Madam Deputy Speaker, the IFP welcomes the fact that there is a strong, propoor element to this Budget and that the largest adjustment to spending plans go to poverty reduction. An amount of R25 billion has also been added to the budget of provinces, mainly for education and health care, and R13 billion for social assistance grants and their administration.
The progress made thus far in reducing poverty has been far too slow. The impact of our initiatives to free the poor and destitute citizens of our country, who are confined to living in poverty, must be seriously questioned as there are still far too many people struggling with debilitating poverty.
A big part of the failure to provide relief to many people and to free them from the misery that comes with poverty is the inability of the authorities at lower levels of government to perform their duties. This is a concern that has been expressed by other speakers.
While the increase of funding aimed at poverty reduction is most welcome, this will not have the desired effect if it is not used properly. The IFP therefore believes that there needs to be a strengthening of the mechanism tasked with monitoring the spending and the performance of government, authorities and institutions. During the times of economic hardship we cannot afford frivolous spending, and the Minister of Finance has also alluded to this.
Mr Singh said something very important in one of his previous speeches. He said, "We must always ensure that we get value for money." It is very important that we keep this in mind at all times.
During these times of economic hardships we cannot afford this frivolous spending. The service delivery protests that have been witnessed across the country are a sure sign that something is drastically wrong and that the people have lost faith in those who are tasked with improving their lives.
In his Budget Speech Minister Manuel stated that it will be necessary to take stronger action in pursuit of efficiency and better targeted expenditure. He also stated that there is far too little control of such items in government as foreign travel, advertising, public relations activities and consultancy services.
The IFP agrees with the Minister that if we are to survive these tough times, then economic prudence and efficiency are needed. These are clearly lacking currently in the provincial and municipal spheres. They are clearly lacking, and this problem has to be addressed. We as the IFP pledge to do so.
The less affluent members of our society had a tough time over the past year. The sudden escalation in the price of food and the extremely high inflation rate have meant that they get much less for their rand than they did previously. Pensioners now get over R1 000 a month. When you consider the high cost of living in our country, this is not enough. The IFP believes that a sum in the region of R1 500 per month is required for pensioners if there is to be an improvement in the quality of their lives. [Interjections.] [Time expired.]