Every Action of Government Must Be to Deliver Growth and Jobs

The below speech was delivered by Rikus Badenhorst MP during today’s State of the Nation Address Debate:

Hon Speaker,

Hon Chair, Mr. President,

Fellow South Africans,

To create Jobs and grow the Economy, our people need to get to work. Because when you move people and goods—you move money.

Sadly, the lucky few with jobs are spending nearly 60% of their earnings on transport and electricity alone.

Mr President, on 12 September last year, you stood in the NCOP and spoke about “raising your gaze” for interprovincial rail travel. You envisioned Johannesburg to eThekwini – you called it a major commuter artery; you also mentioned the Johannesburg to Musina route.

And Tintswalo—remember her, Mr. President? She was overjoyed at your plans. She hoped to take the Shosholoza Meyl for an affordable trip with her family to enjoy Durban’s newly cleaned beaches. A well-earned holiday.

But then, on 3 October, PRASA dashed her hopes. Three of its four long-distance routes suspended indefinitely, including the ones you promised.

No train. No trip. No holiday.

And with skyrocketing transport costs, Tintswalo had to stay home… in Johannesburg… with no water, not even for the swimming pool.

Poor Tintswalo has become yet another victim of the effects of State Capture, those nine, long, lost and wasted years, presided over by the Zuma government, rendering rail transport in South Africa all but dysfunctional.

The numbers don’t lie.

In 1998/99 there were 42.28 million passenger trips per month. For the 2023/24 financial year there was a total of 39.4 million passenger trips.

Why this decline?

We all saw the evidence at the Zondo Commission – TRANSNET was by far the biggest site of State Capture – some 41 Billion Rand in irregular contracts were awarded to Gupta-linked companies.

Yet, instead of sitting in jail, some of the TRANSNET theft enablers sit right here in Parliament – some are trying to hide behind camouflage…but we see them, we know who they are…

Meanwhile, our debt-to-GDP ratio climbs at an alarming rate. In fact, South African Taxpayers currently spend a staggering R300 Billion per year in debt service costs – the main reason – over the last decade, is that taxpayers had to fork out R500 billion in bailouts for failing state-owned entities.

Mr. President: The Democratic Alliance, your biggest GNU partner, shares your vision of growing the economy and jobs through an effective rail system,

BUT

We will NOT support Transnet’s request for another R50 billion bailout. As a governing partner, we take our role seriously.

We joined the GNU to address the multitude of challenges left by years of incompetence, we joined the GNU to promote stability and collaboration, we joined the GNU to prevent a coalition of breakers – their behaviour on display for the whole of South Africa to witness over the past few days.

But, Mr President, we did not join the GNU to rubber stamp ANC mistakes.

Here’s a reality check: Transnet is a train smash in slow motion.

It owes R140 billion in loans and can barely cover interest and maintenance with current earnings, let alone upgrading infrastructure.

And pretending, Mr President, that private operators can somehow thrive on a collapsing network is pure wishful thinking.

Throwing more money at Transnet is like throwing water on a person busy drowning

What we need is rehabilitation.

What we need is real reform.

What we need, Mr President, is for you to be a Statesman, putting South Africa first.

Just like South Africa needs Ministers that lead the change we want to see, like the DA ministers in the GNU, bringing the type of change you can boast about in your SONA address: for example

• Large scale agricultural exports to markets that have been closed for many years – Hemp and Cannabis to follow modernizing the Agricultural Sector
• Digital transformation at Home Affairs – eliminating backlogs at lightning speed
• Turning South Africa into a construction site with Public Works – R940 Billion in Infrastructure Investments to come

The list goes on.

With regards to Transnet here’s what we must do together:

• Break up TRANSNET’s monopoly and allow private sector investment to restore rail efficiency.
• Empower and fund competent Cities and Provinces to run locally focussed services that suit their specific economic and social needs – the recently signed Service Level Plan between PRASA and the DA run CoCT is a step in the right direction.
• Provide policy certainty so investors know where they stand.
• Ensure that the next injection of funds into Transnet comes from the private sector, not from taxpayers.

What we need, Mr President is to get our country moving, as economically and as fast as possible — so we can move more money to grow our economy and create Jobs.

Mr President, it seems that we are on the same page with regards to what needs to happen – We really hope you also agree that this needs to happen NOW?

Thank you, Chair.