Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Ministers, my colleagues in the portfolio committee, and ladies and gentlemen, we have had 20 years of democracy and 14 years of local government, but local government remains badly underfunded, receiving only 8,9% of the budget allocation. Is this budget enough to deal with the service delivery challenges our people are faced with?
The municipal Infrastructure grant is also underfunded for improving our infrastructure, which is directly linked to addressing service delivery challenges like water and sanitation. Poor communities in rural areas need free basic services, because this will go a long way in improving their lives.
The Community Work Programme of the department does not promote social and economic inclusion in its current form. It is also terribly underfunded, and therefore its impact is not visible.
The overwhelming majority of municipalities are not self-sustaining, mainly because of budgetary challenges and lack of capacity. Also, the overwhelming majority of municipalities are in a state of collapse because of corruption, mismanagement and the employment of underqualified personnel in critical positions. The overwhelming majority of municipalities have not had proper financial management in 20 years.
Most of our cities are dirty because waste management infrastructure projects are not effectively managed. Many municipalities also do not have the capacity to deal with natural disasters, mainly because this component is not taken seriously by local government.
After 20 years, only 11 municipalities out of the 278 municipalities received unqualified audit reports, but the President, in his state of the nation address, feels that this is something to celebrate! Moreover, even those municipalities that received unqualified reports are unable to deliver services to our people.
Local councillors are at the coalface of service delivery protests, but they are not given financial access and other important resources to immediately address service delivery challenges - and the communities out there blame them when services are not being provided.
Traditional leaders are treated unequally by the ANC government. Some kings and chiefs are given millions of rands, whilst others get nothing."Some kings and chiefs are more equal than others," as Orwell would put it.
Dikgosi tsa rona di a sokola. [Our kings are suffering.] The EFF will provide the following solutions. [Laughter.] We will build self-sustaining local government with more capacitated municipalities when we take over in 2016. [Interjections.] Municipalities will be capacitated to perform the following functions: ambulance services, provision of health facilities and services, and maintenance of infrastructure like schools, hospitals and roads. All municipalities will be empowered to build houses.
Provision will be made for single traffic law enforcement units under municipalities to avoid "double parking", which is what is happening. As it stands now, we have provincial and municipal traffic law enforcement. This arrangement is a logistical nightmare. It compromises service delivery and encourages corruption.
The EFF is not opposed to the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Community Development Workers Programme. However, as they stand, these programmes in their current form exploit the majority of unemployed youth and women by offering them temporary, unsustainable jobs. We as the EFF will employ ... [Time expired.]