CONTRIBUTION BY
PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI MP
PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY
National Assembly: 25 June 2019
Honourable Speaker; Your Excellency the President; Honourable Members.
As we sat in this august House last week, we were reminded of two historic speeches. The first is Dr Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”; although rather than the American dream, this dream was deeply rooted in the Chinese dream. The second speech that came to mind was former President Obama’s oft repeated, “Yes, we can.”
More than 70 times the President said the words, “We will”. We will do this, we will achieve that. By contrast, the words “We have” were uttered just 7 times. There is a gaping chasm between what has been done, and what Government intends to still do.
Two things were sorely lacking last Thursday: the NOW and the HOW.
Mr President, you asked us to “imagine an impossible future” and you told us that there is nothing we cannot achieve if we work together. This is a bold dream. Unfortunately, even in the senior leadership of the ruling Party there is a failure to work together. The result is conflicting statements on crucial issues, such as the mandate of the South African Reserve Bank.
Of course we all want the country you dream of. But do we dare dream of building smart cities tomorrow, when today we can’t even get the basics right? The picture you painted of hardship and poverty is familiar to us. The picture of bullet trains and cities with integrated ICT is possible to imagine. But is it possible to achieve?
I don’t mean hypothetically, and I am not making judgements on our worthiness as a nation, or on our potential. I am talking nuts and bolts, Rands and Cents. I asked during February’s State of the Nation Debate: where will the money come from to achieve these grandiose plans?
We are already borrowing just to stay afloat. Where will the money come from to do all the things you say we will do?
Since I asked that question, South Africa has experienced a 3.2% drop in GDP growth for the first quarter. We are in deeper trouble now than we were then. We need more than hope, Mr President. We need economic growth and we need it now.
A recent editorial in the Financial Mail opened with this apposite line, “It’s been a difficult week to be a South African.” For many South Africans, every week is a difficult week.
Thank you for recognising that, Your Excellency. Thank you for admitting that we have “enormous and severe challenges”, that youth unemployment is a national crisis, and that we have not made enough progress towards attaining our NDP goals. Your honesty is a breath of fresh air. But if it isn’t followed by action, this may be the last gulp of a drowning nation.
My difficulty is not with what you want to achieve. It is all laudable. My difficulty is whether it’s achievable.
It feels as though the buck is being passed to the next administration. If all our goals have a timeline of 5 or 10 years, you won’t be here to answer for them, Your Excellency. So what about now? What about tomorrow?
You talk about a 10 year plan for economic growth. But we don’t have 10 years. And how do we know that things will really get better, and not worse? We need solutions now.
We know how heavily Government is relying on foreign investment as a lifeline for our economy. So we welcome the news that 250 billion Rands worth of projects are in the implementation phase. Our enthusiasm slips though when we remember that 230 billion Rand is needed by Eskom. We really are chasing our own tails.
Long before black-outs, we knew that a stable and sustainable electricity supply is vital to our economy. Why then was Eskom allowed to sink to this level of crisis? When the warning bells sound, we must take heed.
The warning bells have sounded loud and clear for the SABC. Financial crisis threatens another imminent black-out; not the lights this time, but the news.
We need to respond appropriately when key people suddenly start resigning from State-Owned Enterprises, when Chief Financial Officers talk about Day-Zero, and when bail outs are costing more than our economy can afford.
This is not the time to dream.
Mr President, you spoke about difficult choices and bold steps, about doing things that won’t please everyone, things that will stretch our resources and capabilities. We all accept that this is needed. But what are those bold steps and difficult choices?
How, for instance will we halve, if not eradicate, violent crime in the next 10 years? Coming as I do from KwaZulu Natal where violent crime is a daily reality, I am eager to know what exactly is planned and how it will be expedited. One can only hope that the Minister will unpack this for us in his budget speech.
Whatever is going to be done differently, it will demand that corruption first be eradicated from all ranks of law-enforcement, so that bribery, abuse of power, failure to act and dereliction of duty will no longer plague our efforts to secure justice, security and peace.
If it is genuinely possible to eradicate violent crime, eliminate hunger, push child literacy to 100%, employ 2 million youth, and get our economy growing faster than our population – if these things are genuinely possible within just 10 years – why has it taken 25 years to figure out how to do it? Does Government really have it figured out now?
Your Excellency, we cannot wait for 10 years. Fortunately, we won’t have to.
Situated within the Presidency is the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation. This Department must now set quarterly measurable targets based on the 10 year plan, and report not only to the President but to the country, through Parliament, on whether these targets are being met.
We all have lofty ideals. When it comes to delivering the dream, however, it falls to Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Directors General, and to the many officials in Government’s administration. It’s not about the ideas, it’s about who delivers on them. When we have officials, even at the highest level, failing to comply with the Public Finance Management Act, our loftiest dreams will come to nought.
There is a simple question South Africans are asking. We all heard it loud and clear when we travelled the length and breadth of this country. The question is this: Where are the arrests?
This question has not been answered. Why have no arrests been made when so much evidence of corruption has been brought into the public spotlight? Corruption cannot be relegated to a few lines in a speech. It must be dealt with as a foremost priority. Thus the IFP will continue our call for the establishment of an Integrity Commission dealing with corruption, as a Chapter 9 institution.
Your Excellency, the IFP thanks you for giving us the responsibility of chairing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts in the 6th Parliament. We are confident that the Hon. Mr Mkhuleko Hlengwa will fulfil this responsibility with the same integrity that our Party is known for.
Mr President, the IFP is not shy of giving plaudits where plaudits are due. We are pleased to hear you say that municipalities must be properly supported. The fact is that local government remains a lower priority in Government’s books.
This is a result of the centralised system of government which the ruling Party sought during constitutional negotiations. The IFP, on the other hand, sought decentralised governance; governance from the ground up. We wanted to empower local and district municipalities to become drivers of economic development, service delivery and social justice. We wanted strong local government, so that the people would genuinely determine their own destiny.
The dreams you espoused on Thursday were national dreams, overarching dreams. But the dreamers are local people. We need local solutions.
Your Excellency, I personally would like to thank you for raising the issue of rising HIV infection rates, particularly in young women. I lost both a son and a daughter to Aids. I am a committed activist for eradicating this disease. It’s why I wear the red lapel ribbon every day of my life.
Years ago, I was the first national leader to speak up about losing a child to Aids. When I did that, it brought down the veil of silence, allowing information campaigns to succeed. Former President Mandela followed suit when he lost his grandson, and together we changed the game.
Mr President, you have asked that, in the national interest, all parties offer support, insight and practical solutions. That is the hallmark of the IFP. Please be assured that we will do just that, and that we do it because we love South Africa.
