Chairperson, the Eastern Cape supports the Division of Revenue Bill without reservations. I want to say today that South Africa is one of the few countries that have systematically developed systems of dealing with the Budget process. It consults with people, stakeholders and Members of Parliament. The final product of the Budget is indeed a product of the people. Having said that, we are not saying there are no challenges. The challenges are huge and they will be with us for a long time because we come from an era that has been bedevilled by racism and everything that goes with it.
The Eastern Cape supports this Bill, but notes the following: The debate takes place when economic crises continue to bare its ugly teeth at citizens of the world, including our country. South Africa has lost close to a million jobs during this crisis. Economists and analysts inform us that the beginning of the end of this crisis is upon us. This is indeed encouraging news. We welcome this because the economy of the country will improve as the crisis diminishes. We are pleased to note that government and the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, have already developed strategies to curb joblessness, including making available funds to reskill our labour force.
Budgets have stabilised since 1994. I have mentioned before that there is certainty and stability through the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, process. Provinces and local governments are able to plan ahead on their programmes and projects. This is key to the achievement of service delivery in our country. The Eastern Cape is also encouraged that the Financial and Fiscal Commission, FFC, in our discussions during the public hearings, has acknowledged and brought back the whole issue of the costed norms approach in funding provinces. This, we believe, will go a long way in addressing the real cost or realistic cost of projects or programmes.
Today the Deputy Minister has also alluded to the whole review process of the funding criteria. This, I suppose, will also be accommodated during the hearings or the debates in arriving at the best funding criteria for the country. We are really pleased that there has been a rethink around funding formulas because the Eastern Cape is among the provinces that have suffered the most during apartheid in terms of backlog. The Committee on Appropriations has undertaken to discuss with Eskom the regional electrification programme which affects our province negatively, particularly the Alfred Nzo district in the Eastern Cape. The electrification programmes in that part of the country are slow or nonexistent because of the funding model Eskom is using.
Overall, the Eastern Cape believes that the 2010-11 Division of Revenue brings hope to the electorate. It will be able to deliver some key government priority areas, namely the alleviation of unemployment through the public works programme, providing a better health care system, delivering an improved education system and drastically reducing crime and corruption through an improved and professional criminal justice system. Chairperson, with those few words, I thank you. The Eastern Cape supports the Bill. [Applause.]