Madam Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests, section 43(a) of the Constitution of 1996 vests the legislative authority of the national sphere of government in Parliament. In terms of section 42(1) of the Constitution, Parliament consists of two Houses: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
Whilst the National Assembly is elected to represent the people and ensure government by the people under the Constitution, the National Council of Provinces represents the provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government.
Thus, the role and ultimate objective of Parliament is to represent the people of South Africa and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution, as well as to represent the provinces in the national sphere of government. This mandate is achieved by passing legislation, overseeing government action, facilitating public involvement in its work, participating in and overseeing co-operative government and participating in international relations.
The vision of Parliament is to build an effective people's Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people, and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.
The key political mandate of the ANC in legislatures and governance is to advance the national democratic revolution and building a developmental state in pursuit of the ANC vision of a united, nonracial, nonsexist and democratic society. The ANC-led government is committed to a strategic orientation of being a developmental state that is people-centred, building the capacity of all citizens, thus including women, the youth and people with disabilities to lead in defining a common national agenda. It is, therefore, the responsibility of Parliament to constantly monitor and oversee the state's capacity in relation to its structures and systems to facilitate the realisation of the set agenda.
The state also has to develop technical capacity to translate broad objectives into programmes and projects. It is important to note that where people are not involved in the decisions that affect their lives, social policies and political interventions are less likely to succeed. Participatory democracy should, therefore, complement and enhance representative democracy.
The current democratic dispensation inherited the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. To address this challenge requires a number of interventions, some within the budget and some in the form of change in the regulatory environment. Parliament acknowledges the adoption of the five key Apex Priorities by government, which have been translated into outcomes-based programmes. Critical to this is the issue of education, which is vitally important in making a greater portion of the population employable.
In response to this, Parliament welcomes the fact that the biggest portion of the national Budget is allocated to education. Parliament has to ensure that it intensifies its oversight in ensuring the efficient and cost- effective expenditure of this budget. The current education budget reflects a holistic approach to addressing the needs of socially vulnerable children, which includes the National School Nutrition Programme, scholar transport and no-fee schools.
We also have to acknowledge progress made in respect of the education targets of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs. However, through its oversight and, more importantly, for the poor, the youth and socially vulnerable, Parliament has identified the dropout rate as still being a concern.
Earlier this year the President, in his state of the nation address, announced a massive infrastructure investment over the next few years. Parliament is of the view that such an investment will have a positive impact on the lives of the poor, socially vulnerable, and especially on rural communities in terms of their changing to a better quality of life.
We note that there are three years remaining before we reach the 2015 target of achieving the eight MDGs. Parliament plays a major role in overseeing the country's progress towards achieving the MDGs. In this respect, our oversight should intensify over the next few years, also ensuring that government departments report on progress made, and that this progress is reflected in their strategic plans and budget allocations.
The MDGs are, of course, not mutually exclusive of South Africa's own developmental targets, such as universal access to basic services, including sanitation. This, of course, means that Parliament should further strengthen its oversight support to committees, not only to ensure that targets are met, but so that socially vulnerable groups, including women, the youth and people with disabilities, benefit in terms of access to job- creation opportunities, improving the skills base and supporting small businesses.
The concentration on job creation is important in that it highlights urgent and fundamental transformation of a variety of interconnected political and socioeconomic issues. Through its legislative function, Parliament also ensures that the needs of socially vulnerable groups are advanced. For example, this Parliament has passed some pieces of legislation, such as the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Bill and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Bill, which were processed during 2011, and which will endeavour to cut the cost of settling disputes between parties internally, as poor households do not have the financial resources for expensive court litigation.
The National Health Amendment Bill currently before the Portfolio Committee on Health will appoint an ombudsperson to deal with complaints relating to health facilities. In this way, the poor will have a voice when not satisfied with services rendered to them. The passing of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act provides an opportunity for Parliament to amend budgets.
Leyo nto-ke ichaza ukuthi izidingo zabantu abadla imbuya ngothi zizokwazi ukubhekeleleka. [That means that the needs of poverty-stricken people will be considered.]
We would also like to acknowledge processes, to date, with regard to the National Health Insurance, aimed at ensuring more equitable access to health services; essentially, health for all citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay.
Parliament's 2012-13 Budget Vote reconfirms its commitment to strengthening its oversight function, increasing public involvement and participation, and strengthening co-operative governance. In order to achieve these objectives, Parliament has to strengthen its capacity in implementing the Oversight and Accountability Model, the appointment of content advisers, increasing the capacity of legal resource services to support a multidisciplinary function for committees, and developing the requisite skills to improve resources, especially when committees are involved in public participation and improving institutional knowledge. Parliament is committed to reaching out to all members of the public, especially ensuring that the voices of the poor and those in rural communities are heard. Therefore the current process towards a public participation model will remain a key priority for the Fourth Parliament.
However, we acknowledge that in order for Parliament to give effect to its mandate as a people's Parliament, we cannot accept a situation in which the necessary support to parliamentary committees remains inadequate. In this respect we have observed that the division regarded as the engine of Parliament, which is the Legislation and Oversight Division - Programme 2, has a vacancy rate of almost 20%. Various divisions in Parliament also warrant closer scrutiny when it comes to vacancies.
While Parliament is committed to responding to the President's commitment to reducing vacancies in government departments, we also need to ensure that our own house is in order. Speaking about the public sector, Parliament's oversight focus should also include the pace of transformation in the culture of the Public Service, especially in respect of Batho Pele.
I would like to reflect on the role of a national democratic state. Nation- building and social cohesion have always been a priority of the current government. Let us, however, remind ourselves that social cohesion and nation-building of a national democratic society also depend on the extent to which the rights of those in the lower echelons of the socioeconomic ladder are protected.
Further, a national democratic state should continually implement integrated antipoverty programmes, ensuring that it addresses, not only social assistance, but also the sustainable integration of all communities into economic activity.
Yiyo ke loo nto iPalamente kufuneka iqinisekise ukuba idlala indima ebalulekileyo. [That's why Parliament must ensure it plays an important role.]
To deal with inequality, poverty and unemployment, the state, private capital, co-operatives and other social forms of ownership should complement each other in an integrated way to achieve shared economic growth. We have to achieve higher levels of economic growth and ensure it benefits all sectors of society, especially the poor.
Parliament should also strengthen its oversight over the conditions of farm workers and farm dwellers in order to prevent human rights violations. In this regard there is clearly a need for Parliament to review existing legislation, such as the Extension of Security of Tenure Act and other relevant legislation.
Whilst acknowledging the global environment in which the country is operating, there is a need for Parliament to ensure closer oversight on how international agreements and treaties signed by government impact on the lives of the poor and socially vulnerable groups.
It is also important to note that women and children are disproportionally affected by the consequences of climate change, as are people living in informal settlements and rural areas. Female-headed and single-parent households are most at risk of being affected by extreme weather conditions, such as flooding and storms. They are also less likely to have financial resources that can act as a buffer against such events and to recover financially.
Parliament takes cognisance of the issues raised by the National Development Plan published during 2011. The National Development Plan highlights progress and challenges in respect of a number of issues, including ensuring social protection. The plan notes that a seven-point plan has been adopted to establish a new, modernised, efficient and transformed criminal justice system.
It should be noted that Parliament has engaged with the plan, which resulted in the drafting of committee cluster reports as well as discussions with respective departments through the parliamentary committees. Parliament's oversight responsibility, of course, extends to challenges and the proposals contained in the National Development Plan to ensure that the poorest of the poor also benefit from its implementation.
Parliament has demonstrated its commitment to prioritising issues affecting women, children, the youth and people with disabilities through programmes such as "Taking Parliament to the People" and the People's Assembly. Through the work of sectoral parliaments, including the Youth Parliament and the Women's Parliament, the voices of socially vulnerable persons have clearly been heard by Parliament, and their issues have been channelled through the various committees in Parliament. The adoption of co-ordinated oversight by committees is more than welcome as it provides effective utilisation of resources and better alignment.
In conclusion, in building a people-centred Parliament, Parliament should develop programmes geared towards educating the public about the various parliamentary processes. Parliament should sensitise the public on how legislative processes are carried out and how people on the ground can meaningfully contribute through public submissions, etc. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 2. I thank you. [Applause.]