Chairperson, hon Minister and the entire House, my condolences go to the family of my colleague, journalist Vuyo Mbuli. May his soul rest in peace.
The past year has seen a number of the worst violent service delivery protests in history. Whilst some of these are politically motivated and are intended to drive campaigns of ungovernability, others are as a result of the genuine concerns of South Africans that continue to live in squalor, 19 years into democracy. It is absolutely heartbreaking.
The horrific living conditions in what has been dubbed the worst township in South Africa, Silverton, in the Eastern Cape, is an example of this. The residents of Silverton have to walk in the same streets where their human waste is deposited as there is absolutely no sewerage system in place. Some residents are still to gain access to clean water, as most of it is contaminated. Minister, we need to develop systems and structures to put an end to the inhumane conditions in these parts of our country.
The DA-led Western Cape government has to date proven that delivering efficient and effective service delivery is possible. [Interjections.] According to the results of Census 2011, 99,1% of Western Cape residents have access to piped water both inside and outside the yard, 91,1% have refuse removal, 93,4% have electricity, 96,9% have toilet facilities and, in terms of access to education, over 97,3% have access to schooling. [Interjections.]
Whilst the DA government has achieved a lot, there is still some way to go. I commend the efforts of the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, in working hard to ensure that residents in the province have the best access to basic services in the country. The Western Cape has set itself the target of 100% basic service delivery for all. I challenge all municipalities and provincial governments in South Africa to do the same.
In 2014 the DA will be campaigning to ensure that it governs more provinces to ensure that more and more South Africans are given access to basic service delivery. This is evidence that efficient service delivery is possible.
The increase in violent protests is being coupled with the increase in corruption where local councillors and other public representatives are flouting the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act and the Public Finance Management Act procedures by conducting business with their respective governments at the expense of residents.
It is disheartening that those responsible are not only junior staff members, but top officials and politicians who should be leading by example. Auditor-General Terrence Nombembe's last report reveals that contracts to the value of R141 million, identified in 42 government entities, were awarded to suppliers whose close family members had interests and were employees of such entities. This is an increase of R136 million from the 2010-2011 financial year. This follows the report by the Public Service Commission in 2010 which estimated that R624 million of public money went to companies with links to public servants, their families or members of their spouses' families. This, Minister, needs to stop. We cannot allow a situation where our people are worse off than in the apartheid era. [Interjections.]
A perfect example of this can be seen in the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, which has also been cause for much of the dissatisfaction of the people of South Africa. Although RDP houses are built, the sad truth is that many of them do not go to the deserving beneficiaries, but to the people who can afford to build houses for themselves, and those that obtain these houses get substandard finished products. Some of the rich people buy RDP sites and build double storey houses, which is illegal, as those sites are not meant for the affluent.
It seems nobody cares. The government budgets billions of rands each financial year in order to assist the indigent citizens of this country with houses. However, the people who are employed to ensure that RDP houses are constructed and delivered to the deserving beneficiaries have decided to enrich themselves by selling them. As a result of this corruption, it has become increasingly difficult for the government to achieve its goal of ensuring that all deserving citizens get these houses for free. Minister, it is imperative to put systems in place to ensure that the municipalities which are responsible for the roll-out of the programme execute their tasks with the utmost integrity and efficiency.
Mmusakgotla, tatellano ya Magosi a rona e tlhakatlhakantswe ke mebuso ya tlhaolele mo nakong e e fetileng. Fa kgosi e ne e sa dumalane le tsamaiso ya mmuso wa tlhaolele, e ne e tshwarwa; e isiwa kgotlatshekelo; e be e atlholwa kgotsa e isiwa koo gantsi. Gompieno jaana, re bona magosi a rona a e sa le a ntshiwa ka nako eo, a sa busediwe mo mannong a ona. Go botlhokwa thata gore re tseye tsia magosi a tshwana le Kgosi Ramotshere wa kwa Dinokana ... [Nako e fedile.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, the previous apartheid government caused confusion with the succession of our chiefs. If the chief did not concur with the apartheid government administration, he would be arrested and sent to court, then sentenced or put on trial for a long time. Nowadays, our chiefs who were previously ousted still do not have their chieftaincy. It is very important that we consider chiefs like Kgosi Ramotshere of Dinokana ... [Time expired.]