Madam Chair, hon members, the UDM would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister of Finance on a good national Budget made possible by revenue collection again exceeding forecast. The UDM is pleased with the salary increase for teachers, medical workers, social workers and Police Service members. They are the backbone of building a caring and democratic society.
The social grant increase is welcomed, though it is relatively small. We believe that, with the better than the expected revenue at its disposal, the government should show its commitment to the fight against HIV/Aids by lowering the threshold for ARV treatment. For instance, by commencing treatment at a higher CD4 count than currently is the case would mean we would be saving more lives by providing treatment at an early age.
Notwithstanding the good intentions of the national Budget, we are concerned about the ability of departments, provinces and local governments to spend money correctly. These capacity and management shortfalls are significant and have the perverse effect that big budgets are promised but often little delivery occurs.
The Division of Revenue correctly seeks to distribute the bulk of revenue to the lower spheres of government. However, their capacity to correctly utilise this revenue remains suspect. The array of grants and conditional grants earmarking infrastructure development of some sort or another are welcomed and should go a long way towards addressing the grievances of those neglected communities who now resort to protest and unrest to draw attention to their plight. Nevertheless, the UDM supports the Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]