English: Supporters of devolution in the late 1990s claimed that the relative failure of the Welsh economy could only be addressed by tailor-made solutions created here in Wales. Sadly, under successive Welsh Labour administrations, that has not proven to be the case. The Welsh economy has underperformed over the past 20 years and has failed to catch up with the UK economy as a whole. As a result, Wales remains the poorest country in the United Kingdom. Not only has the Welsh Government failed to significantly close the GVA gap between Wales and England, it has failed to tackle the regional economic inequality that still exists in Wales. The contrast is stark. Wales is economically divided between north, south, east and west, urban, rural and whichever way you want to think of. In my own region of South Wales East, the division in clear. In 2017, GVA per head was less than £15,000 in the Gwent Valleys. In Newport, the figure was over £23,000 per head. It is a fact that, if you compare the GVA per head of all the local authorities in the United Kingdom, Blaenau Gwent is in the bottom five. Earnings in Wales have remained the lowest in the whole of the United Kingdom. Again, taking Blaenau Gwent as an example, more than 30 per cent of workers in the borough are paid less than the voluntary living wage. I recognise that the Welsh Government has introduced a number of initiatives to try to address the problem of regional inequality. They have all had grand titles: 'A Winning Wales', 'Wales: a Vibrant Economy', 'Economic Renewal: a New Direction', but they all fell by the wayside and failed to deliver the transformation the Welsh economy needs. This failure is exemplified by the poor returns received by the Welsh Government policy of enterprise zones. Since the creation of these zones in 2012, £221 million of public money has been allocated to support this policy. In Ebbw Vale alone, nearly £95 million has been spent to create, safeguard or assist just 390 jobs. In spite of the injection of large sums of public money, enterprise zones have failed to meet their key objectives. Deputy Presiding Officer, they were meant to build the capacity of specific sectors of the Welsh economy and attract funds to those designated areas, but they have failed to make any significant impact on economic growth. Previous Welsh Government strategies have pledged to explore and exploit the job-creation potential of major infrastructure investment. However, one such project with the potential to deliver huge benefits to the economy remains kicked into the long grass. The M4 relief road is currently bogged down in a combination of Welsh Government dithering and indecision of approach. This Welsh Government has lost its purpose and sense of direction. No wonder Alun Davies AM, who is not here at the moment, said, in his words - it's a quote - 'moving away from that commitment to reform andlooking at the lowest common denominator.' Deputy Presiding Officer, Wales needs an economic strategy for growth, one that makes clear proposals and sets targets so that progress towards those goals can be measured. Unless the Welsh Government does this, the Welsh economy will continue to underperform and we will continue to languish at the bottom of the economic league. Economic equality is not only in money and development, but also in education, employment, earning, income, poverty and wealth in Wales. The number of people living under the poverty level is much higher in Wales than any other devolved nation in the United Kingdom. Similarly, for poverty amongst children it's the worst area of the United Kingdom. Wealth distribution - the richest people in Wales, 10 per cent, their earnings are below £100,000. So, Deputy Presiding Officer, I think there are a lot of things this Government needs to do before we can say that equality in Wales has been achieved - equality of wealth distribution among Welsh people. Thank you.
Welsh: Roedd cefnogwyr datganoli ar ddiwedd y 1990au yn honni na ellid mynd i'r afael â methiant cymharol economi Cymru heb greu atebion wedi'u teilwra yma yng Nghymru. Yn anffodus, o dan weinyddiaethau Llafur Cymru olynol, nid yw hynny wedi digwydd. Mae economi Cymru wedi tangyflawni dros yr 20 mlynedd diwethaf ac mae wedi methu dal i fyny ag economi'r DU yn ei chyfanrwydd. O ganlyniad, Cymru yw'r wlad dlotaf yn y Deyrnas Unedig o hyd. Nid yn unig fod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi methu cau'r bwlch gwerth ychwanegol gros rhwng Cymru a Lloegr yn sylweddol, mae wedi methu mynd i'r afael â'r anghydraddoldeb economaidd rhanbarthol sy'n dal i fodoli yng Nghymru. Mae'r cyferbyniad yn amlwg iawn. Rhennir Cymru'n economaidd rhwng gogledd, de, dwyrain a gorllewin, trefol, gwledig a pha ffordd bynnag yr hoffech feddwl amdano. Yn fy rhanbarth i, Dwyrain De Cymru, mae'r rhaniad yn glir. Yn 2017, roedd gwerth ychwanegol gros y pen yn llai na £15,000 yng Nghymoedd Gwent. Yng Nghasnewydd, roedd y ffigur dros £23,000 y pen. Os cymharwch werth ychwanegol gros y pen yr holl awdurdodau lleol yn y Deyrnas Unedig, mae Blaenau Gwent ymhlith y pump isaf. Mae enillion yng Nghymru wedi aros yn is na gweddill y Deyrnas Unedig. Gan gymryd Blaenau Gwent fel enghraifft eto, telir llai na'r cyflog byw gwirfoddol i fwy na 30 y cant o weithwyr y fwrdeistref. Rwy'n cydnabod bod Llywodraeth Cymru wedi cyflwyno nifer o fentrau i geisio ymdrin â phroblem anghydraddoldeb rhanbarthol. Cafwyd teitlau mawreddog i bob un: 'Cymru'n Ennill', ' Cymru: Economi yn Ffynnu ', ' Adnewyddu'r Economi: cyfeiriad newydd ', ond nid oes yr un wedi cyrraedd y nod ac wedi cyflawni'r gweddnewidiad sydd ei angen ar economi Cymru. Un enghraifft o'r methiant hwn yw'r adenillion gwael a gafwyd o bolisi Llywodraeth Cymru ar ardaloedd menter. Ers creu'r ardaloedd hyn yn 2012, dyrannwyd £221 miliwn o arian cyhoeddus i gefnogi'r polisi. Yng Nglyn Ebwy yn unig, gwariwyd bron i £95 miliwn ar greu, diogelu neu gynorthwyo 390 o swyddi'n unig. Er gwaethaf y chwistrelliad o arian cyhoeddus mawr, mae ardaloedd menter wedi methu cyflawni eu hamcanion allweddol. Ddirprwy Lywydd, eu nod oedd meithrin gallu sectorau penodol o economi Cymru a denu arian i'r ardaloedd dynodedig hynny, ond maent wedi methu gwneud unrhyw effaith sylweddol ar dwf economaidd. Mae strategaethau blaenorol Llywodraeth Cymru wedi addo archwilio a manteisio ar botensial creu swyddi buddsoddiadau seilwaith mawr. Fodd bynnag, mae un prosiect o'r fath gyda photensial i sicrhau manteision enfawr i'r economi yn dal i fod wedi'i fwrw o'r neilltu. Mae ffordd liniaru'r M4 ar hyn o bryd wedi'i llethu gan ddull o weithredu ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru sy'n gyfuniad o din-droi ac amhendantrwydd. Mae'r Llywodraeth hon wedi colli ei diben a'i synnwyr o gyfeiriad. Nid yw'n syndod bod Alun Davies AC, nad yw yma ar hyn o bryd, wedi dweud ei bod, yn ei eiriau ef - ac rwy'n dyfynnu - 'yn symud i ffwrdd oddi wrth yr ymrwymiad hwnnw i ddiwygio ac yn edrych ar y cyfenwadur lleiaf.' Ddirprwy Lywydd, mae Cymru angen strategaeth economaidd ar gyfer twf, un sy'n gwneud cynigion clir ac yn gosod targedau fel y gellir mesur y cynnydd tuag at y nodau hynny. Oni bai bod Llywodraeth Cymru yn gwneud hyn, bydd economi Cymru yn parhau i dangyflawni a byddwn yn parhau i nychu ar waelod y gynghrair economaidd. Mae cydraddoldeb economaidd yn ymwneud â mwy nag arian a datblygu, ond hefyd ag addysg, cyflogaeth, gallu i ennill, incwm, tlodi a chyfoeth yng Nghymru. Mae nifer y bobl sy'n byw o dan lefel tlodi yn llawer uwch yng Nghymru nag unrhyw genedl ddatganoledig arall yn y Deyrnas Unedig. Yn yr un modd, o ran tlodi ymhlith plant dyma'r ardal waethaf yn y Deyrnas Unedig. Dosbarthiad cyfoeth - mae enillion y bobl gyfoethocaf yng Nghymru, y 10 y cant uchaf, yn is na £100,000. Felly, Ddirprwy Lywydd, credaf fod llawer o bethau y mae angen i'r Llywodraeth hon ei wneud cyn y gallwn ddweud bod gennym gydraddoldeb yng Nghymru - cydraddoldeb o ran dosbarthiad cyfoeth ymhlith pobl Cymru. Diolch i chi.