Malibongwe! [Let women be praised!] Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, and hon members, ndi masiari avhudi [good afternoon].
I would like to strongly emphasise that it is the firm belief of the ANC- led government that sustainable development can only be achieved by focusing on poverty eradication and economic development. In addition, water, sanitation and hygiene are regarded as key issues for the achievement of these objectives.
The right of access to a basic level of sanitation is enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa. Municipalities have an obligation to ensure that poor households are not denied access to basic services due to their inability to pay for them.
The 2001 White Paper on Basic Household Sanitation estimated that 18 million people in South Africa lacked access to adequate sanitation facilities, health and hygiene knowledge. According to the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework of 2000, about 7% of schools and 15% of clinics in rural areas were without sanitation facilities. The ANC's 2010 National General Council noted that, by March 2009, more than 9 000 households were still using the bucket system, and that more than 35% of South Africans did not have access to proper human waste disposal systems. Most of the 18 million households that did not have access to the basic level of sanitation were situated in rural areas. Of these, approximately two thirds had access to some kind of sanitation below the basic level, leaving approximately 6 million people with no sanitation service at all.
A basic sanitation service is defined as the provision of a basic sanitation facility that is easily accessible to a household and the operation of which is sustainable. This would include the safe removal of human waste and waste water from the premises, where this is appropriate and necessary, and the communication of good sanitation, hygiene and related practices.
The way sanitation is managed is strongly related to settlement conditions for a number of reasons. Rural settlements tend to be more dispersed and are therefore harder to serve with reticulated infrastructure and harder to access by formally run operations and maintenance teams. Having realised the vital need for basic services to the remote rural areas, the ANC-led government identified rural development as one of the country's major priorities.
In response to this prioritisation, the rural household infrastructure grant was established over the 2010 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period. This grant is administered, managed and implemented by the Department of Human Settlements for the provision of on-site sanitation and water facilities to rural communities. A total of R1,2 billion has been allocated over the 2010 MTEF period, which is divided into R100 million for 2010-11, R350 million for 2011-12 and R750 million for 2012-13. It would appear that real progress is being made. Overall, a total of 26 municipalities benefit from this programme. From a target number of 11 920 toilets, a total of 6 424 pits were under construction and a total of 5 496 sanitation facilities were completed as at 4 April 2011. However, as rain in some provinces affected progress, it will not be possible to reach 100% of the target.
In KwaZulu-Natal, 1 518 sanitation facilities were completed from a target number of 3 675, as progress was hampered by hard rock conditions. From an overall target of 3 600 in Limpopo province, where nine municipalities are benefiting, only 742 sanitation facilities were completed due to heavy rains affecting the programme. In the North West province, the two benefiting municipalities progressed well, with 745 units completed before heavy rains in December 2010 and January 2011 delayed construction. In the Northern Cape, there is only one benefiting municipality, the Joe Morolong Local Municipality, with 392 units having been completed as at 4 April 2011.
In some areas of the Eastern Cape, hard rock and heavy rains delayed progress. In the Mbhashe Local Municipality, 570 units were completed and the target was met. In the Free State, only 100 units were completed from a target of 400 in the Ngwathe Local Municipality, where heavy rains affected the programme. In Mpumalanga, 15 units were not completed in the one benefiting municipality due to heavy rains and a delay in the appointment of the contractor.
Some benefiting municipalities have rejected the appointment of certain service providers appointed as per government procurement procedures, adding to overall challenges. These municipalities insist on the use of local contractors and labourers. There is clearly a need to increase job creation by making use of local labourers, as set out in the tender request.
Poverty and unemployment are problems that South Africa has not been able to overcome successfully. In the urban areas, poverty has led to the growth of informal settlements which are basically residential areas for the low- income groups. The most noted cause of informal settlements is high migration from rural areas by people who are in search of job opportunities and better living conditions than what are available in the rural areas. This has led to a greater demand for low-cost housing in most urban areas in South Africa.
History has shown that labour-based methods of work have long been used in creating remarkable infrastructure works. Labour-intensive programmes generate more direct and indirect local employment opportunities and income by using locally available inputs with local materials, simple tools and local labour, thus creating a greater demand for local products and services than high-technology programmes do. It is therefore logical that municipalities benefiting from the provision of on-site sanitation facilities to rural communities would insist on the use of local contractors and labourers, as I have alluded to.
Construction of low-cost housing has huge potential to redress the high levels of unemployment and poverty in South Africa and also to correct the skills deficits in disadvantaged communities. Properly formulated labour- intensive programmes could be established to construct and maintain the required physical infrastructure. This would then create employment, skills and institutional capacity.
Infrastructure can deliver major benefits in economic growth, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability, but only when it provides services that respond to effective demand and when it does so efficiently. In provinces where labour is abundant, increased construction activity would be one sure way to increase employment. The construction industry is particularly important for absorbing unskilled labour by giving work to the lowest-income sector in the economy.
Although great strides are being made to provide basic services to our people, much more can be done with a sanitation programme targeted towards the poorest of the poor. This would ensure that the benefits of the programme are delivered to those persons who are most in need. All South Africans should have access to free basic sanitation by 2014, because unlocking and addressing the sanitation backlog will help householders to move closer to breaking the cycle of poverty. It should never be forgotten that "sanitation is dignity" and dignity is a basic human right.
The ANC supports the Human Settlements Budget Vote No 31 even though there are some who do not want to accept that the ANC-led government is delivering. I thank you. [Applause.]