Hon House Chair, comrades, it is a pity that we could not come to this podium today and announce that the appropriations committee has unanimously supported the Division of Revenue Bill. It is one thing to come here and grandstand and pretend to the populace of the Western Cape that you actually do not want to take the budget that is going to be appropriated for them. How do you expect to run the province? How do you expect to subsidise municipalities?
In this 20th year of our democracy, the Division of Revenue Bill is substantially different to when it was first introduced in this House, both in content and in the amounts that provinces will receive in equitable shares and grants to those of municipalities. This can be attributed to the formidable growth seen in the economy prior to 2008 and the prudent fiscal and economic policies implemented by the ANC subsequent to the global financial meltdown of 2008.
Broken down into the most simplistic definition, a budget is an expression of legislation or policy objectives in numerical form.
As we are celebrating two decades of democracy and paying homage to the liberation of our beloved country, we as the ANC reinforce and reemphasise our commitment to democracy. However, beyond that, our commitment is to create a better life for all in a South Africa in which all her citizens can live a dignified, safe and healthy life, free from the clutches of oppression and poverty, one in which every citizen can awake every day in their cities and rural areas to a job and with the knowledge that they will provide education for their children.
At this point, I am reminded of a poem in the late Oliver Tambo's biography, which says:
Because my mouth is wide with laughter And my throat is deep with song, You do not think I suffer After I have held my pain so long? Because my mouth is wide with laughter, You do not hear my inner cry? Because my feet are gay with dancing, You do not know I die?
For too long prior to 1994 the dignity of our people was undermined. In the past 20 years, recognising this, the ANC government has through the allocation of budgets delivered services that gave form to the policy and legislation that we spoke about previously. Amongst others, the following had been achieved since 1994: only 2,6 million social grants were allocated to a select few, but now in 2014 almost 16 million South Africans receive social grants; only 5,5 million households had access to electricity, but now in 2014 more than 41 million people have access to electricity, and approximately 3 million housing units and more than 855 000 serviced sites have been delivered.
In 1994 only 5 million people had access to sanitation, whereas by 2012 11,5 million households had access to toilets. In 1994 there was no free education for the majority of the schools in the country, but now in 2014 more than 80% of the schools are no-fee schools. In 1994 only 10% of families had access to safe water, whereas now in 2014 more than 92% have access to safe water.
In the history of our country there has never been a period where more people have been employed.
We recognise that the budget is a tool of transformation directed, inter alia, at addressing the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. The budget is growing significantly each financial year and, consequently, so too are the resources allocated by the Division of Revenue Bill. The Division of Revenue Bill continues to advance the revolutionary gains that we have made over the past 20 years.
Amongst its primary aims, the objectives outlined in the National Development Plan, NDP, are to increase employment and reduce inequality by 2030, which are evident in the provisions of the Bill, thus creating the foundation for this long-term planning objective and the socioeconomic transformation of society. Allocations to give effect to the NDP are welcomed.
Furthermore, equitable share allocations that are to be appropriated to the provinces, and the various direct and indirect grants contained in the Bill, speak directly to the ANC's commitment to build on the progress made and its continued commitment to the creation of more jobs.
The past five years were focused on creating decent work opportunities and sustainable livelihoods for inclusive growth, rural development, land reform and food security, education, health and fighting crime and corruption. This budget continues to give effect to these priorities, and so too this division of revenue.
It cannot be denied that remarkable progress has been made in transforming the lives of millions of South Africans through the utilisation of prudent expenditure of budgets at our disposal. Of course needs currently exceed the demands placed on the fiscus, especially in a society that has been so unjustly skewed by historical institutionalised socioeconomic deprivation of the majority of its citizens.
Besides the social policy and legislative interventions aimed at creating a fair and just society, the ANC's economic plan for transforming the economic landscape in the form of the New Growth Path, the National Infrastructure Plan and the Industrial Policy Action Plan will contribute to expanding economic growth and, in turn, revenue collection by the state. In short, it will result in a better life for all through integrated strategies, plans and larger budget allocations.
We do not claim that we are not faced with challenges in transforming South Africa into a nonracist, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society. Therefore, in the words of Amilcar Cabral, who said, "Tell no lies, and claim no easy victories", I need to point out certain structural challenges that face us as a government. What has become evident in the implementation of the National Health Insurance pilot projects are the varying degrees to which provinces are appropriating funds to construct and maintain their health infrastructure. This is particularly evident in the backlog in health infrastructure.
With stringent requirements that have been established by the National Health Service pertaining to the quality of infrastructure and the services they deliver, there are challenges inherent in the relationship between the national department and provincial departments in the alignment of budgets appropriated by provincial legislatures to achieve a common national objective. This example will be the same for most departments that have concurrent functions. This is something that we would like the Minister to apply his mind to in an effort to find a solution to this challenge.
In a similar vein, indirect conditional grants that are administered by the national department for implementation in provinces and the municipalities can pose an implementation challenge, as the national government departments are currently structured in a more focused way on policy development and monitoring rather than being structured in a manner to implement and operationalise projects on the ground, such as the sister departments in the provinces. We foresee that at a later stage this may pose an implementation challenge that the Minister may consider resolving.
In conclusion, the allocations made in the 2014-15 Division of Revenue Bill continue to build on the unparalleled advancements made by this government over the past 20 years. These advancements continue to build confidence in those who were previously marginalised to believe that today is indeed better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. Together, we are moving South Africa forward. Thank you. [Applause.]