Hon Deputy Chairperson, Your Excellency Mr Deputy President, Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon delegates, special delegates, Premier of the Northern Cape, MECs, and in particular the future mayor of Cape Town ... [Laughter.] [Interjections.] Hon Bloem was correct; I also got the new speakers' list where the real opposition has been pushed to the top, so that all of the ANC can attack us after that. [Laughter.] But, that is fine.
Let me tell you that the development challenges facing our communities obviously go hand in hand with service delivery, the eradication of poverty by promoting job creation and the creation of an environment conducive to development. I agree with the Deputy President that we, the delegates of our provinces to the NCOP, are undoubtedly best placed to consider the topic of today's debate, and in particular with regard to our constituencies that we represent and service.
The question to ask first is of course whether the topic refers to the future, from today onwards in view of the elections, or to what the response of government should be and what has been done for the past 17 years with regard to the developmental needs of our communities. That is obviously what we need to interrogate before we look at the future.
My constituency, as a DA Member of Parliament, includes the Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality and Thembisile Hani Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, where I have been involved for more than 20 years. I'm therefore suitably placed to state that the developmental needs of those communities have sadly been overlooked all these years.
What has happened to the road networks that were in existence when your party took over, hon Deputy President? The answer is nothing. There are no new roads to service the areas where pathetic RDP houses were erected, and existing roads have been allowed to deteriorate beyond repair. Most of the working population have to commute from the KwaNdebele area to Tshwane and back daily. Bus accidents by the multitude on those pathetic roads are responsible for more deaths annually than any other cause.
Please tell me, Your Excellency Deputy President, what has happened to the Moloto rail system started some 12 years ago as a solution to this problem and to help the development needs of this community? I tell you, absolutely nothing. Yet millions have been spent on research and impact studies. I personally suspect that your government neglected to plan for the acquisition of the necessary rolling stock and rails and are now in a Catch- 22 situation; they can't do it.
The people are not fools. Promises and plans ...