Madam Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon chair and hon members of the portfolio committee, hon members of the House and our guests ...
... ndiyanibulisa namhlanje. Simele ukuba sizibuze ngalo lonke ixesha xa singena kula masango ukuba yintoni esizise apha. Ukuba asiyenzi loo nto siza kusoloko sicinga into yokuba sizele iziqu zethu nezidingo zethu. Sakuthi siyilibale into yokuba into esiyizeleyo apha, Mphathiswa, kukuba size kulungisa siphucule impilo yabantu. Asisoze sikwazi ukuyenza sisodwa loo nto singayenzi kunye namagosa esebe lakho. Kodwa hayi kumgangatho kazwelonke kuphela, Mphathiswa, kumgangatho wamaphondo noworhulumente basekhaya.
Ewe ndiyeva ukuba amaqela aphikisayo ayavuma kwaye ayalwamkela uhlahlo- lwabiwo-mali lwakho. Kodwa kulo mculo uthi masiwucule, njengombexeshi wekwayala, zikhona ke noko indawo apho kukho izandi ezingavakaliyo kakuhle. Sithi ke xa kufuneka sizenzile zonke ezo zinto siqale apha endlini ngokuqinisekisa ukuba akukho kuyiloza; batsho abantu abaculisayo.
Uthi utata uMadiba xa wayethetha ngokulwa ulwaphulo-mthetho norhwaphilizo ngonyaka we-1999, uthetha enjenje: (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[... greetings to you all today. Every time we enter through these doors we should ask ourselves is it what that has brought us here. If we don't do that, we will always think that we came here to pursue our own interests. Minister, we will forget that we came here to make people's lives better. We cannot do that without the officials in your department and, Minister, not only at a national level, but also at provincial and local government levels.
Yes, I hear that the opposition parties agree and accept your budget, but in the song you say we must sing and with you as the choir conductor, there are some notes that do not jell with the song. We therefore say that when we want to do all those things, we must start by seeing to it that we are all singing to the same tune; that is what conductors say.
In 1999, when Tata Madiba was talking about fighting crime and corruption, he said:]
Our hope for the future depends also on our resolution as a nation in dealing with the scourge of corruption. Success will require an acceptance that, in many respects, we are a sick society.
It is perfectly correct to assert that all this was spawned by apartheid. No amount of self-induced amnesia will change this reality of history.
But it is also a reality of the present that among the new cadres in various levels of government, you find individuals who are as corrupt as - if not more than - those they found in government. When a leader in a provincial legislature siphons off resources meant to fund service by legislators to the people; when employees of a government institution set up to help empower those who were excluded by apartheid defraud it for their own enrichment, then we must admit that we have a sick society.
This problem manifests itself in all areas of life.
I am raising this, hon Minister, to remind us that when you are standing here in front of us without any fear or favour, first of all admitting that in this department there is a level of work that has not been done by the previous department, for me as a member of the ANC, that is a sign of providing leadership. [Applause.] Any leader who stands and admits his or her failures is a person who says "I want to do more."
But we are saying to you, as a leader in this government, that you must not be threatened. You must not be afraid of ensuring that you root out corruption at its roots. I don't think we can get rid of people for the sake of getting rid of them. What we, as the portfolio committee, think you must do is to do an overall audit of the skills in the department and ensure that you create an environment that is going to enable people to be capacitated. Those that are refusing ... We are always told that the ANC government is purging people. I think we are not purging people, but, Comrade Minister, we will deal with any person, from whatever party, who is not prepared to be assisted, or empowered - who is not prepared to ensure that the social conditions of our people are changed. It is not about whether a person is black or white; it is about an ability.
We are saying this to the officials in the department, right across, and to the politicians who are not prepared to ensure that they toe the line. I agree, comrade Minister, that we have been engulfed by a sickness of people who don't want to work. We agree with that, but we want to say to you, here today, that we are committing ourselves to the manifesto of the ANC that we will have to change the social conditions of our people.
The hon member of the DA must understand that the majority of the people who stay in the locations and squatter areas are unemployed, and therefore we must mandate the local government department so that the systems that are there to assist the poor people must be put in order. The attitude and the conduct of the officials that are not prepared to assist the poor people, hon Minister, are being addressed.
In conclusion, as I sit down, I want to say to you, in isiXhosa we say: Kubethwa eyona itsalayo inkabi yenkomo. [The hard-working ox is the one that is beaten the most.]
You must rest assured that we know that you are going to get knocks from all corners from the opposition parties, but we want to say to you, as we have already said: We are a choir here. We must all sing a note that will change the social conditions of our people. We support this budget as the ANC. I thank you. [Applause.]