Mr Chairperson and hon members, the annual review of spending trends of government is a healthy exercise that requires good custodians who will look after the funds. The National Treasury does all that is possible to ensure that resources are made available for prudent use. But there are other arms of government such as provinces and local authority administrations that show no commitment to physical prudence.
It boggles the mind to note that a good number of provinces have been shown to be poor in the administration of funds. To have 10 out of 13 departments in a province receiving qualified reports from the Auditor-General indicates that capacity is lacking and surely much has to be done in this regard to assist them.
We note that the theme of the Minister's presentation is: Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. This may be a hackneyed expression when even Zwelinzima Vavi has gone on record as saying that life is worse today than in the past. We have instances in the Moses Kotane municipality where people who had access to potable water prior to 1994 now struggle to have some these days. The same issue in the Zeerust area has yet to be addressed fully. Resources are available, yes, but are not used prudently. According to the Minister, and I quote: "Development is also about access to jobs, security of incomes and redressing past inequalities."
The truth facing us is that there are not sufficient jobs to be accessed. People are not sure where their next meal will come from as there is no secure income and the past inequalities have been turned upside down. The playing field has yet to be levelled. Some people are obscenely wealthy while others are wallowing in abject poverty.
We, however, totally agree that people must make hay while the sun shines. Spending patterns have to be controlled, with an eye to a rainy day that is yet to come. We cannot hope to develop if we continue to spend R2 billion per week while we do not have much to bring in. There is much truth in the saying that education should precede liberation. Young people should be motivated to prepare themselves for the future by learning skills and leaving liberation debates to those skilled in them.
It is going to be an uphill battle to get to a point where people are content with their remuneration. One wonders why employers and workers cannot find one another on issues pertaining to the construction of stadia for instance. Yesterday it was workers in Cape Town. Today it is those in KwaZulu-Natal and a month ago it was issues around the Gautrain. Where is patriotism in this case? When will people stop making us the laughing stock of other nations?
The greed and lavishness displayed at the Land Bank should be dealt with in the best possible way. We commend the Cabinet for having ordered that stringent legal steps be taken against those concerned.
The hundreds of millions thrown into the gaping bottomless pit that is the SAA, which has placed itself to gulp financial resources, could be put to better use if we had the necessary skills. The rollover for the prevention and treatment of multi-drug-resistant TB will, we hope, be extended to the troubled Delmas area as people there are dying because of suspected polluted water.
We welcome the billions set aside for improving what pensioners take home. We hope other departments will protect these vulnerable people against vultures who pounce on them at pay points.
Finally, municipalities must rise to the occasion and not spend money on salaries to the total exclusion of the delivery of water, sanitation and electricity connections. The UCDP supports the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. I thank you.