Hon Deputy Speaker, as a consequence of the adjustments Budget, we are gathered here today to make consequential changes to the division of revenue. As I said when we debated the division of revenue in March, the division of revenue is a vital instrument that provides the first step in the process of service delivery.
It is necessary and logical that a large proportion of the revenue should be channelled towards the provinces and municipalities. These two tiers of government have constitutional service delivery mandates. What is more, they are, by virtue of proximity, supposedly better placed to deliver. We are nonetheless faced with a contrary, but incontrovertible reality that these spheres of government have a dismal track record.
It is a matter of deep concern that provinces and councils, usually those that are responsible for the poorest regions of our country, are incapable of properly spending the funds allocated to them. Some provinces, such as the Eastern Cape, are repeat offenders when it comes to the failure to spend vital funding. The political leadership of these administrations are quick to rebuff any criticism or complaint about lack of service delivery, but year in and year out they are guilty of not spending billions of rand.
Thus we look upon this Division of Revenue Bill with trepidation. We cannot disagree with it, yet we have serious reservations about the ability of this division to result in the same proportion of delivery. Conditional grants do not resolve this problem. At the heart of the matter is a severe lack of skills, coupled with an institutional culture that celebrates ineptitude and turns a blind eye to cronyism and tender fraud.
National government will simply have to improve its ability to monitor the spending of provincial and local governments. One of the leading causes of delivery failures and one the key reasons why the division of revenue does not produce the intended results is the countless vacancies at provincial and municipal levels in critical areas such as financial management and engineering.
As the UDM has indicated before, government is missing an opportunity. It could improve service delivery by providing jobs for qualified skilled professionals, whilst reducing reliance on expensive consultants. It will require political will to ensure that these positions are filled, because by their nature such positions will put the brakes on the gravy train. The UDM supports the Bill. Thank you, hon Deputy Speaker.