Chairperson, while the IFP supports this Vote, I record the following concern. The IFP is firmly opposed to a single Public Service reiterated in the Budget Vote. Firstly, this will create a bloated, cumbersome and unmanageable Public Service open to more rampant corruption. More time will be absorbed in responding to bureaucratic challenges, instead of accelerated service delivery.
Secondly, this runs counter to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, which entrenches three distinctive interdependent and autonomous spheres of government. In actual fact, the IFP sees the collapse of provincial and local government structures as a centrist ploy by the department to amass all power in Pretoria, instead of taking government closer to the people, which is the hallmark of democracy. I thank you.