National Assembly Cape Town: 13 November 2007  

First Reading: Adjustments Appropriation Bill

The Adjustments Appropriation Bill is the vehicle for appropriating adjusted amounts of money from the National Revenue Fund for the requirements of the State for the financial year ending 31 March 2008. 

In general, the IFP supports the adjusted appropriations. However, we are concerned about the R4, 1 billion in rollovers from the previous financial year indicating yet again that public spending is not up to scratch. The R3,1 billion appropriated for unforeseeable expenses is also a cause for concern as it points to a lack of forward planning. 

While the additional appropriation of R1, 9 billion for civil service salaries could now be considered unavoidable; the IFP wants to highlight the damage done to the country by this year's protracted civil service strike, especially in the education sector. We cannot afford a recurrence next year and want to call on the authorities and unions to start negotiations at a much earlier date. Also, the apparent discord between the Ministers of Finance and the Public Service on how high the government could go with the increases should not be repeated in public again. 

Turning to the detailed appropriations, the IFP finds it difficult to support the R744 million allocated to the SAA for restructuring costs. The Minister of Public Enterprises announced some time ago that the government will not continue to bail out the airline forever, but it seems we will have to wait a bit longer for that to realise. 

While we support the extra R250 million given to Land Affairs for restitution grants, we have to call into question the ability of the department to properly administer the grants and to get them to the right people.  

The IFP supports the following additional appropriations: 

. R325 million for Further Education and Training; 

. R197 million for Strategic Health services;  

. R234 million more for the Hospital Revitalisation Grant; 

. R500 million for the new Kimberley Prison; 

. R156 million for reducing the court case backlog; 

. R241 million for visible policing; and 

. R621 million for Enterprise Development and Coega. 

The IFP supports the Adjustments Appropriation Bill.

Thank you.  

 FOR MORE INFORMATION: 
Liezl van der Merwe: 0836117470