NATIONAL ASSEMBLY  STATE OF THE NATION DEBATE

ADDRESS BY
REVEREND MUSA ZONDI, MP 
DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON : INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY

This morning I heard the President of the World Bank, Mr James Wilkinson, say that China - the emerging economic giant of the twenty first century - has taken more than 400 million people out of poverty over the last twenty years. 

This presents a sober challenge and yardstick to measure the success of our nation by. Today, as we debate the State of the Nation Address, we must ask this critical question: are we making sufficient progress towards creating a people-centred society in which all our people are free from deprivation, despair and want? 

The question is of great importance and relevance to the IFP and our role in the body politic. The President of the IFP, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, has outlined in this debate that the IFP will serve in this parliament as a moral and constructive opposition. We will work to ensure that promises made will become a living reality in this parliament and in every community of South Africa. And, I believe, Madam Speaker, that we are, indeed, provided with a historical opportunity to define what it means to be a successful moral and constructive African opposition party. 

Madam Speaker, I believe the role of the IFP in this House is simple. It is to serve the interests of South Africa by representing the million or so people who elected us. Who are our voters? They are mainly the rural black poor, and all those across the country, from all races and walks of life, who care about them. They are the people who chose to vote for us, not anyone else. And that means our task will be to represent their interests, even if it is sometimes an unpopular cause. The plight of the rural poor must be prioritised. The development challenges are considerable. We must create a genuine opportunity society, in which everyone is drawn into the mainstream. We ask not for equality of outcome, but equality of opportunity. 

Education and skills acquisition is the only way to achieve this. In South Africa, there is an urgent to ensure that people in previously disadvantaged communities have the opportunity to acquire professions in key sectors where their contribution is sorely needed, such as in the medical and science field and the new technologies. Education and training facilities must urgently be upgraded in line with these objectives. Education and the spread of opportunities, undoubtedly, has been one of the most important factors in lifting people out of poverty in China and elsewhere, allowing new wealth to cascade down the new generations. 

We must not - and cannot - allow this generation to experience the indignities and injustices of the apartheid era. With the interests our constituents in mind, it was particularly gratifying that the President gave detailed time frames to the infrastructure initiatives to develop the so called First Economy in the national logistical system. And the IFP wholeheartedly endorses the Expanded Public Works Programme to respond to the challenges of the Second Economy, which should serve to close the divide between the two economies. The overarching challenge is to create a people-centred society in which all our people are free from deprivation, despair and want. Great strides in delivering services to the poor have been made over the last decade. But the dark side is that many of the electricity, water and telephone connections are cut off each month because users simply cannot afford to pay for them. 

Madam Speaker, the big question of our time is: will we be able to meet here again in ten years time and say that we are closer to achieving a people centred society? Or will the poor majority continue to become poorer as new enriched elite emerges? The IFP fears that the politics of race will be overlaid with the new stratification of the politics of class. According to statistics quoted in Professor Sampie Terreblanche's seminal work, A History of Inequality in South Africa, at present only a small elite of 16.6% of the population earn 72% of personal income, while the poorest 25.5% of South Africans earn 1.3% of personal income. That is why the most critical need is still to develop a cogent macro-economic strategy to drive economic growth up to 6% plus to turn the tide against South Africa's deep structural poverty and narrow the gap between the elite and the majority poor. In this parliament, the IFP will continue to urge government to adopt macro-economic measures to make South Africa, like China and the Tiger economies of South Eastern Asia, a haven for Foreign Direct Investment and to lighten the burden on would be entrepreneurs. And, it is important to grasp that the EPWP will not in itself be a panacea to South Africa's unemployment crisis. The jobs created will only be short term, though they will provide for skill training and transference. Finally, Madam Speaker, the IFP will ask in every debate these crucial questions:

The IFP will serve South Africa to the best of our ability. We are looking forward and focusing outwards. The IFP welcomes the broad thrust of State of the Nation Address with the emphasis upon moving from aspiration to implementation. Now, let it be done!