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WEDNESDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 2009
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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The House met at 14:00.
The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment
of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
APPROPRIATION BILL
WESTERN CAPE INHERITED DEBT RELIEF BILL
(Introduction)
The MINISTER OF FINANCE: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Deputy
President, President of the ANC, distinguished Cabinet colleagues
and Deputy Ministers, hon members, Governor and Deputy Governors of
the South African Reserve Bank, MECs for Finance, ambassadors and
high commissioners, distinguished representatives or members of the
diplomatic corps, our friends in the gallery and – wherever you may
be this afternoon, sharing with us - fellow South Africans, ladies
and gentlemen, from time to time in the Budget Speech we have chosen
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to go back to the words of wisdom of some other people to test that
which we do and that which we believe, and members of this House
will not be surprised that I go back to the Nigerian writer Ben
Okri, who writes:
If the things we face are greater and more important than the
things we refuse to face, then at least we have begun the reevaluation of the world. At least we have begun to learn to see
and live again. But if we refuse to face any of our awkward and
deepest truths, then sooner or later, we are going to have to
become deaf and blind. And then, eventually, we are going to have
to silence our dreams, and the dreams of others. In other words,
we die. We die in life.
Part of living out the dreams of others is remembering today that it
is 11 February; it is almost 19 years to the minute of the day that
Nelson Mandela walked out of Victor Verster, a free man. [Applause.]
Part of these dreams that we live out and hold onto, are the dreams
of our forebears. They are the dreams of very ordinary people in
this country. They are the hopes and aspirations for themselves and
their children and part of what we have as a responsibility as
decision-makers in this country. It is the ability to stand between
our people and their dreams.
Madam Speaker, the storm that we spoke of last year has broken, and
it is more severe than anyone anticipated. Confronted with the
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prospect of an economic cataclysm, world leaders have announced huge
supportive interventions. A transformation of the world economy is
indeed in progress, which we trust will tame the excesses of
unregulated financial markets. A restructuring of global trade and
incomes is underway which we hope will bring greater opportunities
to the world’s poor. But for now, the transition has brought
sizeable disruptions.
The Budget that I have the honour to table here today, Madam
Speaker, remains firmly focused on the longer-term transformation
challenge. While responding to the changed economic outlook, our
primary goal remains the reconstruction and development of our
economy and the progressive building of a shared future in which we
can take pride in the quality of our public services and the
creation of jobs for our people and security in our communities.
And so, in Ben Okri’s words, because we will not silence our dreams,
because we choose life and we will not die, we stand ready to face
our awkward and deepest truths. We will not be deaf to the voice of
those in pain. We will not be blind to incompetence or greed.
Our response to the present crisis is to face the challenges before
us boldly and as a nation united. Our duty is to construct a South
African approach, founded on our own vision for a shared future.
This approach can only be built on an engagement between social
partners, not just at the level of a national dialogue, but on
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factory floors and in community halls. Our resolve will be tested to
its limits. We have to put self-interest aside; we have to face each
other honestly and openly.
Our task is to see through the challenges of economic vulnerability
today, to the construction of the new South Africa that is our
passion and our pride. We can do this all the better as a united
people.
In framing this Budget, therefore, we have been guided by five
enduring principles: firstly, protecting the poor; secondly,
sustaining employment growth and expanding training opportunities;
thirdly, building economic capacity and promoting investment;
fourthly, addressing the barriers to competitiveness that limit an
equitable sharing of opportunities; and fifthly, in doing these
things, we must maintain a sustainable debt level so that our
actions today do not constrain our development tomorrow.
The global economy is experiencing a sharp downturn, spreading from
developed to developing countries. Its origins lie in macroeconomic
imbalances of an unprecedented scale. The accumulation of debt by
firms and households in some countries has been matched by an
extraordinary rise in export earnings and savings in other regions.
Behind these flows are millions of savers and lenders, linked
through a financial architecture of such complexity that neither
accounting standards nor regulatory oversight have served their
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intended purposes: Prudential banking rules have been overwhelmed by
folly and fraud, masquerading as financial innovation.
This is a cycle that has played itself out periodically. The
economic historian Karl Polanyi, 65 years ago, provided a classic
account of how a utopian faith in self-regulation has repeatedly led
to exuberances of this kind in the rise and fall of market
economies.
The consequences are felt everywhere. If the balance sheet of a bank
shrinks, its capacity to lend is eroded. If its lending is
curtailed, businesses and households have to reduce their spending.
If demand falls in Birmingham, factories close in Beijing. If
production lines in China slow, demand for commodities from Africa
dries up. The vegetable shop next to the mine closes and the drivers
of the delivery vehicles are asked to work short time, on half pay,
and if the driver then cannot pay his mortgage, the bank forecloses
on his bond and the bank writes down its balance sheet again – this
is the cycle the world is living through at the moment.
When a global motor company cuts back on making cars – because
people are not buying them - it cancels its orders for catalytic
converters. Madam Speaker, this firm making catalytic converters is
not in Detroit or in Shanghai; it is here in Uitenhage in the
Eastern Cape. The mine producing the platinum that goes into that
converter is sitting close to Rustenburg. The worker in the factory
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in Uitenhage and the mineworker in Rustenburg are now without work.
We saw the largest platinum producer earlier this week announce the
termination of 10 000 jobs. And the woman who runs the little stall
selling vegetables outside the mine is making less money each
passing week. And their families, all of them, face a future made
more precarious by the vagaries of global finance.
In a very short period, Madam Speaker, what started off as a
financial crisis may well become the second Great Depression. Last
year, 2,6 million US workers lost their jobs. This year, in fact two
weeks ago, some 20 million migrant workers who left their places of
work for the rural areas in China to celebrate the lunar New Year,
were advised that they should not return to the cities, because
their jobs have disappeared. Twenty million workers in China come to
about one and a half times the number of people in employ in South
Africa. That is the scale of what we are talking about.
In the past ten months, the International Monetary Fund has revised
its forecast for global growth in 2009 downwards no less than five
times, from 3,8 % in April last year to its current estimate of just
half a per cent. Initially the downgrades were focused on developed
countries, but projections for GDP growth in emerging markets have
now halved from 6,6% in April to 3,3% currently, which is a lower
number than we have become accustomed to, Mr President, but that
3,3% says to us that the only growth in the world this year will
come from the developing parts of the globe.
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The United States has been in recession since the last quarter of
2007 and its economy is expected to contract by 1,6% in 2009. The
official interest rate in the US has been cut to almost zero. Growth
in Europe has slowed to 1% in 2008 and is forecast to contract to
minus 2% in 2009. The UK economy is expected to shrink by 2,8% in
2009.
China’s GDP growth fell to 6,8% in the last quarter of 2008 and will
slow this year to its lowest level since 1990. India’s growth will
fall by almost half.
Sub-Saharan Africa is feeling the effects of the commodity price
plunge and declining investor confidence. Projected growth slows to
3,5% in 2009 from 5,4% in 2008. When we talk of Sub-Saharan Africa,
we can look at the growth number, but we need to constantly remind
ourselves that that growth is of an incredibly low base.
In responding to the crisis, immense commitments of funds have been
made by the governments of major economies in support of their
financial institutions, and central banks have lowered interest
rates to unprecedented levels. If my numbers are correct, then the
announcement by the Treasury Secretary in the United States
yesterday is for an additional 2,5 trillion dollars.
However, low interest rates do not automatically translate into
available credit. Households remain wary of further debt, and firms
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that face trading losses are not yet creditworthy. In an ironic
twist, capital is leaving emerging markets and flowing into reserve
currencies such as the US dollar or the euro, seemingly undeterred
by the institutional origins of the financial collapse. Countries
such as Brazil, India and Russia cannot raise debt except at premium
interest rates. South Africa’s cost of borrowing on international
capital markets also increased sharply late last year and at this
point still remains much too high.
While many countries are borrowing heavily to finance their bailouts
and deficits, which may well be the correct policy approach to
restore confidence in their economies, this build-up of debt will
have to be paid back, with interest, by future generations in those
countries or, perhaps, by future generations in other countries. It
will require higher tax rates in future, slowing growth for decades
to come. The re-evaluation of the world cannot be indefinitely
deferred.
We should also appreciate that the causes of this crisis run deeper
than its financial currents. It is embedded in the structure of
growth and trade and the widening inequality that we have seen over
the past decade and a half. In responding to this crisis, on a
global scale and here at home, we must tackle its root causes.
Financial systems cannot go unregulated; trade arrangements cannot
be subordinate to shortsighted protectionist influence; the
distribution of income cannot be entrusted to the merciless
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counterpoise of executive greed and unsupervised labour market
dynamics. [Applause.]
In Polanyi’s words, our task is to harness the instrumentality of
both power and planning in pursuit of more abundant freedoms. To say
that this can be done, nationally and globally, is to place
democratic governance in its rightful place at the head of the
global development agenda.
And, in facing these things that are greater and more important than
the arithmetic of our revenue and expenditure plans, we will at
least begin the re-evaluation of our world.
This means: Protecting the poor. It means employment and training.
It means investing in infrastructure and building a competitive
economy. It means sustainable public finances.
Ke rata go boeletsa ke re: Re batla go sireletsa batlhoki; go tlhola
ditiro; go beeletsa mo diphetogong le go rotloetsa dikgaisano mo
memmarakeng ya ikonomi.Go raya gore, go tshegetsa maema a lotseno.
[Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[I would like to repeat: We want to protect the poor; to create
jobs; to invest in infrastructure and to build a competitive
economy. It means sustainable public finances. [Applause.]]
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Against this backdrop of what we need to do, let me share with the
House the Treasury’s expectations for the South African economy over
the period ahead.
Incomes and output slowed sharply in the second half of last year,
bringing growth for 2008 to about 3,1%. With commodity prices
generating lower export earnings, with weak consumer spending and
slowing private sector investment, growth in 2009 is forecast to be
1,2%, the lowest rate since 1998. We lived with four years of growth
in excess of 5%. Growth for this year, we say, will be as low as
1,2%.
We expect output growth to improve next year, supported by public
infrastructure spending, lower interest rates, the 2010 Fifa World
Cup and the recovery in the world economy. But trading conditions
are tough and are likely to deteriorate further in the short term.
In 2008, South African producers were affected by a series of
economic shocks, including electricity shortages, rising input
costs, higher interest rates and slowing demand. This led to a
marked slowdown in consumer-oriented sectors and weak mining and
manufacturing output. Several sectors, including mining,
manufacturing, retail trade and residential construction, have
retrenched workers and the pace of job losses may, unfortunately,
accelerate further.
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However, civil construction has performed well, supported by ongoing
infrastructure investment. Our agricultural sector has grown
strongly in response to higher prices and better rains. Sharply
lower oil prices – a barrel of crude oil has fallen by 69% from a
peak of US$145 a barrel in July 2008 to about US$45 per barrel at
present. This reduction will, of course, help to cut our import
bill, but we are also experiencing a simultaneous fall in export
earnings.
The platinum price has fallen by about 60%, from a high of US$2
254/oz in March 2008 to about US$980/oz currently. Part of the price
concern in platinum is that it drives two worrisome sectors, namely
automobiles, which are in decline, and high-end jewellery. When the
bankers in Wall Street can afford the jewellery again, it will be
great for our platinum sector. We have to hold out till then.
Lower consumer demand and the softer real exchange rate will dampen
import demand in 2009, but infrastructure investment will continue
to draw in capital goods. This will continue to generate a sizeable
current account deficit, expected to average 6,7% a year over the
period ahead.
Over the past five years the financing of our international balance
has been heavily dependent on portfolio inflows to the equity and
bond markets. Though still adequate to finance the current account
deficit, the composition of inflows changed significantly in 2008,
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including increased use of loan financing and repatriation of
foreign assets by the banking sector.
Our development expenditure over the period ahead will require both
improved domestic saving and continued capital inflows. And so a
sound banking system, healthy fiscal position, credible monetary
policy and appropriate foreign exchange regulations will continue to
limit our exposure to the international downturn, while serving as
key building blocks in financing future growth and development.
The soundness of South Africa’s financial system was subjected to an
international assessment last year, which concluded that our banking
system is diversified and is supported by an appropriate financial
infrastructure and a generally effective regulatory framework. Let
me pause and simply say that this financial sector assessment
programme confirms that the banking sector in South Africa is sound.
[Applause.] It is not a point that they would hazard making in many
countries on this globe, but it is a point that they have made about
the banking sector in South Africa.
Although our banks were not significantly exposed to subprimerelated products, they are nonetheless affected by deteriorating
credit conditions. That our banks are mainly capitalised in rands is
an important strength. This is a key element of our evolving macroprudential framework. Nevertheless, it is incumbent on us to remain
vigilant, to sharpen our regulatory oversight and to work with banks
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to identify any potential problems early and deal with these
decisively.
Credit extension has slowed, probably more rapidly than is
desirable. We expect our banks to continue to extend credit to
worthy customers, noting that it is precisely the rapid withdrawal
of credit that has plunged much of the developed world into crisis.
Against this backdrop, both global and South African, how do you
make a budget? The central goals of economic policy remain
accelerating growth and job creation, broadening economic
participation and reducing poverty. Progress in these areas will be
more difficult over the period ahead. Policy adjustments need to
reinforce macroeconomic stability in the context of a deteriorating
international environment and provide a temporary cushion to the
domestic economy. Lower inflation in the months ahead should
contribute to moderating interest rates. I am not trying to decide
for the highly and strongly-willed independent Reserve Bank. I am
merely making an economic observation, Mr President.
Under the leadership of President Motlanthe, a task team, comprising
business, organised labour and community organisations with
government, has been convened to agree on an appropriate South
African response to the current crisis. Chaired by the CEO of
Nedlac, Mr Herbert Mkhize, this initiative is rightly focused on
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both the immediate response required and our longer-term policy
goals.
I have already alluded to the five principles that have informed our
budget planning this year: Protecting the poor; creating employment;
investing in infrastructure; promoting competitiveness; and fiscal
sustainability.
Ngithanda ukusho futhi ngithi sifuna ukuvikela abampofu. Sifuna
ukudala amathuba emisebenzi. [Ihlombe.] Ukuthuthukisa
ingqalasizinda, ezohwebo kanye nomnotho. Ukusimama kwesimo sezimali.
[Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[I would also like to say that we want to protect the poor. We want
to create jobs ... [Applause.] ... develop infrastructure, trade and
industry; and fiscal sustainability. [Applause.]]
It is okay, Mr Ellis, I am just repeating what I said in English.
Don’t worry. [Laughter.]
The largest adjustments to spending plans go to poverty reduction:
R25 billion is added to the budgets of provinces, mainly for
education and health care. ... [Applause.] ... Some R13 billion for
social assistance grants and their administration. [Applause.] The
sum of R4 billion is added to the school nutrition programme and
R2,5 billion goes to municipalities for basic services. [Applause.]
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Madam Speaker, the amount of money allocated to these programmes is
not what provides relief. No, we can only be satisfied when we know
that the quality of life of the poor is improving, that children are
being properly educated, that learners have access to food in
schools, that mothers visiting clinics get proper and dignified
treatment, and that the criminal justice system is putting those who
rob and thieve behind bars. It’s what the money buys that matters,
and so fixations about the size of deficits or surpluses are
illusory detours. Let us focus on what matters. [Applause.]
Secondly, greater effort is needed to accelerate employment growth.
Government will work with business and organised labour to protect
work opportunities and accelerate skills development over the period
ahead. Additional funding over the medium term will go to the
Working for Water and Working on Fire programmes, and R1 billion
goes to the Umsobomvu Youth Fund. [Applause.]
A total of R3,7 billion is added for low-income housing projects and
R4,1 billion is set aside for the second phase of the Expanded
Public Works Programme. [Applause.]
Hon members, as we deal with the issue of training, let us pause and
remind ourselves that the programme that is probably the wealthiest
in all of what we do is called the Skills Development Fund. It
exists as a payroll levy and there are huge amounts of unspent money
and, even where the money is spent, we cannot look at ourselves in
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the mirror and say: It buys the quality improvement in the labour
force that it needs. [Applause.]
We raise this, not in order to support the DA, but because we
treasure the contribution of working people and the ability of
working people continually to improve their skills in this economy.
It is a desire and the dream of every worker in South Africa.
[Applause.]
I propose that participating departments, provinces and
municipalities in the Expanded Public Works Programme be challenged
to exceed their targets for creating EPWP jobs over the period
ahead, and so the contingency reserve must have built into it a
little envelope that says: To those who create jobs, more money will
be provided. [Applause.] Hopefully, the incoming administration will
make a note of this and be able to take this forward in the
Adjustments Appropriation Bill later this year.
Building our capacity to grow is the third thrust of our spending
plans. It is reflected in the government’s R787 billion
infrastructure investment plans and is a cornerstone of our
development contract with business, organised labour and other
social partners. In this budget a further R6,4 billion is added for
public transport, roads and rail networks; R4,1 billion for school
buildings, clinics and other provincial infrastructure projects and
R5,3 billion for municipal infrastructure and bulk water systems.
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Major investments in power generation, transport networks and
telecommunications are in progress, building an environment within
which mining and industrial development, tourism and our services
economy will prosper, even if the short-term outlook is not as rosy
as we would like it to be.
Fourthly, a time of restructuring is an opportunity to address
regulatory and microeconomic barriers to our competitiveness. This
involves detailed sectoral analysis and ongoing consultation with
affected industries and interest groups. It is the key to sustained,
faster, long-term growth.
In this budget, R1,6 billion is added to industrial development and
small enterprise support programmes and R1,8 billion goes to rural
development and small farmer support. [Applause.] I need to check
whether the gentleman from Xala is listening to me. The R1,8 billion
goes to rural development and small farmer support, Mr Mantashe.
[Applause.]
A further R1 billion is added for electricity demand management,
together with tax incentives for investment in energy-efficient
technologies. The new automotive production and development
programme includes a production subsidy, which receives R870 million
over the next three years. Additional funding also goes to consumer
protection, the competition authorities and enhanced testing
capacity of the SA Bureau of Standards.
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The fifth principle is the sustainability of the public finances. In
the present global uncertainty, our task is to respond to the
economic downturn without putting our long-term financial position
at risk. Although the budget deficit will rise to 3,8% of GDP next
year, debt service costs will remain moderate over the next three
years, at about 2,5% of GDP. This is possible because we have had
the courage to make the right choices over the past decade.
In 1996 public debt was 48% of GDP and rising. We brought to this
House a macroeconomic strategy that confronted the problem, boldly
and decisively. Today, public debt is 23% of GDP. Reducing the
budget deficit was neither easy nor popular. But it was the right
thing to do, and the outcome is that, year by year, the burden of
debt service costs has declined and resources have been released to
spend on education, health care, housing and infrastructure, rather
than on those who lend us the money sitting far away and those in
between the merchant bankers. [Applause.]
This also means that today we are able to respond to the economic
downturn, boldly and decisively. We are able to announce a
countercyclical fiscal stimulus on the strength of a secure and
sustainable fiscal position.
Members of the House will know that substantial capital spending
projects are under way in the electricity sector, in the
construction of new commuter rail facilities and in improving the
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Gauteng freeway network, that are financed outside of the main
budget framework. Taking the financing needs of these entities into
account, the public sector borrowing requirement for next year is
expected to be 7,5% of GDP, or some R186 billion, to be raised from
domestic institutions, investors, multilateral institutions and
portfolio inflows from abroad. This is a substantial fiscal boost
against the background of the budget surplus recorded over the three
years to 2007-08.
But, members of the House and fellow South Africans, it is important
to note that we are borrowing, not to rescue failed banks or to
artificially delay the restructuring of our industry and trade, but
to construct the roads and the power stations, the classrooms and
hospital wards, to modernise technology and transform public service
delivery, as the foundations of growth and broad-based development
in the decades ahead. [Applause.]
The term “shovel ready” is sometimes used to distinguish projects
that are ready for implementation from those that have still to be
planned. I observe that around the world finance ministers get up
and announce projects that will still have to be planned and call
them stimulus packages. The term “shovel ready” has sometimes been
used to distinguish those projects that are ready for
implementation. We are fortunate in that so much of our spending
programme is not just “shovel ready”, but is “already shovelling”.
[Applause.]
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The expansion of our public employment programme has been a year in
the planning and is ready for implementation. Rapid bus transit
systems, freeway improvements, electricity and water systems and
rail projects are under way. And so our roads, our airports and our
railway stations have become construction sites, as millions of
inconvenienced commuters experience daily. But it is an
inconvenience that I think we can look at and say: Oh, what joy!
[Applause.]
The national Budget contributes to the financing of some of these
investments, and there is also a role for our development finance
institutions, in supporting state-owned enterprises, municipalities
and private companies, to raise the finance required for major
capital projects. The success of Siyenza Manje in bringing in skills
in support of municipal infrastructure investment is an example of
how a developmental state can better co-ordinate its interventions.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa is now considering
broadening this model to support the financial management and
delivery capacity of more municipalities.
In addition, a proposal to strengthen the balance sheet of the
Development Bank of Southern Africa is currently under
consideration. We want to enable the DBSA to expand its contribution
to financing municipal infrastructure improvements in partnership
with private sector lenders. The extended facilities for
municipalities must ensure that more people have access to potable,
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safe water; that there will be sufficient water in the far-flung
municipalities to maintain filtration schemes and to do all of those
things that people feel improves measurably on their quality of
life, because we are a caring society. And that is what we must do
together. [Applause.] I hope, Minister Shiceka, we will be able to
look at municipalities and ask more of them to take on projects such
as Siyenza Manje. It should not just be left to those who want to,
but we can direct the resources to those who actually need them and
are afraid to admit it.
Key to transforming rural livelihoods is to better enable smallscale farmers to use land more productively. Improved support to
farmers is important, but access to long-term finance is a critical
ingredient too. Following good progress in repairing its integrity
and in giving effect to its core mandate to support agricultural
investment, government will also consider proposals by the board of
the Land Bank to strengthen its balance sheet. I want to emphasise
that between where the Land Bank is and where newly settled or newly
restituted farmers are, is a huge gap. We will not get rural
development unless we can fill that gap with the appropriate
interventions that recognise that land is an asset to be worked.
[Applause.] As emotional as the land question is in South Africa,
land is an asset that we must work, and those are the interventions
that will drive the change. If we don’t do that, hon members, the
Land Bank will sit with an exceedingly healthy balance sheet, but
there will be deep poverty in the rural areas. [Interjections.]
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The Industrial Development Corporation is currently assessing its
possible role as a partner in supporting investment and employment
in sectors or industries affected by the cyclical slowdown.
Differentiating the effects of short-term cyclical difficulty from
the need for longer-term industrial restructuring is difficult and
sometimes involves policy considerations, and so risk sharing with
the private sector has its place in preparing for future growth. At
the same time, government is mindful of the need to avoid passing on
risks to taxpayers that would be better managed in the business
sector. Though there may be a role for public funds in support of
businesses in difficulty, we need to ensure that an undue
capitalisation of private wealth does not result in a financial
burden of debt on future generations. In other words, if a sector is
found to be in need and these interventions must be made, we have a
responsibility and Parliament’s oversight in this regard is
exceedingly important in that responsibility to ensure that those
who benefited, to get them out of the ditch, will pay back so that
our children don’t carry the debt for that intervention in
perpetuity while the beneficiaries grow rich on the interventions
made in their support. [Applause.] It is a pact. It is a compact. It
is about the link between the present and the future and it is about
a path that we must be prepared to walk to ensure that the lives of
our children are better than our lives.
Madam Speaker, there is also an expanding role for our housing
finance institutions and for the agencies that support small
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enterprise development and economic empowerment transactions in the
evolution of our development finance architecture. These are the
instrumentalities of our developmental state, not in isolation from
the wider financial system, but sharing risk, co-financing
investment and jointly engaging with the banking sector in
constructing a vibrant, growing economy.
Let me turn, then, to our public expenditure plans and growth,
employment and social development. Total government spending next
year will amount to R834 billion, including the second tranche of
the R60 billion loan to Eskom and an unallocated contingency reserve
of R6 billion. Real growth in spending on public services will
average 5,1% over the next three years.
Let me elaborate briefly on some of the key spending proposals that
are provided for in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework set out in
this year’s Budget Review and the Estimates of National Expenditure.
With regard to education, government’s contribution to public
education remains our single largest investment – and I want to use
that word again; it is not just an expenditure item, it is an
investment. We know that it is the key to reducing poverty and
accelerating long-term economic growth. Education spending has grown
by 14% a year for the past three years and accounts for R140,4
billion in the spending plans of provinces and national government
for the fiscal year 2008-09.
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We received a tip from Mr Xolani Notshe of Port Elizabeth, thanking
us for allocating money to libraries. He says: “Libraries are
central in community development.
Libraries will assist your successor to collect more taxes because
we would be an educated and skilled nation.
I agree entirely, Mr Notshe. [Applause.]
Key priorities in education include extending the no-fee schools to
60% of schools, from 40% at present; expanding the school nutrition
programme; reducing average class sizes in schools serving lowerincome communities; increasing expenditure on school buildings,
strengthening teacher training programmes and recapitalising
technical high schools over the next three years. [Applause.]
I want to address somebody in the gallery and say: Now please,
please, please, can we deliver on what we have called the nonnegotiables for education? Teachers should be in class, on time,
teaching. No abuse of learners. [Applause.] No abuse of learners and
no neglect of duty. Now, all of those who have applauded, and I have
observed you, please go home and ensure, through the school
governing bodies in the areas where you live or where you hail from,
that this is delivered. That is what is going to make this applause
successful. That is what is going to give our children a chance in
life. [Applause.]
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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An additional R700 million is allocated for higher education
subsidies and to accommodate the anticipated growth in student
enrolment from 783 900 last year to 836 800 in 2011. The National
Student Financial Aid Scheme receives an additional R330 million.
Funding is also provided for a new National Education Evaluation
Unit. Many South Africans will agree, I am sure, with Mr Paul King,
who sent this tip and writes:
Regarding the salaries of teachers, I personally feel that we do
not reward them enough for what they do and what we expect from
them in terms of the daily care and education of our children.
A new salary dispensation for teachers was introduced last year,
linked to school and teacher performance, hence the urgency of
establishing this new evaluation unit. It is not just about how much
more people earn; it is how much more they provide for the
successive generations in this country. [Applause.]
In health services a new unit to address the quality of service
provision is also included in our health spending proposals. This
will be named the National Office for Standards Compliance and it
will set and audit norms and standards for hospitals and primary
care centres. We are profoundly conscious of the complexity of the
challenges facing our health services and the strain on resources
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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associated with a rising disease burden. Policy interventions
supported in this budget focus both on health facilities and
services and on more aggressively combating the causes of ill
health. An additional R1,8 billion is budgeted to introduce three
new child vaccines, which have proved effective in preventing infant
and child deaths. The tuberculosis and HIV and Aids programmes both
receive additional resources. We are budgeting to extend screening
of pregnant mothers coming into the public health system and to
phase in an improved drug regimen to prevent mother-to-child HIV
transmission. Our antiretroviral programme now covers 630 000 people
– on the public system; and the MTEF provides for an increase to 1,4
million by 2011-12. [Applause.]
The 2009 Budget makes provision for further improvements in the
remuneration of health professionals and for continued expansion of
the hospital revitalisation programme. A total of 31 hospitals are
under construction, 18 of which will be completed over the next
three years. The development of a national health insurance system
is aimed at improving the equity of health care financing and
enhancing the quality of care for all South Africans. These are
complex reforms and the task team on social security has been
mandated to conduct research and advise on the way forward. Let me
just emphasise also that by improving on the quality of services in
the public sector, we will, in fact, shorten the traverse to get to
the national health insurance. It is not a case of either/or. We
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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have to do both, and we have to accelerate what is happening in the
public health sector.
The fight against crime is drawing on the work of the criminal
justice sector review. Efforts to overhaul the forensic and
investigative capacity of the police are under way, together with
enhanced use of available technology. A further R5,4 billion is
allocated to interventions aimed at improving criminal justice
services, the creation of an integrated fingerprint and DNA
database, improving detective capacity, upgrading IT and
telecommunications systems and increasing the number of police
officials from 183 000 last year to over 204 000 in 2011-12.
[Applause.]
But amongst members of this House, the distinguished Deputy Minister
for Justice and Constitutional Development, Johnny de Lange, will
tell us that the money is only a part of this. It is about
overseeing the management of this to ensure that these things
actually happen and that there are measurable improvements in the
outcomes. One of the outcomes that we are looking for is lower
incidences of crime and a quicker resolution of crime through the
judicial process.
Funding is also provided for additional policing capacity during the
2010 Fifa World Cup, for the construction of new prisons and for
implementation of the Child Justice Bill.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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Regarding agricultural support and rural development, a notable tip
on the current economic situation and the steps which can be taken
to alleviate its effects came from Mr Lazarus Lamola of Polokwane.
He writes that when he was a teenager ...
... the villagers used to plough their land and harvest enough
food to last at least a year. There was plenty of maize, beans and
other vegetables and, except for drastic drought years, we would
never go hungry. The subsistence farming system has totally
collapsed in many areas. It is sad to see vast amounts of land go
to waste when we have a food price problem.
He suggests the encouragement of partnerships between private
farmers and villagers to once again use the land for food production
and sustenance. I am sure you know that Mr Lamola speaks my
sentiments on this matter.
Increasing agricultural output, raising rural incomes, supporting
small-scale farmers and investing in rural roads are key objectives
of government’s rural development strategy. The budgets of the
Illima/Letsema campaign, which distributes agricultural starter
packs to poor households, the comprehensive agricultural support
programme and allocations to targeted rural infrastructure projects
receive a further R1,2 billion. The budget for land reform and land
restitution over the next three years amounts to some R20,3 billion.
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Regarding investing in housing and municipal infrastructure, we
should remember that housing and the eradication of informal
settlements remain at the forefront of our infrastructure investment
plans and impact significantly on both employment creation and
poverty reduction. In the past three years, the Municipal
Infrastructure Grant programme has spent about R32 billion. Over the
next three years, infrastructure grants to municipalities total
R67 billion, and a further R45 billion will be spent on the Breaking
New Ground housing programme. [Applause.] Together with investment
in roads and public transport, these constitute one of the largest
areas of expansion of public sector spending and are rightly
prioritised as part of our response to the current deterioration in
employment and economic activity.
The budget adds R13,2 billion to our social grants programme. The
extension of the child support grant to 15 takes effect this year
and the reduction in the eligible age for men to 60-60, Mr President
- is in progress. Strengthening our social security safety net is
critical during this period when many more poor families are
vulnerable.
With effect from April this year, the maximum values of the old age,
disability and care dependency grants will rise by R50 to R1 010 a
month. [Applause.] I know in October there was a bit of a concern
because people thought that the annual increase was only R20 – that
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was on top of the increase that we announced in the Budget last
year. Now we are adding R50 to that to take it to R1 010.
[Applause.]
The foster care grant will increase to R680 and child support will
rise to R240 a month. Compelling evidence that the phasing in of the
child support grant has contributed significantly to reducing child
poverty has emerged in recent research, and so consideration is
being given, subject to affordability, to the extension of the child
support grant to the age of 18. One of the issues that is being
considered at the same time is the issue of introducing
conditionalities, including the need to ensure that recipients of
the child support grant actually attend school. [Applause.] The
Minister for Social Development is in fact in Mexico at a conference
on social development and, while there, will be able to witness
first-hand what can happen when the conditionalities are introduced.
It is not just money down the chute. You can measure the change, and
that is what we are looking for, if we desire the best for our
children.
The Budget papers contain details of many more areas of public
expenditure – increased allocations for roads and commuter transport
services; an allocation to the Universal Access Services Agency to
subsidise set-top boxes as part of the digital television
broadcasting initiative; an expansion in the training capacity for
the Reserve Force of the Department of Defence; upgraded IT systems
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for the Department of Home Affairs; and to modernise immigration and
customs services at border control points. Funding goes to the
Independent Electoral Commission for 30 000 barcode scanners – socalled zip-zips - and 105 000 transparent ballot boxes. We are
budgeting R1,6 billion for the South African Airways to support its
turnaround strategy ... [Interjections.] ... which includes reducing
costs and improving efficiency. I am sure that the House will agree
with my hope that this will not be a recurring allocation.
[Applause.]
Budgeting is not only about expanding expenditure on constructive
and necessary activities, it is also about rooting out waste,
promoting cost-efficiency and phasing out ineffective programmes.
This is the hardest thing in government. Departments have again been
asked to identify savings, and cuts amounting to R19 billion were
effected in January as we had to try and give departments a haircut
generally, and these rose as we prepared this Budget finally.
In the period ahead it will be necessary to take stronger action in
pursuit of efficiency and better targeted expenditure. There is
insufficient control of foreign travel, advertising and public
relations activities and consultancy services. [Applause.]
I don’t know why Members of Parliament are looking away, because
oversight is the responsibility of Parliament. [Applause.] Stricter
oversight of the activities and executive remuneration in agencies
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and government enterprises is also required. I believe, Madam
Speaker, that Parliament and our committees should play a more
active role in challenging accounting officers to plan their
efficiency-saving initiatives upfront and report regularly on
progress. A greater sense of responsibility needs to prevail. The
next few years are going to be tougher. If we are to afford the
continued expansion of social services and our social wage, then, in
addition to the need for greater efficiency, we have to conduct a
thorough assessment of all of government’s programmes to see how we
can improve value for money and to identify areas where we can
eliminate or reduce wastage. [Applause.]
The Ministers’ Committee on the Budget intends, in its handover
report to the new administration, to propose that the incoming
President announce a Comprehensive Expenditure Review. Its aim would
be to ensure that as we spend more, we also spend better.
[Applause.] In addition, we should confront the awkward truth that
there are programmes of government that do not work and on which we
should spend less. By less, I mean as close to zero as we can get.
[Applause.]
Turning to our revenue estimates and tax proposals, the revised
estimate of revenue for 2008-09 is R14,2 billion less than we
planned in the 2008 Budget. For the year ahead, the main budget
revenue estimate is R50 billion lower than we projected in February
last year, against the background of slower growth, depressed trade
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and declining company profits. In setting the gross tax revenue
target of R659 billion for the year ahead, we have taken into
account the need to provide relief to households and encouragement
to the business sector, while continuing to broaden the tax base
through which the requirements of the fiscus have to be met.
The proposed adjustment to the personal income tax schedules will
provide relief of R13,6 billion to individual taxpayers,
compensating fully for the effects of inflation and providing
further relief mainly to lower and middle income earners. The taxfree income threshold next year will be R54 200 for taxpayers below
the age of 65 and R84 200 for those over 65. This means that Mr Vavi
and Mr George next to him should say less about the tax policy.
Their members are not going to pay tax anymore.
It is gratifying to note that there has again been excellent
progress in expanding the number of registered taxpayers. In view of
progress in simplifying the tax return process and the waiver of the
annual filing requirement for qualifying taxpayers, it is proposed
that the current Standard Income Tax on Employees system, the socalled SITE system, should be discontinued by 2010. I appreciate
that the administrative reforms, the adjustment to e-filing
arrangements and the construction of more effective communication
channels between Sars and individual taxpayers are huge reform
projects, on the one hand, and sources of numerous personal
inconveniences, on the other. But we are getting there, and these
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improvements will serve as a platform for improved fiscal integrity
for decades to come.
Regarding mineral and petroleum royalties, I am sure that hon
members would be aware of the fact that the royalties are meant to
be effective from 1 April 2009. But, after discussions with both
labour and the mining industry and taking into account the potential
impact of the economic slowdown on the mining industry, I propose to
defer the mining royalties regime from this year to 2010. This
provides a boost to the industry of about R1,8 billion, which will
assist in minimising job losses. [Applause.] I have agreed with the
mineworkers’ unions and the Minister of Minerals and Energy that
government will consider establishing an agency, to be jointly
managed by business, labour and government, to invest in economic
development in mining towns or labour-sending areas affected by
retrenchments. [Applause.]
Perhaps it is because miners are used to digging deeper that their
creativity and commitment to improve conditions for mining
communities serve as an example of the kinds of partnership required
to ensure that South Africa emerges stronger from this global
crisis. If the new development agency can be established this year,
I am sure that an allocation could be set aside towards its
activities in the adjustments budget.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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Tax tips continue to make up the majority of the “Tips for Trevor”
submitted. Mr Saul Margolis of Johannesburg called for a tax to be
imposed on incandescent light bulbs to encourage people to use
compact fluorescent light bulbs and save energy. Mr. Margolis, I
have asked that this be included in the revenue proposals this year.
We propose taking further steps to encourage energy efficiency and
reduce harmful emissions, some of which have tax implications: An
incentive for investments by companies in energy-efficient equipment
will be introduced in the form of a supplementary depreciation
allowance; the levy on plastic shopping bags will be increased from
3 cents to 4 cents; an increase is proposed in the international air
passenger departure tax which was last raised in 2005-06; and the
existing excise duties on motor vehicles will be adjusted to take
into account carbon emissions. It is important, furthermore, that we
should encourage South African companies to take advantage of the
clean development mechanism established in the Kyoto Protocol. A
favourable tax treatment will therefore be introduced for the
recognition of income derived from the sale of emission reductions.
The tax code discourages another category of atmospheric emissions.
I refer to the duties on tobacco products. This year’s increase in
the duty on cigarettes and cigars is 13%, with somewhat lower
increases in respect of cigarette and pipe tobacco. A packet of 20
cigarettes will cost 88 cents more. [Applause.] I should also advise
that a bottle of wine will cost 10,5 cents more and a can of beer 7
cents more.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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One of the most innovative tips I received this year is from a
gentleman, whom I think is in the Boland somewhere. His name is At
du Plooy. He writes:
Please be a little more lenient on the tax on whisky for the old
folks. We have so little to enjoy; you know, things that used to
happen after dark, no longer happen. All we have left to enjoy is
a little entertainment before supper.
[Laughter.] He asks for leniency, reminding me that this will
ultimately be for my own benefit as well. A bottle of whisky, Mr Du
Plooy, goes up by R3,21. [Interjections.]
Let us turn to fuel levies: As road-users ... [Interjections.] I
didn’t hear what ... [Interjections.] You survived without any
whisky before and after dark, Baba?
As road-users we have gained some advantage since mid-2008 from
lower international oil prices. As road-users we also know that
there is a substantial increase in spending on maintenance and
construction underway, and we still face the heavy burden of road
accidents and associated compensation claims. These are costs that
have to be covered, and so there will be increases in the fuel
levies on 1 April this year of 23 cents and 24 cents per litre, in
respect of the general petrol and diesel levies, and 17,5 cents in
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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the road accident fund levy. As indicated last year, it is proposed
that the general fuel levy should form part of a new municipal
revenue arrangement to replace the former Regional Services Council
levies. In 2009-10, 23% of the general fuel levy will be earmarked
for metropolitan municipalities to support expenditure on roads and
transportation infrastructure. Let’s see it being spent.
Over the years we have received many tips from people running small
businesses, calling for an increase in the VAT registration
thresholds. Mr Ivan Faught wrote in 2003 that “such a change would
make it easier to work oneself up to entrepreneurial status.”
Effective from this year, the VAT threshold is increased from
R300 000 to R1 million. [Applause.]
Several administrative reforms are also in progress at Sars,
including customs modernisation in support of the rapidly changing
trade environment and improved use of technology and third-party
information to authenticate data and reduce the need for supporting
documents. I am pleased to announce that taxpayers, practitioners
and employers can look forward to the return of the traditional tax
season deadlines this year. The Tax Season 2009 timetable includes a
60-day reconciliation period for employers in April and May. Tax
season for individuals starts in July. The deadline for submission
of income tax returns for individuals and trusts is 18 September for
manual filers and 20 November for electronic submissions.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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Madam Speaker, I need to thank those many South Africans who have
contributed to the “Tips for Trevor” campaign. Since it was first
introduced nearly 10 years ago, these diligent South Africans have
sent us around 20 000 suggestions, including 2 363 this year. I want
to say to these people who take the time and effort – and it is a
range of people; some of them are better known, some are
journalists, but most are just ordinary people in faraway places who
want to raise their concerns - that we gratefully appreciate this.
We want to say to every contributor: Your voice has been heard in
countless ways. You advised in the early years that the child
support grant should be extended above its initial age threshold of
7 - and that has been done. You advised that public benefit
organisations needed greater tax relief and that has been done. You
advised that the tax treatment of retirement fund withdrawals was
too onerous, and so that has been revised. You have advised in no
uncertain terms that the SARS call centre is dysfunctional, and so
that is being fixed as we speak.
The call for the provision of free anti-retroviral treatment was
another topic that featured over the years. Jackie Mondi of Berario
wrote an extensive tip in 2003, calling for a “special fund for
fighting HIV/Aids; that focus should be on both care and
prevention.” In 2004 government was able to roll out ARV treatment
in public health facilities across the country for those living with
HIV and Aids. Recent tips reflect appreciation of this, such as the
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one from Gemi Malau who wrote: “I think the budget needs to be
commended as it is now focusing on HIV/Aids.”
Our people watch, observe and share. It is one of the great features
of this wonderful democracy that we have. [Applause.]
Let me conclude: At this time last year, Madam Speaker, we noted
that -
... as with the weather ... economic trends do not stop at border
posts, they carry no passports, yet they have the potential to
wreak havoc, even when plans have been carefully laid.
Every corner of the globe is affected by the economic turmoil that
we are currently experiencing. It is not just that the adjustments
to the economic crisis may be difficult or expensive, but there is
also the uncertainty about the burden that will be visited on future
generations by the interventions being contemplated today.
Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University, popularly
credited with predicting the present financial crisis, recently
wrote:
...while this crisis does not imply the end of market-economy
capitalism, it has shown the failure of a particular model of
capitalism. Namely, the laissez-faire, unregulated (or
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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aggressively deregulated), Wild West model of free market
capitalism with lack of prudential regulation, supervision of
financial markets and proper provision of public goods by
governments.
Fellow South Africans, our response to the challenge before us
builds on policies that we have consistently pursued over the past
decade and a half: Sound prudential regulation of the financial
sector and a strong emphasis on the provision of public goods by
government.
Last week, President Motlanthe summarised our response to this
financial crisis: Firstly, he said that over the next three years,
we will invest R787 billion in the infrastructure needed for future
growth and development; secondly, we will accelerate the Expanded
Public Works Programme and work with business to mitigate job losses
and accelerate skills development; thirdly, we will strengthen our
development finance institutions and support industrial
restructuring and agricultural development; and fourthly, our social
assistance programmes will reach over 13 million people and public
expenditure on education and health care will increase strongly.
But, it is not the numbers in the Budget that will measure the
quality of our response to the present crisis, Madam Speaker, but
the character of our resolve to work together, putting others before
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ourselves, confident in the choices we have made and are committed
to face; what Okri calls, our awkward and deepest truths.
Madam Speaker, there will be a new administration in place next year
and there will no doubt be new insights on which to draw in framing
the next budget and MTEF. It will be in place this year and by the
Budget next year. But the National Treasury as a source of economic
and fiscal expertise will still be there, and I want to commend to
the House the constructive role that the Treasury plays in absorbing
and synthesising a vast tapestry of economic and financial
statistics, policy documents and programme information, as part of
the process of preparing the national budget proposals.
I table before the House today a number of documents: The Budget
Speech, the Estimates of National Revenue, the Budget Review,
including Tax Proposals in Respect of Customs and Excise Duties, the
Appropriation Bill, the Division of Revenue Bill, the Western Cape
Inherited Debt Relief Bill and this large tome called the Estimates
of National Expenditure.
After drawing on advice from so many diverse quarters, I am also
indebted to my colleagues in Cabinet who share with me the
collective responsibility for the overall integrity and coherence of
the Budget. President Mbeki, and in recent months President
Motlanthe, have provided the leadership and good judgement required
to bring the budget process to a conclusion, ably supported by the
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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Deputy President then, Mlambo-Ngcuka, and now, Mbete. Thank you very
much for your support. We know that our backs are covered when there
is strong leadership, clear about the direction that we must take.
[Applause.]
I am especially indebted to members of the Ministers’ Committee on
the Budget, who have set aside their time, reviewed lengthy budget
memoranda and engaged with insight and energy - especially those who
came new into the process as late as October – with new insight into
the debates that contribute to refining our spending proposals.
Over the past year there have been two Deputy Ministers of Finance.
Jabu Moleketi served the Treasury with distinction. He was very
strong in the 2010 Local Organising Committee. And his successor,
the distinguished former chairperson of the portfolio committee, the
hon Nhlanhla Nene, has brought a keen eye for detail as he sat with
us through the final stages of the Budget process. [Applause.]
The MECs for Finance – and they are seated in the front row on the
gallery - have again been generous in sharing their experience and
insights and in dealing with the very difficult challenges this
year. This was the year that we will all remember for three letters:
OSD. I wish to express personal appreciation for their support and
dedication to the cause of sound public finance.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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Our collective thanks are due also to: Governor Tito Mboweni – in
his absence today - whose leadership of the Reserve Bank is cause
for both pride and confidence in our monetary management and banking
supervision. We also want to express our appreciation to the Deputy
Governors - I saw Dr Mokate earlier ... [Applause.] ... Commissioner
Pravin Gordhan and the staff of the South African Revenue Service,
who continue to serve the nation and the fiscus with dedication
beyond the call of duty. [Applause.]
Mr Howard Gabriels, who chairs the Statistics Council, and
Statistician-General Pali Lehohla, who is at a very important
conference in Luanda, though the Acting SG, Dr Rashaad Kassiem, is
here with us, have a very important role to play. In recent months,
unfortunately, they have brought some unwelcome news on the
economics statistics front but, nonetheless, we want to thank them
for their timely and comprehensive statistics. It is also up to us
to face those awkward truths. [Applause.]
We also thank the Financial and Fiscal Commission and its
chairperson, Dr Bethuel Setai, whose advice remains critical to the
integrity of our intergovernmental fiscal system. [Applause.]
We thank Nedlac and its CEO, Mr Herbert Mkhize, and the
representatives of the business, labour and community constituencies
on the Public Finance and Monetary Chamber, particularly for their
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efforts to bring coherence to a national perspective on the current
economic crisis and how we should respond. [Applause.]
To the honourable Arthur Moloto and the honourable Tutu Ralane, who
chair the Portfolio and Select Committees on Finance respectively,
and to the joint chairs of the Budget committee, hon Louisa Mabe and
hon Elliot Sogoni, thank you very much. [Applause.]
I’ll do wrong and single out the DG Lesetja Kganyago, who leads the
National Treasury team with unflagging energy. [Applause.] Thank you
to the staff in the Ministry who, in my presence, tell me that they
tolerate me with good grace and endless patience. I know what they
say behind my back, but they are there and form a very important
part of this. [Laughter.]
My family is in the gallery - I can officially claim a wife now.
[Applause.] My sons, my mom, and my sister are all a very important
part of what makes me.
Nineteen years ago, on this date, as I said earlier, Nelson Mandela
... [Applause.] ... walked out of Victor Verster a free man. We have
for Members of the National Assembly a mahala, a tribute to Madiba;
something to know that his greatness will live on with us.
[Applause.]
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Later that day, in this city, on 11 February 1990, just 200 metres
from this Parliament, he stepped up to the podium to make his first
address as our icon. His first address as a free man. He said, and I
quote:
The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task
now as it has always been. No individual leader is able to take on
this enormous task on his own.
[Applause.]
May I say on this day, 19 years later, in the face of what confronts
us as a nation, the call for unity is even more important than it
was when Madiba made it 19 years ago. [Applause.] But Madiba ended
that speech by tying a link into his own past. He said:
In conclusion I wish to quote my own words during my trial in
1964. They are as true today as they were then. ‘I fought against
white domination and I fought against black domination. I have
cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all
persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunity. It is
an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve but if needs be,
it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
[Applause.] In concluding his speech on 19 February with those
words, Madiba tied his present with his own past. Today we can take
the same words and provide the continuity, because the spirit of
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those words remains as true in defining who we are and what we are,
and when we measure our nationhood, it is against the performance on
these criteria, set by our own leaders in the cause of struggle.
When we start with the words of Ben Okri that talk about the dreams
of others, they are the dreams of our own forebears. They are the
dreams of our forebears – some of whom laid down their lives in our
cause. The dreams cannot be silenced and our dreams will never be
extinguished. Our dreams and the dreams of our forebears will live
on and they will live on through our children because they define
the raison d’être of what we are and how we should behave in
relation to others and in relation to our nationhood. [Applause.]
Those dreams speak to the courage that we all must now muster as a
nation to face what lies ahead. We can’t promise an easy road ahead
or a rapid resolution of the economic and social challenges we face.
But we know that the choices we have made set us on a path of shared
growth and broadening participation in a fairer and more dynamic
economy – there is hard work to be done if we are to achieve the
transformation we seek. To travel this road with confidence, we
must, all of us, remain united. Ngiyabonga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
The Appropriation Bill, together with the introductory speech and
tabled papers, referred to the Portfolio Committee on Finance for
consideration and report, and to the Joint Budget Committee to
consider in terms of its mandate.
11 FEBRUARY 2009
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The Western Cape Inherited Debt Relief Bill referred to the
Portfolio Committee on Finance for consideration and report.
The House adjourned at 15:29.
__________
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
1.
Assent by President in respect of Bills
(1)
National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Bill [B 40D –
2007] – Act No 24 of 2008 (assented to and signed by President on 9 February 2009).
2.
Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
(1)
The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 75 Bill:
(a)
Cross-boundary Municipalities Laws Repeal and Related Matters Amendment Bill
[B 3 – 2009] (National Assembly – sec 75)
11 FEBRUARY 2009
3.
PAGE: 48 of 54
Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159
(1)
Division of Revenue Bill, 2009, submitted by the Minister of Finance. Referred to the
Portfolio Committee on Finance and the Select Committee on Finance.
4.
Introduction of Bills
1.
The Minister of Finance
(a)
Division of Revenue Bill [B 4 – 2009] (National Assembly – proposed sec 76)
(b)
Appropriation Bill [B 5 – 2009] (National Assembly – proposed sec 77)
(c)
Western Cape Inherited Debt Relief Bill [B 6 – 2009] (National Assembly –
proposed sec 77)
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Finance of the National
Assembly for consideration and report, and to the Joint Budget Committee to
consider in terms of its mandate, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism
(JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of the Bills may be
submitted to the JTM within three parliamentary working days.
National Assembly
11 FEBRUARY 2009
PAGE: 49 of 54
The Speaker
1.
Membership of Committees
(a)
The following members have been appointment to serve on the Ad Hoc Joint Committee
for the appointment of members to the National Youth Development Agency Board:
ANC
Combrinck, Mr J J
Johnson, Mr M
Mkongi, Mr B M
Mokoto, Ms N R
Newhoudt-Druchen, Mrs W S
Sibhidla, Ms N N
Sunduza, Mr T B
Wang, Mr Y
DA
Morgan, Mr G R
Swathe, Mr M M
IFP
11 FEBRUARY 2009
PAGE: 50 of 54
Lebenya-Ntanzi, Ms S P
ID
Greyling, Mr L W
Jenner, Mr I E
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
1.
The Minister of Finance
(a)
The Budget Speech of the Minister of Finance – 11 February 2009 [RP 03-2009].
(b)
Estimates of National Revenue for 2009 [RP 04-2009].
(c)
Budget Review 2009 [RP 02-2009], including:
 Taxation proposals in respect of customs and excise duties.
(d)
Division of Revenue Bill [B 4 - 2009], tabled in terms of section 10(1) of the
Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, 1997 (Act No 97 of 1997).
(e)
Appropriation Bill [B 5 - 2009].
11 FEBRUARY 2009
PAGE: 51 of 54
(f)
Western Cape Inherited Debt Relief Bill [B 6 - 2009]
(g)
Estimates of National Expenditure 2009 [RP 01-2009], which includes:
1.
Memorandum on Vote No 1 - "The Presidency", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
2.
Memorandum on Vote No 2 - "Parliament", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
3.
Memorandum on Vote No 3 - "Foreign Affairs", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
4.
Memorandum on Vote No 4 - "Home Affairs", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
5.
Memorandum on Vote No 5 - "Public Works", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
6.
Memorandum on Vote No 6 - "Government Communications and Information
System", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
7.
Memorandum on Vote No 7 - "National Treasury", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
8.
Memorandum on Vote No 8 - "Public Administration Leadership and Management
Academy", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
9.
Memorandum on Vote No 9 - "Public Service and Administration", Main Estimates,
2009-2010;
11 FEBRUARY 2009
10.
PAGE: 52 of 54
Memorandum on Vote No 10 - "Public Service Commission", Main Estimates, 20092010;
11.
Memorandum on Vote No 11 - "Statistics South Africa", Main Estimates, 20092010;
12.
Memorandum on Vote No 12 - "Arts and Culture", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
13.
Memorandum on Vote No 13 - "Education", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
14.
Memorandum on Vote No 14 - "Health", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
15.
Memorandum on Vote No 15 - "Labour", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
16.
Memorandum on Vote No 16 - "Social Development", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
17.
Memorandum on Vote No 17 - "Sport and Recreation South Africa", Main Estimates,
2009-2010;
18.
Memorandum on Vote No 18 - "Correctional Services", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
19.
Memorandum on Vote No 19 - "Defence", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
20.
Memorandum on Vote No 20 - "Independent Complaints Directorate", Main
Estimates, 2009-2010;
11 FEBRUARY 2009
21.
PAGE: 53 of 54
Memorandum on Vote No 21 - "Justice and Constitutional Development", Main
Estimates, 2009-2010;
22.
Memorandum on Vote No 22 - "Safety and Security”, Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
23.
Memorandum on Vote No 23 - "Agriculture", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
24.
Memorandum on Vote No 24 - "Communications", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
25.
Memorandum on Vote No 25 - "Environmental Affairs and Tourism", Main
Estimates, 2009-2010;
26.
Memorandum on Vote No 26 - "Housing", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
27.
Memorandum on Vote No 27 - "Land Affairs", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
28.
Memorandum on Vote No 28 - "Minerals and Energy", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
29.
Memorandum on Vote No 29 - "Provincial and Local Government", Main Estimates,
2009-2010;
30.
Memorandum on Vote No 30 - "Public Enterprises", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
11 FEBRUARY 2009
31.
PAGE: 54 of 54
Memorandum on Vote No 31 - "Science and Technology", Main Estimates, 20092010;
32.
Memorandum on Vote No 32 - "Trade and Industry", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
33.
Memorandum on Vote No 33 - "Transport", Main Estimates, 2009-2010;
34.
Memorandum on Vote No 34 - "Water Affairs and Forestry", Main Estimates, 20092010.
Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Finance for consideration and report.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
CREDA INSERT REPORT - T090211e-insert1 – PAGES 305-318