Madam Speaker, during the 2006 local government elections, incapacity and shortcomings within the local government spheres were firmly placed in the public eye. This was followed by increasing evidence that the provincial sector was not performing in accordance with desired standards. This was most shockingly brought to the fore when it emerged that provincial departments are deeply in debt to local authorities.
The problem experienced by municipalities in the efforts to collect service charges from ordinary people in the community is well documented. When viewed in this context it becomes evident that failure of certain provincial parliaments to pay millions of rand in arrears is a serious matter indeed and deserves our urgent attention.
This very disturbing state of affairs was recently made public when the City of Cape Town, after due process and deliberations was forced to cut the water and electricity supplies of one of our provincial parliament's buildings. The Minister must prove that he has his finger on the pulse when it comes to issues of this seriousness. The ACDP will not be able to support this Budget Vote and we wish to register our objection. Thank you.