Chair, having missed the opportunity to say a few words when the condolence motion for former Minister Sicelo Shiceka was passed, let me take this opportunity to convey my condolence to his family, his colleagues in the department, his friends and his political home in the ANC. We can only hope that he has been called to higher service by his Higher Power.
Local government has always been a thorny issue in the democratic dispensation. This is always an unfortunate scenario as it has a direct impact on service delivery. This means that ordinary citizens are deprived whenever decision-makers veer away from following prescripts.
Local government also receives a lot of attention from media and other interested parties. It is thus pleasing to know that, in spite of the problems faced, there has been a consistent commitment towards changing for the better. Such projects and campaigns have not gone unnoticed, for example, projects like Operation Clean Audit.
The promulgation of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act could not have come at a better moment. We all hope its implementation will have the desired result in the ongoing fight against fraud and corruption.
Another area of concern is when departments set targets that have a direct link to the quality of life led by our people and then dismally fail in their execution or implementation. We deem it unacceptable that the department's target was to have 32 towns and cities participating in the implementation of the clean towns and cities programme, but only eight participants turned up.
In effect, this means that most of our towns and cities are unclean. An unclean environment has a direct impact on the health of the inhabitants. Now, if we fail town or city cleanliness tests, I shudder to think what must be happening in our peri-urban and rural settings.
The implementation of programmes in local government needs to move beyond just meeting reporting standards or standards of the Auditor General, but must make a tangible difference in people's lives. Be that as it may, we welcome the improvement of seven municipalities receiving clean audits. It is certainly not good enough when the number of municipalities, whose audits are worse than before, is now sitting at 15!
However, the fact that 57 municipalities had improved audits testifies that the tailor-made municipality turnaround strategies are yielding results. We welcome the increase in allocation for the Infrastructure and Economic Development programme. This indeed is done because of the President's commitment made at the beginning of the year. [Time expired.] [Applause.]