Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members and guests, let me begin by saying that the IFP supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.] This is a portfolio that remains very close to our hearts and the heart of our leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and as such we keep an extra keen eye on it, as well as on its various entities.
No department is without its challenges and it is in this regard that we wish to raise the following points of concern. The first point is that the department in its presentation to the portfolio committee in July produced a budget analysis which reflected substantial amounts as savings, which is, in fact, a sugar-coated way of saying that they underspent, and this by millions.
In the 2013-14 financial year we note the underspending equivalent to 2,7% less than the budget allocated, which is similar to the 2,6% underspending in the 2011-12 financial year. This equates to a consistent underspending of approximately 3%, which is above the 1% usually considered acceptable by Treasury.
The IFP is not at all surprised that the Treasury has just reduced the departmental budget, as money unspent only hinders our country's development. Money which is not spent and which is kept in a department is money which should have been given to other departments to further programmes that would have been programmes of quality for our country.
A qualified Auditor-General's report does not help either. We also note that this will in all likelihood hamper the department's plans for its new vision. The Minister, the Chairperson and all other members have spoken about this new vision, which is such a beautiful vision.
In regard to the R6,6 billion that has been allocated, the IFP notes that with this type of ongoing underspending we will definitely see a lot more underspending taking place. We would like to recommend that Treasury, through interaction with the department, review its template on spending patterns - on underspending, on overspending and on savings - so that it reflects the reality of the situation.
The second point is this. We have 72 ports of entry that are being managed. We would like to know if they are being managed well, because we seem to be having problems on some of the borders, as has been stated, and something has to be done. Such porosity through mismanagement must be addressed.
Departmental efficiency in the issuing of identity documents and passports still leaves a great deal to be desired. Just last week I had a gentleman come to my office. He had been waiting since October last year for the issue of his ID, which is now about nine months. This delay, which has been acknowledged by the department, has caused him serious distress in that, among other issues, he has been unable to register the birth of his last born child, born on 9 January 2014.
Another point is the issue of the VEC 4 forms. During our elections these VEC 4 forms caused a lot of voting fraud, and we will be interacting with the Minister in this regard.
On the issue of entities, the IFP is extremely worried because the committee did not interview or have any input from the entities, and that was deliberate. The committee did not listen to the opposition when it proposed that even if the entities did not come to be interviewed, they should write down what they were doing. This is unacceptable. Thank you.