Vote 2006/07 of the Department of Finance, Parliament
5 June 2006
Global developments and the South African economy Madam Speaker, the last
few weeks have seen heightened volatility in international financial markets
and renewed concern about the size and sustainability of global growth and
trade imbalances. And in hosting the World Economic Forum here last week, we
have been reminded of shared international interests and mutual concerns: the
global environmental challenges, management of trade and financial stability,
the economics of debt and aid, the gap between rich and poor, the management of
conflict and the politics of multilateral cooperation. Particularly welcome, I
believe, is the opportunity to work with other governments and global business
leaders in addressing barriers to accelerated investment and creating a climate
for improved growth, employment creation and poverty reduction across the
African continent.
In South Africa, we are similarly challenged by the complexity of bringing
together our first and second economies, formal and informal activities, urban
and rural neighbourhoods, inner city, suburb and township, wealthy and poor.
Different aspects of these challenges are the responsibilities of the various
organisations under the oversight of the Ministry of Finance. This is partly
about building stronger institutions, it is about the social and economic
linkages between increasingly integrated and inter-dependent communities, it is
about measuring performance and progress against agreed objectives and
targets.
These are the challenges we face together, whether the task is bringing
small businesses and taxi operators into the revenue system, or measuring
changes in income and living standards of households, or planning social and
development spending programmes, or reviewing the structure and evolution of
our financial institutions.
The South African economy is experiencing its longest economic expansion to
date. The economy has now been growing for over six years. Years of concerted
macroeconomic reform are yielding the desired benefits. A combination of high
business and consumer confidence, low inflation and historically low nominal
interest rates, has underpinned the current growth. Our growth, however, has
been unbalanced. Expenditure has grown faster than domestic production thus
leading to a current account deficit; the demand for skills has not been
matched by supply; disadvantaged communities have remained marginalised from
the mainstream of economic activity.
As I pointed at the time of the Budget in February, the global environment
remains uncertain.
The 2006/07 fiscal year has begun inauspiciously, with sharp fluctuations in
capital flows and consequential volatility in emerging market and developing
country currencies, including a significant sell-off in rand-denominated
assets. The rand has fallen to a lower level around R6.50 to the dollar.
However, sharper declines were experienced by Indonesia, Hungary, New Zealand,
Iceland, and many other countries.
These fluctuations underscore the point that the world we live in holds few
assurances. The interplay of markets, national regulations and international
conventions help to shape the forces of globalisation. In the short term,
national economies rely on their own safeguards policy credibility, reserves,
fiscal and monetary positions, the depth of their markets, and recourse to
multilateral institutions (the IMF and World Bank) to weather international
financial contagion.
Over the medium-term, we can influence the international conventions and
market regulations and the multilateral institutions in ways that benefit South
Africa. We can help to build the regional and farther-flung economic ties and
relationships that create deeper and wider markets that are more resilient to
contagion. Most importantly, we can develop appropriate policies, regulatory
structures and institutions, and help to build human capital for our domestic
economy. Getting our policies right means that more rapid growth in investment,
productivity and employment creation can lead to higher income and greater
resources to withstand economic shocks.
Our policy challenge is partly about adapting to global imbalances that seem
likely to persist for a considerable length of time.
It is apparent that by virtue of its relative size and role in the
international financial system the United States (US) economy is able to
maintain a large gap between its investment and saving, financed by capital
inflows from the rest of the world.
A range of factors lie behind this structural feature of the world economy.
One is that for many economies, including much of Europe and Asia, growth is
fuelled by exports to the US, which results in current account surpluses and
flows of capital back into dollars, in turn financing consumption in the
US.
A gradual adjustment path out of this situation would require an increase in
demand in the rest of the world and a decrease in US demand, associated with a
significant depreciation of the dollar and a long-term correction of the large
negative US debt position and its current account deficit.
The alternative to gradual, policy-induced adjustment is the build-up of the
present unsustainable imbalances which carries the risk of an eventual âsudden
stopâ correction and slower growth across all economies.
The flow of capital into the US economy over the years has also contributed to
low interest rates throughout the global financial system. Risk premia on
emerging market assets and interest rates in emerging capital markets are low
by historical standards. This means that there is little room for easing
monetary policy in the event of a crisis, and that the build-up of credit to
relatively unprofitable activities and to finance consumption may prove
unsustainable.
But thus far, global growth has remained strong, and the pattern of growth
particularly the continued buoyancy of commodity prices has been broadly
favourable for the South African economy.
We need to be concerned, however, about two aspects of the current
trajectory of South African growth. One is the exceptionally fast pace of
credit expansion in the economy including both household credit to finance
consumption and rising debt levels of non-financial businesses. The second is
that despite higher export prices, our overall mining production has been
sluggish, and investment in new output capacity remains disappointing.
Participation in international institutions and regional development
Madam Speaker, let me draw attention briefly to several international aspects
of our work in the Ministry of Finance, before turning to the policy
implications of the current global environment.
The challenges of growth and development continue to be a central focus of
our participation in multilateral initiatives. Forums in which we play an
active part include the Southern African Development Community, New Partnership
for Africaâs Development (NEPAD) and the Growth Commission initiated by the
World Bank. Strengthening Africaâs representation in the International Monetary
Fund, reinforcing the capacity of the African Development Bank and further work
on debt reduction and improving the coordination of aid and development finance
internationally are key priorities.
Statistician-General Pali Lehohla and Statistics South Africa are working
with other countries through the Economic Commission for Africa to improve the
calibration and measurement of social and economic trends across the
continent.
Commissioner Gordhan leads the World Customs Forum, and our Revenue Service
increasingly is involved in initiatives to strengthen tax collection capacity
in other countries and to improve coordination between revenue authorities
worldwide.
Through the Collaborative African Budget Reform Initiative, amongst other
forums, we play a supportive role in improving budget systems and public
finance management in our continent.
The South African presidency of the Financial Action Task Force (the
international standards-setting body for anti-money laundering and terrorist
financing) comes to an end this month, a task assigned by Cabinet to Prof
Asmal. Under his exacting stewardship, a process has been initiated to raise
the profile of a perspective from the âSouthâ issues related to illicit
financial flows that matter to poor and developing countries.
Next year, South Africa will host the annual conference of the International
Corporate Governance Network.
We will also host the Group of 20 (G20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors in 2007, providing a special opportunity to address pressing issues
of mutual interest to developed and developing nations.
Fiscal and monetary policy implications
Madam Speaker, the potential for a sharp unwinding of the global imbalances
and decline in commodity prices reminds us that in all financial crises the
poor suffer most because there are few economic insurance mechanisms in place
to help them with the income losses they experience.
With this in mind, our policies are partly aimed at reducing vulnerability
to the more uncertain global environment and addressing the domestic imbalances
created by the commodity price cycle.
An important element in this policy stance has been the Reserve Bankâs
programme of foreign exchange accumulation, bringing the gross reserve position
to over US$23 billion. This precautionary strengthening of the nationâs
reserves reduces our vulnerability to financial uncertainty, taking into
account the instability and unpredictability of portfolio capital flows and
currency movements.
The fiscal policy response to high commodity prices and associated revenue
flows is also important to consider. Commodity producing countries are obliged
to use windfall gains from high prices to build budget surpluses, which can
then be wound down over time to finance social and economic infrastructure and
provide fiscal space for counter-cyclical demand management when prices
fall.
The current fiscal environment in South Africa is one of exceptional
buoyancy. Real growth in government expenditure after debt costs has averaged
some nine percent a year over the past three years, and will rise by a further
eight percent in 2006/07, averaging over six percent over the Medium Term
Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. However, we have seen a rise in
under-spending in some areas of public service delivery and infrastructure
investment, signalling the need to address capacity constraints alongside
continued budget increases.
A greater focus on ensuring that expenditure takes place according to plan
is part of our current response to favourable fiscal circumstances, and
reprioritisation must continue to direct resources to their most effective
uses. The Treasuryâs fiscal policy and budget planning work is aimed at
sustaining and enhancing long-term growth and development, and broadening
participation in social and economic opportunities.
Better statistics for growth and development
But this work, Madam Speaker, relies critically on better measurement and
better information.
This is the central mandate and responsibility of Statistics South Africa. As
set out in the vote 13 summary in the Estimates of National Expenditure, there
are four key objectives:
* to provide relevant statistical information to meet user needs
* to enhance the quality of products and services
* to develop and promote statistical coordination and partnerships
* to build human capacity.
Statistics South Africa has set itself several strategic targets for the
MTEF period ahead.
A primary focus area recognising that statistics are neither perfect nor
complete is to maintain and restore trust in official statistics through
improving the measurement of key indicators of economic performance, trends in
prices, employment and job creation, life circumstances and service delivery
and demographic and population dynamics.
Secondly, efforts will continue to be focused on building and strengthening
our statistical infrastructure which forms the architecture on which all
surveys are designed and conducted. Key initiatives include the development of
an integrated business register and compilation of a physical dwelling frame or
address register.
Thirdly, it is important to create a professional organisation capable of
meeting the increasingly complex challenges of statistics collection and
analysis. Over the period ahead, we will see the establishment of an internship
programme, initiation of a statistical training institute and embedding the
international learning programme throughout the organisation.
We have also agreed on three key projects to be delivered during
2006/07.
The 2007 Community Survey
The first is a major Community Survey, to be conducted in place of the
population census that was scheduled to take place in 2006. It will provide
information at lower geographical levels than existing household based surveys,
and will also contribute to building capacity ahead of the planned 2011 full
population census.
The Community Survey will be conducted in February 2007 and will collect
information from approximately 280 000 households over a period of six weeks.
The results will be presented in November 2007. Approximately 20 000
fieldworkers will be employed, and the survey will provide information across
several key social and demographic indicators aimed at measuring our progress
towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The data processing phase for piloting this survey is complete and the data
quality assurance (QA) and editing work was completed at the end of May.
Internal tabulation and analysis is underway and the two processes are planned
to be completed by the end of June. A complete system debriefing will then be
undertaken in August to inform the main survey in 2007.
The Community Survey will cost R370 million in 2006/07 and R102 million in
the 2007/08 financial year.
Re-engineering the labour force survey
The second major project this year is re-engineering the labour force
survey.
This will provide more robust measurement of the dynamics of South Africaâs
labour market, the survey will be conducted quarterly instead of every four
months, with results released after four weeks, and the content will be focused
on critical labour market trends, in line with international practice.
Research, design and development work will proceed over the year ahead, and the
new quarterly survey will be launched in January 2008.
Income and Expenditure Survey (IES)
Thirdly, Stats South Africa is conducting an Income and Expenditure Survey
(IES), with a particular focus on the spending patterns of South African
households. Officially launched in September 2005, the IES is a 12 month survey
of 24 000 randomly selected households from 3000 Primary Sampling Units across
the country. Its main purpose is to update the basket of goods and services for
the Consumer Price Index, and it will also provide important information on
living conditions and poverty. Data collection of the IES will be finalised by
September 2006 and processing by February 2007, and the survey will in future
be conducted every three years.
Better statistics, Madam Speaker, are a critical resource for government
planning and management of service delivery, are a key service to the wider
public and community users, and most importantly are central to Parliamentâs
understanding and oversight of our economic and social progress as a
nation.
Key initiatives of the South African Revenue Service
Let me turn to key initiatives of the South African Revenue Service (SARS)
for the period ahead.
Small business amnesty
Since the announcement of the small business amnesty in the Budget Speech in
February 2006, we have concentrated on getting the enabling legal framework in
place and, most importantly, engaging with and listening to small business,
including the taxi industry, and consulting them on the envisaged
legislation.
The consultative process is wide ranging. Over the past few weeks there have
been meetings with representatives and leaders of national, provincial and
local organisations of small business and the taxi industry. Very constructive
meetings have taken place with the South African National Taxi Association and
further meetings will take place with the National Taxi Association.
I am pleased with the valuable guidance and feedback we have received. These
will be taken into account when we finalise the Bill which the parliament
committee is considering at present.
The Revenue Service will ensure that the great need for education,
information and assistance that is being requested by small business will be
addressed. Much work has already been done in this regard; and will in due
course lead to the establishment of localised structures and processes to
ensure sustainability and permanence as we move towards real partnerships with
small business.
Tax and customs practitioners
Equally important is the role and influence on our tax system of tax and
customs practitioners. The integrity, professionalism and quality of the
intermediaries are essential to our drive to create a sustainable culture of
compliance in South Africa.
The public seeks their help for tax advice and preparation of returns and
many take their guidance from the tax and customs practitioners on what is
legally acceptable or not. These tax and customs professionals have a direct
impact on taxpayer and trader compliance.
We view them as vital partners in strengthening South Africaâs fiscal
citizenship. We also believe that we can assist by continuously improving the
service we offer and by making every effort to reduce red tape and compliance
costs.
I am, therefore, pleased to announce that SARS will be launching a program
to provide better accessibility and responsiveness to tax and customs
practitioners. In the next few months SARS will engage with representative
organisations to better understand their needs and tailor our service to best
respond to these needs.
Among the initiatives being considered are: determining the preferred
channels; the creation of dedicated access facilities; significantly increasing
the number of filings and payments done electronically; and finding
collaborative ways of reducing compliance costs.
We invite the representative organisations to join us in raising the
integrity and standards of professionals in South Africa.
The General Anti-Avoidance Rule
Throughout this year, we have been engaged in an extraordinary dialogue with
taxpayers and practitioners regarding the need for a new, stronger and more
effective General Anti-Avoidance Rule. The protection of the tax base is a
matter of fundamental fairness. It is also essential element in achieving
fiscal independence. The debate has been extensive, vigorous, professional and
constructive. There have been important points of agreement on the one hand,
and points of disagreement and concern on the other especially in connection
with the unintended impact the new legislation might have upon legitimate or
innovative business transactions. We will be releasing revised proposals in the
near future for additional comment. The final draft will then be included in
the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill that will be introduced in Revenue Laws
Amendment Bill that will be introduced in Parliament later this year.
Green Paper on Customs Modernisation
Last year, I alluded to the fact that the time was ripe for an overhaul of
customs policy to ensure customâs alignment with Governmentâs developmental
aims and important international developments. Developments in the World
Customs Organisation, the World Trade Organisation and South Africaâs bilateral
trade negotiations require a review of Customs policy and capacity. In
addition, there are also new dangers facing South Africa in the form of illegal
trafficking of prohibited goods, international crime, smuggling of cigarettes,
drugs, counterfeit goods and other commodities, and money laundering.
South Africaâs Customs capability must be both modernised and significantly
increased if we are to both optimally facilitate trade to exploit trade
opportunities unleashed by globalisation and ensure better security of the
trade supply chain and protection of our economy.
Today, I have pleasure in announcing that we will shortly release a Green
Paper on Customs Modernisation intended to initiate an inclusive and robust
nationwide debate on the future role of customs and a collective commitment to
the successful implementation of customs modernization. I also see this as an
historic opportunity to forge a strong and sustainable partnership between all
stakeholders and Government.
The challenge ahead of us is to ask the question: How best can Customs serve
our countryâs importers and exporters and thereby contribute to economic
growth? Our new customs policy has to help South Africaâs exporters and
importers engage in international trade and help grow our economy with both
greater ease and better security.
National Treasuryâs role in enhancing public finance management
Madam Speaker, I spoke last year at this time of the challenge we face in
strengthening the quality and effectiveness of public service management and
delivery, and the importance of Parliamentâs oversight role in this regard. The
Treasuryâs work on budget reform, monitoring and evaluation and improving
financial management is focused on this challenge.
There is still much to be done, but over the past year we have seen
considerable progress. Consolidated expenditure reports show that capital
spending and infrastructure maintenance have improved markedly, and we are now
seeing the fruits of better information flows, both on financial trends and
non-financial data on service delivery. Quarterly financial reports and service
delivery information published by the Treasury has contributed, for example, to
the quality and relevance of public hearings on education, health, social
development and other critical provincial functions. The National Council of
Provinces should be commended for this initiative, and I am confident that this
enhancement of public accountability will play a significant role in
encouraging improvements in service delivery in the years ahead.
The Public Service Commission, in its recently published 2006 State of the
Public Service Report, correctly notes that we have in place âsound
legislation, regulations, systems and procedures,âbut âwhat needs to be done
now is to under-gird the Public Service with the appropriate capacity that is
critical to ensuring the alignment of its service delivery and sharpening its
effectiveness.â This is a theme that challenges all of us in Parliament, in the
executive and in every part of the national, provincial and local tapestry of
government agencies and programmes. I would like to highlight just a few of the
specific initiatives of the National Treasury focused on this objective over
the period ahead.
Infrastructure delivery improvement
The Treasury vote includes R15 billion over the next three years in support
of provincial infrastructure investment. The House may recall that at the time
this grant was introduced, provincial capital expenditure had fallen to just
three percent of total provincial expenditure. It has increased to about 10
percent of provincial budgets now, steadily contributing to better maintenance
of schools, clinics, hospitals and provincial roads, in addition to continued
investment in housing and municipal infrastructure.
The Treasury plays an active role in capacity building through the
Infrastructure Delivery Improvement Programme, which is a targeted technical
support initiative, focused on critical engineering and contract management
skills and systems. In cooperation with the Construction Industry Development
Board, a standard toolkit has been developed to assist in project management,
diagnostic support is provided to identify bottlenecks and system failures and
infrastructure planning and monitoring systems are implemented. Over the past
year support has been provided to the nine provincial education departments,
contributing to an 18,5 percent increase in capital spending in 2005/06. The
programme is currently being extended to public works and health
departments.
Other aspects of infrastructure development will also enjoy sharpened
attention over the year ahead. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit has
stepped up its training programme, with particular attention to developing
parallel capacity in provincial treasuries. Systems and procedures for
evaluation and appraisal of large infrastructure projects are the focus of a
new working committee, also including provincial treasury representatives. This
initiative focuses on the quality of information required for major
infrastructure project planning and decision-making, within the context of our
accelerated economic growth objectives, the need to prepare for hosting the
2010 World Cup and the importance of improving the design and maintenance of
transport, communications, energy and water supply networks.
Municipal finance and investment in local development
Now that the Municipal Finance Management Act is in place, local government
financial reforms and capacity building are under the spotlight. As with the
implementation of the Public Finance Management Act in national and provincial
departments, the emphasis in the initial years is on building appropriate
institutions and capacity, training, guidance and technical support.
The Treasury has published over 20 circulars which give guidance to
municipalities on budgeting, accounting systems, procurement and other aspects
of financial management so that municipal councils have suitable instruments at
their disposal to hold their executive and management teams to account for the
resources and services for which they are responsible.
In relation to capacity and training, work is in progress on a framework of
formal qualifications for municipal financial management from entry-level to
post-graduate standards. Currently, over 500 graduates are working in over 120
municipalities under the internship programme funded by the Financial
Management Grant on the Treasury vote. Allocations of these grants will go to
all 283 municipalities over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period
ahead, contributing to meeting specific capacity building needs in each local
authority while also supporting a coherent national programme of financial
systems development, implementation, training, monitoring and evaluation.
Support for large municipalities through the Restructuring Grant continues
over the next three years, and will be concluded in 2008. These allocations
will be merged into the local government equitable share in the outer years of
the MTEF.
Madam Speaker, I indicated in February that a new allocation in support of
local public-private partnerships would be phased in this year, financed in
part through the proceeds of the exchange control amnesty levy collected over
the past three years. An initial call for proposals for the Neighbourhood
Development Programme Grant resulted in 162 applications from 41
municipalities, and the first allocations will be made during the course of the
next six weeks. The aim of this programme is to bring private sector investment
in commercial, recreational and community services into historically
under-served township residential areas creating business and employment
opportunities alongside improved services to local residents.
I need to emphasise that this is not an alternative source of funding for
the bulk infrastructure and basic service delivery responsibilities of
municipalities these are already supported through the local government
equitable share and the municipal infrastructure grant. The Neighbourhood
Development Programme is for interventions that will be innovative and
qualitatively different. It is about developing precincts that combine
administrative and social service delivery with retail and commercial services;
it will include support for several new multi-purpose community centres; it
will include co-financing arrangements for infrastructure investment and
improvements that contribute to local economic development and job
creation.
We have received new ideas and detailed plans for such diverse communities
as Tembisa, KwaThema and Kwatsaduza in Ekurhuleni, the Swalala and Kanyamazana
precincts in Mbombela Munipality in Nelspruit, Mthonjaneni in KwaZulu-Natal
even a proposal for a âtri-district allianceâ between the Northern and Eastern
Cape and Free State provinces for a Gariep Tunnel Festival. Some of these
proposals will need further refinement, but the prompt response of so many
municipalities is a clear sign that the time has come for a major programme of
shared public and private sector investment in improving the quality of life in
low-income neighbourhoods.
The Public Investment Corporation
Alongside these direct initiatives, Madam Speaker, there is also the
indirect contribution to local and regional development associated with sound
trusteeship of public funds. The Public Investment Corporation continues to be
a formidable force in the South African investment landscape with close to R600
billion worth of assets under management.
Its portfolio includes bonds, equities, properties and the Isibaya Fund
which is a private equity fund focused on black economic empowerment. Two new
initiatives deserve special comment.
Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund
We have to recognize that Africaâs growth and development requires a renewed
focus on development of the continentâs infrastructure. The Pan African
Infrastructure Development Fund will focus on attracting pension funds from the
African continent, to invest in a 25 year infrastructure equity fund.
The infrastructure backlog on the continent is huge and it is clearly right
that Africans should engage the challenge. Targeting the top 10 African pension
funds suggests that the fund should be able to achieve a first closure of the
fund with at least $1 billion of commitments by the end of the fiscal year.
An office has been established and a team put together to raise these
commitments of $1 billion. International pension funds will be targeted for a
second closure of the Fund which should bring total committed funds to about $3
billion.
The initial focus of the Fund will be transport infrastructure, energy,
water and sanitation and telecommunication infrastructure investments. It will
focus on projects that can contribute to regional integration of the continent
and that will have regional impact.
Project Rural
Secondly, the PIC has created âProject Ruralâ. This is the largest direct
property investment fund focusing on township and rural shopping centres in
South Africa. It has been achieved through the merging of the Community
Property Fund, a well-established property fund, whose investors are union and
parastatal pension and provident funds, and the retail properties owned by the
Government Employees Pension Fund.
The fund has a combined asset value of R1 billion and is at the forefront of
township and rural developments, with projects in the pipeline which will
double the size of the fund over the next three years. This initiative clearly
complements and support Governmentâs broader urban renewal and rural
development programmes.
Financial Intelligence Centre
I should also update the House on progress of the Financial Intelligence
Centre (FIC). Its systems and procedures are beginning to yield positive
results:
* the reports from accountable institutions are flowing in steadily
* institutions are enhancing their âKnow Your Customerâ obligations and other
compliance requirements
* law enforcement shows steady improvement in financial investigations and an
increase in money laundering prosecutions.
During the past financial year the FIC received a total of 19 793 Suspicious
Transaction Reports (STRs), bringing the total to date to 44 021. This is an
indication that the reporting systems are working, largely due to the
seriousness with which the banks and other financial institutions have taken on
their responsibilities.
However, there are several sectors which need to demonstrate further
compliance. For example, the FIC will be closely scrutinising the casino and
gambling sector and estate agents in the coming period.
The FIC will also be building even closer working relations with the
supervisory bodies (such as the Banking Supervision Department of the SARB, the
Financial Services Board, the National Gambling Board, et al) to ensure that an
even and coordinated approach is taken to monitoring compliance. Consideration
is also being given to ways in which less costly and more efficient ways to
implementing âKnow Your Customerâ processes can be implemented.
The legal framework to strengthen oversight mechanisms must be examined and
improvements made where necessary to facilitate measured responses aimed at
remedying instances of non-compliance. Matters to be investigated
include:
* adequacy of the scope of supervisors' functions and objectives to include
compliance with money laundering/ terrorist financing controls
* expanding mechanisms to monitor compliance levels
* expanding range of sanctions available to address compliance failures in
order to improve flexibility and ability to select the most appropriate
response for a particular situation
* establishing the administrative structures to enable the functioning of these
mechanisms.
Conclusion
Madam Speaker, the activities of the Finance Ministry and the departments
and agencies under our oversight are wide-ranging and challenging. Deputy
Minister Moleketi will elaborate on several important financial sector reforms,
and the finalisation of the work of the Amnesty Unit. Let me; in conclusion,
highlight several shared themes in all of this work:
* Institution-building is at the centre of our activities. This is not just
about the organisations that report to the Ministry of Finance and their
development, but is also about the larger challenge of institution-building,
sound financial management and governance, right across the public sector and
the economy more widely.
* The social and economic imperative that is the driving-force behind our
activities is the construction of an integrated, equitable, shared economy,
broadening participation, and opening up opportunities for all. This shapes
what we measure, how we engage with taxpayers, what we plan to spend, how we
aim to reform and transform the financial sector and its role in economic
development.
* The quality and integrity of our work, the professional standards to which we
aspire, remain paramount.
* Our activities are organised around clear objectives, and disciplined by
targets and deadlines. The budget date, agreed with this House, is itself a
most powerful discipline over all of us.
* Our work is increasingly broad in its scope national and regional concerns,
and international engagements shape our ideas and duties but our progress
towards accelerated growth, reconstruction, development and eliminating poverty
is the foundation on which our activities rest.
Issued by: Department of Finance
5 June 2006
