On a point of order! Hon Chairperson, I want to tell him that I can read it for him.
Thank you, Chairperson, what I know is that I did not mention any names - I just asked a question; that is all. And the other thing I want to point out is that the way the hon Prince of Phindangene spoke about the economy you would swear that his speech was written by the great communist, hon Blade Nzimande, when he spoke about putting the nation first. I am not sure if they shared their notes on this issue given the manner in which he spoke. And the other thing hon De Lille spoke about is the issue of ...]
... the National Planning Commission and that the Minister must elaborate on the matter. The Minister in The Presidency will talk about it tomorrow as he deals with the commission. This issue will be elaborated on further during the policy debate.
I want to move to the issue Mr Holomisa spoke about, regarding the Umtata Stadium in 2010. We went to the area two weeks ago and we found that the council was sitting with an amount of about R280 million for the stadium. We are assisting them in processing the issue around the construction of the stadium.
I want to conclude with the issue alluded to by hon Ms Ndude. We believe that Rev Dandala spoke in a very dignified way, which actually respected the decorum of the House. However, I must say that hon Ndude was a bit provocative in raising issues not pertaining to the President's speech. This possibly reflects two things: Firstly, maybe there is no coherence in the party's strategy in terms of what must be articulated.
Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it the right thing to do for the Minister to talk about one member not responding to the President's speech, when in actual fact he's done anything but that himself? [Interjections.]
I am saying then, to me, it might be an issue of saying that the member is undermining the leader, by ensuring that things are articulated that are not consonant with what is expressed by the leader of the party in that respect. These issues that were raised were done within the law and within the Constitution of the Republic. There was no subversion of the law or the Constitution in this respect.
Mr President, yesterday a five-year programme was tabled in terms of the priorities of this democratic government. When the President concluded, he posed the following open question and invitation:
Indeed, as citizens we should at the same time ask ourselves what it is that we can do on our own to help promote this national programme.
Today and tomorrow all of us must be able to answer that question, decisively and boldly. We need to answer this question as elected public office bearers; as public servants in the national, provincial and local government; as businesspeople; as workers; as leaders of civil society formations, as well as religious people; as traditional leaders; as academics; as students and the youth; as men and women and patriotic citizens. My submission to this esteemed House is that the Department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs that the President announced on 10 May 2009, will play its role diligently and relentlessly as a choir conductor of the system of co-operative governance.
This single, sovereign government is constituted under the Constitution as one government with three spheres, which are distinct, interrelated and interdependent. The same can be said about the choir that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs will be leading and orchestrating until the end of this term. In our system of government we have a choir where some will be singing baritone, others will be singing alto and others will be singing soprano. [Laughter.] This department will protect, guide and direct our unique voices and roles over the next five years. As we project a single national harmonious melody, we must have rhythm, vibrancy and meaning. This must be so good that it must inspire people to get up from their chairs and join this choir. This is simply our understanding of the issue of co-operative governance and our role as the conductor of the choir for the next five years.
Mr President, you have given the musical score and the songsheet to government and the nation. It is clear, inspiring, unambiguous and focused. We understand that we'll need to build on the gains that we have made in the past 15 years, and simultaneously attend vigorously to our weaknesses and deficiencies. Fighting poverty, creating decent work and improving the lives of our people will be at the centre of our collective actions. We will need to address the misaligned government processes and systems between the three spheres of government. We must make sure that the essence of the choir is felt by the conductor.
The integrated development plans and local economic development strategies of municipalities must reflect the priorities of the entire public sector, including those in the public entities, as well as those in business. We are aware that this misalignment is a fundamental challenge. In the OR Thambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape, for example, two weeks ago the district went to the same local municipality to conduct outreach around the IDPs. The municipality was in the same area, in a different village, conducting the same processes. We believe that we must ensure that we co-ordinate our efforts so that we can maximise the impact on the limited resources we have. We believe that we must be able to ensure that we work very closely with the National Planning Commission, because we must ensure that the views of the people on the ground, the IDPs that are expressed there, must be linked with the provincial growth and development strategies.
The implementation of government programmes in many areas continues to experience some fragmentation, disjointedness and lack of co-ordination. In September last year, Parliament went to Bushbuckridge on a parliamentary programme. In November we were given the responsibility to make follow-ups on the issues that were raised at that level. Within a period of three months, we managed to ensure that government works together and a lot was achieved in that area through this co-ordination. It shows that the issue of co-ordination is something that must be taken up and driven.
We believe that traditional leaders and traditional communities must be at the centre of rural governance. They must make sure that they participate in these issues and that these issues are dealt with. In addition, we must ensure that the issue of disputes around the recognition of traditional leadership is also dealt with and resolved in the next five years.
Mr President, we believe that, as we move forward, we must be able to ensure that the state functions in a coherent and seamless way in delivering services. We believe that in doing so we will be able to ensure that we take our country to another level.
Our understanding is that the role of the Ministry is to ensure that we are the envoys and emissaries who go to the Premiers and provinces. In that respect, I have had a discussion with the Premier of the Western Cape, Ms Zille. She said she was going to work with us, as long as we work with her, within the Constitution and the laws of the country, and I believe we are going to do exactly that. She has invited us to meet with her within the next few weeks to come and present the report on the state of the Western Cape as a province, as well as address the structures of local government in this province. We are going to ensure that we work with her. We believe that she is part of South Africa - she can't be an island here in the Western Cape, as she believes.
As the appointed choir conductor of our system of co-operative governance in this country, we will ensure the maxim that says: Many voices, one message - melody and song. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Before we adjourn, I would just like to respond to the hon Ellis' earlier question about relevance. I think it is also a concern of some other members regarding the relevance of some of the speeches. If you look at the nature of the President's address, it touches a wide range of political issues, and therefore members are going to respond likewise. They would talk about various political issues in response to the President's address. I am sure even tomorrow this is still going to happen, members will do that. I think it stems from the nature and focus of the President's address.
Debate interrupted.