Hon Deputy Speaker, ... asithethi ngoqashi-qashi ke thina, bathetha uqashi-qashi bona. [... we are not guessing, but, they are!]
The ANC welcomes and supports Budget Vote No 31, which includes an additional allocation of R4,9 billion for human settlements upgrading, municipal services, as well as the new Urban Settlement Development Grant of R21,8 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period for the provision of bulk services to the cities.
The budget is supported mostly on the basis that it is biased towards the poor majority ... asibazi ke bona ukuba bamele obani. [... we do not know who they are representing.]
It is also in line with the constitutional requirement, the strategic objectives of the department and the policy imperatives.
The budget proposes a range of measures to accelerate housing development and housing infrastructure. It is the responsibility of this government to ensure that all people are decently housed in order to bring up their families in comfort and security, as reflected in the Freedom Charter.
The ANC-led government's most urgent priority is to ensure that settlements development and redevelopment is imbued with infrastructure within the vicinity of quality homes. The prevalence of settlements with spatial dysfunctions and inefficiencies can no longer be left unresolved.
The quality of houses or settlements is central to the social transformation that we seek to realise. That is the main reason that the Cabinet took a strategic decision to introduce the rectification programme in areas where structural problems have been observed. The purpose is to maintain humanity and restore dignity of the citizens of this country.
We all agree that government has been confronted with the challenge of substandard development. However, in response to the behaviour of unscrupulous contractors, the department, under the leadership of the Minister, has committed itself to a tough stance. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Vote agreed to (Democratic Alliance, Independent Democrats and Congress of the People dissenting).
Vote 32 - Mineral Resources - put.
Declarations of vote: