Chair/Madame Speaker Hon. Members,

There is a biblical saying that what we sow, we will reap.

Agriculturally, the mode of ploughing determines the yield and quality of produce.  

Water is life, lack of water is death. While the IFP will support this budget vote, there are serious concerns to be highlighted for public consumption.  

The department suffers from a legacy of staff shortage and incapability to discharge its noble mandates more efficiently and timeously to satisfy the needs of its customers.  

The Department is acutely under staffed in all divisions, especially in more specialized services. 

The Auditor General continues to itemize sections of great concern which is indicative of lack of qualified officials in those sectors.  

Funds allocated to vacant posts stay hoarded for many years. This has an adverse effect on the economy in terms of unearned money, put out of commercial circulation.  

The big question is who lacks capacity to carry departmental mandates?

Appointments to vacant posts is a specialized issue in order to place the right officials to the right posts.  

Responsibility shift from implementer to regulator is perceived as premature in that delegation of duty and services only become effective if the delegator has satisfied himself or herself that training has been done and that the services will be satisfactorily carried out while the delegator carries responsibility. 

Water resource management needs to follow up and work closely with local government to ensure that the supply of the resource reaches the desired end in the community. Constant reports from the media and members of communities about scarcity of water indicate that something somewhere within management is wrong.  

There are communities which lack water since they get water from polluted rivers and share water supply with cattle, donkeys and goats.  

Chairperson, a meeting scheduled for the 17th May 2008 coined as Bushbuckridge Water Indaba at the Mapulaneng Technical College was sabotaged by those who went around announcing that there was no meeting. Members of the communities had agreed to attend and air their problems about water supply in Bushbuckridge.  

Inyaka Dam project is a doubtful starter. The workmanship is questionable in as much as the quality of material used. This brings about suspicion and dismay that water resource services will not be a reality in the foreseeable future.  

Forestry has its own understaffing problems in terms of transfers and economic development. There are members of communities who cry out when their forests benefit foreign people. Since the department is understaffed no one dares to go and negotiate acceptable terms with local residents.  

Asset transfer remains a huge hindrance since many boreholes are redundant.

The department has no capacity to revive them. Local municipalities are loath to accept defunct infrastructure. They neither have funds nor expertise to use such boreholes.  

Chairperson, the portfolio committee on Water Affairs and Forestry, during its oversight visits got encouraging inputs from municipal officials.

Presentations mainly conducted in offices had few if any backing from members of communities served.  

Rural communities must be afforded ample opportunity to embark on self help schemes in terms of income generating projects.  

Given enough water for both domestic and economic development, rural people will employ themselves since most of the commodities enjoyed in towns and cities come from rural areas. Milk, fruits, rice, wool and so on and so on.  

Chairperson  

The only problem which the department has to address is lack of capacity.  

I thank you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
MR MABALANA WILLIAS SIBUYANA MP: 083 662 5381