Chairperson, history will record this department's Budget Vote No 30 as the budget backtracking from the NDP. Funding for critical programmes and subprogrammes has been reduced.
A reduction of R20 million in the 2014-15 financial year and a further cut of R20 million in the 2015-16 budget for the SA Weather Service are not warranted. These reductions over the next two years will leave an already incapacitated SA Weather Service incapable of providing crucial information to major industries, such as agriculture, tourism and aviation.
Efforts to combat global warming and greenhouse emissions have been dealt a blow owing to the R6,1 million reduction in the climate change and air quality programme. Virtually no funding has been made to incentivise investment in the green economy, nor has any funding been made available to aggressively combat poaching and encroachment on our endangered and protected areas.
Based on these shortfalls, the DA cannot support the budget. Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]