Please find an attached soundbite by Mat Cuthbert MP
The DA welcomes the announcement by Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, that cabinet has agreed to public consultations on measures to curb metal theft.
However, we will be closely following the way in which these consultations are to be conducted, as we are concerned that the views of Minister’s Gordhan and Mbalula, who have publicly called for a ban on the export of scrap metal, may result in a predetermined outcome.
I will be writing to Minister Gungubele to request that he makes the terms of reference for these consultations available to the public and parties represented in Parliament so that we can ensure that the process is conducted in an open and transparent manner.
The DA argues that this is a crime problem and not a trade policy problem and this is why we have put forward a set of national, provincial and local government interventions to address this crisis.
In addition, we wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to request an urgent debate on the economic impact of public infrastructure theft and vandalism – to which she agreed.
We are currently waiting for the National Assembly’s Programming Committee (NAPC) to determine when we will discuss the R187 billion worth of damage inflicted upon our economy on an annual basis.
The DA’s message is clear – we must safeguard our infrastructure in order to protect our economy.