Agb Voorsitter van die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies, lede van die Raad, Ministers en Parlementslede van die provinsiale wetgewers en almal teenwoordig, vandag is 'n baie belangrike dag vir die werksaamhede en die uitvoering van die mandate van die regering verleen deur die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr M J R DE VILLIERS: Hon Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, members of the Council, Ministers and members of the provincial legislatures and everyone present, today is a very important day for the functions and the implementation of the mandates given to government by the Constitution of South Africa.]
The Division of Revenue Bill is the most important annual piece of legislation for any province. I want to mention the following documents. According to section 73 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act of 2009, the money bills Act, section 10 of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, Act 97 of 1997, and section 76(4) of the Constitution, the Minister of Finance must introduce the Division of Revenue Bill in Parliament. In accordance with these sections, the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, tabled the 2010 Division of Revenue Bill before Parliament on 17 February 2010.
My province, the Western Cape, will receive 92% of its 2010 revenue in the transfers arising from this Bill. Most other provinces rely on the Bill for an even higher percentage of their income.
Sonder hierdie Wetsontwerp is die hande van provinsies afgekap, met ander woorde, geen dienslewering kan plaasvind nie.
Die manier waarop die land, Suid-Afrika, regeer word, word duidelik voorgeskryf deur die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika van 1995, naamlik 'n federale bestuur en die beheer van provinsies. Die nege provinsies is dus, naas die Nasionale Vergadering, die mees belangrike strukture in die uitvoering van wetgewende magte ten opsigte van die toewysing van geld aan plaaslike owerhede.
Die DA is dus 'n party wat op die beginsels van federalisme geskoei is en daarom waarborg ons dat die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika van 1995 te alle tye beskerm en verdedig sal word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Without this Bill the hands of the provinces would be tied; in other words, no service delivery would take place.
The way in which the country, South Africa is governed, is clearly prescribed by the Constitution of South Africa of 1995, namely federal governance and oversight of the provinces. Apart from the National Assembly, the nine provinces are the most important structures in the execution of legislative powers in respect of the allocation of funds to local authorities.
Therefore the DA is a party that is built on the principles of federalism and that is why we guarantee that the Constitution of South Africa of 1995 will be protected and defended at all times.]
The Western Cape welcomes the gradual trend of increasing fiscal federalism in our national Budget. Five years ago the national sphere of government spent more than half of the revenue raised. That is 50,3%, to be exact. By next year this will have dropped to 47%, meaning that provincial and local governments will together be spending the majority of national revenue. This shows that our tax money is moving closer to the people it needs to be spent on.
We are however concerned that an increasing proportion of the allocation to provinces is carved up into conditional grants. For 2010 almost one quarter of the money that my province received from the division of revenue comes in the form of conditional grants. This is an alarming trend. The more it continues, the more section 40 of the Constitution, which defines the provinces as distinct from the national sphere, is undermined.
We understand that certain provinces require a heavy hand from national government to prevent them from wasting money meant for service delivery, but we must be wary of limiting the freedom of those provinces that use their proximity to people to better target delivery.
The Western Cape welcomes the review of the fiscal transfer system that National Treasury has committed to complete in time for next year's Budget process. We are told that the review will have a special focus on the economic activity component of the provincial equitable share.
This is a progressive approach that will hopefully result in money being spent in those areas that can ratchet up economic activity, thereby multiplying government spending.
We hope that the review will be in line with the recommendations by the Financial and Fiscal Commission in 2009 that the form of revenue sharing should replace the economic activity component of the formula.
Hierdie aanbeveling sal die DA ondersteun, nadat dit bekend geword het. Dit kan ons verseker. [The DA will support this recommendation once it becomes public. That we can assure you.]
The education component of the provincial equitable share is by far the biggest at 51%. This is appropriate, given the importance of education spending. Importantly, it is also driven by data that is relatively accurate and up to date.
Onderwys is die sektor wat die beste moontlikhede vir ons mense daar buite stel. [Education is the sector that offers the best possibilities for our people out there.]
We cannot say the same about other components that are based on population figures that are neither recent nor accurate. Provinces such as the Western Cape experience permanent immigration as a daily reality. An analysis of the increases in the provincial equitable share over the medium term shows that the Western Cape will receive higher increases in the percentage terms than other provinces, but it is unclear whether these increases are in line with population increase.
More alarmingly, anecdotal evidence suggests that short-term medical tourism is taking place. That is where citizens of other provinces travel to the Western Cape, specifically to use our medical facilities. They come from provinces which received funds for care that they don't provide, while my province provides care that is unfunded.
Ons moet kyk om hierdie funksies, waarvoor daar nie `n mandaat is nie, te beheer, sodat die Wes-Kaap dit kan hanteer en ook die diens kan lewer aan die mense wat in die Wes-Kaap bly. [We will have to look at controlling this function, for which there is no mandate, in order for the Western Cape to deal with it and provide this service to people who are residing in the Western Cape as well.]
We have requested that Parliament be kept up to date on National Treasury's review of the fiscal transfer system as it is completed. The Western Cape supports the Division of Revenue Bill ... [Interjections.].