It is rather strange that the hon member from the ad hoc committee seems to be concentrating on Khayelitsha instead of highlighting the shortcomings of the other eight provinces. Hundreds of instances in ANC- controlled municipalities show that they have not complied with any of the norms.
In the Rammulotsi Township near Viljoenskroon in the Free State there are still dozens of open toilets after nine years of ANC rule. Take Protea South, where 548 toilets are being shared by 8 000 families. The national norm is 1:5. Here it is 1:15 families. Further to this, for 15 years, the council has failed to provide sanitation, and is currently in defiance of a court order that was handed down last year.
This week, in a KwaZulu-Natal newspaper, The Mercury, a front-page article carries the story that a prominent ANC member's daughter was awarded a contract for 50 container toilets ordered by the eThekwini Municipality at a cost of millions of rands, on the basis that they were needed for an informal settlement. The toilets are still lying opposite a police station in Sydenham.
We have seen sewage spillages, nonexistent stormwater drainage, leaking pipes, a total absence of refuse removal, inaccessible roads, no electrification, and huge unemployment particularly amongst school leavers. Communities are not experiencing any difference in or change to their lifestyles. However, they clearly see the wastage that occurs, particularly on the part of the political leadership and administration who have, in many instances, become arrogant and inaccessible to people and communities.
It does not help, either, when a mayor calls the disadvantaged people in her community "stupid", or where she refers to the youth as "lazy drunkards", instead of assisting them to improve their lifestyles and empower them with skills. These kinds of allegations by community leaders cannot be ignored, and action must be taken if we are to improve the living conditions of our communities.
Political infighting between community development workers, CDWs, and ward committee members and councillors is evident far and wide. CDWs and ward committee members have suddenly become aspirant councillor candidates, and instead of strengthening and supporting the councillors, they are undermining them.
The ad hoc committee had its work cut out, and its term has now come to an end. But what about the report-back to the communities? We have heard it time and time again during public hearings that on a continuous basis representations from ministry, province, the NCOP and Parliament make promises, yet no one does a report-back to them. Unless the report-back is done, communities will continue to distrust the different structures.
The absence of the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is most unfortunate, considering the importance of this report. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]