Order! Just before I call the next member, I would like to bring to the attention of members that during the plenary of 25 June 2009 it transpired that a member who was not supposed to vote cast his vote, and the results that were announced took his vote into account. After perusal of the voting records, I can confirm that all provinces voted in favour, and I have requested that the minutes should also be corrected, so you will receive the corrected minutes next time.
I now call upon the hon Mofokeng.
Chairperson, in terms of section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, national and provincial governments are required to provide support to and strengthen the capacity of local government. The provincial sphere of government was developed without a coherent policy framework to guide its operations towards the realisation of this provision. The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs was therefore mandated to develop a White Paper on provincial governance and review the White Paper on local government.
In terms of section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, provinces must establish mechanisms, processes and procedures that are in line with the provisions of section 155(6) of the Constitution of the Republic to monitor municipalities in managing their affairs, exercising their powers and performing their functions. The legislation developed to guide the performance, operations and functioning of local government, informed by the Constitution and the White Paper on local government, include, amongst others, the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act and the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act. It is through these pieces of legislation that inroads were made to fight poverty at the local sphere of government. Since 1994 the number of households with access to water supply has increased by more than 30%, the number of households with access to basic sanitation has increased by more than 35%, and the number of households with electricity connections has increased by more than 30%. More than two million houses have been constructed over the past 15 years to provide shelter to those without houses.
Over and above this, there are policy questions and proposals that have emanated from the experience we have had over the past 15 years, which mainly focus on public consultation to strengthen the quality and democracy of local government. Municipalities have not been proactive in providing feedback and accounting to the community on their performance as required by the legislation. There is room for municipalities to build meaningful partnerships with community-based organisations, labour organisations and the private sector.
Municipalities are further faced with the challenge of financial management and revenue generation. A number of municipalities are faced with bankruptcy, while others are running deficits. Regardless of these challenges that municipalities are facing, there is a steady improvement in the development of Local Economic Development, strategies and policies, but the challenge remains with the implementation of these strategies and policies. A new department has been established, which should be focusing on economic development. The question therefore arises as to how Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs will be working with this department and provinces to ensure that job creation at the municipal level is intensified, given the challenges caused by the global economic downturn.
Given the challenges mentioned above, a number of municipalities have been placed under both section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and section 139 of the Constitution. This process is a challenge both in respect of capital and human resources to assist these municipalities that are in the ICU. Provisions are made for the department in this budget to ensure that provinces are not held back by a lack of resources in exercising their mandate to assist municipalities that are not performing well. The role and function of the provincial sphere of government is critical in addressing the above-mentioned challenges in local government, as it is the sphere that is closest to local government. The areas which need improving are those of synergistic connections between provincial growth and development strategies and municipal integrated development plans. Municipalities must develop realistic IDPs and credible Local Economic Development, LED, programmes. Obviously, the operationalisation of these programmes is critical, as municipalities would need the material and human resources as well as the management and operational systems to implement their IDPs and LEDs.
However, the department addressed the fundamental weaknesses of local government, which includes the following: Poor planning; weak links between planning, policy-making and budgeting; poor expenditure control; little relationship between formulated and executed budget; poor cash management; and poorly motivated staff. There is a lack of alignment between the budgeting and planning regimes, which means that the system is not functioning as cohesively as it ought to. It has in a way contributed to poor spending, especially with regard to the municipal infrastructure grant. These funds are often rolled over or withdrawn by both the department and the National Treasury.
Meanwhile service delivery remains a serious challenge. It is imperative that the department introduces measures through this budget to ensure that the provincial government, as the sphere working closely with local government, reduces cost spending to the lowest possible figure.
The new support programme for municipalities should seek to instil greater certainty in the support, monetary and supervisory regimes that affect the local and provincial spheres of government. The big question remains as to how much has been set aside by the department to assist municipalities to perform their functions through the guidance and support of the provincial sphere of government. It should also be noted that some municipalities are financially not capable of paying salaries to staff, while some provinces are battling to implement fully the provisions of both section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act and section 139 of the Constitution. We need to level both financial and human resources. If this issue is not addressed with the urgency it deserves, we will still have a long way before we can win the battle against poverty and service backlogs and achieve a well-established, well-functioning system of local government.
The efficiency and effectiveness of hands-on support through the two-year programme of Project Consolidate remains critical. A number of municipalities that were part of Project Consolidate have been placed under section 139, while others gained a sure sense of relief as a result of this programme. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Madam Chair, members of this House, thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. I would like to acknowledge the budget speech of Minister Sicelo Shiceka, which he delivered to the country last Tuesday, 23 June 2009. The speech is setting a clear direction for a local government programme of action for the next five years. The Western Cape is committed to working with the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to achieve these objectives. I am pleased to say that Minister Shiceka's priorities and the provincial priorities are well aligned.
Mr Shiceka emphasised the importance of co-operative governance, greater discipline amongst councillors and officials, better service delivery, and development partnerships.
Co-operative governance can only work if we rise above party politics and work together. We have quarterly meetings of the provincial advisory forum, which are chaired by the MEC for local government, and we also have provincial co-ordinating forums, which are chaired by the Premier. In the coming year we shall ensure that these meetings are not talk shops but places where we can learn from one another. They should be places where we strengthen our relationship with national and provincial departments. I am pleased that Mr Sicelo Shiceka has agreed to come to a forthcoming provincial advisory forum. We are also prioritising service delivery. Municipalities in the Western Cape only spent 78% of their capital budgets last year and we are going to increase this significantly in the coming year.
Another problem is that municipalities are not spending enough on maintaining the infrastructure that they do have. The province expects municipalities to spend at least 10% of their operational budgets on infrastructure maintenance, phased in over the next four years.
We are also doing a comprehensive audit on our water and sanitation infrastructure in order to develop a ten-year provincial infrastructure project and financing plan for municipalities. We are working together with the national Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and the provincial treasury on this project. The province is putting a lot of effort into building the capacity of municipalities. The department is working together with municipalities to finalise the municipal support plans, the MSPs, which identify capacity gaps and say how they could be addressed over the next five years.
Here are some examples of how we are already assisting municipalities. We are helping 19 municipalities to improve their performance management systems. We are assisting municipalities to implement fully the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act. Together with Salga, we will provide leadership training to councillors and we are also rolling out code of conduct training to councillors.
I agree with Minister Shiceka that we must instil more discipline in municipalities. We are concerned that there has been a breakdown of discipline among both councillors and officials. The Department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is in the process of compiling a list of councillors and officials who owe money to municipalities for rates or services charged. If these debts are not paid within two months, the mayors of these municipalities must answer for this.
We want to make sure that fraud and corruption are eliminated and that councillors and their family members do not unlawfully benefit from municipal contracts. One of the ways to stop fraud is to focus on fraud prevention. The department has developed antifraud guidelines for local government in respect of human resources and finance. We are supporting ten municipalities with the compilation of anticorruption strategies and implementation plans, eight with ethics management planning and ten with debt governance training.
The province has a concern around integrated development plans, the so- called IDPs. We are pleased that 20 out of the 20 municipalities have IDPs that are considered to be credible, but many of these are only IDPs on paper. We are asking the department to check every IDP and make sure that it is an actual plan and not a wish list. We will also help municipalities to improve their integrated planning through the IDP learnership programme. This programme is offered to all municipalities and it includes six modules.
Another significant programme of the province is disaster planning. We have experienced many disasters in the Western Cape during the past 12 months, including floods, fires and violence against foreigners. The long-term solution to disasters is to be proactive and to prevent disasters or reduce their impact. The provincial disaster management centre will focus its efforts on assisting municipalities and provincial departments to do exactly this in the coming year.
I have indicated that there is alignment between national and provincial strategic priorities. However, we as the Western Cape province also have a number of concerns that we will have to raise in Parliament. Firstly, the development of provincial and local government as independent spheres of government must be respected. Service delivery cannot be effective if it is overcentralised. Secondly, while the remuneration of councillors is important, we believe that a sharp and singular focus must be on performance. There are many mayors and councillors in the Western Cape, and I am sure across the country, who work very hard, but as Minister Shiceka himself indicated, we are way short of achieving our service delivery objectives. Our Minister Anton de Waal is concerned about the district councils. Some district councils are well resourced, but are not using the resources to address problems of poverty and underdevelopment.
In conclusion, we look forward to discussing these issues and working with the national government to achieve our objectives. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members of the House, firstly, allow me to apologise on behalf of our chairperson of Salga, Councillor Masondo, who unfortunately could not make it.
The SA Local Government Association, Salga, takes great pride, and is indeed honoured, in participating in this historic Budget Vote debate of the newly formed Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs. Salga has a very close working relationship with the department, and we are committed to remain its close intergovernmental partner in pursuit of enhanced service delivery to the communities across the length and breadth of our country.
Salga participated in the recent bosberaad of the department where participants engaged with its new role of strengthening intergovernmental relations, building enhanced accountability across the three spheres and bringing traditional leadership into the mainstream democratic discourse. Salga shares the vision of the department of a strong local sphere of government that is people-centred, that is accountable to its residents and communities, that is developmentally oriented in respect of how it delivers services, and that is an equal partner to the other spheres of government with regard to how it responds to the national agenda set by the President. In this regard the provision of job opportunities and the foundation of economic development by providing sustainable infrastructure and services must find full expression in the integrated development plans of municipalities for this term of government.
Salga is committed to playing its role in fulfilling these aspects of the national agenda. In this regard we wish to emphasise the findings of the recently released community survey by Statistics South Africa in October 2007 where projects and progress regarding the provision of services were detailed. The report noted that over 88% of households have access to piped water, over 80% of households have access to electricity, and over 60% of households have access to flush toilets. These gains in the extension of services to other people were made possible through the committed endeavours of the three spheres of government working towards this common goal. Salga is firmly of the view that the provision of services by the sphere of government closest to the people is the most sustainable way for government as a whole to enhance democracy, by putting people in charge of their destinies through local accountability.
In the area of policy development, legislative and regulatory reform, we have recently gone through a policy review process in respect of provincial and local government. During that process, Salga raised a number of issues in its submissions, which we will continue to raise as the process reaches its conclusion. These issues include, among others, strengthening public participation in local decision-making; strengthening the relationships between ward councillors, community development workers, and traditional leaders; strengthening organised local government to enhance its intergovernmental capacities; streamlining development planning across the spheres with IDPs being the building blocks of government-wide planning; building coherent capacity at local level to facilitate local economic development; and developing a comprehensive approach to councillor support, not merely remuneration, that will enable local politicians to serve their communities effectively and sustainably, to name but a few.
Hon Chairperson and hon Minister, in the area of urban and rural development, the nodal municipalities continue to support the roll-out of urban and rural development projects aimed at increasing the visibility of government as a whole in the lives of our people. The innovative planning initiatives within these areas continue to enrich the increased participation of communities in developmentally oriented projects. We can confirm the findings of the review done in the anchor areas - that to consolidate private and public sector investment can be a powerful tool for improving investor confidence, increase public participation, and promote the quality of the public space and local services in underdeveloped areas.
The focus of the rural development programme must urgently continue to improve service delivery and create development opportunities in the rural hinterland. There is a need for an increased partnership between all spheres of government and the private sector to make a success of this approach. Rural development cannot and should not be the sole responsibility of the municipalities in those areas.
Hon Chair and hon Minister, building the institutional and human resource capacity of local government must continue to be a priority of government. The lessons of Project Consolidate are embedded in the strategic agenda of local government. Although it is early days, there is a marked improvement in the percentage of section 67 managers that have signed performance agreements. The pressure must be maintained to continue this climate. In the area of free basic services and infrastructure, it is noteworthy that the expenditure of municipalities has increased significantly. It does however remain a concern that the funding of new infrastructure is not matched by proportional funding for the upkeep and maintenance of existing infrastructure. In as much as new infrastructure is needed to extend services to previously unserved areas, local government is paying the price for infrastructure that is dilapidated and at times incapable of being returned to its useful state. The infrastructure maintenance backlog is growing by the day and it will take a considered effort by both national and local government to address the ticking time bomb.
Salga continues to make the point that the equitable transfer to municipalities is insufficient for local government to play its developmental role. The challenges in especially the rural areas are immense and very often an intergovernmental transfer is the only source of reliable income for such municipalities. This formula must be revised to take account of such rural challenges.
As indicated earlier, Salga remains committed to playing its role in the attainment of the national agenda. It is committed to playing this role in every intergovernmental forum, in every municipality, and, of course, in this august House. Salga has now strengthened its ability to engage meaningfully in Parliament as a whole, but more particularly in this House. Salga wants to take this opportunity to wish hon Minister Shiceka well in his endeavours. May the partnership between the Ministry, the department, and Salga grow from strength to strength. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, hon Minister, hon MEC, hon members in the House, my work has been made easy, because I come from KwaZulu-Natal and my leader has spoken already, so I have a free role to play.
I need to make one or two things clear to hon Watson. Hon Watson, firstly, on affirmative action, over 50% of the citizens of South Africa believe in affirmative action, because they stand no chance in a new democracy for any opportunity. It is a fallacy of the DA to believe that equal opportunities can just fall like manna from heaven. It cannot happen. Transformation is required for this purpose. There would be no change for people with disabilities, for young people, for black people, and for women in this country if there were no affirmative action. Therefore I think the debate must no longer be about whether affirmative action works or doesn't work. One of the principles is the values contained in the objectives of affirmative action.
Secondly, I think we need to move from arguing about the collapse of ANC municipalities or this and that, and get to the crux of the issue. The crux of the issue is that we have a new system that is even younger than these 15 years that we are talking about, because local government is younger than national and provincial government. And whatever we are talking about - whether it is about corruption, as Mr Gunda has done - we can't do it by crying and lamenting about what is criminal. What is criminal is criminal; it is incumbent upon every one of us to deal with what is criminal as criminal, so that nobody gets blamed for things that are criminal.
As the ANC government our objectives are to enhance, to strengthen, and to create institutions that will help us in providing for the resources and taking forward the programmes that would assist in dealing with the issues of our people. The objectives that we espoused in this new term of Parliament, contained in the manifesto, outline the pillars upon which we anchor all our engagements. We are pleased to hear today about the new vigour, the energy, and the plans and policies that are before us. That is the reason why we stand up to support the budget. We need to support the budget because it is sufficient. We are supporting this budget because it is now giving us a clear direction as to what capacity we need, what resources we need, and what kind of people we need to take these matters forward.
My emphasis here is to make a plea to you and the departmental officials with regard to our vulnerable groups. I am glad that the vulnerable groups are now part of the planning and the priorities of this new budget of the new department, as reconfigured. I hope that we will now have our indigent policies standardised to be able to deal with the needs of the poor who are often part of these vulnerable groups. Furthermore I hope that the structures and institutions that are created will be caring, taking cognisance of the needs and the issues of the people who are affected to the core by service delivery objectives. Now, as we are nearing the maturity date of the Millennium Development Goals of 2014, we are indeed poised to take forward and to make sure that we are able and better equipped to eradicate poverty, and to ensure that there is action with regard to education. We also need to ensure that we would no longer have to argue the issue of gender, because we would have attained full empowerment of women, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals to which we are a signatory.
Before my time expires, let me say that I was hoping Mr Visser would raise certain things. I want to raise them, because I am focusing on the area of vulnerable groups. It is a sad thing for the DA that Mr Watson has come here to lecture us about how affirmative action for any group is wrong. You have fired a disabled head of department in the Western Cape because she is an ANC supporter. She was the HOD for local government elections. [Interjections.] I respect that woman, because of her skill and merits; her qualifications in my view cannot be surpassed. Whatever we are talking about here, Mr Visser, you were just posing exactly what that manager has been implementing in this province. For the first time you are officially, on paper, in black and white, acknowledging the ANC in the Western Cape in respect of local government, because all the things you have been talking about you couldn't have done in the four weeks since you have been in power. So your whole speech really is singing our praises. I think you have now really listened to what our President has been saying, that is for us to work together and help each other.
Going forward, we are saying to the DA, and we will say it again and again: Where are the women? We are asking: Where are your young people? We are asking: Where are the disabled people? [Interjections.] You cannot shelve them. Therefore, whatever issue you would like to raise, it would be hypocritical to blame the ANC for anything to do with affirmative action, including cadre deployment. You cannot fire people for the sake of firing them because you think they are ANC supporters.
Going forward, together we can do more. If you believe in the debate about merit and skill, you should stop justifying your evictions and firing people because they support the ANC. You should stop firing people because they were working with the previous ANC government, if you are serious about what you are talking about.
Going forward, we support this budget, because, as indicated, the budget gives us a better framework, and we understand that there is now a strong focus on monitoring and evaluation within the budget. We are supporting this budget because we now understand the concerns and the problems that we are faced with, and, going forward, our role as the NCOP will be to make sure that we do not become ... We will go to the North West, we will go anywhere in the country, including the Western Cape ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Order! I alert all members to the fact that I have allocated five more minutes to Minister Shiceka, because there are quite a lot of questions to answer. Minister Shiceka.
Thank you very much, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP.
I want to thank everyone for the contributions that have been made in this discussion and say that the debate, in my view, was of quality. That was confirmed by the Deputy Minister, who sat in this House for the first time in his life. [Applause.] He was saying that the debate was a quality one, comparatively speaking. I won't say comparative to what. [Laughter.] I was telling him that this is always the case. This House is always focused, and its debates are of quality.
At the same time I want to say that it is clear to me that everyone in this debate calls for the intervention of government at the national level on issues of governance across the board, whether in municipalities or in provinces. I can promise you we are going to do exactly that. We are going to breathe heavily down the necks of everyone who is not performing their tasks and carrying out their responsibilities. [Applause.] We believe that, from our side, serving the people of South Africa in whatever role is a privilege, and that privilege must not be taken for granted. That privilege must be respected, because the decisions we make affect many people. We are not working in the private sector where decisions we are making only affect us and our families. Therefore we must never betray the trust that our people, as the people of this country, place in us, including ourselves in this august House.
Mr Watson, the veteran, is raising an issue around representivity, the removal of people, the deployment of cadres and so on. I think he must tell me and members of this House why there are no women in the provincial cabinet of this province. We will continuously raise this issue because we believe that the women of South Africa are in the majority, and also in the Western Cape. Are you telling us that there are no capable women in this province? That is the first thing. Secondly, since the DA has come to power, whether in the local municipality of Cape Town or the province, it has been on a purge to remove administrators that were appointed by the ANC. Are you choosing your own friends, DA? You must not throw stones when you live in a glass house. [Applause.]
The hon member also raised the issue of interventions. He is saying that there are pending interventions. We are going to come to the Western Cape. We are going to meet with the provincial government. I have had discussions with the leader of the DA, Madam Helen Zille. We have agreed that in this country there is no island. There is no structure that should believe that it can make a UDI. The Western Cape and the Cape Town municipality are part of the bigger South Africa. In that respect we have agreed that we will work together in partnership, as Mr Visser has said, which I appreciate, and we have agreed that in doing so, we are going to pursue the goals that must be pursued.
We shall work within the Constitution and within the laws. However, we are raising the issue of amending the Constitution. Let me tell you, in the area of local government, there is no doctrine in respect of the separation of powers. All powers are centred and vested in the council. It is the council that delegates to the executive committee or mayoral committee, and the mayoral committee delegates at that level. There is a blurring of lines of accountability and oversight, and we are saying that this situation cannot be allowed to continue. In addition to that, I have raised the issue that the NCOP has ghettoised the representation of local government, and if this House has to focus on issues of local government in the provinces, it means we have to amend the Constitution. It must be able to reflect that.
But also, going forward, if you look at the issue of the system, there are a lot of challenges. Amongst those are the challenges of alignment between national, provincial and local government, not only regarding the structure, but also as far as budgeting is concerned. The financial year of the national and provincial budgeting cycle ends in March. In the local municipalities it ends in June. The implication of that is that when provinces and national government are coming to the end of their financial year, they dump money in municipalities. We are saying we must align everything, including structures, in relation to local government. This requires the amendment of the Constitution.
Also, if you look at the issue of electricity, which is a national strategic area with regard to basic service delivery, it cannot be left to the whims of individual municipalities. These municipalities sometimes don't look at the broader interests of the country. They look myopically at their own areas of responsibility. That is why we support the amendment of the Constitution to ensure that we look at national priorities. Water and electricity are the most important ones. Nobody can disagree with that. Furthermore investment in infrastructure by municipalities over time has not been very good. This is why we are looking at different ways and mechanisms of dealing with these issues.
Therefore, from our point of view, Mr Watson, we support a constitutional amendment, because it is going to ensure that South Africa is placed where it belongs, at a place where it is the best of the best compared to other countries. That is what we believe in, and we support that very strongly. The other issue that is raised by the people's movement, the ANC, is the issue around the formula for the allocation of resources. We agree with that. In fact, we are engaging with the Financial and Fiscal Commission, FFC, to say we believe the formula for the allocation of resources, in relation to the division of revenue, is skewed. But in addition to that, with regard to its strategy, the ANC is biased towards the poor and the vulnerable. If you agree with this, then this must be reflected even in respect of the allocation of resources. The way the system is currently working is that it gives more resources to municipalities and provinces that are strong, and we believe that we should work to support the weak that cannot stand on their own. That is what we are calling for with regard to change. We agree with the movement in that respect, and we have said that we are going to support it as we go forward.
Also, we are raising an issue around voluntarism in the intergovernmental relations system. We support that. We are saying it must be dealt with, going forward.
With regard to the issue of the North West, we are going to engage with that, going forward.
In relation to the issue raised by Cope: We are saying on the issue of the establishment of municipalities, it's a matter we are engaging upon. We are looking at the formula, but I believe that the legislation dealing with local government must be section 76. Currently it is section 75, which I believe is a challenge. At the same time, my view on all section 75 laws is that it should be introduced in the NCOP. When such legislation goes to the NA, it should be a second process; it should not start in the NA. I think the NA must deal with section 75 pieces of legislation when they are introduced.
Concerning the issues that you have raised, Tata Makhubela, we will look at them. We will ensure that we attend to them, because we believe your contribution is quite important, going forward. We understand these are issues that bother you.
Mr Chaane, we are focusing on infrastructure. We are saying we cannot continue to deal with infrastructure the way we are dealing with it - we will never deliver, or even address the backlogs. We are introducing a comprehensive infrastructure plan that will look at the backlogs in every municipality, in every city, in every town in this country. And we believe that we must rope in the private sector, particularly when dealing with these issues in future. We agree on the topography of the issues. We have engaged with you on the issue of the Financial and Fiscal Commission formula that we have to look at. Let us work together.
You are raising an issue around traditional leadership and the support that is required. We are looking at ensuring that this area is a concurrent function. In terms of the formula, the FFC must actually ensure that money is given to provinces for traditional leaders as a way to take things forward. These are matters that we will be discussing with you, going forward. We agree with you that KwaZulu-Natal has a lot of challenges.
We want to thank you very much as a province, because you show a high degree of organisation and discipline in the way you conduct activities. That discipline is also demonstrated by your presence here in this debate. We also want to address the issue of MECs not participating in important debates in this House, because we believe that they are undermining this House by not attending. We are going to take that up. [Applause.] We will be taking up the issue with the Leader of Government Business to ensure that these matters are attended to, going forward, Deputy Chairperson.
At the same time, from our point of view, we want to call on everyone to ensure that we work together in such a way that we are able to move forward, because we believe that local government matters can be politicised. We must rise above politics so that we can actually address the issues that are affecting our people. We are saying that local government should be everybody's business, because whether we're at work or at home, everyone is affected. If your electricity doesn't work when you wake up in the morning and you don't have water, we become concerned. If the traffic lights are not working, we become concerned. Therefore, let us ensure that we work together. We will listen to the opposition. If you see things that are not going well in your own area, where you work, where you stay, take them up with the department. We'll be able to ensure that we take up these matters honestly without any bias in the way in which we deal with it, because we believe that together we can ensure that South Africa is a country, a place, where we will be happy to live and work.
Therefore collective wisdom is quite important, going forward, in addressing issues that must be taken up. As a department, we don't believe that we are a repository of wisdom. We believe that the wisdom is with the people, the wisdom is with you. Our task is to co-ordinate that wisdom. Our task is to direct what must be done. That is why we are here; that is why we are talking about a choir conductor, because we believe that a choir conductor is able to ensure that there is a harmonious melody in the way things are done. And we believe you, as the NCOP, are a partner. We must look at how to work together, going forward, in order to address these issues.
There is an issue around resource allocation. You know that the government was established after the Budget had been passed. We have agreed that by October the processes for the allocation of resources would be reflected and addressed. Therefore we are saying let us ensure that we deal with these issues while we are able to work together.
The other thing that we are going to do is that we are going to take all the speeches that have been presented here. It is unfortunate for those who have not prepared speeches, because it means we cannot refer to anything, except that we could actually check the Hansard, so that we are able to respond to each and every one who has made an input in this debate. We want to ensure that we take up issues and follow up on matters as we go forward. You see my team there, highly energised and highly motivated. Their morale is very high. They are there and ready to deliver.
I want to conclude by saying we are going to be working with the Deputy President when we embark on Taking Parliament to the People, to follow up on issues that are raised, even matters that are raised in the provinces and municipalities. The Deputy President will be following up with national departments regarding such issues, so that we are a responsive government. We will be moving in, Matungwane, to Matatiele to follow up on the issue that has been raised around correspondence. We are going there to go and test the views of the public, the views of the people. We are saying that we have listened to organisations, and they have not assisted us. The best thing to do is to go to the people. But in doing so, we will be working together. We will be doing the same in Matatiele, because we believe that we must actually address issues collectively. We don't believe in sweeping things under the carpet. We believe that we must confront every issue that has been raised, so that we are able to take the country forward, as we do our work as a country. I want to thank the committee for their incisive engagement with the department. I want to thank the officials for their support and engagement, and I also thank Macingwane for being here with us. We are saying your support is valuable and appreciated by us, and at the same time I want to thank the Deputy Minister for his support and his free-spirited approach on issues. He is a person who says what he thinks at any time. Continue with that free-spirited role that you are playing. Thank you very much, colleagues. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.