Mr Speaker, when the hon Minister Gordhan cracked down on the abuse of state resources yesterday, there may as well have been a backlog of Nongoma behind him, because the way in which the ruling party and its progeny, the NFP, campaigned in Nongoma over the three weeks leading up to yesterday's by-election speaks loudly of the abuse of state resources.
It also speaks about what is to come in 2014. [Interjections.] Do you want to meet me outside? [Laughter.] At the height of the by-election campaign, a storm of government activity suddenly blew into Nongoma. Millions of rand from the state coffers were spent in three wards over the span of three weeks. Government functions, complete with musicians, disc jockeys and radio personalities ...
Order, hon members! Order! Proceed, sir.
When questioned on uKhozi FM, the premier of KwaZulu- Natal quite blatantly said that the provincial government had decided to go to Nongoma because of the by-election. The ANC was contesting this election, not the government. Moreover, sadly, delivering services and bussing people to parties is not the way to govern. It is the way to buy votes with taxpayers' money. That is indefensible.
Hon members, order!
Not to be outdone, the Mayor of the Zululand District Municipality spent vast sums in the three wards, delivering water tanks and other services to people who had been waiting for years for her to deliver.
I urge this Parliament to seriously pay attention to the implications of the ruling party's use of state resources for party politics to gain advantage over their political competitors. Something must urgently be done. In fact, we call on Parliament to debate this matter. Every South African of integrity must be concerned about this state of affairs, because it is in the interest of every South African that democracy must not be ...
Hon members, stop heckling! If you want to have a private discussion, please go out. [Interjections.] Continue, sir.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. They know what they have done. [Time expired.] [Laughter.]