Chairperson, I really thank you very much for this opportunity to come and say what Limpopo thinks about this Division of Revenue Bill.
The main two funding channels from the National Revenue Fund to provinces and local governments are equitable shares and conditional grants. Those are the two that we usually get as provinces. The equitable shares are block grants. Although equitable shares have no conditions attached to them, the spending thereof is governed by national priorities. The conditional grant aims to enhance the delivery of specific services according to prescribed national norms.
The only thing that I'm worried about is that even if these monies are given to the provinces ...
... rena, re le ba lefapha, ga re di ?omi?e ka mokgwa wo di swanet?ego go ?omi?wa ka gona. Se se nkwi?ago bohloko ke gore ... [... we, as the department, are not utilising them the way they are supposed to be utilised. What hurts me is that ...]
... as a parent I cannot tell my child to go to the shop and buy bread, and the child comes with a cake. It's not what I said he should buy.
Maybe, as legislatures, our duties should be to ensure that we monitor this immediately as the money is despatched, whether to the municipalities or to the departments.
The thing is that we just put the money there and leave it. We wait for the Auditor-General to say that money has not been used. Immediately the Auditor-General says that this money has not been used, we stand up and start accusing the department, "Why didn't you do one, two and three?"
If quarterly reports could really be written and we are told how much has been spent and we know that if we say they should use 25%, then that 25% should really be used, not 40% and not 15% but 25%.
One is satisfied with this Division of Revenue Bill but the only thing that I'm looking at, hon Deputy Minister, is Limpopo. We are still worried about it. You are giving us too little money.
Look at the people who are coming across our borders, especially since we are seen as a gateway to Africa. Those Africans, when they come down here, end up in our province first and then they stay there for many years before going to the rest of the country.
So, while you are dishing out money, please make sure that you give us more than the other provinces, more than Gauteng and the Western Cape. [Applause.] The amount of R3,2 billion, which is Limpopo's share, constitutes conditional grants and the balance of R25,9 billion is attributable to the equitable share, in other words, Limpopo receives 8,19% of the total conditional grants allocated to the provinces. As I have already said, this is really too little. If we were given maybe 45% of that, it would have been alright.
With reference to the conditional advance to provinces, two changes are introduced in the 2008 Division of Revenue Bill. The changes are as follows: The FET College Recapitalisation Grant will be phased into the provincial equitable share from 1 April 2009; and the programmes funded through this conditional grant will continue to receive funding as part of provincial departments of education's normal responsibilities.
A new transitional grant is introduced, namely, the Devolution of Property Rates Fund Grant, in order to make sure provinces take over responsibilities of paying the properties rates and municipalities changes of properties that were administered by the national government on their behalf.
Conditional grants remain an important part of the intergovernmental transfer system. Conditional grants provide supplementary programmes that are also funded by provinces, for example, infrastructure, central hospitals and clinics.
I was listening to the chairperson saying that in one province 60 clinics were built and there are no roads to go to those clinics. How do we use such clinics if we don't have roads? If ambulances are to go and pick up people from such clinics, how do they get there? Do we carry the people to the main road and wait for the ambulance to come there two hours later? People will just die while they are waiting for that.
While the Division of Revenue Bill strengthens an arrangement of programmes in social development, incrementally achieving the socio-economic rise affirmed in our Constitution, the mere allocation of financial resources to this project is not the only precondition for the elimination of poverty. It requires, among others, vigilant oversight by public representatives in order to ensure the possibility of accepted outcomes.
As I was saying, let's ensure that whenever we dish out money, we go and see what people have done with that money. What is it that they did with the money? They will have to send you a report to tell you what they have used the money for. Did they spend it on toilet paper that costs a R100 per roll? Is it on the pencils that they have bought for R15 or R20? And we still say nothing. We are satisfied because they bought that. It's there on paper but when you go to their offices and ask to see what they have bought, they are never able to show you.
This oversight responsibility calls for an examination of performance against measurable objectives and, more importantly, against performance of the financial allocations in the past financial year.
Reports submitted by departments and municipalities must not leave information to the imagination of the reader. I mean, I cannot just imagine that they have bought something and believe that what they tell me is true.
Chairperson, raising questions and tabling of discussions on matters of importance in the NCOP and the legislatures are effective mechanisms for enhancing parliamentary democracy and for exercising oversight responsibilities.
Parliamentary questions are important instruments for monitoring the performance of national and provincial Ministries and municipalities and for providing an essential check on the activities of the various spheres of government.
The convening of public hearings is a crucial exercise in monitoring the spending patterns of provinces through public hearings. It's either through the NCOP or the legislatures and the use of questions and replies in the NCOP or legislatures that members will ensure that regular inspection of budgets and expenditures occur. This active monitoring of budgets and expenditure at regular intervals would timeously assist in detecting expenditure that is at variance with approved plans of national and provincial departments and municipalities.
The regular inspection of expenditure against an approved budget is essential to detect, for example, whether expenditure exceeded any approved limits. This will show us that these people were given R100 but they said that they have used R300. Where did they get the R200 from?
What the chairperson is saying is that a municipality needs R18 million a go but they've got R300 million stashed somewhere. Why don't they apply for that and use the R18 million instead of asking money from the National Treasury?
Chairperson, the Limpopo legislature found that the Division of Revenue Bill complies with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Division of the Revenue Bill is very clear on the allocations made to the province and local spheres of government and what the municipalities in the province will be receiving in terms of the schedules of the Bill. Those are the people that we really should go to and check on to establish what is it that they are doing with the monies that are given to them. They can collect those rates and taxes, but they are not being used as they are supposed to.
There is underspending of the equitable share and the conditional grants by most of the departments. The Bill also introduces a new transitional grant, namely, the Devolution of Property Rate Funds Grant.
In conclusion, the Limpopo province would recommend and support this Bill. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]