Hon Comrade Speaker, hon Comrade Zuma, hon Comrade Deputy President Motlanthe, hon members, comrades and ladies and gentlemen, I greet you. Comrade President, you have spoken on our behalf about Comrade Nelson Mandela.
Today we present the Budget Vote of the Presidency which performs the functions of leading the state and government. This office has a tremendous responsibility to ensure that our country is effectively and efficiently governed and that government delivers much-needed services to our people. The dual responsibilities of the head of state and government come with heavy demands that require a well-organised and responsive Presidency.
This Budget Vote is presented almost at the end of all Budget Votes by the entirety of government departments. This House has witnessed and listened to presentations by members of the executive, outlining their delivery record and successes they had made since the beginning of this administration. This House has equally been presented with challenges and plans to continue with the mandate of improving people's lives for the 2013- 14 financial year.
We are delivering this Vote during the month of June, when the country is commemorating the 37th anniversary of the Soweto and related uprisings of 1976. As the country commemorates the struggle of the youth of 1976 who laid down their lives for all of us to have equal rights and the freedom we enjoy today, we ought to realise that the youth of today have different and very challenging struggles. They have to fight the abuse of alcohol and drugs, for economic emancipation, access to quality education, against unemployment and HIV/Aids.
The 37th National Youth Day and Youth Month are commemorated under the theme, "Working together for youth development and a drug-free South Africa". This is a befitting theme, given the challenges of the day. The young people of our country need a National Youth Development Agency, NYDA, which is aware of these challenges and responsive to their needs. The NYDA should be able to reach out to every young person in our country and assist them in reaching their potential.
This Budget Vote is also presented on the eve of our country's celebration of 20 years of freedom. These 20 years of freedom have come through hard work and sacrifices by our people. Since then, as the ANC government, we can say life has indeed changed since we got our freedom in 1994.
As evidenced through the results of Census 2011, the RDP housing programme has built over three million housing units since 1994. The percentage of households with access to potable water has increased from 60% to 90%. Access to electricity has increased from 50% of households to approximately 80%. [Applause.]
Only 36% of households had access to electricity in 1994. Today about 85% of the households have access to electricity. This tremendous achievement and many others in other areas, reaffirm our assertion that life has changed in South Africa since the advent of our democracy. [Applause.]
As hon members would recall, some of our achievements are recorded in the mid-term review we published last year. As a follow-up on the review, we have started doing research work for the production of the 20-year review of the country's progress towards becoming a nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous society. We have set ourselves a target to publish the 20-year review by the end of this year. It will record the progress we have made and the challenges we still face.
When the ANC took office at the beginning of this administration in 2009, it undertook to know where people live and deliver services to them faster and smarter. To this effect, in the spirit of working together and that of participatory democracy, President Jacob Zuma has led from the front by beginning with the process of proactively engaging with citizens.
The President established the Presidential Hotline which has since received over 160 000 calls with a success rate of over 90%. [Applause.] He further undertook several Siyahlola visits to communities to witness if government is delivering and also intervene where required to have services delivered timeously. During these visits, the President brought hope and dignity to those who never thought government services would ever touch their lives.
Since 2009, as the ANC committed to working together with our nation, the President visited eight communities in the North West, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape focused on projects on social infrastructure, public transport infrastructure, human settlements, education and people living with disabilities. These visits have managed to bring water and electricity to our people and, in some cases, unblocked much-needed services to communities.
The mandate of the Presidency is to support the President and the Deputy President in leading and galvanising the whole of government and society in order to implement the electoral programme; and also to serve as a centre for strategic co-ordination in implementing government's programmes so as to ensure that all energies and efforts are properly aligned behind the achievement of a common and unifying vision. Lastly, it monitors that government programmes are implemented and also evaluates whether they are achieving their intended objectives.
In fulfilling his governance responsibilities, the President, supported by the Deputy President, also convened a number of forums to consult on a variety of issues and share government plans with business, labour, communities and the academic field, among others.
In the year under review, the President also convened a meeting with principals of the 50 further education and training, FET, colleges. The purpose of the meeting was to outline the role of FET colleges in South Africa, particularly in respect of the country's New Growth Path and the envisioned industrial development trajectory. Part of the monitoring activities of the Presidency includes the ministerial performance assessment by the President, in line with the commitment made in this regard.
Social cohesion and nation-building remain the key strategic priorities for the government and our society as a whole. Some of the key initiatives undertaken in this respect include interaction with the SA Hindu Maha Sabha during the 100 years celebration, engagement with the Jewish community, renaming of King's House Dube House, and the Presidential Guesthouse Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse.
The President also led the nation at the National Social Cohesion Summit, the official opening of the Steve Biko Heritage Centre, the Alexandra centenary celebrations and the renaming of the Bloemfontein Airport as Bram Fischer Airport among others. In this year, we will implement programmes which include marking the centenary of the Union Buildings, the centenary of the 1913 Land Act, and the celebration of the 20 years of freedom in South Africa since April 1994.
The President has already reported on the work of the PRC.
The Presidency has facilitated, and will continue to facilitate and co- ordinate the President's engagement with the leadership of critical statutory bodies that he chairs, such as the President's Co-ordinating Council, PCC, the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, PICC, the National Nuclear Energy Executive Co-ordination Committee, NNEECC, and the Black Economic Empowerment Advisory Council.
Government has approved the implementation plan of the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission. The PICC has set the pace of accelerated infrastructure development in South Africa across the three spheres of government. The plan now comprises a total of 18 Strategic Integrated Projects, SIPs. Our work in this area is ongoing.
Therefore, the Presidency will continue to support the Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe, on the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committees on the Human Resource Development Council, the Energy Advisory Council, the War on Poverty, as well as the SA National Aids Council. The Deputy President will also continue to lead government's targeted short-term assistance packages as part of a larger basket of antipoverty measures and a co-ordinated programme on poverty alleviation. [Applause.]
The Director-General in the Presidency also plays a significant role in its functioning and in supporting the President in fulfilling his constitutional duties. Besides being the administrative head of the Presidency, the director-general also serves as the Secretary to Cabinet, Chairperson of the Forum of South African Directors-General and Chancellor of the National Orders.
The President, the Deputy President and the Deputy Minister have already reported on our international work, so I will not go into that.
During this year and beyond, South Africa will continue to play this leading role in the international arena. The focus of South Africa's international engagements will be the African continent and strengthening South-South alliances, as well as engaging actively with partners in the North.
In terms of the African agenda, in the first quarter of the 2013-14 financial year, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity.
Minister Manuel has already reported on the work of the National Planning Commission.
Turning to administration, to improve the operational environment, the Presidency made many concerted efforts in the 2012-13 financial year to correct the basics, improve internal controls and business processes in order to address administrative challenges. As a result, we received an unqualified audit opinion with matters of emphasis for 2011-12. We believe that these interventions have already shown positive results in ensuring management processes and systems in the Presidency's work. [Applause.] Therefore, the Presidency will continue to ensure that it maintains a positive audit opinion, strengthen identified weak internal controls, and improve compliance in regulatory areas.
In 2012 we undertook the baseline review of the budget allocation of the Presidency, aimed at aligning the funding needs of the organisation to its growing mandate, especially in relation to the Presidency's increasing obligations and responsibilities in the international arena.
Austerity measures, to identify cost-saving measures in existing programmes to relieve the pressure and address the unauthorised expenditure were also put into place at the end of 2011. The Presidency placed emphasis on sound financial management principles so as to ensure the economical, efficient and effective use of state resources. We therefore generated savings of R79,9 million on our budget.
In this financial year, we received an amount of R1,095,07 million, which is allocated as follows: R462,1 million for administration; R77,7 million for the National Planning Commission; R392,7 million for the National Youth Development Agency; R160,4 million for Brand South Africa and R2,8 million for statutory allocations. In the past financial year, the Presidency spent 92% of its budget, with savings realised from compensation of employees, goods and services and capital expenditure.
The Presidency also continues to support the work of the former Presidents and Deputy Presidents.
I would like to thank the President and the Deputy President for their leadership and guidance. I also thank Minister Manuel and Deputy Minister Bapela for the support we give one another in our work. I would also like to thank the institutions that support the Presidency, which include the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, the NPC, GCIS, Brand South Africa, the NYDA and the MDDA. [Applause.]
I know that the DA has never voted for our Vote, and no one expects anything different. However, I would like to make the DA understand the implications of their decision. By refusing to vote, you are telling the people that you do not support the National Planning commission, the fight against poverty in the War on Poverty ... [Interjections.] ... the fight against HIV/Aids through Sanac, the HRD Council; you do not support former Presidents, including President Nelson Mandela. Is that what you want to tell our people? That you do not support former President Mandela's budget and that you do not support the present President's budget? That confirms the assertion that had been made by other speakers, that you are just paying lip service about your support for our president Nelson Mandela. I thank you.
I ask the House to approve the budget. [Applause.]