Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to respond regarding the issues of demarcations, in relation to inner and outer boundaries in preparation for elections, in many areas we addressed. There were two late requests in the North West, Matlosana, in which the area called Molopo raised the issue that it was not happy with the merger of those municipalities. One municipality has a population of about 6 000 people. It is called a municipality because of the past. Kagisano and Molopo are very small areas. They raised these issues very late in terms of the preparations for elections.
The other area was Mangaung in the Free State where it was felt that they were not ready to be made a metro because there were areas that must be addressed. Even at that level - in August when the wards were supposed to be submitted by 1 September to the Independent Electoral Commission, the IEC, for the IEC to do its work submitted by the Demarcation Board - it became clear that it couldn't happen because that condition could not be met.
Areas that we believe are not related to local government elections, but that can destabilise if they are not handled, are cross-boundary areas or areas where people want to move from one province to the other: Ga-Mothibi, Balfour, Moutse and Matatiele. Those are the areas that we believe need to be attended to and be addressed soonest, so that when we go to the elections, there won't be challenges and problems. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Hon Minister, thank you for your response. With all the processes undergone that you have mentioned and the stakeholders' involvement through the continual communication with the affected communities, could the Minister assure the House that people now understand all those processes, that there is stability, and that people are ready to register in preparation for the 2010 local government elections? I thank you.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I must say that to me there is an issue when you deal with demarcation, because that affects people's lives. The consciousness of the communities is supposed to be built so that they are able to contribute in terms of which area they want to fall under and for what reasons. Public representatives, parliamentarians, members of provincial legislatures and councillors must be mobilised because they have constituencies where they are able to assist in the building of consciousness.
I cannot stand here and say that everybody in South Africa is happy where these demarcations have been made and that the process went very well. I would be misleading this House if I said so. What I can say is that from our point of view, reasonable work has been done, and the wards have increased from 3 895 to 4 277 and have been handed over to the IEC. Today the IEC handed over the maps to the leaders of parties.
Therefore, we are on course, providing we can address a few areas. However, I don't think that the South African nation has managed to be on board in dealing with the issues of demarcation. I think it is an area that we must address, that we must ensure we improve on in years to come. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Madam Deputy Speaker, during the demarcation process there was an admirable degree of consensus and consultation, but this stopped when the first maps came out in July, and thereafter there was no consultation with all affected parties on changes brought about by objections. Could the Minister tell us why there was no consultation between July and September?
Madam Deputy Speaker, the member, my colleague, knows very well that the Demarcation Board is independent and I cannot tell them what to do and what not to do. My task is to ensure that we give support and that we are able to perform our oversight role. However, I must say that we, as the department, are not happy with the way some areas have conducted themselves. We are raising an issue of demarcation. Why should South Africa be demarcated every five years? It changes everything because things must be realigned all the time; even the political parties get affected when they must change their structures and so on. We believe that the issue of demarcation is something that this nation must debate, but not only that. Do we need a structure so big with a board to deal with the issue of demarcation?
That question is an issue that has to be debated and looked at. Now I can say to you, colleague, that on the issue of consultation, the Demarcation Board says it has done that, but there are areas where we believe they are not happy. We cannot tell them what to do because they are independent. I think that all of us must agree that we have to review the issue of demarcation in South Africa and ensure that it assists with planning, service delivery, stability, and the credibility of what we do. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.
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