Let me thank members for having participated in a positive manner in this Human Settlements Budget Vote debate. As usual, one finds that one is operating among people who provide constructive criticism. I would also like to thank members of our own Minmec - the Minister and the MECs - because, in line with the Constitution, we exercised this mandate concurrently. Some of them may be absent today, but they played a role towards the implementation of our objectives.
I would also like to thank members of our top management, all of whom are here, for the effort they put in, because they are the ones keeping Human Settlements alive. We as political leaders are always striving to produce the numbers and statistics. They always remain at the rock face, implementing the work.
I would like to convey special thanks to Mr Mziwonke Dlabantu, who is sitting there. He has been an acting director-general while also serving as the chief financial officer. [Applause.] I have good news for him, because he continued acting until today. This morning, Cabinet approved a new director-general for Human Settlements. [Applause.] His name is Mr Thabane Zulu. I hope Mr Thabane Zulu will learn from Mr Dlabantu and also interact with all other parties, particularly as assembled within the portfolio committee.
We also have a new member, chief operating officer and deputy director- general, whose name is Mr Chainee. Many of you will know him. He is one of the key contributors to the first human settlements project in Gauteng, at Ekurhuleni. [Applause.] He was also approved this morning by Cabinet. Our team is now perfect at the top. I hope these members will respect the multiparty House, as assembled here, and work comfortably and constructively with members of the portfolio committee.
I would like us to appreciate the President's own personal involvement. Remember, we have now moved from housing to the expanded mandate of human settlements. The President has shown leadership. Two weeks ago, at the meeting of the Presidential Co-ordinating Council which was chaired by him, he proclaimed, as I indicated earlier, that we were going to have one special agenda item, which was Human Settlements' Presidential Co- ordinating Council, under his leadership. Members of the House are invited, not just to make the kind of statements that we made today but to bring constructive criticism because we believe that gives this department and the Ministry new wind. [Applause.]
I would like to assure the House that we are going to remain focused on the delivery of human settlements as our mission, with the understanding that the R16 billion you have just voted for here today will be well spent. Congratulations to all of you, because there was no dissent as far as this Budget Vote was concerned. [Applause.] The funds that we have voted for are not sufficient as a budget. As we all understand, the backlog keeps on multiplying exponentially. Human settlements is not merely about the budget; it is about the co-ordination and integration of all the efforts of all national government departments. Hence the personal involvement of the President is critical for us.
Since the extended Cabinet lekgotla, every Minister has come to understand that you can't just build schools, police stations, universities and all other amenities, without considering where people are. Human settlements is about making sure that all these are consolidated, integrated and deracialised, so that our people can enjoy the comfort known by us. They need to know that their disposable income is not going to be consumed by transportation when they have to seek out amenities in places "daar ver" [far away].
It is important for us to understand that beyond the considerations of budget, it is about integration and co-ordination, not only within the government departments, but within all spheres of government. For example, we have to look at the national, provincial and the municipal infrastructure grant. How can we have all these grants, which are all supposed to be providing bulk services, without co-ordination? Therefore, the discussion of the Presidential Co-ordinating Council under the chairmanship of the President, coming on 18 May, is going to address all these issues. I hope we will be taking some of the positive comments made here to that meeting.
Let me assure this House about the stance we have taken on corruption. I will not respond to each and every thing that was raised here because our discussions are a work in progress. I am a member of your portfolio committee and I am ready to serve and give answers. Yes, corruption is endemic in South Africa and affects ordinary people. But you can rest assured that this Minister is not going to rest, hide behind the finger or just make general statements. That is why we have brought the Special Investigating Unit on board, led by Mr Hofmeyr. They are arresting top government members. By the way, the 1 500 people I referred to were from national and local government, and a few from provincial government.
It is a demonstration of seriousness when you call the police and when lawyers get arrested. I am saying that many more will still be exposed. We have now uncovered two major syndicates around housing lists, one in KwaZulu-Natal. I am not going to expose the other one, because we just found out about them today. We don't want them to clear their desks.
Please rest assured that the R16 billion we have voted for today is not going to be wasted. We will remain focused on cost control. You can see that in the amount of money that we reported on today; the amount we cut from the costs of travelling and all sorts of things. Such things will not be part of this Ministry. You can rest assured that this Minister is listening to your advice.
You can also rest assured that, even in the case of the chief executive officer that you raised, we wouldn't like to infringe on the rights of people. I would like to believe that the board of that institution took the right decision, because that is not up to us. That is why there are boards. We will also look deeper into those decisions, to find out if things have been done correctly. Yet we are mindful of the fact that we don't want to damage people's names. If you have information, bring it to us. I am your colleague. Just walk across to my floor and provide it to me, then watch my reaction. [Applause.]
In conclusion, I want to say that as far as hostels are concerned, Mr Dhlamini, the President has accepted an invitation to visit Dube Hostel. You have raised this issue with me over the past months. You can see that the first phase of renovation has already started - improving and upgrading hostels into homes. I am coming from Dube. Secondly, we are going to visit the Eastern Cape. I told the President that he cannot be president of slums. You saw him on television, in Diepsloot and all those other places. We will be going to Emerald Sky, so that we can see what public housing is about.
Mr Steyn, with all your DA criticism, I hope you join the ANC one day. [Laughter.] You are invited to join the President on that visit. I thank you. [Applause.]