President Cyril Ramaphosa: Reply to debate on The Presidency Budget Vote 2024/25

Speaker of the National Assembly,
Deputy President Paul Mashatile,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honourable Members,

Thank you to all the Honourable Members who participated in the debate on the Presidency Budget Vote.

I have addressed this house three times in the past week, outlining the agenda of the Government of National Unity and the steps that we will take to place our country on a path of growth and renewal.

The programme of government has also been presented and debated in detail in each of the departmental budget votes.

At the heart of all of the policies that we adopt and the actions that we take, running as a thread through all the debates, is the question of what kind of a country we want to build.

Many of us in this Parliament have dedicated our lives to the pursuit of a South Africa that is free, democratic, united and prosperous.

We believe in our country’s potential.

And we believe that the people of South Africa have what it takes to build a truly great nation, with a thriving economy that creates jobs and lifts millions of people out of poverty.

We seek to build a society in which every person enjoys the same opportunities regardless of their race, gender or background, in which every person is free to be exactly who they are, in which we embrace our diversity and the inherent worth of every human being.

Our struggle against apartheid was not only a struggle for liberation from racial oppression. It was also a struggle for a better life, for a life of dignity and for economic opportunity.

Yet for too many South Africans, despite the many ways in which their lives have improved over the past thirty years, the promise of a better life remains elusive.

This is true for every person who is forced to live on the street for lack of shelter; for every parent who is forced to forego a meal so that their children can eat; for every young person who leaves school with a certificate but cannot find a job.

It is the plight of those who are poor, unemployed and living lives of great hardship that should occupy our attention.

It is the great challenge of our democratic government and the intention of this administration to fulfil that promise of a better life for all.

We have the skills, the talent, the resources and the will to do this.

And we have an opportunity through this Government of National Unity to come together to make this vision a reality.

It is this belief in our enduring ability to improve our society, in what we can achieve as a nation by working together, that motivates me and that is the driving force of this Presidency.

The Constitution requires me, as President, to promote the unity of the nation and all that which will advance the Republic.

In carrying out this Constitutional mandate, I consider it my overriding duty, with all of us, to create a society that is more just, more equal, more compassionate and more humane.

Our nation will never be truly united in the absence of equality and it can never truly advance in the absence of social justice.

As political leaders gathered here today, we owe it to the people of South Africa, just as we owe it to those who fought for our democracy, to pursue this task with dedication and with urgency.

As we roll up our sleeves and begin our work as the Seventh Administration and as the Seventh democratic Parliament, let us demonstrate this commitment in our deeds as well as in our words.

Let us engage constructively and with respect. Let us show modesty and humility. Let us draw closer to the people we represent, not further away.

Let us show in our actions that we are here to serve our people, not to enrich ourselves or to access positions of privilege.

Above all, let us show that government will work for the people and that we can create a new era of growth and prosperity in our country.

That is the task which the Presidency will focus on over the next five years, working closely with all departments and all spheres of government to implement the priorities that we have set out.

There are some, like the Honourable Hlophe, who question the role of the Presidency in undertaking this task or whether it really needs the budget that we have tabled in this vote.

Some have argued that the Presidency should reduce its responsibilities, while others, like the Honourable Malema, have argued that we should take over more functions, such as the police.

It is important to understand that the role of the Presidency is to provide leadership and coordination, to ensure that the commitments that we make as a government are implemented swiftly and effectively, and to steer the ship of government, working through all its structures, in the right direction.

Some of you have correctly said that the Presidency has “convening powers”. But it is much more than that: it is to ensure that that there is intergovernmental cooperation and execution.

Some of you in this House have said we are building a ‘Super Presidency ‘that subsumes the role of government departments. On the contrary, the Presidency complements and strengthens the work of government as a whole.

The role of the Presidency is to guide planning, coordination and oversight, and support for the agenda of government through institutions such as the Cabinet Office, the Project Management Office and Policy and Research Services.

A number of speakers have raised the issue of the manner in which Parliament exercises its oversight functions with respect to the Presidency, including the possibility of a dedicated oversight committee.

It is correct and proper that Parliament, through its relevant structures, give this matter consideration and determine the most appropriate way to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities.

The Presidency, like the rest of the Executive, is committed to honour its accountability to Parliament.

Some of you in the debate reminded of this house that the sixth Parliament through its Rules Committee has for some time been seized with the question of how best the Assembly could oversee Vote 1: The Presidency, as part of the National Budget, mindful of the unique and overarching role of the Presidency.

This question arose as some political parties in the Assembly suggested that the Constitution of 1996 required the Assembly to establish or mandate a committee for this purpose.

Other parties suggested that the Office of the President had grown in recent years and now incorporated a host of office-bearers, advisors and functionaries.

This matter was raised by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State (the Commission), in its report submitted to Parliament on 23 October 2023. The Commission recommended, among others, that –

“Parliament consider whether it would be desirable for it to establish a committee whose function is, or includes, oversight over acts or omissions by the President and Presidency, which are not overseen by existing committees.”

On 25 April 2023, the Rules Committee agreed that it would be instructive for a delegation of Members to undertake a study tour to engage counterparts in comparative Parliaments on the matter. The study tour to the UK took place from 16 to 20 July 2023.

The delegation engaged political representatives and procedural experts from Westminster, as well as independent institutions in order to establish, among other things –

(1) the general procedures and conventions relating to the oversight mandate of the House of Commons and the accounting responsibilities of the Prime Minister as the head of the Government;

(2) the procedures and structures employed to oversee the Prime Minister and the administration of his office; and,

(3) details of the structure/s employed within Westminster and other institutions to scrutinise the Prime Minister and his office.

On return from this visit the delegation recommendations are that -

 (1) While the South African Parliament already has comprehensive procedures to facilitate oversight and accountability, there remain features of the rules and practices that could be enriched, the National Assembly should remain proactive and open to reforms to support its systems and practices; and

(2) In the case of oversight over the Presidency, the Portfolio Committee on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (or its equivalent in the Seventh Parliament) be mandated to scrutinise the budget and spending of the vote on the Presidency.

As this matter has been raised by the number of speakers here, I do believe that what the delegation has recommended is in line with the manner in which the Presidency is able to exercise its accountability to Parliament.

Some speakers raised an issue around the size of the Executive. While we continue to seek ways to use the resources of the state optimally, we have also had to ensure that we achieve inclusivity and balance. We believe that this is important for ensuring governance outcomes that serve the interests of all South Africans.

At this moment in our history, when we face complex and urgent challenges, strong coordination from the centre of government is critical.

We have seen in practice the value of this approach through mechanisms led by the Presidency, such as the coordinating committees we have set up to deal with challenges such as energy and logistics and the entire reform process, through initiatives like Operation Vulindlela.

With just a small team of dedicated officials in the Presidency and National Treasury, working closely with a wide range of government departments and entities, the reforms implemented through Operation Vulindlela have had a measurable impact on growth and investment.

These structural reforms are in the most strategic and critical sectors of our economy, as I indicated yesterday. They are in energy, in logistics, in telecommunications, in visa reform and in water.

It is worth returning to this issue once more because it is important to see the bigger picture. We need to look beyond immediate challenges towards sustainability.

By way of example, yesterday a number of speakers rightly pointed out that communities around the country still suffer with acute water challenges, poor quality of water and such.

Some called for the issue of water as a key developmental issue to be located in the Presidency.

The reforms that are underway in the water sector – like reinstituting water quality monitoring systems, developing a raw water pricing strategy, and establishing Water Partnerships Office to develop water infrastructure – have direct and material benefits for service delivery.

Improved water infrastructure ensures more reliable and sustainable water supply. Water quality management systems mean cleaner water and a reduced health risk.

The ultimate beneficiary is the people of South Africa, and strengthening and enhancing the economy of our country.

The same can be said of the other reforms being implemented.

These are not some abstract plans going on somewhere. They are laying a robust foundation for sustained economic and social progress.

A number of Honourable Members also raised the important issue of the reform of our state-owned enterprises ownership model.

As I indicated in the Opening of Parliament Address, we are introducing legislation to establish a state-owned holding company to oversee and coordinate key strategic SOEs.

The legislation will assign the functions of the holding company, which will cover issues of governance, financial management, remuneration standards and similar matters.

This is in line with global best practice and is the approach taken by many countries with SOEs that successfully fulfil a social and economic development mandate.

The Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation has been assigned the responsibility to finalise the processes towards the establishment of the Holding Company and associated matters. It will establish a dedicated SOE Reform Unit with the appropriate expertise to oversee this work.

The SOEs that were previously under the stewardship of the Department of Public Enterprises will report to their respective line departments in terms of policy and regulatory matters.

While some in this House might be dismissive of the work being coordinated in the Presidency, let us not lose sight of what these measures mean for the everyday lives of South African citizens.

They mean more affordable and reliable electricity, cleaner water, efficient trains and lower data costs.

While the capacity to drive these reforms required a budget in the tens of millions, it has unlocked more than R500 billion in new investment in our economy.

We must therefore think not only of what it will cost for the Presidency to play its role effectively, but what value the work of the Presidency will have for our economy and our society.

The Presidency will continue to nurture strong partnerships with business, labour, civil society and other stakeholders, including through the National Dialogue that we will convene to forge a common vision for our country.

We will work closely with this Parliament to drive an ambitious agenda of legislative reform and to enable Parliament to play its own important role in holding the executive to account.

Just this week, I signed into law the Climate Change Act, the Public Procurement Act, the Pension Funds Amendment Act, and the National Small Enterprise Amendment Act.

These new laws will take our country forward, by strengthening our climate change response and building climate resilience, modernising our procurement system, giving workers access to their retirement savings, and streamlining support for small and medium enterprises.

We have noted calls for programmes to involve young unemployed people in various forms of work, training and development. Contrary to some suggestions in the debate, we do have such programmes.

These include the successful National Rural Youth Service Corps programme – known as NARYSEC – which provides opportunities to unemployed rural youth. We also spoke yesterday about other public and social employment programmes that have a large number of young participants.

The challenge we have now is to scale up these programmes within available resources to ensure that they have a greater reach and impact.

On the international front, we will continue to lead South Africa’s engagements with the rest of the world, including as the upcoming host of the G20 Presidency next year.

Most importantly, we will ensure that the machinery of government works efficiently, and that it is used to advance the people’s interests and improve their lives.

We will ensure that we reduce waste, rationalise and restructure our state-owned entities, and continue to direct the majority of our budget towards sustaining the social wage and investing in infrastructure.

Honourable members,

Thirty years after we brought an end to apartheid, we must recognise that many South Africans are disenchanted and frustrated.

Many people chose not to vote in the last election. Some are turning to extremes or even turning against democracy itself.

We must seize the opportunity that this Government of National Unity presents to restore these people’s trust in our democracy, and to realise the promise of dignity and equality that is contained in our Constitution.

Now more than ever, we must demonstrate what the people of South Africa can achieve when we work together.

A society is made up of the choices that its people make every day.

Time and time again, in moments such as this, South Africans have chosen the path of progress.

We have chosen peace, not violence.

We have chosen unity, not division.

We have chosen hope, and never succumbed to fear.

We have risen above adversity, and we have beaten the odds.

Even as democracy comes under threat across the globe, with the rise of authoritarianism and ethnic nationalism in new forms, our democracy remains firm.

Once again, South Africa has taken the lead and shown the way.

Five years from now, let us be able to say that we have made a difference in the lives of our people.

Let us ensure that we take our beautiful country closer to the society of which we have all dreamed. And let us make sure that we leave no-one behind.

I thank you.