at the debate on the State of the Nation Address in Parliament
10 February 2009
Madam Speaker
The Honourable President of the Republic of South Africa, President Kgalema
Motlanthe
Honourable Members
We have a proud and rich history of struggle for freedom and inclusivity. We
have every right to evoke it in our noble quest to champion a better life for
all our people. What more, it is an objective, documented and well researched
history.
Frieda Bokwe Matthews, the first black girl to pass junior certificate in
South Africa who later became one of the few black women to graduate as a
teacher from the then College of Fort Hare recalls in her simple and profound
prose. "Well do I remember the day my husband and sons, with us concurring,
first mooted the idea of a Congress of all the people of South Africa
regardless of colour or race or party politics, coming together to discuss the
possibilities of a non-racial constitution, one which would recognise that
South Africa is multiracial, that all its peoples have contributed to its
development."
Gratefully, today, we have a Constitution, which is second to none in the
world. We owe our forebears and unsung heroines of our struggle like Frieda
Bokwe Matthews gratitude for their vision and invaluable sacrifices. The
prophetic and fascinating imagination of Ma Matthews shines through in her
memoirs, entitled Remembrances which she started writing, according to the
introduction by Janet Hermans, during a lonely and stressful period of her
life, when both her husband, ZK Matthews, and her son, Gaobakwe Joseph
Matthews, were detained during the Treason Trial in the late 1950s. Ma Matthews
reminisces about her vision of a convention of the people that would chart a
peaceful, prosperous, non-racial and democratic South Africa from the ruins of
apartheid.
She writes, "The thousands would camp out and make it truly South African by
using our wide open spaces. Where better than in Thaba Nchu? I put my views to
the family, and the girls thought them exciting. The men-folk had reservations,
we were going too fast, they said. It was innocently conceived as that. And yet
there is no doubt that the Nationalist saw a deep-laid communist plot, inspired
I have no doubt by communists in America and brought to South Africa by my
husband."
Her mere mortal fault is that the Congress of the People that she and others
in the Congress Movement envisaged and conceptualised in 1953 eventually took
place in Kliptown in 1955, but not in Thaba Nchu. Thankfully, today, we have
the Freedom Charter as our immortal policy lodestar which exhorts us all to
uphold democracy. The Charter further proclaims, "The people shall share in the
wealth of the country." We dare not abandon the poor. They are most vulnerable
through no fault of theirs.
The current global financial crisis and the resultant economic meltdown pose
a serious threat to the world economy including ours as we are a significant
part of the world economy. Ours is the biggest economy in the continent of
Africa. Moreover, South Africa is not an island insulated from the capricious
vagaries of market forces. As a responsive and democratic government, sensitive
to the plight of the private sector and businesses that remain the engine and
drivers of our economy together with our other key stakeholders, our government
has already stepped up to the plate.
The role of the state in the economy is no longer a matter for debate.
However the state is not going to parachute in solutions to a global crisis and
a societal problem. In his State of the Nation Address, the Honourable State
President Kgalema Motlanthe made bold to say, "I am happy to report that in the
interactions between the Presidency and leaders of various social partners, we
agreed jointly to devise interventions that would minimize the impact of this
crisis on our society. The task team dealing with these matters is still hard
at work."
The proactive measures outlined by our State President, Kgalema Motlanthe in
steering our economy through the turmoil and turbulence of these challenging
times, deserve our unqualified and all-round support. Clearly, our government
is well poised and ready to exercise leadership in these trying times.
As a responsive and democratic government steeped in the traditions of our
forebears and alive to the frailties and vulnerabilities of the poor, our
strategic intervention in mitigating the looming havoc and hardship portended
by the global financial crisis cannot be questioned.
Madam Speaker, I am neither going to dwell much nor elaborate on the
announcement made by the State President, save to expatiate on the implications
of the present crisis to the minerals and energy sectors of our economy and our
government's leadership in mobilizing an inclusive and commensurate response
thereto. I will be the first to concede that our response is neither definitive
nor exhaustive, but is rather, work in progress.
At the whiff of the sudden implosion of the global financial crisis at the
end of the third quarter of 2008, it became apparent that the ramifications
thereto would be severe. Mining operations were in jeopardy as mining companies
fell under financial distress with resultant retrenchments of mineworkers.
Government took the lead in instituting a Task Team comprised of the
triumvirate of DME representing government, labour and the private sector
represented by the Chamber of Mines. The Task Team was entrusted with the
responsibility to fashion an intervention to mitigate the severity of the
crisis in the mining industry and to develop recommendations that will ensure
optimal development of the mining industry post this crisis.
Our unwavering commitment as a democratic and responsive government as
clearly articulated in our policies is not merely confined to promote economic
growth but also to create sustainable jobs to combat poverty and reduce
inequalities in our society. Already, the Task Team released an interim report
on the 18th of December 2008, highlighting a number of consensual short term
recommendations intended to minimise the job losses and propose alternative to
retrenchments in the mining sector, amongst many others. Our mantra still
remains freedom and inclusivity.
It is crystal clear that the role of the state has to go beyond the
regulatory function and extend to playing a strategic role in exercising
leadership and facilitating a developmental trajectory for our economy. Our
industrial development agenda demands no less, the latter being the topic I
have to explore today.
Madam Speaker, it is worth mentioning that our macroeconomic policy
priorities have evolved to the extent of placing the state at the centre of
development. We are not apologetic about that as evidenced by our massive
public sector investment in public infrastructure, expanded public works,
larger and reformed social security system.
In advancing our industrial development agenda, the role of minerals
beneficiation cannot be overlooked. Our beneficiation strategy will not only
advance the objectives of Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA), the Mining and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), the
Precious Metals Act and the Diamond Amendment Act and energy growth plans,
amongst others, but also compliance with the Kyoto protocol. Implementation of
this strategy will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute to
economic growth.
Energy poverty is a grim reality to many of our people who are still trapped
in poverty and underdevelopment. Access to affordable energy is fundamental for
a developing economy. The provision of energy is a prerequisite for socio
economic growth and development. The reliable supply of affordable electricity
and other energy carriers is critical for industrial development, employment
and poverty alleviation in our country. Power outages and energy poverty
militates against development. Renewable energy must be key to energy
generation, but most importantly, the technology for renewable energy must be
manufactured in South Africa. That would create the necessary industrial
capacity. As Davos also suggested that the stimulus packages that countries
will be embarking on must have a green package.
In the light of the energy challenges that confront us, government has
devised and implemented an emergency response plan which makes mandatory
provision for incentives and support programmes that are aimed at increasing
energy efficiently. This plan has already borne fruit, as the gross domestic
product (GDP) growth has grown from 2,1% in the first quarter of 2008 to just
under five percent in the subsequent quarter.
The plan is an interim measure intended to make provision for economic
growth to continue on the basis of improved efficiencies in energy consumption
in the short and medium term, whilst enabling us to increase our reserve margin
by strengthening our energy efficiency measures whist at the same time bringing
on stream new capacity in the medium to long term.
Key solutions being investigated by the National Energy Task Team (NERT)
include the implementation of demand side management initiatives to reduce
overall demand by 10%. The Power Conservation Programme (PCP), Demand Side
Management (DSM) and co-generation form the pillars of the national demand
management strategy.
Until sufficient new plant capacity is commissioned, the electricity
challenges remain a reality. The next few years are crucial in the successful
execution of the build programme. The speedy implementation as well as the
restructuring of the distribution sector cannot be overemphasised. In the
meantime, we must intensify our demand side management efforts, as demand
reduction will be the only real differentiator in the short to medium term. It
is important for all South Africans to make a real effort to reduce their
electricity demand, while cogeneration guidelines are still in the
pipeline.
Kindly allow me, Madam Speaker, to make a clarion call to energy-intensive
industries like smelters and other value addition processes to establish
cogeneration power plants from their vast heat and gas producing processes. The
economic meltdown will come to pass.
It is not a permanent feature. What becomes important is how we position
ourselves to take advantage of the economic upswing when that situation arises.
The FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup Tournament is a case in point. It is a major
event that has given impetus to plans that were already underway. Plans to
reconstruct and develop our economy and society as driven by our energy demands
and skills base.
In the process of developing our capacity we must prioritise the rural areas
to ensure that we deliver the infrastructure necessary to entice investors,
i.e. roads, water, electricity and telephony. This will assist us to bridge the
rural-urban divide.
Madam Speaker, it is fitting to tap into our proud and rich history for
inspiration and guidance, particularly when confronted with vexing challenges
like ours. Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, the author, journalist, political
activist and one of the founder members of the South African Native National
Congress, (later the African National Congress) travelled to Aliwal North to
deliver the presidential address at the at year-end Cape Native Votersâ
Association during the severe economic depression of the early thirties, in
December 1931, to be precise.
His message and wisdom are prescient and relevant today as they were 78
years ago. He is quoted by author, Brian Willan in his biography entitled, Sol
Plaatje as saying, "If standing shoulder to shoulder, with a pull together, we
can make manage to keep South Africa solvent , we surely could combine in our
interest, for that power lies in our hands."
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
10 February 2009
