Hon Chairman Mr Mahlangu, hon Ministers present here, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, the past few days were very hectic as committees of Parliament engaged in the most important work of budgeting. Today is no different to those processes, but marks the final stages of the release of the required resources to implement a national plan, as directed by the President of the Republic during his state of the nation address on 6 June.
Budgets by nature are about planning for the collection of revenue and its allocation or equitable and fair division across all spheres of government, so as to deliver quality services to our people. This is in many instances restricted by domestic and global market conditions such as the current economic downturn, whose effects we are beginning to feel. These conditions should not in any way distract us from achieving our goals, but should rather, as the President said so well, merely delay us for a while. It is indeed true that where there is a will, there is a way. This will cannot be expressed any better than in the policies of our movement, the ANC, and in its election manifesto, as the quest to build a better life for all. It is our shared view that the fact that we are in a global financial downturn does not mean that priorities should be abandoned, but rather that the country may need to strategically phase in the implementation as conditions become better.
The fulfilment of our priorities, outlined in the ANC manifesto and elaborated upon by the President during his state of nation address, is intended to consolidate the building of a developmental state. We need to build more capacity at all levels of our government, especially at the level of our municipalities.
Minister, it is indeed true and correct that the birth of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs on 10 May 2009 is representing an irreversible shift to an expanded and more deliberate mandate on matters of co-operative governance. It is indeed correct that this new name of the department gives effect to the provisions of Chapters 3, 6, 7 and 12 of the Constitution, with Chapters 3 and 12 as fundamental priorities for execution. As we execute this mammoth task, we should be cautious never to overlook the harsh realities relating to the obstacles that are there. The biggest challenge in addressing the plight of our municipalities is first to deal with glaring legislative barriers that make it difficult to make meaningful, effective, efficient and responsive interventions as and when it becomes necessary to do so. The manner in which support and assistance is required should be provided by both national and provincial spheres of government to local government needs to be clarified; otherwise we will never win the battle.
Hon Minister, we are fully behind your call to strengthen systems of accountability and build clean government as one of the most important pillars of co-operative governance. However, I must caution that in so doing, as the choir conductor, great care and support should be given to our local councillors who, despite all their weaknesses, are faced with serious challenges. Their lives are more threatened and vulnerable than any of the public office bearers, for they are our striking forces to achieve service delivery goals. Being too harsh on them without addressing their plight or giving them the required support will only allow the enemy to creep in. Indeed, we should hold them accountable to the communities, but, in so doing, we should not lose sight of the harsh reality of the risks that they face on a daily basis. We need to strengthen their capabilities to provide oversight and to be part of the decision-making processes. Bad elements among them need to be isolated and dealt with harshly. We should avoid generalising when pointing at corrupt officials in municipalities.
The department should move with speed to develop codes of conduct for senior managers. Even so, we should talk more about the frustrations of our people than about the frustrations of those in power. Both must be arrested. It can never be right, Minister, that we talk more about the weaknesses of our municipalities and less about their challenges. It can never be right that 15 years into democracy we still have people staying in mining holes at waste dumping sites such as those in the area of the Matlosana Municipality. It can never be right that our people still live in pigsty-like shacks, like the ones that we see here in the Western Cape, yet the DA has the nerve to tell us that the Western Cape is a little heaven. [Applause.]