Hon House Chair, the FF Plus wishes to raise its serious concern with regard to the state of municipalities under section 139(b) provincial intervention and the lack of any improvement in such municipalities to be detriment of service delivery and the residents of such. One example is the Masilonyana Local Municipality which was under administration from April 2017 until recently. This municipality showed no improvement outstanding debt to Eskom increased during this period, water infrastructure collapsed, audit outcome regressed and the financial position further deteriorated.
It is shocking that the Free State executive recently resolved to end the 139 intervention effectively giving up on the people of Masilonyana. The National Treasury has informed Masilonyana recently that it will not receive its equitable share payment due invoking section 2(162) of the Constitution as the municipality passed an unfunded budget. This failure to pass a funded budget occurred whilst under provincial intervention. This shows
the complete failure of the Free State government. The people of this municipality will suffer due to the ANC government's failure to comply with legislation.
Co-operative governance and the mandate of provincial and national spheres of government to capacitate local government and enforce compliance are failing. Thank you, Chair. [Time expired.]
Chairperson, a Bloemfontein grandmother is great full for the ANC government for doing everything for her visually impact grandson. [Interjections.] That one was Tebogo Mosala. The 89-year-old Mamalo said these words on the occasion of handing over the keys of the house to her grandson by the President of South Africa and the Free State Premier on 1 November. Mamarumo said her son was born blind and does not work was firstly given a disability grant and now her son was given a house. Tebogo is one of the recipients of the department development housing programme which has also built houses for the bounded and Military Veterans. The house was handed over fully furnished. Thank you.
Chairperson, the Eastern Cape is in a mist of a crippling draught the effects of this draught are evident in Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality where the Nqweba dam Graaff Reinet main water source has been dry since February resulting in an ongoing water shortages to the towns of 40 000 residences. Some residents have up to 215 days without water this year alone. Even there is nothing flows through the parts the meters continue to turn and residents are being charged for air. Thousands of fish died as the dam dried up. The residents were left with the responsibility of cleaning the dam and over two days organised by the Assembly Church 74 000 dead fish were cleared from the dam by volunteers and were disposed of.
Despite an allocation of R30 million for draught relief the municipality failed to spend the funds in time and have to apply for the roll-over. The mayor is nowhere to be seen, the municipal manager is conspicuously absent. There is a complete lack of communication, water truck deliveries are sporadic unlike the DA's proactive day zero programme in Cape Town which effectively prevented day zero. The Dr Beyers Naude Municipality has no plan
what so ever mean while thirsty residents are left sucking on air by an uncaring ANC government. Thank you.
Chairperson for sometime now the United Kingdom has required South Africans to apply for Visas to visit the UK because of that country's security concerns this includes the tidies requirement to obtain a transit visa to connect with flights to other countries yet South Africa is still committed to freely welcome UK travellers and business people to our shores. Rightly or wrongly there seems to have been a taint of distrust of South Africans that arose around 2008 and 2009.
Much has changed since then, and one would argue that the time has come for the British and South African government to re-assess and to alleviate a situation that by design unfairly penalises South Africans and virtually still blends us as potential terrorist. The UDM calls upon the South African government to sit down with their British counterparts to re- evaluate and to ... whether the reasons for the decision still stand also the British government must please be requested to publish the details on where we are failing.
Chairperson, the ANC condemns the vandalism and setting of fire on trains in Gauteng recently. Some of the affected station includes Park Station, Maritzburg, Braamfontein and Germiston. It is alleged that in Park station a number of criminals possible entered the station attacking and looting some of the shops. Breaking glasses, tickets windows more alarming however was the stoning of the train resulting in a broken wheel shield. It is alleged that the act of vandalism coincide with Prasa attempted termination of security contracts which would have put many security guards protecting the railways out of work.
As the ANC we want to argue that we would not allow harassment and criminal activities to happen in our safe stations. We understand that the issue of losing jobs is a concern to every citizen but we cannot allow vandalism and sabotage. These trains belong to the nation of South Africa, setting them on fire and vandalism is a crime against the people.
There is nothing to justify such crime. The ANC urges the South African Police to be vigilant and arrest those
responsible for crimes of this nature. The perpetrators should be charged and a clear message has to be sent, that we would want to condemn any criminal activities. Thank you.
Chairperson the recent allegation of racism in the DA involving the Swartland Mayor has not come as the surprise to the ANC, in fact we are not perplexed or flabbergasted because we know the real DA and its true colours.
Chairperson it is alleged that in a meeting in Maritzburg the DA Mayor made a statement declaring coloured people not competent to hold position of leadership or office. This resulted to the DA acting Constituency Chairperson Belson writing to the DA leader Mr Madikizela calling for a motion of no confident and for urgent disciplinary measures to be taken against the Mayor.
Chairperson as if this insult was not enough it is also alleged that the Mayor advised Basel to refrain from registering Black South African as DA members and also not to certify the proof of address for Blacks. The ANC
believes that commence made by the Mayor once again unmask the true character of the DA as the racist party constituted of the unrepentant, unreformed bigots with cantankerous, non compos mentis behaviour, who are now back at the hands of the Helen Zille following the departure of the fronting leader Mmusi Maimane. The ANC ...
Chairperson, more than a year ago the United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights pull down South Africa to ensure that all children have access to education, but because of failures at Home Affairs undocumented children are still refused entry to schools in our country. According to United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNISEF) it is estimated that 5% of South African children do not have birth certificates. The South African Human Rights Commission furthermore states that the vast majority of learners adversely affected and impacted by lack of documentation are poor Black learners from predominately rural areas.
Basic Education Circular 1 of 2019 provides a grace period to get documented, but without the proactive
assistance of Home Affairs many of these children cannot access this service and are thrown out of school or denied examination admission due to lack of documentation. This is unfair discrimination as they do not personally have power to correct the situation. Furthermore Section 28(2) about constitution states that the best interest of the child is of paramount importance in all matters concerning the child.
The Deputy Minister should tell this House why children can still be denied access to school due to lack of documentation and what steps Home Affairs and Basic Education would undertake to urgently assist such children.
