Deputy Chairperson and hon President, last week during our Provincial Week visit the SA Local Government Association, Salga, raised the very important issue of the security of our councillors. Salga indicated that if they wanted to assist, they couldn't. For example, it happened that the families of about 10 councillors - ward councillors - were made homeless in violent protests, which means they lost everything. This was like a disaster, but the council could not intervene, and provincial and national government are not doing anything about it. When there is a natural disaster in a specific community, everybody rushes in to assist, but councillors are excluded from such support, even when what has happened to them is like a disaster.
What security do we give councillors at this point? How can the council intervene, because when the Auditor-General looks at those issues specifically, he might give them a disclaimer because they utilised money in an incorrect way? Let us check what national government is doing to make sure that councillors are secure and are assisted in the process.
We are aware that this is the situation we are living in, because we have seen it happening throughout the whole country. Councillors are left homeless, but local government cannot intervene, provincial government cannot intervene, and national government is not doing anything about it. Now, we wanted to check with you, hon President, how we can deal with this matter.