Honourable Speaker,
Each and every year we rise before this House to debate the Budget, and each and every year we say the same things.
The opposition in Parliament is united in calling on the ANC-led government to support proposals that will get our country on the right track; and to support measures that will see corrupt comrades and officials behind bars.
Speaker, we are all on the same page when it comes to implementing sound economic policies that will create jobs for the millions of South Africans who sit at home with nothing to do.
However, Honourable Speaker, the reality is that each and every year, our words are simply ignored.
This act of ignoring our pleas flies in the face of each and every worker who has lost their job due to corruption, maladministration and the lack of honest leadership within our various government departments, from national, to provincial to municipal level.
National Treasury, as the custodian of economic policy, and the implementing agency of government’s spending directives through legislations and regulations, must aim to cut wasteful spending and buffer departments from corruption, as well as close supply-chain management loopholes across the board.
Honourable Speaker, I reiterate the IFP’s belief that local government is one of the most important spheres of governance.
This is because local councils directly deliver services to residents and because it acts as the implementing agent of government in providing services and responding to the basic needs of communities.
Therefore, it is of critical importance to grant local councils special status by placing local government first and at the top of government’s agenda.
In light of the poor financial state of all our municipalities, it is imperative that we eliminate the inefficiencies that are crippling our local councils countrywide.
We must address the exorbitant costs that are incurred through outsourcing; through the hiring of external consultants that are doing the work of officials who are already in the employ of municipal councils.
We must root out those who do not belong in the public sector; those who simply cannot do their jobs properly and those who brazenly steal from the poor.
Honourable Speaker, there are far too many missed opportunities and neglected informal economic activities happening within our rural communities that are not considered as contributing to our GDP.
We believe that National Treasury and local municipalities should work together to assist informal traders in scaling up their businesses and their economic contributions towards the development of the local economy.
The informal sector is an almost untapped market that has the ability to generate millions of additional Rands, which could service the needs of our people where they live.
Honourable Speaker, we simply cannot allow this Department to fail. Our economic future relies upon the sobering decisions that this Department must take in order to facilitate economic justice and make it a reality for all our people.
With the abovementioned noted, and the Portfolio Committee’s recommendations taken into consideration, the IFP supports the Budget Vote.
I thank you.
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