Sihlalo, amalunga wePalamende nabayeni abakhona lapha ... [Chairperson, Members of Parliament and guests present here ...]
The DA would like to see that military veterans are supported financially, psychologically and emotionally by the government. However, with the Military Veterans Bill being so deeply flawed, this raises some questions.
With the current budget for the Department of Defence and Military Veterans being insufficient to run the administration properly, it remains difficult to see how this department is going to be able to assist the veterans. The military veterans' unit should have its own budget, but its budget is still within the Department of Defence and Military Veterans.
Hon Minister, we cannot make promises that are not going to be fulfilled, especially when people are desperate for basic human needs like shelter, food and health care. It is a disgrace that so many veterans who fought for freedom are now living in shameful conditions. The hopes of military veterans have been raised by this Bill, but the proper groundwork has not been done to ensure that the correct decisions are taken.
As long as the following factors have not been considered properly, it will remain a pipe dream to address the plight of military veterans. The department is unable to disclose the final number of military veterans, as defined by the Bill in its current form. Taking into consideration the definition, more time is going to be wasted on eligibility through appeals and court proceedings.
The cost of the Bill is not based on the final number of military veterans and their dependants. The Bill made mention of two dependants as the average number, but that number could be higher. Also, the cost of the Bill is too high for the department to afford. Lastly, there are no figures to say how much the government currently spends to support military veterans. The Bill may have gone through, but are veterans going to get what has been promised? Time will tell.
Coming to the Budget Vote, the President always says the details are with the Ministers and departments. Minister, your department presented the committee with the Budget Vote for 2011-12 and strategic plans that lacked details and clarity.
The department has identified 10 priorities to focus on for this financial year, but details remain unclear because some of the plans are prioritised despite the fact that Treasury is not allocating funds, as required by the department. There are more priorities, but I want to mention those which the department has listed as priorities.
The department discussed restructuring and support of the defence industry. This is a serious matter on which the portfolio committee members must be briefed properly. But there are no details as to how this restructuring is going to take place. It is not enough just to say restructuring; we expect more details on this matter. Minister, you said we could look at the files, so we will look at the files to see if the details are there.
The landward and maritime defence capability enhancement is a priority for the department, but Treasury is not allocating any extra funds as requested by the department. So, how does the department prioritise this programme if it is not receiving extra funding?
A more controversial priority is the National Youth Service. These are youths recruited by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform for the Department of Defence and Military Veterans. But the question is: How does this relate to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, and why is it a priority for the Department of Defence and Military Veterans? It remains suspicious that these are ANC members recruited through an improper process, as it is flawed with irregularities.
Hon Minister, we welcome the creation of jobs, as so many South Africans are unemployed. Your department has committed to filling 1 401 funded vacancies in the department, and has also promised to recruit 5 700 young people per year for the military skills development system. We will wait and see if this is going to materialise, given the slim budget of the department.
I must just remind the Minister that last year during the Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure, Parliament had to approve 19 shifts within the Vote to cover the shortfalls in salaries. The shifts for salaries alone amounted to R2,2 billion.
The strategic plan for the department lacks clarity and a timeframe. Minister, the objective of a timeframe is a clean audit for the department for the financial year 2012-13. Minister, your department cowardly made a three-year plan before they could achieve this. I think they should have done far better than this.
Hon Minister, the DA in the Western Cape took over from the ANC in 2009 and had a clean audit within 12 months. How many years does the ANC want to have in order to get a clean audit? I thank you. [Applause.]