Mister President, since 1994, there has been substantial progress in transforming the lives of citizens:

These are considerable achievements. But they are not enough. There are still fault-lines that run deep in the social fabric of our communities and tendencies in the political landscape.

Black economic participation remains incomplete. The economy must provide many more opportunities and the state and the private sector a lot more support to enterprises and entrepreneurs.

The structure of the economy also needs to transform in order to meet the demands of a 21st century global economy and a fast evolving continent.

In some instances, governance has been weak, corruption has taken hold, and service delivery has faltered. Puso e utlwa dillo tsa maAfrika Borwa! Ons het gehoor! Korrupsie moet gestop word! MaAfrika Borwa deserves better. Re tlile go tokafatsa ditirelo tsa puso. We have heard your pleas! And we will improve our service delivery mechanisms.

Mister President, in your State of the Nation address you observed that the community protests are a sign that our people want government to quicken the pace of delivery of housing, water, and sanitation.

Going forward, these challenges give us focus. We know what must be changed to meet the expectations of all South Africans. Service delivery must be enhanced and supported by the necessary infrastructure. Public servants must be accountable, and effective. Government is committed to tackling these issues in a transparent manner, with a view to building a more rapid and inclusive growth path.

Mister Speaker,

On his inauguration as South Africa’s first democratic President, Nelson Mandela said, “Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all”.

This year, five hundred thousand South Africans will celebrate their twentieth birthday. These are the first of our sons and daughters to have breathed only the clean air of a new nation. These children of our freedom mark the progress we have made. In their diversity; in their dynamism and their enthusiasm; in their non-racialism and in the determination with which they demand the rights of free citizens; in their optimism and fearlessness; in all this they represent the hope that millions struggled for, and for which so many paid the ultimate price. They are a generation whose future is brighter than their parents could have dreamed. They are better educated, better nourished, stronger and more resilient.

But they also bear the burden of the challenges we have yet to resolve. Too many will struggle to find work. Too many live in poverty and want. Like their parents they can see the fault-lines that still divide our society. They can see the gap between rich and poor.

For their future, we have an obligation to begin a new and far-reaching phase of our democratic transition; a phase that calls for bold and decisive steps to place the economy on a qualitatively different path to eliminate poverty and unemployment, create sustainable livelihoods and substantially reduce inequality.

The National Development Plan lays the foundation for fundamental transformation. It is a platform on which we need to mobilise our youth, and bring together all South African citizens. Each of us has a part to play. Each of us has an obligation to meet.

Mr President, thank you for your leadership and for the opportunity to serve government and the people of South Africa. Mr Deputy President, Thank you for your guidance and support.

My colleagues in the Ministers’ Committee on the Budget have provided invaluable counsel and make courageous decision in advising Cabinet on our budget priorities. Thank you!

My appreciation to Cabinet colleagues who collectively own this budget and the programmes that they implement.

Deputy Minister Nene has been an invaluable partner in managing huge responsibilities during a challenging term of office; thank you for your invaluable role.

Governor Marcus and the Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank have wisely steered monetary policy in a volatile environment.

Our thanks and appreciation also goes to:

I also thank all members of this house and the Presiding Officers of Parliament for their cooperation and support.

Once again, I must convey my gratitude to South Africans for all walks of life, and many friends of South Africa abroad, for the goodwill and encouragement.

Honourable Speaker, I hereby table before the House this afternoon:

1.         The Budget Speech

2.        The Budget Review 2014

4.        The Appropriation Bill, and

5.        The Estimates of National Expenditure.

Honourable Speaker, I table this budget in the hope that as a nation we will be able to rise above our sectional interest, and, as you said Mr President, prevail with greater maturity, pull together and take this country forward.

Mister President, let us repeat our message to our citizens.

Under your leadership, government has succeeded in steering the country through a difficult period of global turbulence. We have weathered the storm! Employment and incomes have recovered. The value of the social wage has increased. We have laid the foundation for a faster and more inclusive path of growth in the years ahead.

Real public sector investment increased dramatically, in fact doubled. Policy innovations such as the Jobs Fund, the community public works programme, the industrial policy action plan, the Special Economic Zones and employment tax incentive have gained traction. We are now ready to ramp them up.

As South Africa’s economy draws strength from the growth on the African continent, the unlocking of infrastructure constraints and continuing social progress, we have a plan to guide our action and unite our people.

The programme of the next administration is not in doubt. Its task will be to implement the first phase of the National Development Plan. The road ahead will not be smooth, and there are difficult decisions and hard trade-offs that must be confronted. But this budget provides the resources to support our programme of change. It aligns public finances with the priorities set out in the NDP. Our task is to transform these resources into a better life for all South Africans. Our challenge is to act together to move South Africa forward.

In the worlds of the indomitable Yusuf Dadoo, “The hour has struck for serious and hard work. The time has come when on this policy we must go forward. That is the only policy which at the present moment can meet the dangers which face us in this country… We have the strength and power in our hands if we act rightly. It may entail suffering and sacrifice and plenty of hard work… In the present circumstances, either we hang together or we hang separately. That is the question before South Africa.”

I thank you.