Agb Voorsitter, mnr die Minister, en Adjunkminister, dis vir my weereens 'n voorreg om te kan praat in hierdie debat.
Kom ons begin deur te fokus op die belangrikheid van kommunikasie. Soos wat ons almal weet, is kommunikasie seker een van daardie kerndinge in elke mens se lewe, want elke individu is in 'n besondere verhouding met iemand. In di proses word daar elke dag inligting oorgedra, of dit nou tussen man en vrou is of tussen pa en kind.
Soos wat ons almal weet, loop hierdie oordrag van kommunikasie baie keer verkeerd omdat mense mekaar verkeerd verstaan. Hoeveel keer het dit dalk al in u lewe gebeur waar u man of vrou vir u kwaad was? As jy vra hoekom hy of sy kwaad is, s hulle dat jy dit of dat ges het. Jy s dan dat jy dit nie so bedoel het nie. Dit gebeur elke dag in almal van ons se lewens.
Soveel te meer is dit ongelooflik belangrik dat die regering op 'n sinvolle wyse praat met die mense wat in 'n land woon. Of 'n mens die ANC ondersteun of vir hulle gestem het of nie, is irrelevant. Die regering van die dag is almal se regering. Elke individu verwag van daardie regering om die dienste te lewer wat hy veronderstel is om vir hom te lewer.
Dit is hoekom daar vele staatsdepartemente is. Soos wat ons nou tydens die afgelope plaaslike verkiesing gesien het, het mense gekla oor dienslewering. Daar was 'n oor-en-weer-moddergooiery tussen die verskillende politieke partye, maar dit staan soos 'n paal bo water dat dienste nie na behore gelewer word nie.
Minister, ek sien dat u glimlag, maar kom ons s dit vir mekaar. Kom ons wees eerlik met mekaar. Dit help nie dat die regering probeer om mooi broodjies te bak vir die mense van Suid-Afrika nie, want daardie mense ervaar sekere dinge wat nie reg in hul lewens is nie. As die kraan oopgedraai word, is daar nie water nie en dan moet 'n mens verwag dat mense ongelukkig gaan wees indien sake nie verloop soos wat hulle graag wil h dit moet verloop nie.
Ons het 'n tyd gelede gehoor dat die destydse burgemeester van Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, vir al die mense wat in Johannesburg in Gauteng woon, ges het dat daar niks verkeerd is met die diensterekeninge nie. Nou die dag het die nuwe burgemeester, mnr Tau, as my gedagtes reg is, erken dat daar groot probleme is met die diensterekeninge van mense wat in Johannesburg woon.
Dit maak nou nie vir my sin nie. Die een burgemeester s dat daar niks verkeerd is nie en die volgende burgemeester, altwee van dieselfde politieke party, het 'n ander standpunt oor sake. Ek dink die mense van Suid-Afrika wil nie soos kinders ... [Tussenwerpsels.]. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [Mr N J VAN DEN BERG: Hon Chairperson, Mr Minister, and Deputy Minister, once again it is a privilege for me to be able to speak in this debate.
Let's start by focusing on the importance of communication. As we all know, communication must be one of those essential things in every person's life, because every individual is in a special relationship with someone. In this process information is being transferred every day, whether it is between husband and wife or father and child.
As we all know, frequently this transference of information goes awry because of people misunderstanding each other. How many times has this perhaps happened in your life, where your husband or wife is upset with you? When you ask why he or she is upset, they say that you have said one thing or the other. You then explain that you didn't mean it in that way. This happens everyday in all of our lives.
It is all the more incredibly important that the government communicates with the people who live in a country in a sensible way. Whether a person is supporting the ANC or voted for them or not is irrelevant. The government of the day is everyone's government. Every individual expects of that government to deliver the services to him which it is supposed to deliver. This is why there are various state departments. As we have discovered during the local municipal elections recently, when people complained about service delivery, there was mudslinging to and fro among the different political parties, but it is indisputable that services are not being delivered as they should be.
Minister, I see you are smiling, but let us be straight with one another. Let us be honest with one an other. It will not serve the government to try to curry favour with the people of South Africa, because those people are going through certain experiences in their lives which are not in order. When you turn the tap, there isn't water and then it is to be expected that people are going to be unhappy, since things are not proceeding as smoothly as they would like them to.
A while back we heard the former Mayor of Johannesburg, Amos Masondo, saying to all the people living in Johannesburg in Gauteng that there was nothing wrong with the services accounts. The other day the new Mayor, Mr Tau, if I recall correctly, admitted that there are massive problems with the services accounts of people who are living in Johannesburg.
Now this doesn't make any sense to me. The one mayor says that there is nothing wrong and the next mayor, both from the same political party, has a different position on matters. I think that the people of South Africa do not want to be treated like children. [Interjections.]]