.

Our focus is on assisting citizens to acquire the requisite lifelong skills to enter the job market. This can only be achieved by lowering the barriers to entry for new job seekers. 

Better incentives for employers to increase hiring must be created. Most notably this can be achieved via the youth wage subsidy. 

We welcome the NDP's unequivocal support for the Youth Wage Subsidy, but words must be turned into reality. It is vital that the policy is implemented by the Treasury's deadline of 1st April 2012.

Yesterday, COSATU's spokesperson said that Zwelinzima Vavi has refused to meet with me to discuss this all-important matter. One can only ask if COSATU is serious about fighting youth unemployment, when it seems so eager to prevent young people from finding gainful employment. It would seem that the federation is placing narrow partisan interest before the interests of our country.  

Finally, the DA agrees with the NDP that South Africa must drastically reduce its carbon footprint. South Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the resource-consumption of the South African economy is unsustainable.

Global climate and ecological breakdown require international leadership. While Great Britain, for instance, debates if it should build a new runway at Heathrow or a new airport, China is building dozens of new international airports each year. 

This is why our plan plays particular attention to the ‘green economy', and looks to South Africa to take the lead.  Our planet, which we hold in trust for generations ahead of us, cannot be sacrificed in an irresponsible ‘dash for growth'. 

Our proposals include large-scale investment in fresh water infrastructure, support for a building retrofit programme to save energy, and the provision of technical assistance for climate change adaptation.

In sum, the DA is committed to ensuring that the NDP does not become yet another unimplemented think tank strategy. We want to see that its bold proposals are implemented.

The NDP must stay on the agenda, and the DA will be working hard in Parliament and with Parliament to ensure that it stays there.

Thank you. 

Issued by the DA, March 14 2012

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter