Institute of Credit Management by Patricia De Lille
2003-09-18. Ladies and Gentleman it is a great honour to be addressing the Institute of Credit Management tonight as I consider you to be an important player in the proper functioning of South Africa's economy. I know that you probably don't want to hear a speech about the role of credit in South Africa's economy. You are the experts on this issue and I am just an ordinary member of parliament.
I would see it as a dereliction of my duty as a public representative,
however, if I didn't use this opportunity to talk about the challenges
relating to credit in South Africa and the role I would like to see an
Institute like yours playing in addressing them.
I promise you though, that I will also speak about my job and the role that I see myself and my new party, the Independent Democrats, playing in addressing all the other challenges facing South Africa's democracy. These challenges include poverty, HIV/AIDS, safeguarding our constitution and tackling corruption.
It is a well-known fact that access to credit is vital if we are to create viable businesses in South Africa. Job creation is the number one challenge facing us as a nation and credit plays an enormous role in helping small entrepreneurs in previously disadvantaged areas grow their small scale operations into prosperous businesses.
Obviously, however, such credit needs to be provided at an affordable interest rate and business education and support needs to go hand-in-hand with such credit, if it is to be sustainable. Finance by itself is not enough to create a sustainable business.
To my mind the government is failing hopelessly in providing this business support to small-scale entrepreneurs and we need to find ways in which we can address this situation. I know business graduates who struggle to find their way through the bureaucracy of small business grants, so you can imagine what chance an entrepreneur in the township has in accessing these grants.
The Independent Democrats believes that South Africa is characterized by an economy that is divided into two distinct sectors. The first sector is the formal economy, which in many respects is performing admirably. Since 1994 this sector of the economy has been opened up to the global marketplace and companies have used the opportunity to extend their tentacles across the world. Unfortunately this increased efficiency of the formal economy seems to have come at a high price, with our economy shedding 1 million jobs in the process.
Those 1 million people have fallen into the other sector of South Africas economy, namely the informal, unemployed and marginalized sector. Unfortunately this is where the majority of our people reside and it is important that the government puts greater emphasis on stimulating growth in this sector. We need to increase demand and provide financial and skills support to aspiring entrepreneurs so that they can break out of this spiral of poverty. Needless to say, new and innovative ways of providing credit need to be formulated and effectively implemented.
On the subject of credit I also believe that too many of our people are getting themselves trapped in a cycle of crippling debt.
130 000 civil summons are issued and 90 000 judgements are made every month. One needs to assess why so many people are allowing themselves to get into such a situation. I also think that the responsibility rests with retailers though and that the issue of reckless selling needs to be looked into. The World Competitive Report has found South Africa to have the lowest rate of financial literacy out of the 49 countries it analysed.
This therefore places a responsibility on both the state and industry to ensure that people are educated about the contracts they are signing and the financial implications of taking out credit. On the legislative side I also believe that we need to look at developing one comprehensive piece of legislation governing credit in South Africa rather than the different and piecemeal Acts that we currently have.
I think I have talked long enough about your subject though and it is now time for me to tell you what you can expect from the Independent Democrats in responding to the economic challenges of our nation. It is always entertaining for me to watch how government and political parties run around before elections saying how they intend to create jobs for people. After elections, when the pressure mounts for delivery they respond by saying that it is not the role of government to create jobs but that of the private sector. They claim that it is only government's role to create the environment for business to prosper. Using their post-election argument though, I want to talk about one particular way in which such an environment can be created.
We at the Independent Democrats believe that South Africa needs to firmly address the high levels of corruption that is occurring in our country everyday. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index of 2002 both Botswana and Namibia are viewed as less corrupt than South Africa. If we want to be viewed as the powerhouse of Africa and lead the charge for Africa's development then surely we need to show ourselves to be leaders in fighting corruption.
Corruption is a major cause for underdevelopment and poverty in our society. It undermines good and effective governance and leads to a degradation of the fundamental values enshrined in our constitution. I want to emphasise tonight that we are not powerless against corruption in this country, but in order to root it out from our young democracy we all need to be vigilant and fearless in speaking out against corrupt practices in the public and private sector. It is for this reason that we not only have an anti-corruption policy in the Independent Democrats, but we have also set up an anti-corruption unit to address the numerous instances of corruption that the public are bringing to our attention everyday.
When I first submitted the De Lille dossier to parliament back in September 1999 outlining the irregularities and corruption involved in the arms deal I was ridiculed and attacked by the government. I even had to endure death threats, but I saw it as my patriotic duty to expose corruption, particularly in a case such as this that comes at such expense to public coffers. I must also state that it gave me no pleasure to highlight how South Africas leaders were messing up our country. This is my country and I have a great love for it. Therefore it pains me every time I witness somebody messing up the future of this great nation.
Recently I made the news when I asked a question regarding the conduct of the then Deputy President Mbeki and the irregularity regarding the re-entrance of the German bid into the Arms contract. This issue was in fact not new but was stated in the De Lille dossier over 4 years ago.
The response by Netshitenze and the Government Communications to this query was pedantic if not downright pitiful. I have every right as political leader of the Independent Democrats, and an elected representative to question any political figure in this country. The response by the GCIS seems to portray the President as a revered god, almost an autocratic ruler that should never be asked to substantiate his actions. If Political leaders cant question him, who has the right to do so? The President is not above reproach or question and if Government Communications accepts the credentials of Thabo Mbeki unquestioningly, it is their prerogative. To expect me to do the same, is absolutely mindless.
Joel Netshitenzhes blunder is further manifested by his reference to submarines in his response. I consistently spoke about the corvette acquisition process and not the submarine acquisition as reported by Netshitenzhe.
To attack the media, intelligence operatives and unsuccessful bidders in the same breath, further illustrates the GCIS inability to understand delicate and complex matters. Suddenly there are enemies behind every bush.
And just for the record, I did not accuse President Thabo Mbeki of any wrongdoing and have repeatedly communicated this to the press.
The ANC is completely predictable in their responses though. In fact I have decided to dub them the AND, the African National Denial. Every time an allegation is brought up their first response is to deny it.
The same kind of responses came from government when I made the initial allegations. Invariably the response from government is insult and character assassination, rather than responding to the substance of the issue at hand.
Ladies and Gentlemen these are the facts that I presented so that you can judge for yourself whether it needs to be investigated.
A. Strategic Defence Packages Joint Report, Ch 7, pg 223 clause 7.7.2 states
The decision to allow bidders to supply information after the offers had been submitted constituted a deviation from proper procurement practice.
B. Strategic Defence Packages Joint Report, Ch 6, pg 192, clause 6.8.5 states:
The Defence Industrial Participation (DIP) evaluation worksheets indicated that only Fincantieri complied with the minimum requirements in order to qualify for the next round of the DIP evaluation. A legal opinion from Armscors legal division sought by the evaluation team confirm that the German consortium had failed materially to meet the essential requirements of the DIP. The outcome of this legal opinion was not communicated to Strategic Offers Committee (SOFCOM) to enable its members to take it into consideration when making recommendations. Messrs Shaik and Esterhuyse gave approval that all bidders who had failed to meet the minimum criteria be allowed to take corrective action in order to proceed to the next round of the DIP evaluation.
C. The allegation contained in the De Lille Dossier raised questions of the involvement of then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.
D. Allegations contained in the De Lille Dossier related to a success fee in the contract between Thyssens and Futuristic Business.
E. Several media reports at the time confirmed the involvement of President Thabo Mbeki negotiating with relevant bidders.
The truth is finally catching up with a government though, that seems intent on covering things up and protecting its own.
As for the Independent Democrats and what we stand for, it is, let me assure you, very different from what we have seen of the ANC's handling of the Arms Deal Scandal.
We believe that you have to get back to the basics of good political governance.
The Basics are:
Government Accountability
Transparency
Public Participation
Effective Government Delivery
Many people have bought into our vision and more people from all walks of life are joining us everyday.
We currently have around 25 000 members, which cuts across all traditional racial and sectoral divides.
Represented in all 9 provinces with party offices.
For us to succeed, however, and bring the kind of change that we need in our political landscape then we will need the help of everyone. We are looking for people to lend a hand in whatever way they can. This party does not belong to me but to all its members and I invite you to join up and help make this country great!
I thank you.
I promise you though, that I will also speak about my job and the role that I see myself and my new party, the Independent Democrats, playing in addressing all the other challenges facing South Africa's democracy. These challenges include poverty, HIV/AIDS, safeguarding our constitution and tackling corruption.
It is a well-known fact that access to credit is vital if we are to create viable businesses in South Africa. Job creation is the number one challenge facing us as a nation and credit plays an enormous role in helping small entrepreneurs in previously disadvantaged areas grow their small scale operations into prosperous businesses.
Obviously, however, such credit needs to be provided at an affordable interest rate and business education and support needs to go hand-in-hand with such credit, if it is to be sustainable. Finance by itself is not enough to create a sustainable business.
To my mind the government is failing hopelessly in providing this business support to small-scale entrepreneurs and we need to find ways in which we can address this situation. I know business graduates who struggle to find their way through the bureaucracy of small business grants, so you can imagine what chance an entrepreneur in the township has in accessing these grants.
The Independent Democrats believes that South Africa is characterized by an economy that is divided into two distinct sectors. The first sector is the formal economy, which in many respects is performing admirably. Since 1994 this sector of the economy has been opened up to the global marketplace and companies have used the opportunity to extend their tentacles across the world. Unfortunately this increased efficiency of the formal economy seems to have come at a high price, with our economy shedding 1 million jobs in the process.
Those 1 million people have fallen into the other sector of South Africas economy, namely the informal, unemployed and marginalized sector. Unfortunately this is where the majority of our people reside and it is important that the government puts greater emphasis on stimulating growth in this sector. We need to increase demand and provide financial and skills support to aspiring entrepreneurs so that they can break out of this spiral of poverty. Needless to say, new and innovative ways of providing credit need to be formulated and effectively implemented.
On the subject of credit I also believe that too many of our people are getting themselves trapped in a cycle of crippling debt.
130 000 civil summons are issued and 90 000 judgements are made every month. One needs to assess why so many people are allowing themselves to get into such a situation. I also think that the responsibility rests with retailers though and that the issue of reckless selling needs to be looked into. The World Competitive Report has found South Africa to have the lowest rate of financial literacy out of the 49 countries it analysed.
This therefore places a responsibility on both the state and industry to ensure that people are educated about the contracts they are signing and the financial implications of taking out credit. On the legislative side I also believe that we need to look at developing one comprehensive piece of legislation governing credit in South Africa rather than the different and piecemeal Acts that we currently have.
I think I have talked long enough about your subject though and it is now time for me to tell you what you can expect from the Independent Democrats in responding to the economic challenges of our nation. It is always entertaining for me to watch how government and political parties run around before elections saying how they intend to create jobs for people. After elections, when the pressure mounts for delivery they respond by saying that it is not the role of government to create jobs but that of the private sector. They claim that it is only government's role to create the environment for business to prosper. Using their post-election argument though, I want to talk about one particular way in which such an environment can be created.
We at the Independent Democrats believe that South Africa needs to firmly address the high levels of corruption that is occurring in our country everyday. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index of 2002 both Botswana and Namibia are viewed as less corrupt than South Africa. If we want to be viewed as the powerhouse of Africa and lead the charge for Africa's development then surely we need to show ourselves to be leaders in fighting corruption.
Corruption is a major cause for underdevelopment and poverty in our society. It undermines good and effective governance and leads to a degradation of the fundamental values enshrined in our constitution. I want to emphasise tonight that we are not powerless against corruption in this country, but in order to root it out from our young democracy we all need to be vigilant and fearless in speaking out against corrupt practices in the public and private sector. It is for this reason that we not only have an anti-corruption policy in the Independent Democrats, but we have also set up an anti-corruption unit to address the numerous instances of corruption that the public are bringing to our attention everyday.
When I first submitted the De Lille dossier to parliament back in September 1999 outlining the irregularities and corruption involved in the arms deal I was ridiculed and attacked by the government. I even had to endure death threats, but I saw it as my patriotic duty to expose corruption, particularly in a case such as this that comes at such expense to public coffers. I must also state that it gave me no pleasure to highlight how South Africas leaders were messing up our country. This is my country and I have a great love for it. Therefore it pains me every time I witness somebody messing up the future of this great nation.
Recently I made the news when I asked a question regarding the conduct of the then Deputy President Mbeki and the irregularity regarding the re-entrance of the German bid into the Arms contract. This issue was in fact not new but was stated in the De Lille dossier over 4 years ago.
The response by Netshitenze and the Government Communications to this query was pedantic if not downright pitiful. I have every right as political leader of the Independent Democrats, and an elected representative to question any political figure in this country. The response by the GCIS seems to portray the President as a revered god, almost an autocratic ruler that should never be asked to substantiate his actions. If Political leaders cant question him, who has the right to do so? The President is not above reproach or question and if Government Communications accepts the credentials of Thabo Mbeki unquestioningly, it is their prerogative. To expect me to do the same, is absolutely mindless.
Joel Netshitenzhes blunder is further manifested by his reference to submarines in his response. I consistently spoke about the corvette acquisition process and not the submarine acquisition as reported by Netshitenzhe.
To attack the media, intelligence operatives and unsuccessful bidders in the same breath, further illustrates the GCIS inability to understand delicate and complex matters. Suddenly there are enemies behind every bush.
And just for the record, I did not accuse President Thabo Mbeki of any wrongdoing and have repeatedly communicated this to the press.
The ANC is completely predictable in their responses though. In fact I have decided to dub them the AND, the African National Denial. Every time an allegation is brought up their first response is to deny it.
The same kind of responses came from government when I made the initial allegations. Invariably the response from government is insult and character assassination, rather than responding to the substance of the issue at hand.
Ladies and Gentlemen these are the facts that I presented so that you can judge for yourself whether it needs to be investigated.
A. Strategic Defence Packages Joint Report, Ch 7, pg 223 clause 7.7.2 states
The decision to allow bidders to supply information after the offers had been submitted constituted a deviation from proper procurement practice.
B. Strategic Defence Packages Joint Report, Ch 6, pg 192, clause 6.8.5 states:
The Defence Industrial Participation (DIP) evaluation worksheets indicated that only Fincantieri complied with the minimum requirements in order to qualify for the next round of the DIP evaluation. A legal opinion from Armscors legal division sought by the evaluation team confirm that the German consortium had failed materially to meet the essential requirements of the DIP. The outcome of this legal opinion was not communicated to Strategic Offers Committee (SOFCOM) to enable its members to take it into consideration when making recommendations. Messrs Shaik and Esterhuyse gave approval that all bidders who had failed to meet the minimum criteria be allowed to take corrective action in order to proceed to the next round of the DIP evaluation.
C. The allegation contained in the De Lille Dossier raised questions of the involvement of then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.
D. Allegations contained in the De Lille Dossier related to a success fee in the contract between Thyssens and Futuristic Business.
E. Several media reports at the time confirmed the involvement of President Thabo Mbeki negotiating with relevant bidders.
The truth is finally catching up with a government though, that seems intent on covering things up and protecting its own.
As for the Independent Democrats and what we stand for, it is, let me assure you, very different from what we have seen of the ANC's handling of the Arms Deal Scandal.
We believe that you have to get back to the basics of good political governance.
The Basics are:
Government Accountability
Transparency
Public Participation
Effective Government Delivery
Many people have bought into our vision and more people from all walks of life are joining us everyday.
We currently have around 25 000 members, which cuts across all traditional racial and sectoral divides.
Represented in all 9 provinces with party offices.
For us to succeed, however, and bring the kind of change that we need in our political landscape then we will need the help of everyone. We are looking for people to lend a hand in whatever way they can. This party does not belong to me but to all its members and I invite you to join up and help make this country great!
I thank you.
