Chairperson, and all protocol observed, the ANC-led government believes that all citizens of South Africa, present and future, have the right to a safe and healthy environment and to a life of wellbeing. The broad objective of the Department of Environmental Affairs is to fulfil the aforementioned right. In this context, growth and development in South Africa will be based on the principles of sustainability. Each of us has a part to play in the new democratic South Africa that will benefit its entire people.
The Department of Environmental Affairs is leading South Africa's environment sector into achieving sustainable development towards a better quality of life for all. Member Morgan ...
Ke dumellana le wena ... [I agree with you ...]
... as regards the infrastructure that we need to protect our rivers, to which the Minister has already alluded in her speech.
Ke kgolwa hore beke e fetileng ha re ne re le dipuisanong tsa metsi, ke ile ka hlalosa hore re na le marangrang a dikgwerekgwere a kgale a dilemo tse ka bang 50, ka ba ka bua ka ho toba ka Setereke sa Masepala wa Sedibeng se tsejwang ka lebitso la Lekoa-Vaal, hore re na le dipeipi tseo ho sa hlokeheng hore re di lokise kapa ho di fetola empa di hloka hore di nkelwe sebaka ke tse ding.
Ka nako e nngwe koloi ha e sa tsamaye re bona phoso ho mokganni hore ha a kgone ho e kganna. O tla fumana hore mokganni o na le mangolo a felletseng mme o kgona ho kganna koloi, empa bapalami ka koloing ba etsa hore ho be thata hore mokganni a kganne koloi. Mmuso o kenya ditjhelete nako le nako empa kaekae ha ho be le phano ya ditshebeletso e bonahalang, ho na le moo ho hanang teng, empa lefapheng lena, kaofela re bone hore Letona Molewa o sebetsa jwang ka batho bao e leng hore ba etsa bobodu. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[I believe that last week, when we had a discussion about water, I explained that we have an old sewerage system of about 50 years old, and I particularly mentioned that in the Sedibeng District Municipality, which is known as the Lekoa-Vaal, there are some pipes that we don't even have to repair or change, they just have to be replaced.
Sometimes when the car does not move, we identify the problem as being the driver's inability to drive. You will find that the driver has all the necessary papers and therefore can drive, but the passengers in the car make it difficult for him to drive. The government allocates funds all the time but in some areas there is a lack of noticeable service delivery; somewhere things are not coming together. However, in this department we have all seen what Minister Molewa does with the people who are involved in corruption.]
If things went my way, I would say that in every committee's programme there should be a standard item, "Corruption". Every committee has to talk about corruption every now and then. Maybe if we hammer it from time to time, it will bring a change and also change the mindset. But we don't want to paint all officials with the same brush. We have very good officials who are working in the manner that they are supposed to work in. We hope that in regard to the problem that you are talking about, water, about which there have been complaints over and over again, the Minister will be more than happy to get a report from you and she will do what she has just done, because we have many people who are in acting positions, while others have gone on pension.
Mohlomphehi Ndude o buile ntho e tshwanang ka ditshukudu hore kgopolotaba hore bontate, re ka etsa mosebetsi o betere ha re ka sebedisa lenaka la tshukudu. [Setsheho.] Bontate ka Ntlong mona le lona moo, le tlameha ho ikwetlisa, le je dijo tse nang le phepo e ntle le ho fetola mokgwa wa rona wa ho phela. Hona ho tla re thusa mosebetsing wa rona oo re nahanang hore lenaka la tshukudu ke tharollo. Re nahana hore ha re tloha mona mesebetsing ya rona re tla ya jiminasiamong ho ya ikwetlisa. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[Hon Ndude said the same thing about rhinoceroses, which is that the idea, gentlemen, is that we can do a better job if we use rhino horn. [Laughter.] Gentlemen in the House and you over there, you must exercise, eat healthy foods and change your cooking methods. This will help us in our work for which we believe the rhino horn is the solution. We think that when we leave our places of work, we will go to the gymnasium and exercise.] Mrs Ndude, the solar energy system is already available in other communities, especially poor communities, where we are talking about RDP houses. When a house is built, the solar energy system is put in at the same time. We are getting there bit by bit. As we know, Rome was not built in a day, but we need co-operation from all of us, regardless of our party affiliation, because when we come here we come here, for the citizens of South Africa, because it was not a few people, a small collective, that voted for us to be here.
To add to that, with regard to air pollution, industries are the major culprits. At Vanderbijlpark, we have the SA Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation Ltd, Iscor, which is known as ArcelorMittal. They pollute so much but they are not punished according to the law, and we hope that in this case the Minister will take steps so that we are sure that laws do not just decorate the books, but that they work. If you want to decorate a book, you can colour it and not decorate it with laws.
Ho ba bang ha se ka boomo, re na le setjhaba seo e leng hore motlakase ha o so ka o fihlella ho bona le ha ho na le mokgwatshebetso wa solar empa re lokela ho tshepahala mmusong, re se ke ra tshwaya mmuso phoso bakeng sa ntho e nngwe le e nngwe e nyenyane. Le rona re le batho re na le seabo seo re ka se nkang hoba re kentse letsoho kotsing ena. Re hula motlakase empa re na le pholisi ya ho thuswa ka motlakase eo e leng hore ha o sa kgone ho reka, o tlatsa foromo, o thuswe empa re kgetha ho utswa motlakase. Ha o se o re hlola, re besa mello, re bese dipatsi mme re silafatse moya mme bongata ba batho bo kule. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[With the others it is not deliberate, we have communities for whom electricity has not been accessible even though there is a solar system, but we have to be honest with government, we should not criticise government about every little thing. We as people have a role to play because we are also to blame for this crisis. We steal electricity and yet there is a policy to help for those who cannot afford to buy it with electricity; you just fill in a form and get help, but we choose to steal electricity. When we are unable to do so, we make fires which create pollution in the atmosphere and cause illness to a lot of people.]
Hon Greyling, we agree with what you say, but you must also take into consideration the fact that some of the mishaps are due to national catastrophes that are simply beyond our control. However, we need to try, using every means, to deal with this, and we must, where possible, help government and act responsibly.
Furthermore, we litter all over and do all these things, and we don't nurture our environment effectively. Government has shown the steps it has taken by investing money so that we can develop the environment, especially when we talk about job creation by means of the green economy. Surely, when you say government has a pivotal role to play, you are referring to all of us here. All parties in government have a role to play. When you say "government", you are talking to all of us, and not only the ruling party, although it has to use the whip to show that lawlessness will not be tolerated.
Countries that are not co-operating in this global challenge are also worrying government. Sure, you and I know that processes and negotiations are in place, and the conference that the hon Bhengu has talked about is coming to South Africa. We are on track, but we need others to co-operate because without them we, as South Africa alone, cannot deal with the situation.
I agree with the General that the integrated development plan, IDP, must not be for record purposes. We were there, and we held a public meeting, but councillors themselves have to understand the nitty-gritty aspects, for example what exactly we are talking about when we talk about the IDP and local economic development. The bylaws are also not being effectively implemented.
We also have industries coming from their firms at night to dump rubbish in our locations, and they will always choose black communities - they will never go to other communities. So, it warrants all of us taking a stand. The Green Scorpions that we are talking about must really bite; they must not just be Green Scorpions in name.
Training is already taking place. There are inspectors and they are trained, but the problem is that we need to make sure that people are not forever on training. We have people going on training and compromising service delivery. Training, especially job training, has shown that it is one of the most effective methods of training. When a person gets the theory, he or she must also get practice. We should try to cover this, so that service delivery does not suffer.
Mrs Connie Zikalala, I agree with you that we all have a role to play, especially in protecting agriculture, as it is the centre of economic development in the rural areas. Without agriculture we would just be singing a song that would take us nowhere with rural development.
Wildlife poaching is rife. We have seen in the newspapers that the law is working. However, we have heard on the news that people have unfortunately lost their lives because of this illegal practice. We are trying, using every means, to protect lives as well, not only the lives of the animals, but our own lives as well. If people are ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr M B Skosana) Hon member, your time has expired.