Hon Chairperson; the Deputy Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs; our MECs from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta; Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements & Traditional Affairs, CoGHSTA; chairperson of the portfolio committee and other members of the extended public committees; our Chairperson of the National House of Traditional Leaders; Chairperson of the SA Local Government Association, Salga, and other chairpersons of associated institutions; our mayors present here; senior leaders of our Public Service Prof Nwaila, Mr Madonsela and Mr Mahlawe; our royal and indigenous leaders; our Jamaican guest Minister, Noel Arscott, and his delegation - Minister, please rise. [Applause.]
Ladies and gentlemen, we present this budget today fully committed to a more integrated system of local government where the three spheres of government recognise their distinctiveness based on their respective mandates, but fully accept that they owe it to each other to realise their objectives of being active agents of the people's government in the knowledge that they are interdependent and inter-related.
It is a fact that the more integrated our co-operative governance, the more effective we will be as a state and the greater our capacity will be to deliver services and ensure development.
The Department of Co-operative Governance has been allocated an amount of R56,12 billion, including transfers that go to municipalities for this financial year. We believe that this will provide the necessary means to facilitate support to municipalities and co-ordinate governance amongst the three spheres to contribute to the realisation of the objectives of the National Development Plan.
The Department of Traditional Affairs is allocated an amount of R105 million to continue with its agenda of further transforming the institution of traditional rule, whilst continuing to lay one brick on top of another as a new department, to be fully configured and functioning in line with all programmes of Traditional Affairs, including dealing with questions related to marking the centenary of the Native Land Act and effectively managing the impact of the reopening of the lodgment date for the land reform processes.
The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, Misa, is allocated an amount of R252 million to continue providing the necessary technical and professional support to enhance the capacity of our municipalities to deliver the services.
The Community Work Programme, CWP, is allocated R1,6 billion. Last year we presented the budget of the Ministry, restating our commitment that the Local Government Turnaround Strategy remains the road map for effective support to the local sphere, comprising of both municipal constituencies and the traditional communities.
Leri hi rona pfhumba ra ku cinca matirhelo eka mafambisele ya vamasipala. Hi tekile xiboho xa leswaku hi tirha hi karhi hi tivutisa leswi hi faneleke ku endla swona loko hi ta tshama hi tsakisa vanhu hi nkarhi hinkwawo wa vukorhokeri bya hina.
Leswi hi swi endla hi ku tshama hi ri karhi hi tsundzuxiwa hi vamavonelakule loko va hi luma ndleve va ku: Lebya nyarhi leyo, u nga ri ndza yi vona, hikuva u ta ya wela makokweni ya yona. Hi ku tirha kun'we, a hi nge tsandzeki. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[This is the turnaround strategy in respect of the administration of municipalities. We have taken a decision that we must work whilst asking ourselves what it is we must do if we are to always satisfy the people in our services.
We do this as a result of being always reminded by the television when it warns us to be on our guard. By working together, we will not fail.]
We stated our understanding that the best mechanism to build confidence between the people and the municipalities is to address the following priority issues: firstly, accelerating service delivery; secondly, promoting good governance; thirdly, enhancing sound financial management; fourthly, rolling out infrastructure development and effective maintenance; and lastly, intensifying the fight against corruption.
Today we want to reflect on some highlights relating to these five issues and also refer to some practical interventions in dealing with challenges that confront the local sphere from time to time. Suffice it to mention, at this stage, that most of the challenges that confront the local sphere are either not the key competencies of the sphere or are influenced by external factors.
While we have to accept that there are some dramatic negative developments in some areas, we should not degenerate into labelling all councillors as "failures" and "rotten apples". The environment in which local government structures find themselves is complex, and we should be ready to engage and support them.
Regarding issues of the audit outcomes as part of financial management, the analysis of the reports from the provinces indicates that a number of provinces are pushing hard towards the achievement of a clean audit by 2014.
The following municipalities have consistently received a clean audit for three consecutive years: Ehlanzeni District and Steve Tshwete Local Municipalities. [Applause.] The West Coast as well as Swartland Municipalities in the Western Cape and Umtsheni in KwaZulu-Natal also received clean audits for two consecutive years. [Applause.]
With regard to unqualified audit outcomes, which is good performance, KwaZulu-Natal, which has a total of 61 municipalities, has managed to retain its performance in the improvement of the outcomes with over 70% of its municipalities getting unqualified audits, followed by Gauteng with 76%. [Applause.] Although Gauteng does not have clean audits for the 2011- 12 financial year, 75% of its municipalities received unqualified audits, which is a remarkable performance.
We recently convened a meeting with 167 municipalities that did not receive unqualified reports, with matters of emphasis also mentioned. We have since put them on a list of municipalities that need to be supported. Listening to the issues that these municipalities raised, it is clear that there is more to the issue than meets the eye. We are therefore putting together a team to reflect on a programme that will enhance their financial performance as well as to reflect on policies.
According to census data, it is indicated that the proportion of households with access to piped water has increased significantly since 1996. Access to piped water in dwellings or yards has increased significantly from 60,7% to 73,4%, as per Census 2011. During the same time, the percentage of households with no access to piped water decreased from 19,7% in 1996 to 8,8% in 2011. The provinces with the best access to piped water in dwellings or yards in 2011 were Gauteng with 89,4%, the Free State with 89,1% and the Western Cape with 88,4%.
Provinces where significant percentages of households do not have access to piped water were the Eastern Cape with 22,2%, KwaZulu-Natal with 14,1% and Limpopo with 14,0%. There are only 1,8% households in Gauteng with no access to piped water, followed by the Free State and the Northern Cape at 2,2% and 2,6%, respectively.
It is encouraging to note that the percentage of households that had no toilet facility, or used bucket toilets, has declined over the years. Census 2011 shows that the country still has just over 270 000 bucket toilets. All municipalities that fall into this category have been convened together with the 167 municipalities that performed below the unqualified audit report mark so that we can embark on the accelerated programme to address this matter.
Households that have flush toilets connected to the sewage system increased to 57,0%, according to Census 2011, from 50% and 55% according to both Census 2001 and Community Survey 2007, respectively.
Those households which have flush toilets with a septic tank were lower in Community Survey 2007 at 2,8%, compared to 3% and 3,1% in Census 2001 and Census 2011, respectively.
Households that have a pit toilet with ventilation, what we refer to as ventilated improved pit, VIP, toilets, also increased to 8,8% in Census 2011, from 5,6% and 6,6% reported in Census 2001 and Community Survey 2007, respectively. Access to a pit toilet without ventilation declined from 22,3% in Census 2001 to 19,3% in Census 2011.
The bucket toilet system was more common according to Census 2001 at 3,9%, compared to the results of Community Survey 2007 and Census 2011 that reported 2,2% and 2,1%, respectively.
The percentage of households that were without toilets declined significantly to 5,2% in Census 2011, from 13,3% and 8,3% reported in both Census 2001 and Community Survey 2007, respectively.
Census data shows that, since 1996, grid electricity has been more common in South Africa as a source of energy for lighting. Households using electricity for lighting increased from 58,2% in 1996 to 84,7% in 2011, while those using paraffin and candles decreased over the same period from 12,7% to 3,0% and from 28,7% to 11,4% in 1996 and 2011, respectively.
The proportion of households per province using electricity as a source of energy for lighting increased over the period. The highest proportion was recorded in the Western Cape with 93,4%, while the lowest was recorded in the Eastern Cape with 75%.
Census data further shows that the percentage of households that have their refuse removed weekly by the municipality has increased consistently from 52,1% in 1996 to 62,1% in 2011, while those households whose refuse was removed less often declined from 2,2% in 2001 to 1,5% in 2011.
We have to relate these figures so that when we talk about municipalities, instead of generalisation, we actually talk about facts. If we don't talk about facts and don't raise issues, our judgment sometimes is unfair.
With regard to good governance, all municipalities have established ward committees. Ward operational plans have been developed and are being implemented and monitored. There are 10 municipalities that fall under section 139 of the Constitution, which is an act of good governance. Section 139 should be understood to provide support to municipalities rather than it being seen as a punitive measure.
As far as intensifying the fight against corruption is concerned, we are at an advanced stage in finalising an agreement between the local government anti-corruption inspectorate and the investigative unit that has forensic powers in order to address the limitations that are there. We are due to pronounce clearly, in August, on this matter.
We are taking seriously the need to accelerate the delivery of services. Hence we resolved to build on the capacity-building initiatives that have been made in all the spheres, including through Salga. We made it clear in the Local Government Turnaround Strategy that local government is everybody's position. We are now experiencing a quick response by people wanting to be part of it and being serious about it.
Business formations are polishing their offers for a massive engagement to enhance the capacity of our municipalities to deliver the best services, even in areas that have responsibilities devolved to municipalities as unfunded mandates.
We are going to have a major launch of partnerships between the municipalities and business organisations in August 2013. Some of these partnerships will address the delivery of basic services through what is called turnkey initiatives for the delivery of services such as water, electricity, sanitation and others.
Today, Business Unity SA, Busa, requested to make a public offer on their areas of interest in partnership with municipalities. Their offer is detailed as follows. The initial areas of focus for this agreement will be in six priority areas, as agreed upon by the parties. The local economic development, LED, area's priority is intended to maximise the economic potential of municipalities or local government and the business environment in the various provinces. It aims to enhance the resilience of macroeconomic growth through increased local economic growth, employment creation and developmental initiatives. Private companies will be mobilised to support organised local government as well as prospective municipalities to achieve the above effect.
Regarding energy and climate change, the parties will integrate climate change response measures at municipal level. Particular reference is made to energy, although further opportunities may be explored based on the needs of the parties.
As far as capacity-building and institutional development in local government are concerned, we aim to enhance the skills and organisational systems of municipalities towards improved service delivery.
Public-private partnerships agreed to co-ordinate and facilitate improved and innovative ways of co-operation between municipalities and business in a way that supports the developmental mandate of the municipalities.
With regard to promoting good governance and the eradication of corruption, the parties will monitor developments and report on issues requiring joint attention over time, and work towards institutionalising a platform dedicated to monitoring and managing this process.
The parties will further identify issues that promote business retention and expansion that will contribute to local economic growth and development. Parties also agree that priority areas may change with time, or that additional priorities may be identified and added in the future, with the agreement of the parties.
We are also proud to announce that Absa is on board, and they will focus on the following areas: firstly, development of effective financial management skills for leaders and managers in local government; secondly, governance upliftment through advisory support on effective and transparent procurement; and lastly, leadership development in affordable housing.
In addition, a consortium of three companies is ready for signing a partnership with any municipality on public-private partnerships, PPPs, to include information and communications technology, ICT, and effective billing systems. This consortium comprises the SAP, Guma and Gijima.
Timhaka leti ta ku antswisa ntokoto wa vamasipala ku korhokela matiko i nyimpi leyi hi nga ta yi lwa, hi yima ntsena hi ku twa rhambu ku tshoveka. [Va phokotela.]
Hi rhamba mani na mani ku hoxa xandla eka ku tiyisa vamasipala va hina, a hi siyi munhu. A swi lavi ntsena mali ku tirhisana na vamasipala, hambi hi mavonele swa koteka. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)
[The issue of improving the capacity of the municipalities to service the communities is a war that we will fight; we will stop only when there are no resources to fight with. [Applause.]
We call upon everyone to contribute towards the strengthening of our municipalities; we aren't leaving anyone out. Not only money is needed to co-operate with the municipalities, even with comments it is possible.]
In partnership with the Department of Higher Education and Training, we will soon be launching a capacity-building programme for our councillors and traditional leaders to take accredited ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister; hon Deputy Minister; our guest, the Minister for Local Government and Community Development from Jamaica, Mr Noel Arscott, and his delegation; MECs; Members of Parliament; Chairperson of the SA Local Government Association, Salga; the House of Traditional Leaders; the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, the CRL Commission; the Municipal Demarcation Board, MDB; the two DGs present; amakhosi; my predecessor, the former Chairperson of the Committee on Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr S L Tsenoli; and distinguished guests, when we emerged from our 53rd national conference, we emerged even more committed to the vision of a united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa as enshrined in the Freedom Charter.
In the 2013 celebrations of the 101st birthday of the ANC, we were given marching orders, which called upon all of us to work towards consolidating our democracy, to deepen our efforts to transform the economic patterns of the present in order to realise our vision for the future and to ensure that we place service delivery at the centre of our transformation and development agenda.
In 1972, on the occasion of the ANC's 60th anniversary, former president Oliver Tambo underscored the significance and value of the 8 January ANC statement of the National Executive Committee, NEC. He emphasised the fact that, in 1912, the leaders of the African people converged in Bloemfontein to found the nation and to become one people in order to continue with the old struggle against white colonial exploitation as one African people that spoke and acted through the ANC, which was established on that day.
Having discussed that, they reviewed the past. They proceeded to work out a strategy with regard to the struggle for the future. That's what I am going to do in my contribution to this Budget Vote today!
Sihlalo, ngivumele ngikhumbuze umphakathi wonke waseNingizimu Afrika ukuthi sibuya kuphi ngomlando wezifunda, nangomlando wohulumeni base khaya.
Kuqala ngesikhathi sobandlululo izifundazwe zazizi-4 kuphela. Kwakungabelungu kuphela ababenelungelo lokuvota. Ngonyaka we-1994 i-ANC yasikhulula saba nelungelo lokuvota, saba nezifundazwe eziyisi-9. Kwakunamahhovisi omasipala abizwa ngokuthi ama-transitional local councils.
Kuthe lapho i-ANC ibona ukuthi izinsiza azifiki kahle kubantu, yeza nohlelo lokuletha uhulumeni kubantu. Ngikhuluma nje manje sesinamawadi ayizi-4 277, omasipala abangama-278, kanye nama-proportional representation councillors, ama-PRC, angama-5 778. Lokhu kusho ukuthi sinamakhansela ayi-10 055 amele zonke izinhlangano ezweni lonke.
Sinamakomidi amawadi athatha izikhalo ngqo kubantu. Sinabasebenzi abathuthukisa umphakathi abangena indlu nendlu, ababheka inhlalonhle yabantu. Sinezinhlelo zokuqinisa amakomidi emigwaqo azoba nolwazi lwendlu nendlu. Akekho omunye uhulumeni owenza konke lokhu ngaphandle kuka hulumeni ka-ANC. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, allow me to remind the whole of the South African society about the history of our provinces and local government. During apartheid we only had four provinces. Only white people were allowed to vote then. In 1994 the ANC liberated us and we were granted the right to vote, and the country was divided into nine provinces. Local government offices known as traditional local councils were established.
When the ANC realised that the public did not have easy access to facilities it devised a programme to bring the government closer to the people. We have 4 277 wards as we speak, 278 municipalities and 5 778 proportional representation councillors (PRCs). This means that we have 10 055 councillors representing different political parties in the whole country.
Ward committees receive complaints directly from the public. We have officials that go from door to door to find out about the living conditions of different communities and their duty is to work towards community development. We have programmes that are aimed at empowering these committees so that they will acquire adequate knowledge about each household. No other government would do this other than that led by the ANC. [Applause.]]
The ANC-led government has made significant progress in wrestling with these deep historical injustices resulting from the apartheid rule. In a number of instances, these huge achievements have created perception stagnation as a result of the inherent trappings of the same achievements. This is because, as people witness demonstrations of government's capacity to change their lives, they engage in demonstrations, some of which are calculated to manoeuvre for the attention of government ahead of their counterparts who are also awaiting service delivery.
Local government, by its nature, is at the coalface of service delivery. Local government continues to bear the brunt of protests. The communities have realised that they can bargain with their votes and thereby expedite service delivery through attracting attention, even if it means violent protests.
The narrative of poor service delivery is now being hyped, and all sorts of opportunistic forces have been activated.
Sihlalo, ngifuna ukwenza umzekelo. Kwezinye izindawo kuyazwakala uma umphakathi ubhikisa ngenxa yokunganeliseki, kepha lokhu kubhikisa kwenza ukuthi abanezinhloso zokwenza ubugebengu basizakale. Sibonile kwezinye izindaweni obekubhikishwa kuzo ukuthi izigebengu kanye nezigilamkhuba zigcine sezisizakala; ziyalutha, zeba izinto ezitolo, zishaya abantu futhi zivimbe izimoto, okuyizinto ezisuke zingekho kuhlu lomphakathi obhikishayo lezo.
Kule nyanga ephelile, uMbasa, umphakathi waseMsukaligwa Municipality e- Warburton wabhikisha ubhikishela ukuthi ucela umasipala ufake ibhuloho labantu abahamba ngezinyawo eliphezulu ngoba umgwaqo womhlaba wonke osuka Egoli uya e-Swaziland ubhizi kakhulu. Izingane eziwela lo mgwaqo uma ziya esikoleni nezisebenzisa lo mgwaqo uma ziyokha amanzi zishayiswa izimoto bese ziyafa.
Ukubhikisha kwalo mphakathi kwakuzwakala, kepha kwenza izigilamkhuba zisizakale; zavimba izimoto zafuna imali, zathatha omakhalekhukhwini babantu, zagumba imigwaqo, futhi zamisa izimoto ezazifike kokuvakasha. Okusho ukuthi lo mbhikisho akubange kusaba umbhikisho oyimpumelelo kwazise phela lo mphakathi wawubhikishela into ezwakalayo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, I wish to give an example. You can tell the difference between earnest protests in some areas and those whose sole aim is to commit criminal activities by taking advantage of the protests. We have noticed that some protests in some areas include criminal activities like looting, stealing of goods from shops, assaults on other people and blockading traffic. Those activities have nothing to do with the lists of grievances that the protests are held for.
Last month the community of Msukaligwa Municipality in Warburton protested to request the municipality to construct a skyway for pedestrians over the national road from Johannesburg to Swaziland since it is very busy. Children who cross this road on their way to school and also those that do it to fetch some water from the other side of the road are always run over by cars, resulting in their death.
The protest was for a genuine reason, but criminals took advantage of it; they blocked the traffic and demanded money from motorists, robbed people of their cellphones, dug holes in roads and blocked cars that were being used by tourists. As a result, the protest did not yield any good result, even though it was for a good reason.]
In his state of the nation address the President told the nation that the achievements of the five priorities would advance the recovery of the humanity of all South Africans and improve the quality of their lives.
The recent national social cohesion and nation-building summit, which the President initiated in response to growing levels of intolerance amongst the various groups in the country, is a response to the number of protests we are experiencing.
We have seen that public protest violence is becoming an increasing security concern and is directly linked to issues of governance and service delivery. Some have demonstrated a weakness in our capacity to engage with communities and to detect and respond to problems as they arise.
The ANC government has intervened by creating a structure that will ensure timely interventions and dedicated mechanisms to ensure an early warning system is in place with regard to the capacity and weakness of the state. Lokhu okubizwa ngokuthi i-marumo fase noma i-marumo fatshe. [That which is called "weapons down".]
A national dialogue has been proposed to discuss the violent nature of protests and marches in order to protect the rights of all people. Parliament should take the lead and invite all stakeholders to participate in that forum.
This financial year's Budget Vote should focus on instruments of public engagements. During such engagements, clear messages must be sent to the people regarding the work the ANC has successfully done since its first administration in 1994. As the ANC we must not be dislodged from celebrating our achievements.
Notwithstanding the immense challenges we face as a country and as the Cogta family, we can be justifiably proud of our achievements as we journey towards the 2030 vision of the National Development Plan, NDP, through which we have created a home where everybody feels free, yet is bound to others, and where everyone embraces their full potential. We are proud to serve under the ANC-led government that always cares.
We will make sure that we recognise excellence where it exists and build on it. We will also ensure that there is a professional and capable local government, which is driven by the imperative of a developmental state. Guided by our own ANC policies, the 1955 Freedom Charter, the 1992 ANC policy blueprint "Ready to Govern", and the 1994-2009 ANC election manifesto ...
... Siyaziqhenya namhlanje sithi ... [... today we are proud to say ...]
... together we can do more.
On 8 January 1997 former President Dr N R Mandela emphasised the issue of morality and unity:
One important task of our movement is that it should act as a forum to collective learning, in which we share experiences, learn from each other, assess what has been happening and empower each other.
He further said:
Unity is not built by bureaucratic declaration; unity is a dynamic reality that must emerge from the real empowerment of our people.
We call upon all people, wherever they are, to dedicate themselves to the collective effort of consolidating the national democratic revolution. This table is too small; I can't page through my speech easily.
The 2013 state of the nation address focused on tackling the triple challenges as a nation, and on the democratic task of all citizens. It was an address to inform and educate the nation on the internal consideration of the ANC-led government and about its unwavering commitment and systematic programme to correct the historical injustices, and to provide concrete programmes.
The correlation between the January 8 ANC NEC statement and the Sona can be found in a number of areas. One that has particular relevance for 2013 is the references that address the eradication of apartheid production relations.
Significantly, the ANC, in "Ready to Govern", states that the achievements of a genuine sense of national unity depends on all of us, working together to overcome the inequalities created by apartheid.
According to the Grant Thornton survey conducted in February 2013, 38% of medium-sized businesses said that they were affected by poor governance and service delivery, referring mainly to electricity supply, billing issues, poor roads and slow payments.
The 2012-13 to 2014-15 Medium-Term Budget Framework grapples with these issues on infrastructure challenges. The NDP interventions on funding are highlighted to support and improve infrastructure, public transport and human settlement challenges. The ANC government's priority since 1994 has been to meet the basic needs of millions of South Africans living in poverty. In response to this call, municipalities have contributed significantly in reducing infrastructure backlogs. If you were to go to Soweto now ...
... uvale amehlo. Uma usuvula amehlo ungacabanga ukuthi ukwelinye izwe. [Ihlombe.] Ziningi-ke ezinye izindawo ongaya kuzo ezifana neSoweto. Isibonelo nje, uma ungaya e-Amsterdam, lapho ngizalwa khona mina, ungabona omkhulu umehluko. Ngikhule ngihlala endlini yodaka, amanzi besiwakha esiyalwini, kepha emva konyaka we-1994 amanzi besesiwakha empompini eyibanga elingamamitha angama-500 kude nasezindlini. Ngikhuluma nje manje sekunezinkutela, ugesi, amanzi kanye nomgwaqo wetiyela. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... and close your eyes, then when you opened them you would think that you were in another country. [Applause.] There are many other areas that have been developed like Soweto. For instance, if you could go to Amsterdam, where I was born, you would see a drastic difference. I grew up living in a mud house and we fetched our water from a spring, but after 1994 we had access to tap water. The taps were located at a distance of about 500 metres from our homes. We now have electricity and tarred roads. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, Budget Vote No 3 is aimed at improving governance across the three spheres of government in partnership with institutions of traditional leadership. The total allocation for the 2013-14 Budget Vote is R56,2 billion which, when taking into account inflation, represents a real increase of 56% from the R54,8 billion allocation of the previous financial year.
The Cogta Budget Vote consists of seven programmes. The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework spending for 2013-14 constitutes a proposed appropriation to be funded from national revenue contained in the main Appropriation Bill.
In 2012-13 the portfolio committee noted that the budget for administration decreased from R205,4 million to R201,1 million. The committee then recommended that the budget be increased to accommodate approved posts.
With regard to Programme 2 - Policy Research and Knowledge Management - the committee has noted that the programme is a specialised support service to the department in the area of knowledge and policy formulation, monitoring and evaluation, information, communication and business technologies with four subprogrammes and a total budget of R49,5 million.
The committee noted with concern that, in reference to last year's budget, this programme has not performed well with regard to service delivery targets relating to the formulation of legislation on Khoi-San communities in the form of the national Traditional Affairs Bill which, thus far, has been shifted to Programme 7. We are looking forward to having the Bill brought to Parliament for further processing.
Furthermore, Cogta is in the process of redefining, locating and affirming the traditional institutions of the Khoi-San communities. The amendment of the Act does not speak only to the inclusion of the Khoi-San communities, but it also includes all the previously excluded groups - including women - either by omission or by design.
The President mentioned the Bill on gender equity and women empowerment, which stipulates the 50/50 position with regard to women representation in decision-making structures whereas, with regard to the Khoi-San community, the national traditional leadership framework Act only provides for 30% women representation.
The portfolio committee also welcomes the decision taken by the ANC-led government to reopen the lodgement of land claims to accommodate all those who were dispossessed earlier than the previously identified time period of 1913. Cogta must embark on a programme to assist the traditional leaders' communities who were identified as being landless following the assessment of the state of governance of traditional institutions which my colleagues will talk more about. I would be failing in my duties if I did not touch a little bit on the national audit outcomes. The Auditor-General of South Africa has a constitutional mandate and, as the supreme audit institution of South Africa, it exists to strengthen our country's democracy by enabling oversight, accountability and governance in the public sector through auditing, thereby building public confidence.
Due to time constraints, I won't get to the figures of how many have received qualified and unqualified audit reports, but I will mainly highlight our concerns. The portfolio committee has met with the department, the MECs and the Auditor-General, and we discussed these issues in depth. However, we can not shy away from the fact that we noted with concern the regression of five municipalities that obtained clean audit outcomes in the 2010-11 financial year.
Chairperson, due to time constraints, I will move to recommendations. The portfolio committee recommends that, with all the interventions, which we welcome and support, the department should note the following recommendations.
Firstly, the department should come up with the introduction of the Intergovernmental Monitoring, Support and Interventions Bill, which will seek to improve the regulatory environment for effective oversight on the interventions practice of national government over provincial and local government.
Secondly, in the next financial year, the department must make sure when implementing the funding model for municipalities in grades 1 to 3 that it promotes good governance and public participation by strengthening the functionality of ward committees.
Thirdly, within an incremental framework, some powers should be delegated to more effective ward committees. The ward committees should take responsibility for fixing potholes, pavements and street lights so that they can feel part of the system and own it.
Fourthly, we also recommend that there should be an insurance scheme or some other way of catering for councillors' houses and other properties that are destroyed during strikes because of the positions they occupy as councillors. We recommend that the national budget meets these costs.
Fifthly, we also recommend that there be a once-off grant for municipalities to address all the backlogs.
In conclusion, the mandate of the portfolio committee is to do oversight. We will ensure that public funds are used for the intended purposes and that funds meet the intended beneficiaries, most of whom are poor and unemployed.
I would like to thank the Minister, the Deputy Minister, all members of the portfolio committee, the director-general, Salga, the CRL Commission, the House of Traditional Leaders, the Municipal Demarcation Board, the Financial and Fiscal Commission, the Auditor-General and the provincial MECs for the good working relations displayed during our deliberations.
I also wish to congratulate the department on the improved audit opinion. In the 2010-11 financial year the department received a qualified audit opinion. In the 2011-12 financial year the department received an unqualified audit with findings.
Chairperson, the department deserves to have this budget supported, and the ANC supports the Budget Vote of Cogta. [Applause.]
Chair ... [Interjections.] I learnt from the best!
Chairperson and all protocol observed, today offers us an important opportunity to look back over the past year and assess our performance, and to look forward to the coming year to determine where we can do better. It goes without saying that there is a great deal of room for improvement in the coming year.
The marked increases in service delivery protests and the major challenges which a number of municipalities are faced with, from the largest metros to the smallest councils, clearly indicate that all is not well in the state of local government. People are not happy, and we all need to urgently occupy ourselves with how we can improve the situation.
In the limited time that I have today, I am going to focus on what I like to call the four Cs. It's my belief that if the department and we as a committee grapple with these four major challenges in the coming year and deal with them effectively, then we will make significant improvements. These four Cs are capacity, corruption, compliance and consequences.
I'll first turn to capacity. The National Development Plan - which, I'm delighted, was mentioned here by you today, Minister, and which some of your Cabinet colleagues treat as a swear word - makes very specific reference to building a capacitated and effective local government. What we are yet to see from the department, though, is an effective and workable plan to improve and create this capacity at the local government level. We've seen some initiatives through Operation Sukuma Sakhe and there have been some limited effects of that, but it hasn't achieved the desired results.
In their last presentation to the portfolio committee, the Financial and Fiscal Commission clearly stated that the funding gaps that currently exist at the local government level are irrelevant, unless the capacity is there at local government level for municipalities to be able to do something. This is perhaps best illustrated by the expenditure patterns which exist around conditional grants. Massive amounts transferred on an annual basis to municipalities are often returned, unspent, at the end of the year. Municipalities are unable to spend this money because they lack the capacity, technical management and financial skills. We cannot simply continue to throw money at the problem to have it keep bouncing back at us with no improvement in service delivery on the ground. We need to explore withholding conditional grants from repeat offenders, but this cannot be done unless a proper capacity-building programme has been embarked upon.
Minister, I'm delighted to hear the announcement you made today about business getting its hands involved. If ever there was an admission that the state has failed and that there is a role in government for the private sector, then I think this programme is it. I certainly wholeheartedly welcome it. It is privatisation on a scale that would have made even Margaret Thatcher proud. I was delighted to hear that.
There is undoubtedly a causal link between service delivery failure and a lack of capacity. We saw it in Ermelo when the committee went out there. The town was without water for a number of months and the dams were all dried up. The person who was in charge of technical services in the municipality was underqualified, very new and unable to roll out the work that needed to be done.
The Auditor-General's report on the audit outcomes also outlines the use of consultants, which surely has to be another clear example of the capacity crisis which we face at the local government level. During the past financial year, some R360 million was spent by municipalities on consultants. In 168 out of 198 instances where consultants were used, they were engaged due to a lack of the necessary technical skills. In only 13 of those instances was it due to vacancies. Of course, the reality is that if we withdrew consultants out of the system, many municipalities would simply collapse. The department must, as a matter of urgency, examine how we can ensure that, when consultants are used, there is a programme in place to impart these skills to the employees.
Last year the Minister announced that the regulations envisaged in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act of 2011 would finally be released. He subsequently missed several deadlines to table these - and I noticed that it wasn't mentioned today. It took vigorous intervention from the portfolio committee to finally get these tabled. Whilst it's lamentable that they are late, they will nonetheless go a long way in improving the quality and ability of senior municipal managers - that is, of course, if they are implemented - but more about that later.
With regard to this matter, it is most interesting to note that last night the SA Municipal Workers' Union, Samwu, indicated that they will be challenging the Minister in court on his ability to pass these regulations. We simply cannot afford to delay these regulations a moment longer. I wonder if the Minister, in his response, will outline what his intentions are on this matter. Will he be able to stand up to the unions and on the side of service delivery?
I now turn to corruption - sadly, another example where the department's words have not matched up to the outcomes. Corruption Watch indicated that by far the greatest majority of the calls on their tip-off line are about corruption in municipalities. The continued confusion that exists around the role, powers and functions of the anticorruption inspectorate has not helped. I certainly welcome the Minister's comments in this regard. However, we still ask the questions: What has happened to the cases the anticorruption inspectorate was dealing with? Where are they? What is the state of the prosecutions? All we've heard about in this regard in the committee is a parable about Balaam and his donkey. [Laughter.] With respect, we don't need parables; we need progress and prosecutions.
During the course of last year, I asked in the portfolio committee to be provided with a schedule of all those municipal officials who were criminally charged in terms of either the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, MFMA, or the Public Finance Management Act, PFMA, prosecuted and then sentenced to jail or forced to pay back their ill- gotten gains. Well, we are still waiting for the list and it's my suspicion that that list does not exist. Unless a hard line is taken, we are not going to get the scourge to recede; it's going to grow. The department needs to pick some high-profile cases in each province, focus on them like a laser beam and prosecute them to the fullest extent.
I turn to compliance. We are blessed in our country with some of the most progressive and useful legislation in the world: the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, the Public Finance Management Act, the systems Act, and the structures Act. But, really, what is the point of having these pieces of legislation unless it is actually complied with by municipalities and provinces?
There are some great examples such as the Mpisane matter in the city of eThekwini. Somebody who should have been disqualified in terms of section 112(l) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act was awarded multimillion rand tenders. Of course, it's easy to blame Mpisane for the huge mess. The blame must actually lie squarely at the door of the eThekwini Municipality which has been lax in ensuring that the conditions of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act are implemented.
It should not be the role of the public and the opposition to police these regulations and force their implementation. That job should rest squarely on the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. There needs to be a far greater focus in the coming year on working with the provincial departments of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and legislatures to improve the compliance framework in municipalities.
The Auditor-General, in his latest report, has flagged noncompliance with key legislation, particularly in respect of supply chain management, as one of the key reasons why municipalities do not achieve clean audits. Unless attention is given to this key area of legislative compliance, the lofty goals of Operation Clean Audit will remain a distant and unattainable dream. It is notable, as the chairperson has pointed out, that the Minister spoke about the many progressions - and we say "Amen" to that - but what he didn't refer to was those who had progressed and then regressed in the following financial year. We have to find ways to stabilise those municipalities to ensure that, once a clean audit is achieved, the systems are in place to ensure that that continues.
Surely we cannot continue to rely on the Municipal Turnaround Strategy to address these issues. We all know that the results of the Municipal Turnaround Strategy have been fair to middling. Many of the local turnaround strategies are nothing more than wordy documents gathering dust in the drawers of municipal managers and mayors. Some mayors refuse to implement them because they feel that they are part of their predecessors' legacy. We need to address that.
Finally, I want to turn to consequences or, more appropriately, the lack of consequences, because this is the golden thread that runs through all the other issues I've already addressed. Again this year, the Office of the Auditor-General highlighted the lack of consequences as one of the key features why there has been such poor audit outcomes at local and provincial government level. This has to be one of the key areas in which the department is failing and needs to apply itself in the coming year.
We seem to have become very good at talking about consequences, but what are we actually doing about them? How can it be that municipalities that receive adverse audit opinions then reward municipal managers with performance bonuses? How can municipalities that overspend their budgets and underspend on grants be rewarded with salary increases? How can it be that disclaimers become nothing more than a single day of bad headlines for a particular council?
The problem is that the current system rewards mediocrity and it molly- coddles poor performance. If you can't do your job a consultant is hired to do it for you. If you steal in one department or council, you are moved to another. Instead of showing poor performers the door, we just give them more and more. This is simply not good enough and not going to change people's behaviour.
We need to weed out poor performance and encourage good governance. We should only be rewarding excellence. This is precisely why we need a consequence framework that sets out very specifically the consequences that those who do not perform and do not do their job properly will face. Wouldn't it be great if such an achievement in this department and by this Minister could lead the way in developing such a framework in our country?
If local government is everybody's business, then let's get down to business. When it comes to service delivery, we should show that we really do mean business. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, we all know that the National Development Plan, NDP, 2030 is currently the focus of all departments' objectives. These objectives are aligned to create 11 million jobs by 2030.
It is true that efforts in local government and the community work programme contribute towards the goal of broadening the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, as a driver of job creation. As a strategy, the focus is correct and the NDP's objective is realistic. However, the implementation and work ethos of officials who need to make this happen, based on the current reality in municipalities, is a concern.
In his 2009 state of the nation address, President Jacob Zuma promised a more interactive government. In October of the same year, 83 major and violent protests erupted. In 2013, Sasolburg, Kliptown, Sterkspruit and Gauteng province communities are up in arms, endorsing South Africa's reputation as the protest capital of the world.
Cope is convinced that if the hon Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs interacted with the Sterkspruit community and gave them an ear, shops would not have been torched; lives would not have been lost.
In Sasolburg, again, the hon Minister short-changed them. The Sasolburg community does not want to merge with Parys in the Free State. Premier Ace Magashule is going against the will of the people of Sasolburg. Why is the Premier of the Free State not waiting for the Municipal Demarcation Board report, but bulldozing everything to have his way? [Interjections.]
In the Estimates of National Expenditure, 768 000 communities received electricity. Why is the community of Kliptown risking their lives by connecting electricity illegally?
Currently the unemployment rate is 26% in the country. However, in places like Sasolburg, out of 84 000 people of working age who live in the area, only 30 000 are employed, and this means that 43% are unemployed. Most of the residents - 55% in the area - earn less than R400 a month, and the amount include social grants. Eighteen per cent of the population live in informal dwellings, 27% do not have piped water in their homes, 12% do not have a flush toilet, and 9% use pit toilets. This is degrading of people's dignity, 20 years after liberation.
Cope has serious concerns about these kinds of externalities that affect the quality of life in communities. These include the current record of what is happening in local government as the face of government.
In Gauteng, there had been 560 protests in the province within a period of 40 days. All these are service delivery protests - a growing discontent with the government. The department is a spectator while the country is burning. [Interjections.]
Municipalities fail communities. There are various disturbing illustrations of this poor state of affairs. The Auditor-General's report on the state of the municipalities indicated that only 13 municipalities had a clean audit report - representing 5% - and 45% had an unqualified report with various concerns. The disgraceful manner in which municipalities are managed affects people's wellness, and indicates how dangerous and reckless officials are when it comes to the quality of service delivery. As a result, protests are increasing dramatically. This is a testimony that something is radically wrong in this country.
The high level of corruption and lack of punitive action taken against these charlatans are depriving the poor of their basic rights to improved services.
Chairperson, when looking at selective programmes, Cope has serious concerns. Programme 3 on governance and intergovernmental relations states as its objective that everything possible must be done to promote good governance and public participation by strengthening the functionality of the ward committees. This implies implementing the funding model for municipalities, but the effectiveness of ward committees to make participatory governance possible is hampered by red tape, the lack of public participation and the alignment of legislation to give greater functional powers to ward committees.
This is preventing direct representation of the communities in councils to assist with matters of the integrated development plans, IDPs. Cope maintains that improved public participation legislation is important. [Interjections.]
Currently, the ward committee model is a top-down bureaucratic window- dressing exercise that renders public participation, as a civil tool, hollow. More must be done to secure greater service delivery, for it is all to do with the IDPs. The current Western Cape issue about the 80 000 toilet backlog, where people do not have proper sanitation facilities and 958 households still use the bucket system, is unacceptable. [Interjections.] The current situation in municipalities reflects this bias if we look at the lack of financial management, poor administration and corruption. The Global Competitiveness Index 2012 ranked South Africa 52nd out of 144 countries. This is reflected in the poor service delivery record, the lack of monitoring and evaluation processes, and their impact on citizens' wellness. This indicates that the Municipal Turnaround Strategy did not deliver on the expectations.
This highlights the need to secure greater skills development in the area of Programme 2 regarding planning, development and the implementation of a knowledge and information management system. However, again, if there is no incentive or punitive action, the lack of accountability will just further contribute to the current chaos.
The public participation process is skewed and needs tougher legislation. Society must become more involved to directly address the problems of communities.
Hon Minister, I want to use this opportunity to raise my concern regarding the Traditional Courts Bill, which gives unconstitutional rights to chiefs and practitioners of traditional rituals that are unsafe. There is also the aspect of discrimination against women who are not able to defend themselves in the presence of the chief. The current initiation deaths in Mpumalanga are also illustrating how the MEC is prevented from doing an inspection, in this case, on the mountain. The current initiation death toll in Mpumalanga, which stands at 27, indicates that serious amendments are needed to the Bill to be in line with the Constitution.
Hon Minister, Programme 3 on governance and intergovernmental relations ... [Time expired.] [Interjections.]
Order! Order, hon members! Hon members, please let us give other members a chance to make their point. To drown them out will not substitute what they are saying in this House. Let's allow them to speak their minds. Everyone has a right to be heard. Please let us protect the decorum of this House.
Chairperson and hon Minister, I would like to say that the IFP will be voting in favour of your Budget Vote today.
However, we do so with a very heavy heart. It is a grudge vote. We are not happy with your performance. We think it is unsatisfactory. I will be fair to the Minister and to his department and say there have been a number of positive initiatives during the course of the year. Not everything is bad news. To be fair let me mention some of these positive things: There is a new equitable share formula; there is the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, Misa, and there is a regulation of municipal employment by the local municipalities. All these are fine. They are good. We approve of them.
However, the key thing is, it has taken 15 years to get to this stage. For 15 years, we have been complaining about these things in this House. It is only now that you are doing something. If every issue takes 10 years to respond to, what does that say about the effectiveness of this department? [Interjections.] Now Chair, it is a fact ... [Interjections.] Can I beg your protection from this racket, Chair? The rabble ... [Interjections.]
Hon members, this is Parliament. Let us behave like parliamentarians. Proceed, sir.
Thank you, Chair. My clock has been moving the whole time.
It is a fact that everybody in South Africa seems to know - except the members on this side of the House - that local government is in trouble and, like it or not, the buck stops here, with this Minister and his department; nowhere else. It is true, and the Minister made the same point - and let us be fair - that not every municipality is in trouble; there are some very good ones doing a good job.
However, we do not believe you are making sufficient progress, Minister, in achieving the objective expressed in Outcome 9, which is the responsive, accountable, effective and efficient local government system. Now, I am sure you and your colleagues are going to defend what you are doing. You are going to say that nothing is bleak, that you have recognised the challenges and that you are dealing with everything well.
However, I think people are sick to death of listening to this. People are tired of endless excuses of why things are not what they should be. They are tired of listening to promises that tomorrow there is going to be a big change, when that never happens. While we sit and have our Budget Vote debate in this House, countless people outside are very unhappy about the state of their municipalities and what is going on.
Journalists will tell you that there is an avalanche of bad stories that they cannot even print in the press or air anymore. There is just so much of it. This bad news that we hear is actually only a small fraction of what is going on. The reality is that there is an iceberg of local government failure out there. All we talk about is the tip floating above the waterline - that little 5% or 10% which is what people recognise - instead of the 95% underneath that we are not recognising. That is critical, Chair.
Four years ago, things were so bad that the President called the big local government indaba for discussion of a turnaround strategy. This was meant to be the decisive point from which everything would improve. Four years later, we are looking back, asking ourselves whether that has really happened. A whole set of basic objectives were churned out.
Interestingly, we had this thing called "Vision 2014". Let me read these delightful objectives for you. This document proclaims that by next year - we have seven months left before 2014 - all citizens would have access to affordable basic services; all informal settlements would be eradicated; all cities would be clean; all schools would have access to basic services; all municipalities would have unqualified audits, and violent service delivery protests would be eliminated. This is just stuff for daydreaming. I go to bed at night and I have dreams like this. However, this is not meant to be a government programme, really.
Take something as basic as the delivery of toilets. Surely, colleagues, it is a disgrace that, in the year 2013, 13 years after this new system was introduced, we have vast numbers of dwellings without acceptable toilets. The ventilated improved pit, VIP, latrine is the minimum standard. It is disgraceful that the bucket system is still with us - that applies to you, hon members over there, as well as you, hon members. [Laughter.] It is disgraceful that when you open a newspaper every week you read stories of sewerage running down the street of some township or other. It is disgraceful.
In Durban they are now giving people RDP houses with no water and no electricity; you have to go to a standpipe to get a bucket of water, flush the toilet, and the water then goes into an open pit outside where children are running around playing. That is Durban for you. [Interjections.] Well, maybe, then that is you also. If municipalities cannot even get toilets right, what hope is there for more complex infrastructural delivery? That is part of the reason why municipalities are unable to spend the capital grants, Minister. They cannot even build toilets. How can they do anything else? It is outrageous.
Look at Operation Clean Audit 2014. Year after year we hear these pious pronouncements from the department about unqualified audits, but the Auditor-General does not show as much progress. What he does is complain about the lack of political will and the lack of consequences when he makes recommendations. Even if you get a clean audit, Minister, which is a wonderful thing, all we hear is what a wonderful thing is a clean audit. This year the Auditor-General stress-tested municipalities which had unqualified audits against their financial health. He found that 30% of municipalities which had unqualified audits are financially in distress. So let us not raise the bar so high that we think there is perfection once we get an unqualified audit.
The issue of corruption is really a sad one. If you look at what this department has contributed towards solving the problem of corruption since the year 1996, it is probably zero. I do not think they have done anything. I have never heard of anything useful coming out of this department in the 17 years that I have been in this committee, dealing with corruption. Perhaps it is because it has done nothing or maybe it is because it is incapable of doing anything in terms of the new roles assigned by everybody to sort out corruption. They have a minimal role in combating corruption, just a small role.
Corruption Watch, which is the ally, the body created by your tripartite alliance, are not here in the House. They are far more vocal on corruption than you are, Minister, or your team here. They are much more vocal. [Inaudible.] Not according to this, Chair. It is still running here. I still have a credit. [Applause.] [Time expired.]
Chairperson, I think this debate needs to be stimulated a little bit so that hon members can listen to each other.
Mutshamaxitulu, Yindlu leyo hlonipheka, Holobye, Xandla xa Holobye, vaMEC, timeyara loko ti ri kona, tihosi hinkwato ta tiko rerhu ra Afrika-Dzonga, mutshamaxitulu wa yindlu ya tihosi na vatshamaswitulu va tindlu ta tihosi eka swifundzankulu swa tiko rerhu, ndzi rhandza ku mi losa eka ndzhenga wa namuntlha. Ndzi lava ku kongomisa mbulavulo wa mina swinene eka ndzawulo leyi nga yona yi tirhaka ku seketela mimfumoxikaya, mimfumoswivongo ya vukosi na tihosi ta tiko. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, honourable House, Minister, Deputy Minister, MECs, mayors, if any, all the chiefs of our country South Africa, chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders and chairpersons of the House of Traditional Leaders from the different provinces of our country, I want to salute you all this afternoon. I want to focus my debate on the Ministry that supports local governments, tribal authorities and chiefs.]
Hon Chairperson, the establishment of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is a real indication of government's commitment to affirm traditional affairs and the role of traditional leaders in their communities. A key mandate of this department is, among others, to ensure that traditional leaders work co-operatively with the three spheres of government, and the local councillors in particular.
Hon Minister, we all know that, since 2009, Traditional Affairs became an independent department from the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta. However, we have not yet heard of any separate Budget Vote and its new Minister. Maybe the National Treasury has not yet completed the process, or the President has not yet decided to appoint a Minister at this point in time. However, if this process could be finalised sooner or later, we would appreciate it. The institutions of traditional leadership and customary law are given due recognition by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in Chapter 12 and in Schedule 4.
We would also like to commend the ANC-led government, in consultation with various relevant stakeholders within our broader society, for having promulgated so many pieces of legislation and policies to support traditional leadership and institutions. Here I refer to legislation like the ones on traditional affairs, institutional support and co-ordination, the National House of Traditional Leaders Act, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities Act, and many more. There is also other legislation. Section 81 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act of 1997, for example, provides for the representation of traditional leaders in municipal councils.
In our budget review and recommendation report on traditional leadership and institutions, we recommended that the department should provide traditional institutions with the necessary tools of trade that will enable those institutions to provide services to our communities. We also made a recommendation that the national Traditional Affairs Bill be fast-tracked, as it will, among other things, address the provincial disparities in the treatment of traditional leaders.
It is surprising that on matters that affect traditional leadership and its institutions, especially when they could become a Bill, everybody rises up. However, it is not so surprising, because most of our people do not understand this kind of institution. Therefore, everybody talks about the constitutionality of the matters thereof. However, they don't come out clearly about which matters need to be constitutionalised. All those things need to be looked into before the time.
This was done in order to strengthen the institutional support of these traditional affairs institutions and to further enhance the development of appropriate policies, norms and standards, systems and the regulatory framework governing traditional leadership and institutions as entrenched in our Constitution. In other words, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has an obligation to provide numerous forms of support to the institution.
We are aware that the mission of this department is, among other things, to integrate traditional affairs for sustainable development and social cohesion, and to promote, protect and preserve cultural heritage and our culture in all its diversity.
Hon Minister, we highly appreciate your department giving support to the House of Traditional Leaders in conducting an induction of members of the house. We also commend the department for developing the traditional leadership empowerment programme to implement the recommendation of the report on the state of governance of traditional leadership structures.
As much as we appreciate the department for giving financial and administrative support, we have realised that the department is not doing enough in the reconstitution of the long-awaited processes of traditional councils. It is long overdue. We can argue that if you really mean business, hon Minister and the Director-General, DG, of the Department of Traditional Affairs in supporting traditional institutions to exercise their powers and perform their duties as expected, you should definitely first consider constituting those traditional councils.
We expect this department, with great pride, to provide human resources, and technical and professional support to traditional institutions for activities on celebrations of cultural events, especially at local level.
We all know that this year marks the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913, which had a very bad and negative impact on all African people - what a notorious Act it was! In his state of the nation address and in his official opening of the House of Traditional Leaders this year, President Jacob Zuma said, and I quote:
This year, 2013, marks the centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913 which, since its promulgation and commencement on 19 June 1913, turned our African people into wanderers, labourers who felt rejected in their own land.
Misava manana wa hina. Inkomu. [Mother Earth. Thank you.] [Applause.]
Agb Voorsitter en Minister, ek aanvaar ek kan die IVP se tydgleuf vat. Hulle het vir my ges ek mag dit gebruik. Agb Minister, u kom na hierdie podium en vertel vir die mense van Suid-Afrika hoe wonderlik dit eintlik gaan op plaaslike regeringsvlak. U gee vir die mense die rekord van die regering aangaande water wat gelewer word en alles wat daarmee gepaard gaan.
As dit dan so wonderlik gaan, hoe is dit moontlik dat daar, volgens die statistiek van die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens, die afgelope vier jaar meer as 3 000 stakings en protesoptogte was teen swak dienslewering? Dit beteken ongeveer twee protesoptogte per dag. Die Gautengse Kommissaris van Polisie het nou ook aangekondig dat daar hierdie jaar in Gauteng alleen gemiddeld 16 protesoptogte per dag was teen swak dienslewering.
Ek wil 'n provinsie soos Noordwes noem. Verlede jaar was dit die tweede agtereenvolgende jaar wat nie een enkele munisipaliteit in Noordwes 'n skoon ouditverslag kon lewer nie ten spyte daarvan dat hulle R29 miljoen gespandeer het aan konsultante net om hul ouditstate op te stel. En u wil vir die mense s dat dit goed gaan? Daar is 'n nuwe tendens, en dit is dat geld wat verbruikers vir elektrisiteit en water betaal, wanaangewend word deur munisipaliteite. Munisipaliteite betaal nie hul rekeninge nie en dan word die munisipaliteit deur Eskom en die waterraad gedreig dat hul water en elektrisiteit afgesluit gaan word.
Minister, u moet nie dink dat water nie afgesluit kan word nie, want dis mos nou 'n grondwetlike reg. Ek wil vir u na die Matlosana Plaaslike Munisipaliteit toe neem. Die watervoorsiener daar het my reguit ges dat hulle nie die geld het om hul masjienerie aan die gang te hou nie. Met ander woorde, hulle kan nie produksie lewer nie, want hul operasionele koste het eenvoudig in duie gestort, want die munisipaliteit betaal nie sy water nie.
Plaaslike regering is in 'n krisis. U moet optree. Ek praat nie eens van korrupsie nie. In die hele Noordwes word elke munisipaliteit deur die Spesiale Ondersoekeenheid, die SOE, ondersoek. Dis 'n korrupte spul, want u gaan voort met kaderontplooiing wat nie die vermo het om behoorlike administrasie en dienste te lewer nie. U penaliseer nou die verbruiker.
Wanneer 'n munisipaliteit se krag afgesluit word, dan is u die verantwoordelike persoon wat 'n krisis vir die ekonomiese ontwikkeling van daardie munisipaliteit veroorsaak het. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson and Minister, I take it I can use the timeslot of the IFP. They have told me I may use it. Hon Minister, you come to this rostrum and tell the people how wonderful things actually are at local government level. You provide the people with a record of government in respect of the water that is being delivered and all that goes with it.
If things are so wonderful, then how is it possible, according to the statistics from the SA Police Service, that there were more than 3 000 strike actions and protest marches against poor service delivery over the past four years? This means about two protest marches per day. The Gauteng Commissioner of Police has now also announced that, in Gauteng alone for this year, there were on average 16 protest marches per day against poor service delivery.
I want to mention a province such as North West. Last year was the second consecutive year in which not one municipality in North West could submit a clean audit report, despite spending R29 million on consultants for just drawing up their audit statements. And you want to tell the people that all is well?
There is a new trend, namely that the money paid by the consumers for electricity and water is now being misappropriated by the municipalities. Municipalities are not paying their bills and then a municipality will be warned by Eskom and the water board that its water and electricity will be cut off. Minister, do not think that water cannot be cut off just because it is a constitutional right. I want to take you to the Matlosana Local Municipality. The water supplier there has told me openly that they do not have the finances to keep their machinery going. In other words, they cannot keep up the production because their operational costs have simply collapsed, since the municipality is not paying for its water.
Local government is in crisis. You have to act. I'm not even mentioning corruption. In the whole of the North West every municipality is being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit, the SIU. It is a corrupt business, because you keep on deploying cadres who are not capable of delivering proper administration and services. You are now penalising the consumer.
When a municipality has its electricity cut off, you are the person responsible for bringing on a crisis for the economic development of that municipality. I thank you.]
Mohlomphegi Modulasetulo, mohl Tona, mohl Motlat?atona, Maloko a Palamente ao a hlomphegang, baeng ba bohlokwa bao ba bothaneng ka mo madulo a ka godimo, bomme le bontate, ke rata go le dumedi?a.
Kgweding ye ya Setemere ngwageng wa 2000, Afrika Borwa e ile ya ikgokaganya le dit?haba t?e lekgolo le masomeseswai senyane t?a lefase go itlama go lenaneo la tlhabollo ya lefase. Ka go dira bjale, Afrika Borwa e amoget?e diphihlelelo t?a thlabollo ya meleniamo t?e seswai t?a 2015, t?ona ke t?e: go fihlela thuto ya motheo ya gohle; go fedi?a bodiidi le tlala; tekatekanyo ya bong; go kaonafat?a maphelo a bana; go kaonafat?a maphelo a sesadi; go netefat?a gore tikologo e kgona go swarelela go ya go ile; go hloma dikamano t?a lefase; le go thibela HIV le Aids. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs D F BOSHIGO: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests in the gallery, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all.
In September 2000 South Africa joined the 189 United Nations member states in the world development programme. South Africa has received the eight millennium development goals of 2015, and they are as follows: achieving universal primary education; eradicating extreme poverty and hunger; promoting gender equality; reducing child mortality rates; improving maternal health; ensuring environmental sustainability; developing a global partnership for development; and combating HIV/Aids.]
Chairperson, five years later, in 2005, the ANC government opened itself up to public scrutiny by the world in the form of a first report on progress in respect of the above-mentioned goals. The government did this because it understands that the overriding strategic objective of government is to change the people's lives for the better. In this regard, it is essential that the impact of its policies on the lives of the people should be assessed through credible mechanisms of multilateral bodies, amongst others.
The President of the Republic of South Africa was underscoring this relationship between government policy interventions in governance on the one hand and impact measurement on the other hand, when he said:
Census 2011 will also help us know how far we are with regards to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, adopted by heads of state in the year 2000.
Not surprisingly, in 2005 a report concluded that for a number of goals, targets and associated indicators, considerable progress towards the achievement of national targets has been made. They apply specifically to economic growth, poverty reduction, gender equality, primary education and maternal health. At the same time, there was a worrying trend in HIV/Aids prevalence, whilst unemployment and inequality remained at high levels.
The ANC government intervened at a policy level to change the above picture for the better by implementing the resolutions of the 52nd national conference of the governing party. The previous government interventions were reinforced when health, education and job creation, amongst others, were prioritised with firm resolutions on how the picture should be changed to improve the lives of the people of South Africa, in general, and women and the poor, in particular.
A lot has been reported about the significant decline in the infant mortality rate, a figure which shows that the country is doing well to significantly reduce the number of deaths among infants. Similar progress has also been recorded in the area of HIV/Aids prevalence, especially as a result of the successes in significantly arresting the incidence of mother- to-child transmission through the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes.
The Census 2011 statistics on education reveal another success of the ANC government, in that under the policies of the ANC government we have seen a decrease in the proportion of the population with no formal education. In 1996, within two years of the ANC government assuming power, there were 4 million people of 20 years of age and older who had no schooling. By 2011 the ANC government had reduced the number to 2,6 million. This represents a shift from 19,1% in 1996 to 8,6% in 2011. Now we know why some amongst us want to cast doubts on Statistics SA.
The proportion of persons with Grade 12 has increased from 3,5 million in 1996 to 9 million in 2011. The overall proportion of people with higher education remains low in relation to the total population. However, it continues to show a notable upward trend from 1,5 million in 1996 to 3,6 million in 2011. This represents a percentage increase of 4,7% of the population group of people 20 years of age and older. From the above statistics, and judging by massive interventions that continue to be made by the ANC government in areas of education and health in particular, South Africa will be able to report significant progress to the world in 2015.
The global economic downturn will certainly continue to strangle the government's efforts at fighting poverty, unemployment and inequality, but these areas, including women empowerment and gender equality, are uppermost in the minds of the leadership of South Africa, as evidenced in detailed policy interventions in these areas.
The Community Work Programme, CWP, is a community-driven partnership programme which is aimed at tackling poverty and unemployment. The programme provides an employment safety net by giving participants a minimum number of regular days of work, typically two days a week or eight days a month, thus providing a predictable income stream. Within a year of the programme's inception, it had succeeded in creating 89 689 work opportunities in 56 sites, spread throughout the nine provinces across 45 municipalities and covering 417 wards. By the end of the 2011-12 financial year, the sites had grown from 56 at the end of the 2010-11 financial year to 74 by the end of the 2011-12 financial year. The CWP is designed as an employment safety net, not as an employment solution for the participants. The purpose is to supplement people's existing livelihood strategies in offering a basic level of income security through work. It is an ongoing programme that does not replace government's existing social grants programme but complements it.
This background is an example of the continuing successes of many similar initiatives aimed at job creation and poverty alleviation which are made possible by the ANC government's commitment to intervene and partner with the people in order for them to bring about change in their own lives. The primary purpose of the CWP is to: provide an employment safety net, considering that sustainable employment solutions will take time and will reach the most marginalised last; contribute to the development of public assets and services in poor communities; strengthen community development approaches; and strengthen the economic agency of people in marginalised economic areas.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa requires accountability and transparency in the discharge of government functions aimed at improving the lives of the people. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, Minister Baloyi, the Minister from Jamaica and our guests, comrades and friends, 63% of our people live in urban areas. Hands up those of you who knew that. That's what the Census 2011 statistics shows. And this will increase to 71,3% by 2030 and nearly 80% by 2050, says the United Nations. Now, tell me how many of you knew that? Okay, okay, I'm showing off here! I only got to know this because Minister Baloyi delegated urban development issues to me, and I have had to quickly get to know this area. [Interjections.]
You like to heckle in IsiZulu so that I'm not going to understand you. I've been helped, as have other Deputy Ministers working in this area, by a team of technical experts from whose work, which will soon be put in the public domain, I draw on heavily for this input.
The adoption of the National Development Plan, NDP, let me stress, has also helped by giving further impetus to the need to better manage urban development.
Chairperson, I should point out that there is a Rule in the Rules of Parliament - the Chief Whip will confirm it - which states that those of us, like me, who have a horrible throat infection should have our 15 minutes expanded to about 18 or 19 minutes. [Laughter.] Will you check with the Chief Whip ... [Laughter.] ... because I have to reach out to my water and that has to be counted off my speaking time. [Interjections.]
Order, Deputy Minister! We will look into that.
Clearly, comrades and friends, South Africa, as is the case with much of Africa, is experiencing massive migration from rural to urban areas. We cannot leave our towns and cities to manage this process on their own. We need a concerted and co-operative effort from all three spheres of government, civil society stakeholders and the public to manage urban development effectively.
Trends in most developing countries, experts tell us, suggest that urbanisation generates significant opportunities for growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. Generally, large urban settlements make a disproportionate contribution to productivity, growth and job creation. Cities have the potential to be economically dynamic through the spatial concentration of productive activity, entrepreneurs, workers and consumers.
However, urban growth is also associated with growing levels of inequality and environmental damage. These trends are evident in our cities, where inequality is most obvious. Our towns and cities, regrettably, are inequitable and inefficient, most obviously in their spatial form. With urbanisation processes predicted to continue, the slow economic growth, inadequate infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, weak governance and increasing instances of social conflict suggest that South Africa is increasingly experiencing the downside pressures of urbanisation. We have yet to capture the substantial benefits that other countries have reaped - not least developing countries - from their towns and cities.
Most experts suggest that there is a correlation between economic development and urbanisation. The wealthier a country becomes on a per capita basis, the higher the rates of urbanisation are likely to be and vice versa. When a country approaches being 40% to 50% urban, and we of course are 63% urban, it is said it makes a transition from being low or lower-middle income to upper-middle income. If this transition is managed through the alignment of economic and social development and spatial policies, a country could benefit enormously.
We must be clear, though, that rural development remains a key priority of this government. It was one of the five pillars of the ANC's 2009 Election Manifesto and we will have to report on this as we go to the electorate for the 2014 elections. It's precisely because of our concern about rural development that we need to give greater attention to urban development.
Urban development is often misconstrued as an alternative to rural development. However, successful towns and cities are key to rural transformation. Strong urban economic growth and effective urban poverty reduction generate public resources that fund rural development programmes. Many urban households are intimately connected to rural areas, remitting financial support and making long-term investments in rural areas. Familial and cultural ties, as most of you know better than me, between people in rural and urban areas run deep for most South Africans. It is not easy any more to clearly define the boundaries between urban and rural areas.
Agriculture contributes, regrettably, 3% to the gross domestic product, GDP, with very limited jobs. If our rural programmes succeed and we double our output, we are still likely to see agriculture contribute only 6% to GDP. We can't effectively address poverty through a rural-focused strategy alone, as important as this is. We have to get our urban economies to perform much better to benefit rural areas, too.
Urban and rural areas are connected through flows of nature, people, and economic resources. Urban areas depend on food production, the provision of recreational areas and ecological services found in the rural areas. However, rural areas also depend on urban areas for inputs into agriculture such as machinery, equipment, and fertilisers. Urban areas, in turn, are the most important markets for agricultural products, and the quality of the connective infrastructure such as roads, information and communications technology, ICT, postal services, railways and waterways determines the growth potential of agricultural producers. If rural areas are mismanaged or underinvested in, unequal development will progressively undermine the viability of both the urban and rural areas.
Ultimately, a failure to facilitate equitable forms of urban growth can severely undermine the efficacy of both rural development and vice versa. Given the interdependencies between these two spaces, failure to facilitate sustainable rural development will put enormous pressure on urban systems as more people are pushed into urban spaces.
Global evidence suggests that a failure to adequately manage urban growth will not slow urbanisation over the long run, but rather undermine both urban and rural development outcomes.
The links between urban and rural development were captured by the President in his state of the nation address in February 2013:
While rural development remains a priority of government, it is crucial that we also develop a national integrated urban development framework to assist municipalities to effectively manage rapid urbanisation. As part of implementing the National Development Plan, all three spheres of government need to manage the new wave of urbanisation in ways that also contribute to rural development.
Urbanisation and the growing informality of our urban settlements present increasing pressures on the natural environment. These include issues of sufficient clean water, adequate and hygienic sanitation, organised urban waste management and recycling, the impact of transport, and air and water pollution. There are risks for both the environmental health of citizens and the degradation of vulnerable ecosystems. Matters of risk reduction in terms of climate change and managing the consequences of changing weather patterns also need more active intervention by municipalities. An urban development policy has to include this as one of its major aims.
We have made significant gains since 1994 in service delivery and development, but we have not succeeded in reversing apartheid spatial patterns. For a variety of reasons, not least the pressure to provide housing and services fast, most of our infrastructure investments have served to reinforce the apartheid status quo in spatial terms, effectively making it harder, in 2013, to reverse apartheid geographies than it was in 1994.
South African cities have some of the lowest urban densities in the world combined with a highly fragmented spatial form. They are inefficient from a resource consumption point of view because of peripheral settlement sprawl, vehicle-based mobility and gated residential developments for the middle classes versus township areas on the periphery, both of which require long commuting times.
Spatial transformation is key to building inclusive, sustainable and productive cities. The NDP points to the need for a structured national conversation on the future of our towns and cities, a national spatial development framework, a spatial fund, the negotiation of spatial compacts at all levels, and revised norms for spatial development. Our work on urban development seeks to take this further within the framework of the National Development Plan.
Various departments and agencies at national and provincial level have important policy and regulatory functions which impact on urban development, but they don't exercise them in a co-ordinated manner. Municipalities also have significant powers and functions on urban development issues, and the state-owned entities, SOEs, often take decisions on urban infrastructure which impact significantly on urban areas without consulting municipalities.
There is clearly a need for greater co-ordination in managing urban development. The government has for some while been aware of this. In fact, in 1995 an Urban Development Strategy was drafted and in 1997 the Urban Development Framework was adopted. In 2003 the government developed a National Spatial Development Perspective which was updated in 2006. Unfortunately, none of this was implemented properly. But the need to develop a consensual national integrated urban policy continued to hover and, in 2009, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, in co-operation with the Presidency Cities Network and the SA Local Government Association, Salga, drafted the National Urban Development Framework. It was submitted to Cabinet in 2009, but Cabinet decided to give it back to Cogta to feed into the National Development Plan.
With the adoption of the NDP, the issue of an Integrated Urban Development Framework, IUDF, is back on the agenda, under Minister Baloyi's leadership. The Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission's Strategic Integrated Projects have also put integrated urban development back on the agenda, as has the World Urban Forum in 2012 last year, which I tried to cajole and goad the Minister to go to, but I ended up going to Italy to the lovely city of Naples. One thing I have learned there is that the World Urban Forum wants all countries, not least Africa, to have urban development precisely for rural areas.
In fact, the 2009 report, Chief Whip, says that urbanisation, done right, can help development more in Africa than elsewhere. So, this idea that rural and urban are counterposed is a fallacy that we need to address stridently. It is a challenge within our own party, and the Minister and I are working on dealing with that. So, I am addressing you, Chief Whip, partly because of that.
Also, let me say that, with the Brics chairpersonship by South Africa this year, urbanisation and friendly cities now fall squarely under Minister Baloyi's responsibility. That, again, is an emphasis on why ... [Interjections.] ... Oh, my G*d. I have very little time left. That's an atheist appealing to God!
Essentially, the aims of the Integrated Urban Development Framework, IUDF, are the implementation of the NDP to provide a national framework for municipalities to manage the rapid urbanisation; the co-operation of government departments within the national and provincial spheres, and between them and local government in managing rapid urbanisation better as part of a more integrated co-operative governance system that Minister Baloyi referred to earlier; mobilising stakeholders in civil society and the public to play an active role in managing urbanisation effectively; enhancing economic growth and job creation through the identification of the necessary economic levers that contribute to developmental outcomes, including improved capabilities of citizens; more reliable liveable areas and a more productive economy.
I will go on to say that currently we have an Integrated Political Forum, IPF, comprising the Deputy Ministers of Cogta, Human Settlements and Transport, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, of Rural Development and Land Reform and of Finance, Salga and the South African Cities Network chairpersons. The Deputy Ministers report to their respective Ministers under the leadership of Minister Baloyi.
A panel of experts, led by Prof Edgar Pieterse and Dr Vuyokazi Mahlati, is about to finalise a draft discussion document within the next two weeks on the IUDF. Once it has been processed by Minister Baloyi and his colleagues in the same portfolio, the aim is to take it to the public domain, with the hope of taking it to Cabinet later this year as part of implementing the integrated development policy.
The IUDF, it must be stressed, aims to be concrete and of practical value and it will take into account already existing programmes and projects directed at managing urban development better. Yes, we understand the capacity challenges; that will be taken account of.
Public participation is crucial in shaping and implementing the Integrated Urban Development Framework. As with much else, we just cannot succeed without public participation. This input today sounds perhaps very impressive, but I have drawn a lot on technical experts. It was the easiest speech to prepare, Minister. I just took whole chunks and reworked it into my own words. These are the ideas of technical experts; it may be more amenable, therefore, for the DA and other parties to accept it.
This input today is the initial foray, as brief as it is. We want this IUDF to go into the public domain. You as Parliament have a key role to play in taking this forward. We look forward to engaging with you more concertedly on the IUDF in the near future and your active participation in making it a living reality.
Let's work together to get things done. Thank you. [Applause.]
Sihlalo weNdlu yoWiso-mthetho, yelizwe lakowethu, aBaphathiswa abakhoyo, amaLungu ePalamente kunye neendwendwe ezibalulekieyo, mandiqale ngondoqo. Umbutho wesizwe i-ANC iyaluxhasa olu hlahlo-lwabiwo-mali. Ndiyitsho loo nto ndicacelwe yinto yokuba imoto ehambayo ziyayikhonkotha kodwa, emileyo ziyayichamela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Mr J M MATSHOBA: Chairperson of the National Assembly, Ministers present here, hon Members of Parliament and important guests, let me start off with the core of my speech; the ANC supports this Budget Vote. I say this conscious of the fact that successful people's actions are more likely to lead to debate than the actions of those who are not. [Applause.]]
The ANC-led government is unequalled when it comes to the delivery of services, striving to address the imbalances of the past and resolve the inequitable development patterns, as can be witnessed across all provinces. No government in the country has ever done this before.
Urhulumente wombutho wesizwe i-ANC akanayo intanga xa kufikelelwa kumba wokuhanjiswa kweenkonzo. [The ANC-led government has no equal when it comes to the issue of service delivery.]
The Municipal Demarcation Board was established in 1999 in terms of Chapter 7 of the Constitution. It is an independent constitutional body, a juristic person challenged to perform its functions without fear. The independent status of the board is underscored by the findings of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of Chapter 9 and Associated Institutions.
Additionally, the role of the board was strengthened by the Constitutional Court on 15 November 1999 when it confirmed its power to categorise municipalities throughout the republic. It is funded by Parliament through the national Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. In terms of accountability and oversight, it is answerable to Parliament by way of annual reports and has, from time to time, to appear in Parliament to report on its performance.
It is responsible for the task of spatially transforming and reversing the apartheid geography by determining municipal outer boundaries and inner ward boundaries. It is also in existence to address the apartheid settlement patterns which in the past have been spatially, socially and economically distorted. For example, in the past, the country had only four provinces and 10 homelands - or you could also call them Bantustans, some of which were fragmented.
In terms of achievements, the Municipal Demarcation Board has made a tremendous breakthrough as revealed in the following milestones. With regard to the integration of municipalities, during the period 1999 to 2000, the board has successfully rationalised the total number of municipalities from 843 to 284. Eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district and 231 local municipalities were demarcated within a period of 15 months. Successful elections were held in the years 2000, 2006 and 2011 within wards duly delimited by the board; for the year 2000 elections, 3 754 wards were delimited; for the year 2006 elections, 3 895 and for the year 2011 the wards grew up to 4 277.
Regarding capacity assessments, all was undertaken to empower provincial MECs responsible for local government to adjust powers and functions between district and local municipalities to enhance service delivery. Regarding district management areas, the board was instrumental in cleaning up local government structures by withdrawing all declarations of these management areas during the 2008 to 2009 period. With regard to ending the era of cross-boundary municipalities, the number of the district municipalities was reduced from 47 to 44.
Whilst some achievements have been made since the inception of the board, there have been some incidents of protests around the question of demarcation, as witnessed in Sasolburg.
Mandiyicacise ke le nto. Abantu bakuthi bayantlokothiswa. Abantu bethu mabangayivumeli into yokuntlokothiswa ngabantu abazibiza namhlanje ngokuba zii-concerned groups. Bathatha abantu bakuthi kuba bengazi nto ukuba baye kuthatha ngolunya izinto zabantu njengaseZamdela. Umonakalo owenziwe eZamdela ngabantu bethatha izinto zabantu ngenxa yentlungu yokungazi, umntu omnye okanye abantu abanye bakhwaze abantu babe bengenalwazi lupheleleyo.
Le nto iyafana naphaya eSterkspruit, abantu babizwe ngumntu ongazi nto yena buqu, kuba kaloku esonqena ukufunda, athathe abantu bakuthi abantlokothise. Ngenxa yokuba umbutho wethu ukrelekrele, zonke izinto uzibeke phantsi kolawulo, uyazazi ukuba uzilungisa njani. Andifuni kuyichaza ngoku kuba iya kundithatha ixesha kodwa sele egqibile ukulungisa ezo zinto. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Let me explain. Our people are being misled and they should not allow themselves to be misled by the so-called "concerned groups". These groups encourage our people, because they are nave, to loot shops, as was the case in Zamdela. Huge damage was caused in Zamdela as a result of looting by nave people, who were misled by a few individuals. The same happened in Sterkspruit, where people were called together by a person who himself knows nothing because he was lazy to study, and they were misled by him. Because our organisation is wise, everything is under control and our organisation knows how to resolve these things. I do not want to elaborate for lack of time, but the organisation has already resolved these issues. [Applause.]]
Some of the key challenges to be looked at broadly include political parties engaging with the redetermination of words and ward processes in order to ensure that they are not joining in late; national and provincial structures engaging the Minister in the determination of the formula for the number of councillors; provincial structures integrating the section 18 notice of MECs before publication and seeking board assistance; regional structures fully engaging with the ward delimitation process and understanding its intricacies; and branches and constituency offices fully participating in public meetings and hearings.
The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency is an infrastructure support and development arm of the state intended to provide needed support and assistance to municipalities to speed up infrastructure service delivery and the spending of the municipal infrastructure grant allocated to municipalities. His Excellency, the hon President Jacob Zuma, in his state of the nation address reiterated the government's massive infrastructure investment plan. It is therefore imperative for local government to pull up its socks in the area of infrastructure delivery and to improve its spending patterns.
A series of delivery challenges have been reported across all provinces as a result of nonperformance in the area of infrastructure development and spending. At some stage, municipalities were reportedly spending a minimum of only 14% of their allocation, as was the case with their spending pattern regarding the R9,9 billion allocated during the 2011-12 financial year.
Whilst the agency is positioned to support municipalities with planning, management and other technical expertise to roll out infrastructure more efficiently and effectively, the state is very mindful of the role of other stakeholders, which must ensure that the agency works in a more coherent way.
The SA Local Government Association, Salga, is part of this partnership and must continue to provide technical and human resource support to all municipalities through its programmes and report accordingly. Active participation of strategic partners like the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta; Salga; the SA Municipal Workers' Union, Samwu; the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union, Imatu; the Development Bank of SA, DBSA, and the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, is considered crucial for the success of all support arrangements.
Section 129 deals with interventions in municipalities. The rising trend in the fall of performance and regressive decline of compliance by municipalities has culminated into a steady flow of local government under administration in terms of the provisions of section 139 of the Constitution. Notwithstanding the form of intervention that has been implemented by the government from time to time, it would appear that intervention in some municipalities is hardly yielding the expected results.
The ANC-led government hereby acknowledges upfront the problem of underperformance by some municipalities as a cause for concern. The government continues to provide support to such poorly performing municipalities by means of municipal recovery plans, which have been approved as new targets for performance improvement and compliance. These plans make use of the Auditor-General's reports as source documents and performance checklists for service delivery improvement planning.
Siyazichaza thina ezi zinto ngobunjalo bazo, asizifihli. [We put these things out in the open; we do not hide them.]
In the North West, as of now, there are two municipalities which are under administration. They are Ditsobotla and Maquassi Hills Local Municipalities. In KwaZulu-Natal, they are Mtubatuba, Imbabazane uThukela, UMzinyathi ...
Sizichaza zinjalo kuba siza kuzilungisa. [We put these things out in the open because we are going to resolve them.]
Ndiyabulela. [I thank you.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, the local government sector faces a lot of challenges - from the vastness of the communities they serve to poor infrastructure. However, the lack of good governance can no longer be excused as one the challenges. It must be faced and dealt with as the daylight robbery and criminality that it is. Corruption in local government robs citizens of the chance for decent a livelihood.
Financial mismanagement and weak accountability undermines any other strides that the sector has made. The extent to which funds are mismanaged reflects a completely dysfunctional system. We acknowledge some of the challenges faced by the sector, such as the skills gap. However, the current remedies applied do not necessarily translate into long-term solutions.
For many years now, local government has been making use of consultants because they lack capacity in certain areas. However, there is little evidence that the consultants impart their skills to municipal staff members and, as such, this failure means that the sector shall continue to spend billions on consultants. This is a problem that needs urgent addressing. Local government should not continue to be a vehicle that enriches the few.
It is apparent that policy-makers in this sector are completely detached from the reality faced by citizens. Hence we shall continue to see more and more violent protests. The reports that local government is the most corrupt sector, are a shame - a despicable shame - considering that it is the direct link to the poorest of the poor. The fact that only 18% of 278 municipalities received clean audits means we are sitting with a massive crisis.
Corrupt officials are looting local government at the expense of the poor, and there are very few who are prosecuted for these outrageous crimes. Reports that in some municipalities funds are channelled into the personal accounts of officials display the level of arrogance from those in the administration. This also reflects the rot of impunity in the current government administration.
We do hope that Operation Clean Audit by the department will yield the desired results. Self-serving, arrogant and incompetent political leadership needs to be dealt with decisively. Effective economic development depends on strong leadership.
Rre Tona, rona re le ba UCDP, re lela ka magosi a rona. A magosi a rona a tshwarwe ka go lekana. Ke go neye sekai, kwa Bokone Bophirima, goreng re sa nne le madi a a lekanang le dikgosi tse dingwe? Toropo ya rona ya Mahikeng e bidiwa toropo ya dikhuti; ke leina leo le eteilweng ka ntlha ya go tlhoka ditsela. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Hon Minister, we as the UCDP have a problem when it comes to our chiefs. Let us treat our chiefs equally. Let me give you an example: Why is it that the chiefs in the North West province do not have the same amount of money as other chiefs? Our town, Mahikeng, is named "pothole town". That is the name given to it due to lack of proper roads.]
The UCDP supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the local government equitable share is the share of nationally raised revenue, which is payable to the local government sphere in terms of section 214 of the Constitution.
For this financial year, R40,5 billion has been allocated to the local government equitable share. Over the years, this allocation has grown significantly. This reflects a commitment, as shown by the ANC government, to provide municipalities with greater resources to provide basic services.
In the 53rd conference of the ANC, the delegates resolved that the ANC government should address the issue of the equitable distribution of the local government equitable share across municipalities. In their collective wisdom, delegates resolved that there should be a major review of the local government finance system and should include a review of the equitable share formula.
The 2013-14 budget gives expression to the above-mentioned resolution as far as appropriations to equitable shares are concerned. This financial year sees the introduction of a revised equitable share formula that incorporates the latest census data and targets the most vulnerable municipalities without disadvantaging the relatively well-off municipalities.
All of the country's rural municipalities are set to benefit from this revised formula. This formula provides a subsidy for free basic services. However, underspending of the local government equitable share remains a chronic problem. Underspending of this allocation amounted to a total of R713,7 million as at 31 March 2013. In the 2011-12 financial year, National Treasury withheld R1,2 billion of the local government equitable share allocation due to the fact that municipalities were not spending their conditional grants.
The department will need to attend to the weak institutional and government structures that encourage these trends. If this is not addressed effectively, the benefits of additional funding to the poor municipalities may not be realised.
Under the ANC-led government the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities has been established to bring together the historically divided communities across cultures. It is through this commission that minority African groups such as the San and Khoi have been recognised. The commission's annual performance plan, as presented to Parliament in March 2013, will require a much more focused approach if it is to be realised. This will have to be in the areas of objective timeframes, activities and deadlines.
Disaster management is the mechanism through which emergency or disaster situations can be successfully managed and co-ordinated to ensure that the normalisation of any situation can take place in the shortest time possible. The Disaster Management Contingency Plan enables the local authority to react in a co-ordinated way with the aim of saving lives and properties. One of the programmes in which a significant amount of funds is invested is the disaster response management programme. For this financial year, R534,6 million is provided for disaster relief transfers to ensure the swift allocation and transfer of funds to affected provinces and municipalities. Unfortunately, red tape still hampers the release of these funds to disaster-stricken areas.
According to the department's 2011-12 annual plan, a disaster relief fund amounting to R727 million was unspent due to assessment processes that took longer than anticipated. This needs to be rectified urgently.
The implementation of local government turnaround strategies centres on the following key focus areas: service delivery, governance, financial management, and fighting corruption.
In the last Budget Vote speech, the Minister reported having identified over 300 pieces of legislation that are said to be impeding service delivery. The process of reviewing this still awaits completion. A team of lawyers is at work to deal with this matter so that it can establish facts, validate the claims and then continue to review the law. More should be done to expedite this process.
As acknowledged in the department's 2011-12 annual report, service delivery protests are rapidly becoming a fixed element of the South African sociopolitical landscape. More needs to be done to address service delivery challenges and to prevent violent protests. The ANC welcomes the amendment of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and the recent publication of the regulations for the application of conditions of service for senior managers in the municipalities.
However, the time-lag between the gazetting, the amendment Act and the publication of regulations may see unsuitable individuals being appointed before the regulations come into effect. A clear strategy to deal with this problem needs to be developed.
The ability to sustain sound financial management in local government is vital to the financial viability of municipalities. In this regard, under the leadership of the ANC, the department has undertaken a number of encouraging efforts, including Operation Clean Audit and the establishment of municipal public accounts committees.
While the clean audits campaign is in place, poor audit outcomes ... [Interjections.] Listen! ... of local government for the last financial year are a cause for concern. The municipal public accounts committees, on the other hand, have been fully established. The next step is to ensure their functionality.
Corruption must be stamped out. The ANC sees corruption as a cancer that slowly eats away the very soul of the poor. The ANC government will continue to perfect the intervention that it has introduced to deal with corruption.
Strengthening measures to fight corruption is one of the departmental policy priorities for the 2014 financial year. In this regard, the ANC government has committed itself to establish the corruption ... [Interjections.] Ke a leboga. [Thank you.] The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister and the entire House, my condolences go to the family of my colleague, journalist Vuyo Mbuli. May his soul rest in peace.
The past year has seen a number of the worst violent service delivery protests in history. Whilst some of these are politically motivated and are intended to drive campaigns of ungovernability, others are as a result of the genuine concerns of South Africans that continue to live in squalor, 19 years into democracy. It is absolutely heartbreaking.
The horrific living conditions in what has been dubbed the worst township in South Africa, Silverton, in the Eastern Cape, is an example of this. The residents of Silverton have to walk in the same streets where their human waste is deposited as there is absolutely no sewerage system in place. Some residents are still to gain access to clean water, as most of it is contaminated. Minister, we need to develop systems and structures to put an end to the inhumane conditions in these parts of our country.
The DA-led Western Cape government has to date proven that delivering efficient and effective service delivery is possible. [Interjections.] According to the results of Census 2011, 99,1% of Western Cape residents have access to piped water both inside and outside the yard, 91,1% have refuse removal, 93,4% have electricity, 96,9% have toilet facilities and, in terms of access to education, over 97,3% have access to schooling. [Interjections.]
Whilst the DA government has achieved a lot, there is still some way to go. I commend the efforts of the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, in working hard to ensure that residents in the province have the best access to basic services in the country. The Western Cape has set itself the target of 100% basic service delivery for all. I challenge all municipalities and provincial governments in South Africa to do the same.
In 2014 the DA will be campaigning to ensure that it governs more provinces to ensure that more and more South Africans are given access to basic service delivery. This is evidence that efficient service delivery is possible.
The increase in violent protests is being coupled with the increase in corruption where local councillors and other public representatives are flouting the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act and the Public Finance Management Act procedures by conducting business with their respective governments at the expense of residents.
It is disheartening that those responsible are not only junior staff members, but top officials and politicians who should be leading by example. Auditor-General Terrence Nombembe's last report reveals that contracts to the value of R141 million, identified in 42 government entities, were awarded to suppliers whose close family members had interests and were employees of such entities. This is an increase of R136 million from the 2010-2011 financial year. This follows the report by the Public Service Commission in 2010 which estimated that R624 million of public money went to companies with links to public servants, their families or members of their spouses' families. This, Minister, needs to stop. We cannot allow a situation where our people are worse off than in the apartheid era. [Interjections.]
A perfect example of this can be seen in the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, which has also been cause for much of the dissatisfaction of the people of South Africa. Although RDP houses are built, the sad truth is that many of them do not go to the deserving beneficiaries, but to the people who can afford to build houses for themselves, and those that obtain these houses get substandard finished products. Some of the rich people buy RDP sites and build double storey houses, which is illegal, as those sites are not meant for the affluent.
It seems nobody cares. The government budgets billions of rands each financial year in order to assist the indigent citizens of this country with houses. However, the people who are employed to ensure that RDP houses are constructed and delivered to the deserving beneficiaries have decided to enrich themselves by selling them. As a result of this corruption, it has become increasingly difficult for the government to achieve its goal of ensuring that all deserving citizens get these houses for free. Minister, it is imperative to put systems in place to ensure that the municipalities which are responsible for the roll-out of the programme execute their tasks with the utmost integrity and efficiency.
Mmusakgotla, tatellano ya Magosi a rona e tlhakatlhakantswe ke mebuso ya tlhaolele mo nakong e e fetileng. Fa kgosi e ne e sa dumalane le tsamaiso ya mmuso wa tlhaolele, e ne e tshwarwa; e isiwa kgotlatshekelo; e be e atlholwa kgotsa e isiwa koo gantsi. Gompieno jaana, re bona magosi a rona a e sa le a ntshiwa ka nako eo, a sa busediwe mo mannong a ona. Go botlhokwa thata gore re tseye tsia magosi a tshwana le Kgosi Ramotshere wa kwa Dinokana ... [Nako e fedile.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, the previous apartheid government caused confusion with the succession of our chiefs. If the chief did not concur with the apartheid government administration, he would be arrested and sent to court, then sentenced or put on trial for a long time. Nowadays, our chiefs who were previously ousted still do not have their chieftaincy. It is very important that we consider chiefs like Kgosi Ramotshere of Dinokana ... [Time expired.]
Sihlalo, ndivumele ndikhahlele kwiiKumkani nabantwana bomthonyama, ndithi ngqanga neentsiba zayo. Kuninzi okwaziwayo ngemisebenzi yobuqhawe beenkosi ngexesha lembali yokulwela amalungelo abantu kurhwaphilizo lomhlaba ngabangeneleli abangamakoloniyali. Yiyo loo nto siza kusoloko sikhahlela kwiinkosi zemveli, kuKumkani uSandile, kuMaqoma, kuLangalibalele, kuFadana, kuTyhali nakuSiyolo. Sinebhongo lokuma apha sithethe ngeenkosi zomthonyama, ezifana nooDalindyebo, ooDinizulu, ooMakgatho, ooGumede, oonkosi uDalibhunga kaMandela.
Abanye benu kule Ndlu abanabhongo lokuma babeneqhayiya bathethe ngooMalan, ooStrydom, ooVerwoerd, ooVorster kunye nooBotha, ekuyimbali yabo leyo. Bantwana beenkosi, nakundixolela kancinci kuba kufuneka ndilungise ukuhlala. Bendinqwenela ukuthetha nani namhlanje kodwa ndakuphambuka nje kancinci, ndibhekise kweli cala leNdlu. Bantwana beenkosi, ayivakali ncam intetho yoHloniphekileyo uMosimane weCope. Ngenxa yoko, akazazi nokuba ukhonza uLekota okanye uShilowa. Esikulindele kuye kukuba uza kuxela uBalindlela. Ndiyathemba kodwa ukuba ekulandeleni uBalindlela akazi kulahleka apha kule Ndlu njengamalungu e-UDM ne-Azapo esingawaboniyo namhlanje. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Nkosi Z M D MANDELA: Chairperson, allow me to salute the kings and the children of the soil, and say protocol is observed. A lot is known about the heroic deeds of chiefs during the struggle for human rights in the face of the plunder of our land by colonial settlers. That is why we are going to constantly salute traditional leaders, such as King Sandile, Maqoma, Langalibalele, Fadana, Tyhali and Siyolo. We are proud to stand here and talk about traditional leaders such as Dalindyebo, Dinizulu, Makgatho, Gumede and Chief Dalibhunga Mandela.
Some of you in this House are not proud to stand here and talk about Malan, Strydom, Verwoerd, Vorster and Botha, who are part of your history. Please bear with me, traditional leaders, as I have to set the record straight. My wish was to address myself to you today, but I have to digress just a little and address myself to this side of the House.
Traditional leaders, the speech by hon Mosimane from Cope does not make sense. She does not know whether she is loyal to Lekota or to Shilowa. We expect her to follow in the footsteps of Balindlela. I just hope that in following in Balindlela's footsteps she will not be lost to this House like some members of the UDM and Azapo that are no longer here.]
Hon Ditshetelo, Operation Clean Audit is dealing with the concerns that you raised about fraud and corruption. Ndiyafuna ke ukugxininisisa apha koHloniphekileyo uSteenhuisen. [I do want to pay more attention to hon Steenhuisen.]
The opposition is quick to look at this side of the House when they raise issues of service delivery. They recently had protests in the Western Cape by white community members on the West Coast regarding dissatisfaction with municipal services. [Interjections.] Hon Boinamo, people living in glass houses should not be throwing stones.
I must outline that various reports have slammed the DA on the living conditions in Khayelitsha, Rawsonville and even Knysna, and in Khayalethu, where 4 500 households are still without proper sanitation. As expected the Mayor, Mrs De Lille, said that our people, your brothers and sisters, citizens of our beloved country - I quote her - "preferred the bucket system". Shame on her!
There is a backlog of over 80 000 households which lack proper basic sanitation in this province. In the recent by-elections, the ANC won most of the municipal wards. South Africans continued ...
Hon Chairperson, on a point of order: The speaker at the podium is misquoting me. I never said anything he is saying. He must learn to listen. [Interjections.]
I warned you not to throw stones if you are living in a glass house.
Hon Chairperson, on a point of order: There is a very clear Rule that allows a member to explain himself if he is being misquoted. The member has stated that he is being misquoted. I would like you to check please whether he was, in fact, misquoted and, if so, allow him to explain what he actually said. Thank you very much. [Interjections.]
I will come back to that one, sir. Thank you. Continue, hon member.
The ANC has won most of the municipal wards. South Africans have continued to show their confidence in the ANC-led government. We will meet at the polls next year. [Applause.]
Bantwana beenkosi, xa ndiza kubuyela kuni, umbutho weenkokeli zemveli unembali ecacileyo yophuhliso ngokweminyaka emininzi yenkqubela yawo. Lo mbutho wazinzisa ulawulo londileko nolunesidima. Ulawulo lwentando yesininzi, kwelinye icala, lunendlela yalo nembali yalo ekungafunekiyo ukuba ithelekiswe ncam nolawulo lwemveli. Enye into ebalulekileyo i-ANC yanika iinkokeli zemveli amagunya okulawula umhlaba lo singawo namhlanje.
Umongo wolawulo lwale Ndlu Yeenkosi Zemveli unomthetho oqulethwe kuMthetho Nombolo we-10 we-1997 othi iinkokeli zemveli zinendima ebalulekileyo kwinkqubela kwaye zinikwe amagunya okuba zidlale indima ebalulekileyo xa kusekwa amabhunga olawulo lwemveli ngexesha lokuceba oomasipala abambaxa. Le yindlela urhulumente we-ANC abonisa ngayo ukuba wonke umntu unelungelo lokuthatha inxaxheba kulawulo oluzinzileyo nokunika isidima kulawulo lweenkokeli zemveli ukuze kucace iinjongo zomzabalazo wentando yesininzi kawonke-wonke.
Kodwa namhlanje, malungu ahloniphekileyo, kukho abanye abazinyanzela kumzabalazo. Umzabalazo awufani neBEE apho kuthiwa kuthengwa ubumnyama. Umzabalazo awuthengeki; soze nithi ngenxa yokuba uBalindlela ewele kuni, nicinge ukuba niza kuba nebango kumzabalazo. Sifuna ke kucace phandle ukuba iinkokeli zemveli ziwusebenzele lo mhlaba wookhokho bazo. Sithi kuni, bantwana bomthonyama, hambani niye kukhusela ilifa lenkululeko looyihlo nooyihlomkhulu; niphume ngobuninzi benu kulo nyaka ulandelayo niye kumisela amashumi amabini eminyaka yentando yesininzi nokuqinisekisa ukuba siyayikhusela le ntando yesininzi eyeza namagorha eli lizwe. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Coming back to traditional leaders, the traditional leaders' organisation has a clear history of progressive development. This organisation brought about dignified leadership. Democracy, on the other hand, has its own way and its own history and must therefore not be compared with traditional leadership. More importantly, the ANC made traditional leaders custodians of land, and today's debate is all about land.
The administration of the House of Traditional Leaders is based on Act No 10 of 1997, which says that traditional leaders have an important role to play in fostering progress and that they have been mandated to play an important role in the establishment of traditional councils during the planning of metropolitan municipalities. This is how the ANC-led government shows that everyone has a right to participate in a stable government, and this is also how it gives dignity to stable traditional leadership in order to give clarity to the objectives of democratic rule.
But today, hon members, there are those that force themselves upon the struggle. The struggle is not like BEE, in respect of which it is said you can buy blackness. The struggle cannot be bought; do not think that because Balindlela has joined you, you can lay claim to the struggle. We want it to be clear that traditional leaders have worked for the land of their forefathers. We say to you, children of the soil, go and defend the legacy of freedom that your fathers and forefathers left you; go in large numbers next year and set up 20 years of democracy, and ensure that we defend this democracy that was brought about by the heroes of this country. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, I thank all the speakers who participated in the debate on this Budget Vote. We heard all sorts of voices, one category of voices full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Included in the list are none other than hon members Steenhuisen, Mosimane and Groenewald. I don't know where hon Mosimane comes from.
I checked as to what made them spend so much energy exposing their veins in anger for nothing. Maybe it's because I concluded my speech, in response to the time, before further giving them figures so that they could realise that ours is a government at work. [Applause.] Maybe it's because I did not reach the point where I would have said that our community work programme delivered 204 000 jobs against a target of 171 000. Maybe it's because I concluded before I indicated that the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, Misa, has delivered 862 projects. [Interjections.] Maybe it's because I concluded before saying that, out of the backlog of 1 244 disputes and claims in our traditional leadership that were reported last year, we have solved 856 and we are therefore on target. Maybe that is why they are so worried. If that is not the case, maybe it's because I did not indicate that Misa created 36 000 jobs. If it's not that, why do you raise an issue about Sterkspruit? Our involvement led to the solution to the challenges - the shutdown and everything in Sterkspruit - all because of my two days' involvement, Madam Mosimane. Your voice sounds so furious and that's why I'm saying it signifies nothing. Maybe you have a story to tell. Maybe the reason is that we frustrated the plans of Cope by solving the problems in Sterkspruit, and that is what worries you. [Applause.]
We clearly addressed the problems in Zamdela. When I went to Zamdela, there was no leader who was ready to address the problems. Cope was not there or ready to listen; there was no one. I had to go and address the problems. Why do you have such selective morality when you raise issues? [Interjections.] That's why I'm saying your voices say nothing other than sound like empty vessels. You just want to raise issues but not deal with them. [Applause.]
Hon Steenhuisen, I nearly said your voice represents a fifty-fifty split. I would have made a terrible mistake. On the one part I thought: "This is a leader; he speaks facts." But I later realised that you don't understand. You say you engaged with the SA Municipal Workers' Union, Samwu, regarding the regulations. You failed to understand that Samwu is not taking action against government, but against Parliament about tagging. As government we don't tag Bills. Possibly you are involved in farming and when they talk about tagging you think they are talking about ... [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, I rise on a point of order. I rise in terms of Rule 69(1). I would like to say to the Minister that clearly he doesn't read newspapers. [Interjections.] What I referred to in my speech was the fact that Samwu had cited him and all nine Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, MECs, challenging the constitutionality of their ability to ... [Interjections.]
I don't lead through the papers. I personally meet people. I met Samwu and they indicated exactly as I ... [Interjections.] We are engaging with Samwu now. You're not talking about Swellendam.
Hon Minister, address the House.
Through you, Chairperson, the hon member to my left does not talk about the confusion that the DA is causing in Swellendam because of issues related to the so-called deployment. I can't talk about deployment, because I know they don't know that word. In fact, they hate the word with passion. For them deployment means anything that is related to the ANC. That is why they are behaving like this.
The issue about the regulations is that we have passed the regulations. We are engaging with Samwu so that we can address the matter outside court, if possible. But we are there as second respondents. I think that has to be very clear.
One hon member said that I said North West is the best performing province in audit outcomes. I never said that. I'm not sure whether it's Boinamo. Selectively they decided not to hear when I said that KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are the best performing provinces. They can't say those things. What they do is to come here from their offices to listen selectively. That's why they are missing some of the issues.
With regard to the organised voice of our traditional leader ...
... Hosi Dzumeri - Mhlave - eka timhaka ta vukosi na tihuvo ta ndhavuko hi yima na n'wina. Hi ri ndzawulo hi vula tano leswaku tihuvo ta ndhavuko a ti simekiwi. Leswi hi fanelaka ku swi twisisa hi leswaku mfumo wa le xikarhi wu fanele ku hlangana na tihosi laha hi nga ta kota ku lulamisa mhaka leyi. Mhaka ya nhlangano yi le ku lulamisiweni naswona yi ta lulama ku nga ri khale. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)
[... Chief Dzumeri - Mhlave - on the issue of chiefs and traditional courts, we are in support of him. As a department we are saying traditional courts must be established. What should be understood is that national government must convene a meeting with the chiefs where these matters will be addressed. The issue of a meeting is being attended to and it will be organised before very long.]
Co-operative governance does not mean taking over from the responsible areas, but it means facilitation so that those organs of state that have responsibilities may deal with these things. In our approach to fighting corruption we are not saying that Cogta will take the responsibility of the Special Investigating Unit, SIU, but that Cogta will work closely and partner with those entities that have investigative powers and can also conduct forensic audits.
One other point that Cope needs to understand is that it is the ANC government that introduced a dispensation in which the country became a secular state by accepting all religions. You are not supposed to raise that issue as if there is anything wrong about it. If there is any traditional healer who is victimised for whatever reason, that matter needs to be attended to. It is not the position of the government. Some people might be doing these things, but we definitely have to address them.
Having said that, let me indicate that the regulations will soon be promulgated. We are a law-abiding government. If there is a court challenge, there is nothing that we can do.
I thank all those who participated. Let me thank those men and women in my office who provide support to get us where we are. Local government is everybody's business. Let us be part of it. It does not assist to be part of it by only shouting and, as you shout, not taking the opportunity to listen to what other people are saying. We have to address these things. Thank you very much, Chairperson. [Applause.]