Chairperson, the Bill before the Council today divides national revenue between the three levels of government. In total, the Bill provides for R199 billion to be transferred to the provinces and R24 billion to be transferred to the local authorities. The IFP welcomes the increased allocations to these two levels of government, and we really thank the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Finance for being so helpful.
Much as the Budget may be good, it is a reality, however, that service delivery does not reach the poorest of the poor in the rural areas. We need more interventions from the relevant authorities, including us, to ensure that spending is stepped up and we need closer monitoring to ensure that allocations are in fact translated into basic services, improved infrastructure and other improvements in people's daily lives.
The Northern Cape and North West are commended for including amakhosi and traditional areas in the IDPs, which are the lowest structures to cater for villages. In this way, people's needs in rural areas will be accommodated and provincial treasuries will be able to capture that.
Let all villages in South Africa be listed and accommodated in the Budget so that poor people, who have the greatest need, benefit from it. A good example is the uThungulu District Municipality which requires R3 billion for water development and delivery because of its topography. It has mountains and hills and all that. So, quite a lot of money is needed.
South Africa cannot be a truly developmental state if it is not able to address shortages of electricity. Budget provision of R60 billion is crucial to rescue Eskom, but ordinary South Africans should not be further punished for failures of government or for a lack of vision. To expect South Africans to bear the brunt of an almost 60% increase in electricity tariffs will not assist in the war against poverty.
The generation of energy from other sources has to be fast-tracked so that Eskom can concentrate on industries.
Likewise electricity remains a priority in rural areas. Presently, every household has a cellular phone that needs to be charged. In some areas, it means travelling 50 km to town just to recharge a cellular phone. Other means of energy for cooking and lighting, e.g. gas and solar system, may be available. But then I discovered that the cellular phone issue is rather baffling. Those cellular phones are the means of communicating with clinics and hospitals, requesting ambulances and the police for crime situations. So, cellular phone charging has become a big issue in poor rural communities.
The Department for Agriculture and Land Affairs could help to reduce the poverty situation through the proper use of land. Thus the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme grant has to be pro-poor and properly spent. And we are grateful that there has been an increase also in that grant.
Farmers' associations or clubs need to be assisted by agricultural extension officers on the ground in order to speed up small door-sized gardens in households and community gardens. Service delivery should not wait for MECs when extension officers are there to perform such menial jobs.
Co-operatives are ready to move towards commercial farming, but for now that has proved to be a disaster. This House proudly visited the Phezukomkhono Co-operative Farm in KwaZulu-Natal in 2006. The farm appeared to be progressing well, but today there is no sign that there was ever any agricultural activity. The KwaZulu-Natal department for agriculture is currently investigating the whole saga. Thank you. [Time expired.]