Chairperson, there have been some important contributions from other members in this debate and, in particular, I think hon Swart made a good proposal; and so did Mr Kwankwa about introducing fiscal rules. I thank them for those contributions.
However, the two ANC speakers, hon Buthelezi and hon Peters, tried to mount a defence of this budget and this division of revenue and I will deal with the defence in a second. Before I do, I just want to make a point that the one person who isn't here to defend his own division of revenue is the Minister. I think that is quite a shocking and inexcusable absence.
He has rolled out the Deputy Minister, Dr Masondo, to come and defend this division of revenue, but he was here to table it. He has proposed these cuts to basic services and now he is not here to defend it. That is not on!
Now, if we come to hon Buthelezi speech, he says that this division of revenue is pro-poor and distributive. Hon Peters says that the ANC remains completely committed to improving basic health care for the poor and the implementation of the NHI.
I will never say that anyone is deliberately misleading the House because the Chairperson would rule me out of order, but I do think that we should just appreciate the evidence and hon members can make their decision for themselves about whether any misleading has taken place.
The fact is that this budget - this division of revenue - proposes deep and very painful cuts to the basic services on which the poor people critically rely everyday, and which the public at large depend. For that reason, the DA cannot and will not support any division of revenue that cuts basic services to the poor people in order to move money from those basic services to fund zombie state-owned entities and in order to fund a bloated public wage bill. [Applause.]
I want to ask a genuine question to the ANC and I invite Dr Masondo to answer it when he has the opportunity: How do you justify subsidising air travel for the middle class by continuing
to bail out SA Airways and SA Express at the cost of basic services to the public and to the poor people in particular? [Interjections.] How do you justify it? Please come here and give us some justification, sir.
Business class passengers sipping frank champagne on the way to Washington or London are being subsidised by bus drivers from Mitchells Plein. That is unacceptable and unethical. It is not just bad policy; it is mad policy. It is insane and indefensible. So, let the record show today that the party that claims to the mental of being pro-poor, as Mr Buthelezi said, is cutting budgets meant for basic services to the poor people.
It is the DA that is unequivocally the party protecting basic services; ... [Applause.] ... protecting hospitals; protecting clinics, Minister - as much as you scream and shout, it is true; protecting schools; protecting teachers; and protecting the poor people.
So, where are the ANC cutting? A hundred and twelve million rands from the Department of Health; R350 million from the NHI shows you how much the ANC cares about that; R43 million from Cervical Cancer Vaccination Programme; R40 million from Schools
infrastructure programme; R250 million from the Electrification Grant that is meant for rolling out new electrification in previously unserved communities.
If that is where they are cutting, where are they spending? An extra R33 billion to Eskom; R9 billion in debt write-off to SA Airways; and more bailouts for SA Broadcasting Corporation, Denel and Alexkor on the horizon.
Today, Minister Gordhan says that he agrees with Minister Mboweni that there should be no more money for SA Airways. Well, that's a good step in the right direction. But, frankly, it is a bit rich to say that after government has already committed to R9 billion in debt forgiveness just a few weeks ago in the MTBPS. If you mean it, then shut down SA Express immediately! [Applause.] Put SA Airways into business rescue and stir down the unions in the strike.
Let's be clear, we have got to get spending and debt out of control. At the moment, it is out of control. It is absolutely right that the Minister cuts expenditure, and he needs to cut more. However, he must cut from zombie SOEs, and he must cut from bloated public wage bill. He must not cut from direct basic
services to the poor people. That is why it is wrong what this division of revenue is doing and we will not support it. Thank you. [Applause.]