Deputy Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, we are in support of the report of the committee, welcome the current Budget presented by the Minister of Finance and applaud the allocations made to the provinces. Section 214 and section 217 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa require that an equitable share of the nationally raised revenue be allocated to provincial governments, to enable them to provide basic services and to perform their allocated functions and responsibilities.

The national transfers to provinces increased from R362,6 billion in 2011- 12 to R384,5 billion in 2012-13. Over a three-year period, provincial transfers will grow at an average annual rate of 6,4% to R437 billion in 2014-15. Despite the harsh economic conditions, the Ministry has been able to keep its head above water and to soldier on in providing for all South Africans.

The equitable share formula attempts to ensure that service delivery and a good quality of life are enjoyed by all South Africans, irrespective of provincial contributions to the fiscus. The formula takes into consideration the following six components: Firstly, under education, it considers the age of the school-going population, with specific focus on ages 5 and 17 and from Grade R up to Grade 12. Secondly, under health, it considers the risks associated with the demographic profile of populations and the relative load imposed on hospitals and health institutions generally. Component three deals with the basic share, which is the size of the population at the provincial level. Fourth is the institutional component, which is divided equally among provinces at 11% each. Number five is the poverty component, which is the question of the extent of poverty in terms of statistics that are provided at the provincial level. The last component deals with economic output. This refers to the individual province's contribution to the national Budget. In this instance, it is the question of the extent to which the province contributes to the fiscus.

It is, therefore, our humble submission, Deputy Minister, that the Gauteng province contributes 33,9% to the national Budget. We say this with all humility and respect, even to provinces that contribute 2,5% to the fiscus. All contributions are valuable and essential to building a better future for all of us and our children. Let us further submit to you, Deputy Minister, that South Africa is a unitary state, not a balkanised federal state with individual provincial policies.

Having said that, we hereby inform you, sir, that the 20,5% health allocation for the province will fall short in meeting the current challenges we face. To give you an example, the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, as well as other medical facilities in the province, treats patients from four surrounding provinces. Every Wednesday, Deputy Minister, there are buses from across the provinces with patients suffering from various illnesses who come for treatment. They are not refugees. They are South Africans and have every right to receive medical attention in this particular province. To complicate the challenge, our neighbouring relatives from Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique and further north also cross the border to seek medical assistance. This is the context in which we should appreciate the overload and excess faced by the province. The overload is not only among unemployed Gauteng residents but it represents this dual challenge which we put before you.

The education component, with its allocation of 15,7%, faces more or less the same circumstances. This is not the presentation of an argument, Deputy Minister. We are merely making information available so that the Ministry could intervene decisively. If anything, this is a genuine cry for help.

Let me hasten to assure the hon Minister that in view of the workshop conducted by the NCOP and the Office of the Auditor-General yesterday, public representatives are geared toward protecting each and every cent that it allocated for service delivery. The Auditor-General, Mr Terence Nombembe, left us with a very instructive challenge: "What do you do with those who do not want to comply with the law? What do you do?" [Applause.]