Shame on you, ANC!
[Interjections.]
Can you protect me, Chair?
Order hon members! You are protected, hon Oliphant.
Chair, the Division of Revenue Bill is a Bill that changes lives and I don't know why the DA is always against that. We all get salaries and don't return the salaries. The Division of Revenue for 2019 is propoor and developmental. Sixty-eight per cent of the budget is allocated to social commitments. R1,2 trillion goes to learning and culture and R7,17 billion for the National Health Insurance, NHI, and health as a whole. [Interjections.] The Northern Cape is allocated an equitable share of R4483 billion.
Afrikaans:
Niemand praat nie. Ek praat nou van my provinsie. [Gelag.] Jy moet stil bly daar agter.
'n AGB LID: Awe!
English:
In conditional grants, for the total of R17,907 billion, the local government's equitable share for the Northern Cape totals R1,840628 billion.
And still the hospital is not finished.
The local government conditional grant allocation totals R1,703 billion. [Interjections.] The grant allocation for the regional bank infrastructure totals R189,141 million over the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period.
The Northern Cape is grateful ... [Interjections.]
Afrikaans:
Bly stil man! [Gelag.]
English:
The Northern Cape is grateful and thanks national government for the allocated money, seeing that the Northern Cape's own revenue is only around R340 million per annum. The Northern Cape supports the Division of Revenue Bill for 2019. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Hon House Chairperson, members of the NCOP, special delegates ...
Order members!
... as Limpopo we agree with the thrust of this Bill. Over the five-year term we have consistently engaged National Treasury to revise the equitable share formula in order to accommodate the urban-rural divide and to address poverty. Indeed, as we speak the equitable share formula accommodates this and also allocates a higher per capita per household amount to rural municipalities.
The equitable share allocation to Limpopo grows by 6,9% in the 2019-20 financial year. However, it shows a decline in the outer years and this is largely due to the continued net outward migration of the Limpopo population. Despite this, the province has been able to improve and change the face of the economy. Economic growth in Limpopo has been consistent over the ... [Inaudible.]
Hon members, it's her maiden speech. You can't be doing what you are doing. It's out of order. You are protected, hon member.
Economic growth in Limpopo has been consistent over the past ... [Inaudible.] ... years and the province's performance has in fact exceeded national growth. The province recorded growth of 1,8% in 2017 and is expected to continue to perform even better. These improvements in Limpopo's gross domestic product, GDP, are largely driven by mining and agriculture.
Through the equitable share, Limpopo has also been able to drive the economy through various other programmes. Amongst this is the Musina- Makhado special economic zone, SEZ, as well as initiatives to speed up the designation of the Tubatse SEZ. These SEZs will ensure increased investments and jobs, and improve the lives of the people of Limpopo in general and then the Sekhukhune district in particular.
Through this Bill we see even greater contributions from agriculture to economic growth in Limpopo. The funding from the Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme grant has been reprioritised to subsidise Land Bank loans to emerging commercial farmers so that they can enter the loan market at a cheaper rate and expand production. This will surely create jobs and contribute to food security.
Furthermore, the allocation for the upgrading of Moloto Road, the R37 that connects the rest of the province to Burgersfort where platinum is
being mined, will surely ensure job creation as well in the province. [Interjections.] We appeal to national government to prioritise this ... [Inaudible.] [Interjections.] As Limpopo we support this Bill. [Applause.]
Hon Chair and hon members of this House, since 1994 the democratic government faced a series of challenges, including spatial, economic and social transformation, economic growth and economic inclusion in order to move South Africa forward.
At the core are interventions aimed at addressing poverty and inequality, as well as the overall adverse legacy of apartheid. It was the apartheid system that had created pit latrines that people are lamenting about. It is this people's budget that tries to address the legacy that was intentionally created by people to deny other people and other races a chance to live like human beings with dignity. The ANC government is bringing back the dignity of people to where it should be. [Interjections.]
On the issue of housing, it is the ANC, through its RDP, that has brought houses to the people. [Interjections.] It is the ANC government. People of South Africa must know; pensioners must also know
that when we talk about the increase of their pension fund, which is equal in South Africa for now, that it is the DA that doesn't want their money to be increased. It is the DA that says ... [Applause.] ... children must not receive equal education in South Africa and there should not be any free education. Again, it is the DA that is refusing to accept this people's budget.
Sorry, hon Motlashuping. Let me take hon Essack. Hon Essack, why are you standing?
Obviously you would understand hon Chairperson. With due respect, the member from the North West province who is doing his declaration now is misleading South Africans and speaking absolute, absolute incorrect ... [Inaudible.]
Hon Essack! Hon Essack! Hon Essack!
In fact, they are blatant lies because the DA does not say what he says. He is playing politics and it isn't going to work.
Hon Essack, you can't debate with the person doing a declaration. You can't do that.
[Interjections.] Can you take your seat? That is not a point of order. Hon Faber?
Chairperson, on a point of clarity: I would like to ask the speaker ... [Inaudible.]
No, no, no, you can't ... There's no clarity. Take your seat.
I want to seek clarity. The free education ...
Hon Faber, can you take your seat?
Is he speaking about hon Supra's son's free education?
Hon Faber, take your seat. Continue hon Motlashuping and conclude.
Again, it is the ANC that is providing learners from a very early stage ... providing meals to the underprivileged, subsidising households that are not able to afford to
pay for electricity and water. That is given by the ANC for free to South Africans who are poor. [Applause.]
The DA is rejecting, and it must be put into context that they are rejecting the Division of Revenue. And when you reject the Division of Revenue you are saying whatever is proposed in the Division of Revenue should not be provided. We should not provide for pensioners; we should not provide for learners; we should not provide for early childhood development, ECDs; we should not build schools; we should not build clinics; we should not build hospitals. The ANC government says, let's continue to ... [Inaudible.] Let's continue.
Chairperson, on a point of order. Chairperson, a point of order! You know ...
Hon Essack, I've warned you to refrain from what you are doing.
Hon Chairperson ...
Take your seat! You are not recognised.
But it's a point of order Chairperson. The speaker is misleading South Africans and you're allowing him to blatantly lie. The Division of Revenue Bill is not ... [Inaudible.] ... towards the poor. He knows that; I know that. [Interjections.]
You are not recognised, hon Essack. Free State?
{Inaudible.]
No, your time has expired, hon
...
I wanted to continue.
Ja, no. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] Free State?
Chair, as the Free State we support this Division of Revenue precisely because it addresses the triple challenge of unemployment, inequality and poverty that all spheres and arms of government are facing, including the Western Cape. Maybe the wisdom that we need to share with members of the DA is that as and when we
appropriate the budget, we don't only appropriate for eight provinces but we also include the Western Cape. And, as and when they reject, they are also saying that the Western Cape must not be in a position to further develop whatever that they are doing. However, I'm not there; I'm here.
They are speaking about ... [Interjections.] ... the Child Support Grant. Maybe we need to go down memory lane with regard to the Child Support Grant and say that in the past the Child Support Grant was only ...
Sorry, hon member. Hon Smit, why are you standing?
Hon House Chair, the hon member next to the speaker has just told me to shut up. [Laughter.]
Hon members! Hon members, let me appeal to all of you to refrain from anything that will compromise the decorum of the House. We are dealing with something very important. Let's allow the Free State to do the declaration. [Interjections.]
Chair, as I continue; the Child Support Grant was only given to a few in the country and it was given to kids of white people. When their daughters and sons gave birth to these children, they would say they were orphans and they would be taken from their families, and the government of that day actually supported them. When we come to the grant for the elderly, it was 150 quarterly for our elderly. Today everybody gets that, equally so. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Let me also speak about the informal human settlements in the country. The problem that we are sitting with is because our people are evicted illegally from farms by white farmers, they are dumped in our local municipalities and these municipalities are expected to render services to those people who have actually been evicted illegally. This is a violation of their human rights.
We are also saying that, in terms of the title deeds grant, we are supporting that as the Free State because it is going to actually address the imbalances, because our people never had any title deeds. The dignity of a black person; of Africans is actually being restored and that's what they have a problem with.
Let me also raise this thing. Every day and every evening we are told that the governance of the Western Cape is so good. In the two past consecutive years they were unable to deliver a water quality report. I don't know what good governance is that. Now this is very, very bad for the people of South Africa and the people of the Western Cape because the very same water that is actually from sanitation goes into the sea.
Let me speak about electricity. They forget that the only people that benefitted from having electricity in the past ... Our people used fire wood to cook and do everything. When it comes to water, our people never had any water. It is only the ANC that said, all of us are equal. All of us will have water; water in our yard and clean running water ... [Inaudible.]
As you conclude, thank you.
Sir, as I conclude, as the Free State we actually support ... [Inaudible.] ... people of South Africa must not be fooled by the wolves that are in the cow ... sheepskins. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Question put: That the Bill be agreed to.
IN FAVOUR: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West.
AGAINST: Western Cape.
Bill accordingly agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.
