Well, there are many things that we still have to do to remove the structural rigidities of the apartheid system. For example, the majority of working people still live very far from work. That is the consequence of the apartheid system and we still have to do something about that.
The transportation network that is supposed to assist people to arrive at work on time is not working the way it is supposed to. The apartheid spatial planning has left us with a huge legacy of separation of our people from each other. So, it will take us a lot of hard to bring about the integration of our society, and you can't just do it by diktat, by the way.
One of the lessons learned over the past 25 years - it is quite unfortunate actually - is that, for example, as black parents bring their kids to what were formerly white schools the white parents take their children out - which is not helpful.
So, coming closer to your point; if you look carefully at the allocations through the Division of Revenue Act, you notice that the
Division of Revenue Act is also a redistributive instrument. You will notice that some of the smaller towns actually receive more. If you check carefully you will find that, for example, rural communities and small towns tend to receive more per capita than the others.
So, within the context of the Constitution where we are being enjoined to work together and help each other, the Division of Revenue Act tries as much as possible to do that. You ask the hon Deputy Chairperson here - he knows this very well - how he led the process towards the improvement of the streets of Soweto deliberately by specifically deciding that we are going to tar the streets of Soweto and we are going to make utilisation of the neighbourhood improvement grant, I think that is what it was called, to improve the situation.
Now we say Soweto is one of the most developed townships. Yes, but because of deliberate action and this can be done almost in each and every township if we use for example the neighbourhood improvement grant for the purpose that it is meant, and on the other hand if we use the national electrification grant properly we can actually electrify our country easily.
So, I think let us focus more on the better and strategic utilisation of what is in the grant system and the allocation system and avoid a situation where in October or November the Minister of Finance has to take back allocated funds from the municipalities because they have not utilised them. And by this time I am kind of in some panic mood if people have not utilised their allocation for almost the whole year because there might be a stampede which might not use the funds strategically but just for the sake of spending it. So, that is why I begin to take back the money now.
I think the point you made now maybe you had wanted to make it before the adoption of this report because I should have come to answer the questions the previous week when I was away. But I take the point and I think we can still continue to discuss it.
The issue is redistributive formula in an attempt to make sure that we try and drive the country's development in the same direction. Thank you.