Chairperson, the airbus is taking off. Hon Minister and Deputy Ministers present here, my colleagues, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests and team Statistics SA, as the ANC we support Budget Vote No 13.
We support it because first and foremost, Statistics SA, from its inception hitherto, has distinguished itself as a success story of note. It has evolved into an institution capable of generating a wide range of economic, social and political service information at all levels. Intriguing enough, as shown in this Budget Vote, is its ability to produce such statistical information at ward level.
We agreed, as the ANC, that this Vote deserves all our support, including that of our maverick counterparts who, with their recent actions and utterances, have shown a keen and deep-seated appreciation of the ANC policies. But the most unfortunate aspect of their approach is that their narrative of the ANC as a rudderless movement militates against an open endorsement of the ANC's policies. That's a contradiction.
This Budget Vote deserves our support because it continues to enable us to know how we are performing, as a country, in ensuring that all our people have access to essential services like water, electricity, sanitation, jobs, housing, public transport, adequate nutrition, education, social protection, quality health care, recreation and a clean environment.
Believing that health is not only a medical issue, this Budget Vote provides for statistical infrastructure to support the Department of Health to undertake a demographic and health survey. Production of such statistics is a prerequisite for any successful health system. We urge all to throw their unconditional support behind this Budget Vote because it forms the basis for a progressive and sustainable health system.
How can we not support this Budget Vote if, inter alia, it is meant to ensure that the following take place? Firstly, there is continuous production of annual statistical information on education, through the general household survey, whereby we are reminded that education is a national priority. Through its annual victims of crime survey, Statistics SA plays a critical role in providing information needed for the crime- combating decision-making process. As the ANC, we believe that personal safety is a human right, a necessary condition for human development, improved quality of life and enhanced productivity; hence as a caring organisation, we find it easy to concur with this Budget Vote.
We are further delighted, as the ANC, by the fact that this Budget Vote provides for the rebasing of the consumer price and producer price indices. We might be reminded here that this was recommended in our last committee report. We are convinced that this will ensure provision of a more accurate picture about prices.
As a matter of concern, we have noted that statistical co-ordination is still a challenge. Leading the development and co-ordination of statistical production is Statistics SA under the leadership of the Statistician- General. As cited by the Minister, the legal mandate is derived from the Statistics Act.
It is important to remember that we have a system of national statistics with an array of role-players. Key policy issues are wider than the remit of any single government department and must be tackled on a government- wide basis.
These cross-cutting issues clearly indicate a need for a set of national statistics within a co-ordination framework where statistical units, data items, classifications and standards are harmonised across government. In terms of the Act, co-ordination of production involves aligning the production of statistics by other organs of state to user needs to ensure relevance and avoid duplication.
It is also important to know that the government's tight fiscal position, as a result of the current global economic outlook, places major constraints on the enhanced performance of Statistics SA over the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, hon Ross. Failure to provide funding to build statistical capacity across the organs of state will definitely perpetuate the daunting challenge of the generation of quality statistics where it matters most, at local and departmental level.
Hence our call as a committee for development and implementation of innovative ways in which more can be done with less during this challenging fiscal cycle. Maybe, hon Harris, provision for violence-based statistics will be realised. But remember, as a committee we place emphasis on prioritisation of updating existing programmes because it's like having an apparatus that you are unable to maintain if you are unable to update your current programme.
Notwithstanding the Minister's acknowledgement of the negative audit outcome, we reiterate our call to Statistics SA to make a submission of their action plan, detailing how they intend to deal with the Auditor- General's concerns. We believe that this will help us a great deal in executing our oversight role. Unlike one committee rebel who is hell-bent on projecting Statistics SA negatively, we commend the council for addressing all claims made by the so-called senior staff member. These, I must indicate to this House, as reported to the committee, were dealt with in a transparent and acceptable manner. I wonder why the hype?
Accompanying this Budget Vote is a work programme which accurately enumerates the performance targets which Statistics SA will attempt to achieve, given allocated resources. Taking a closer look at this programme makes an interesting revelation. How can we not support this Budget Vote if the colours of our glorious organisation, the ANC, are visibly reflected in its work programme? Black, green and gold permeate the work programme. A programme that tells how Statistics SA intends improving the lives of South African people, that represents black. It tells how Statistics SA, through its agricultural statistics, will ensure that there is sustainable usage of land. The land represents the colour green. Through its system of environmental-economic accounting, SEEA, it tells how South Africa must find a way of using its rich endowment of natural resources; that represents the colour gold. Black, green and gold permeate this work programme. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
This is a fact; listen to this. It is unlike propaganda peddled to the vulnerable, unsuspecting young people by a party whose essence and foundation is a blue lie. Unfortunately, all my efforts to find other colours were in vain, hence our call on others to join us in supporting this noble cause. Refrain from being bad ambassadors of our beloved country and its service delivery instruments. This will stop the negative projection that is hitting our economy hard. [Interjections] [Laughter.] Feel free, you are all welcome. The airbus has landed. Thank you. [Laughter.] [Applause.]