Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, I see hon Minister Shabangu is also here, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen and comrades, let me anchor my input in this very important debate by paying tribute to the workers of South Africa, in particular, and their counterparts and comrades around the globe for their successful May Day rallies and celebrations over the past weekend. [Applause.] I did not hear that. [Applause.] May Day remains an important date of working class solidarity and a critical rallying point for the advancement of workers' rights, and indeed a better world for their respective families.
It was on this day in 1886 that workers in the USA protested bitterly against slavery working conditions and demanded, amongst others, a reduction in working hours to eight hours per day - 40 hours per week, over five days. Hundreds of workers were killed and maimed around the world by capitalist brutality in collaboration with governments that supported them.
One hundred years later, in 1986, albeit under the state of emergency, workers in South Africa under the banner of Cosatu, after waging endless struggles, forcefully celebrated this day. It is therefore important that, in this important workers' month, we pause to remember those heroes and heroines who laid down their lives during the difficult days of apartheid oppression in association with capitalist exploitation in order for us to enjoy the freedom and democracy we have today.
Let me remind the House that on 24 August 2006, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the mineworkers' strike under the leadership of uncle J B Marks, Parliament agreed to the following resolution that still needs to be implemented. Just for reference, the resolution appears in Hansard of 24 August 2006, column 6020, and it reads as follows:
That the House -
1) notes that 12 August 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of the mineworkers' strike of 1946;
2) further notes the important role played by the mineworkers in the development of our economy and the transformation of our country;
3) believes that the demands put forward by the African Mineworkers Union in 1946 were not fully addressed and are still relevant today; and
4) resolves -
a) that the living and working conditions of mineworkers be investigated further and be improved; and
b) to support the initiative by the National Union of Mineworkers to build a workers' museum ...
I also said that Parliament should give consideration to naming some of its buildings after J B Marks, a leader of the African Mineworkers Union, and other heroes and heroines of the struggle.
The Department of Public works, DPW, is the single biggest landlord in our country with huge responsibilities around accommodation and maintenance. All the departments of this government in the country as well as the Department of International Relations and Co-operation outside the country, including Ministers, Deputy Ministers and you, hon members, expect this department to offer decent and adequate accommodation together with the requisite services. This is a very huge task.
We have started some collaboration with the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and intend to meet affected parliamentary committees like Home Affairs, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as Defence and Military Veterans in an attempt to strengthen our collective oversight responsibilities relating to decent accommodation, proper registration and maintenance of state assets.
It is incomprehensible that, 16 years since our democratic breakthrough, we are still unable to properly account for all state assets that rightfully belong to future generations. The office of the Auditor-General has, amongst others, raised this matter as one of the serious issues that needs urgent attention. The portfolio committee has already agreed to have a meeting with the office of the Auditor-General in the coming week in order to discuss this matter and find some solutions.
The Government Immovable Asset Management Act, Giama, still has to be fully implemented at national and provincial levels. That Act specifically excludes jurisdiction at local government level, an issue that still remains a serious bone of contention in the portfolio committee.
In November last year we conducted a strategic planning workshop which included, amongst others, representatives of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and other important stakeholders. Among other critical issues discussed were the problems around vesting of state land associated with the Deeds Office. This matter still needs to be resolved.
One matter that we are seriously concerned about is the high level of vacancies in the Department of Public Works. I'm happy to hear that it's been addressed, but we have been extremely worried about senior positions, including that of the director-general and chief directors, that are vacant. This situation seriously undermines the capacity of the department and impacts negatively on the service delivery efforts needed in this department. I still do not understand why the state continues to have such high levels of vacancies, especially in funded posts, while the country is bleeding with high levels of unemployment.
The Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP, is the single most important project of government intended for job creation and poverty alleviation in society. We therefore need to ensure that resources allocated to this programme are fully utilised and efficiently accounted for. The current state of affairs needs serious improvement so that we can properly massify work opportunities in a much more co-ordinated and comprehensive manner.
We have an opportunity of a lifetime to get South Africa working. With over R60 billion allocated to this department and an additional amount of over R2 billion allocated for capital budget in other departments in this financial year, together with the infrastructure budget allocated over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, the economic fortunes of our citizens can be changed for the better. We can indeed stimulate our economic activity in the short to medium term in a meaningful way. It is doable; it can be done, so let's do it!
The ANC truly believes that, by working together, we can do more. A lot of good work has been done in the department and a lot still needs to be done. For instance, a combination of the capital resources in the development finance institutions like the Public Investment Corporation, PIC, Industrial Development Corporation, IDC and the Development Bank of SA, DBSA - to name but a few - plus the creativity of South African brains, has the greatest potential to make poverty history and to increase the profile of state assets, especially in rural areas and poor municipalities.
The inner city regeneration programme is good and can be accelerated. However, Re Kgabisa Tshwane has been going on for many years now. When is 're kgabisa Thaba Nchu' going to happen? When is 're kgabisa rural areas' going to happen? And especially, when is 're kgabisa Warrenton' going to happen? [Interjections.]
Ag nee man, 're kgabisa Kokstad'? 'Re kgabisa Kroonstad'? [Oh no man, when is the project starting in Kokstad and in Kroonstad?] We must truly and sincerely live by the saying, "South Africa works because of Public Works".
The Independent Development Trust, IDT, has done tremendous work in rural areas and in poor municipalities and needs to be supported. The committee agreed to mobilise financial resources for the IDT so as to optimise the utilisation of skills and expertise within the entity for the benefit of poor communities. This must be done almost immediately so that we can bring about certainty and stability within the IDT. They were, after all, the proud entity which reported to the Department of Public Works which continued to receive clean audits for the past seven years. Give them a big hand. [Applause.]
During our oversight visit to the Eastern Cape in February this year, the portfolio committee members were taken aback by the scourge of underdevelopment in the rural areas, especially in Ngcingcinikhwe, a rural area in Ndabakazi near Butterworth. The village borders the Kei River, but villagers have no access to clean drinking water. Electricity connections are a stone's throw away across the river, but the village is not connected. There are no schools and no clinic, and yet there have been no protest marches. Our people are still hopeful that their government will one day address their plight and bring about a better life for them as well. Some families informed us that they even bought TV sets, just in case they also get connected, so that they can have an opportunity to watch and enjoy the World Cup Soccer tournament together with other fellow South Africans.
What are we waiting for, Comrade Komphela? Kuza kude kube nini Ndoda? [When will this end?] Bomme re emetse eng, kapa re emetse mang ... [Ladies, what are we waiting for, or who are we waiting for ...]
... before we can start acting decisively as this Parliament?
Pregnant mothers in Ngcingcinikhwe were still subjected to giving birth at home unless some men volunteered to carry them, on time, on a stretcher, on their shoulders across the mountain to the nearest clinic. Thanks to the Department of Public Works there is now a one kilometre bridge or road that was erected to improve vehicle access to that village. [Applause.]
My office recently received correspondence from the IDT office in the Eastern Cape reporting that they are working on the issues raised during our oversight visit to those villages, and we are expecting progress reports soon.
My time is running out very fast.
The committee has resolved to conduct comprehensive oversight visits to provinces in the near future, and has especially resolved to have serious engagement with the Construction Industry Development Board, CIDB, the Council for the Built Environment, CBE, and Agrment South Africa.
I see that time is running out very fast, so I will not go through everything here. I would just like to say in the end that we are going to be meeting with the CIDB and all these other entities that report to Public Works to finalise the work that still needs to be done.
As I conclude, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the portfolio committee members very much, especially the ANC members for their unwavering support and commitment to tackling the challenges ahead. I would also like to extend a special word of welcome to the opposition party members participating in the portfolio committee, as well as to the Minister and the Deputy Minister; thank you very much. I would very much like to thank the staff of the CIDB; CBE; IDT and Agrment South Africa, ASA; the secretary of the committee, Akhona Busakwe; the secretary to the chairperson, Gadija Osman; the new secretary to the ANC, Pumla Kweyama; and Inez, the researcher. We thank you very much for your hard work. Re a leboga. [Thank you.]
I would also like to thank the catering staff who feed us here at Parliament everyday and the cleaning staff who clean up all the mess after we have left. Thank you. The ANC supports this debate. [Applause.]