Hon Chairperson, Deputy President and Members of Parliament, before I get to my speech I just want to say that it is very interesting that FF MP Mr Spies requested that retired white technicians be employed and that the ANC government employ those people. So if they don't make any difference, the hon member from the FF must go and talk to them and let them bring about the difference he said in this Parliament they would bring about. [Applause.]
In this debate I'll focus on the division of revenue in order to determine the extent of the allocations for quality health care and sustainable rural development. Section 214 of the Constitution, as already mentioned, demands that in terms of the division of revenue, resources are allocated in line with provincial needs, fiscal policy and efficiency at all levels of government in order to provide a better life for all. The provinces and local government are best placed to meet the needs and demands of the people, as well as to monitor the expenses in terms of what is happening locally.
The ANC government is guided by the Freedom Charter in that there shall be access to health care for all. No doubt, the Freedom Charter committed government to promoting a preventive health-care scheme, free medical care and hospitalisation, especially for the needy, old, women and the young. As a consequence we all know that since 1994 there have been many achievements in health care.
I can make mention of just a few of these. Greater access and availability of health services has benefited the targeted people. There is free primary health care for all, and right now we are discussing the implementation of national health insurance. There is accelerated implementation of the HIV and Aids plan; and there is improved access and addressing of the needs of those affected by HIV and Aids, including ARV treatment both nationally and provincially.
Nevertheless, we know that we still need to do more - making services available to all South Africans and ensuring better health outcomes. The resources of the public health system need strengthening in the areas of personnel and diseases related to HIV and Aids, and with regard to tuberculosis, the infant mortality rate and the life expectancy rate.
Conditional grants in health care play a large part. I will just mention a few of them, owing to time constraints. We have a comprehensive HIV and Aids grant. We have the hospital revitalisation grant. We have the health professions training and development grant, which will address all the recruitment needs and developmental needs of people, and especially focus, again, on specialists in medicine.
We all know that in the Northern Cape hospitals have been revitalised. The Robert Ferreira Hospital, the Themba Hospital and the Ermelo Hospital are also nearing completion as a result of the hospital revitalisation programme. Similarly, we all know that in the Free State there's a very intensive programme to address the HIV and Aids-related stigma, conscientising communities and making them aware of such health-related issues.
With regard to rural development, the ANC considers rural development a key pillar in addressing poverty, inequality and unemployment. Historically we know that people in rural areas were neglected owing to policies based on cheap labour and discrimination. We know that right now this is still continuing. We have the eviction of people on the farms. Rural people don't get any basic services, and it is our duty as the ANC to remember what the Freedom Charter said to us - "The land shall be shared by all those who work it." These people working the land will be helped with implements, seeds, tractors, infrastructure for irrigation and other forms of material support.
The hon Deputy Minister of Finance has already acknowledged that they have considered what the Appropriations committee has recommended to them, and that is highly appreciated, because it means they remember the mandate that was given to them by the people during the elections in 2009.
We can't run away from our five basic priorities which were in the manifesto of the ANC and are now the ANC-led government's policy. We can't run away from them and try to address other issues in order to satisfy people who are not interested in the development and upliftment of our people. [Applause.]
We are happy that the hon Nkosi Mandela referred to the grant to support water and sanitation infrastructure as part of the rural housing programme. Some people should also appreciate it. The reason why some people don't appreciate it is that they have never ever experienced what the people who voted for the ANC have experienced. [Applause.]
They never experienced the need for the Expanded Public Works Programme, which addresses the needs of all those people who don't have anything to eat, people who go to bed hungry. So the only way to address the hunger and poverty of the people is to come up with programmes like the Expanded Public Works Programme.
We discussed that issue in our meetings. We all understand what the EPWP means, we all understand what the second phase of it means and we all know that these people are going to bed hungry. Most of us here have people who work for us and go to sleep hungry, who tell us that they have relatives who lie hungry and they say, "Thanks to the ANC for the Expanded Public Works Programme". The fact is that the social factor of the Expanded Public Works Programme has been taken a step further and is going to employ these people on a permanent basis, and they are going to earn money like any other person. That will address the really basic needs of the people. They must not come here and grandstand and say that people have everything.
The people out there are listening to you. You go to people to vote for you but you say they must go to sleep hungry. I don't know how they will go to the polls and vote for you when you still disregard the little that the ANC has done for them to be able to eat. Let's do some introspection and ask ourselves: Are we being fair? Is the division of revenue unfair? It is quite fair, because it's addressing the needs of the people.
Whilst on this issue, the purpose of the Budget is to promote rural economic infrastructure which involves the building of roads and railways; the revitalisation of irrigation schemes, dipping tanks, fencing, community gardens and infrastructure; and the erection of bridges. It also goes further to address ICT infrastructure, because people in the rural areas need to be connected like all other people. What labour do we need? We don't need capital labour to do this. We need all these people to do that job, get paid the incentive - because we all know there's an incentive - and eat and sleep happily, like any of us present here.
The rural local government has to lead the process of development, land reform and agrarian reform. We all know that we are held fast by the willing-buyer, willing-seller system. No one addresses us and tries to help the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform on how better to approach it, how not to sell the land to foreigners, but rather to sell it to the government with the price of the land not being market-related, and not ignore the needs of local people.
There is a lot of development in the agricultural sector. In KwaZulu-Natal there is the Agribusiness Development Agency, which rescued emerging farmers from collapse through its support. Consequently 13 farms, which fell mainly under the sugar production sector, were included in the sugar mills agreement with the Department of Agriculture.
Even in the Eastern Cape we saw on TV last week that people were happy, stating how the government has helped them. Let's all see that. Let's all think of the people. Let's all think of those people who, in 1994, addressed the Freedom Charter of the ANC, who took part in the Congress of the People representing the ANC, speaking about the Freedom Charter, feeling very well how people felt. They went there to address what we are addressing here.
The hon Nel said, "Don't retard our progress. Think of revolution and what our achievements are supposed to do." [Interjections.] Everybody needs to have a better life. Fortunately our committee knows everything. We are liberated on everything. Whatever statements they change in here we are going to address in our meetings. We are going to address the monitoring and evaluation issues in our meetings. We are going to sit down together and address the issues and see to it that the departments are performing well. We are going to sit on them, and we are going to roll up our sleeves and say, "Let there be delivery; let there be monitoring; let the committees account to us; and let even the portfolio committees address all the issues that affect us". The ANC supports the Bill. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]