Speaker, the latest City of Cape Town budget is further proof that the DA cares little for the poor. [Interjections.] In these tough economic times, the DA has increased rates and services charges by more than the inflation rate, which would make it extremely difficult for the majority of our people to afford the new tariffs.
Only 60% of the budget is being allocated to the poor. When one considers that this year's provincial treasury report showed that the Western Cape department of public works had spent only R145 million of the R406 million available for infrastructure by the third quarter of the current financial year, one can clearly see that the DA has its priorities all wrong. [Interjections.]
In addition, the community of Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay is up in arms about the city's plans to build rental housing units in the area. Given that most of the people in the area are poor and would not be able to afford paying rent, this appears to be a deliberate attempt to exclude the poor. The DA- led City of Cape Town will also use its own database to choose beneficiaries for the project, which could effectively exclude those on the Imizamo Yethu database.
The DA's budget in the city is no pro-poor budget and can therefore not be accepted by the people of Cape Town. [Applause.]