Sihlalo ngiyathemba ukuthi nami uzongipha isikhathi esingaphezu kwaleso esibekwe ngokomthetho. [Chairperson, I hope you will also give me more time than is applicable by law.]
Madam Deputy Chairperson, "Taking Parliament to the People" during March 2010 was an event where there was nothing to celebrate. Nothing enabled us to say what wonderful progress we have made to undo the injustices of apartheid. If anything, our people in Limpopo suffer more from poverty and are more disadvantaged today than ever before. The report which is before us today is an indictment on the failure of government on service delivery over the past 16 years. Throughout the report, I recorded the failures of all spheres of government in the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality.
People were literally in tears as they told Parliament about the lack of basic services; corruption; maladministration; pipes with no water, years after they were installed; schools with no roofs; schools with very few teachers; schools with underqualified or unqualified teachers; schools with 452 learners who share 250 desks; schools with ablution blocks built years before but never finished; hundreds of hectares of valuable arable and developed land lying idle because of community disputes and dismal support from state departments; a lack of clinics; and traditional leaders who only look after their own interests.
The unemployment rate in that district is a staggering 69,4%, yet the ANC has still not implemented the wage subsidy for school-leavers, which the Minister of Finance announced some six months ago. This community is desperate to benefit from this policy that the DA has championed for many years. However, the ANC is held to ransom by its partner, Cosatu. [Interjections.]
During the Limpopo Parliament, the various government speakers rolled out the usual platitudes and promises. The people present saw through this, and, indeed, they gave little or no applause for the repeated promises from government speakers. Contrast this very reserved response to government speakers - including the Deputy President - with the roars of applause given to hon Harris and hon Bloem when they addressed the House. [Interjections.]
There is clearly a groundswell of support for an alternative government that will meet the needs of our desperate people. While the Limpopo government arrogantly ignores its citizens, it certainly knows how to treat MPs well. The ANC regime in Limpopo shows the signs of a shell state with the arrogant trappings of a government, like titles, blue lights and lavish dinners, but without service delivery. [Interjections.]
Despite the passage of four months since we took Parliament to Limpopo, the hon Chair informs us that the meeting scheduled for May has still not happened. I have little doubt that there has been little or no firm delivery on the promises made.
The DA supports the principles and directives of the Constitution, which dictates that Parliament must go to the people. However, we certainly do not support it as a smokescreen to bluff our people. You cannot promise people attention to their service delivery needs if you do not record those needs properly in detail, as well as ensure that they are followed up properly.
The proposed return visit is simply not enough. What is required is a real commitment from all spheres of government and officials to deal swiftly and thoroughly with the problems identified and the promises made. If the promises made are unachievable, then the people must be told this. It is irresponsible and dishonest to make promises which are patently unachievable.
The ANC cannot divert attention from the cries of the people by playing the apartheid card yet again. For the sake of our people, the ANC must accept responsibility for the service delivery failure and for the enrichment of well-based ANC cadres and cronies. The ANC should be asking for forgiveness rather than trying to muzzle its opponents and the press with apartheid- type censorship laws. As the writer in yesterday's Business Day wrote: "Ordinary people can see and smell the failures of the postapartheid state."
The people have clearly lost hope in the ANC government and are ready to place their hopes in the hands of an alternative government - a government which is committed to service delivery, even where the ANC has failed; a DA- led government to create an open-opportunity society for all the people. I thank you. [Applause.]