Hon Chairperson, it is a privilege for me to be invited to speak in your assembly. The Western Cape provincial government recognises the important role the National Council of Provinces plays in the processes of government. We appreciate the fact that the NCOP makes time available for all its members to be able to liaise with the different spheres of government.
On 8 September and 9 September 2009, the NCOP undertook a visit to local governments, together with the Western Cape parliament members. The group split into two because of the number of people involved, and to be able to cover as much ground as possible in the allocated timeslot.
One group went to the Southern Cape and the other group went to the Western Cape. The group that went to the Southern Cape visited the Eden District Municipality region and engaged with five municipalities there. The focus was to talk about service delivery and specifically to focus on those areas where the municipalities encounter problems and need help, either from national, provincial government or the NCOP. Local government is the nearest to the needs of society, and the other spheres of government should be willing and ready to assist and help.
Unfortunately, it is also a fact that where local authorities take bad decisions, there should be intervention from the other spheres of government because we cannot allow a lack of service delivery or a problem to occur with potentially dire consequences, which could have been detected in time and prevented with interference in time.
The single biggest problem we found on our trip to the Southern Cape was the problem of available water in this region. This is a critical problem at this moment and requires intervention and help from all spheres of government immediately, or we will see a catastrophe of proportions we cannot imagine.
It is a fact that people cannot go without water, and the Ministers of the Western Cape government are doing all they can to prevent this disaster and put plans in place to solve the problem for now and the future. It seems that global warming has a bigger impact on water resources than what anyone anticipated and we should take cognisance of this fact.
The second big problem that exists is the shortage of housing and the subsequent problem with the delivery of electricity, water, sewage, streets and everything that goes with a proper, decent township. This problem is aggravated by the high influx of people into this area, which puts huge pressure on the municipalities to deliver the needed services. They need help to cope because, progressively, the growth of the population is higher than the growth of the tax base, which has to pay for all of this. There are other areas of concern that you will find in the report submitted to the NCOP, and which are already under further study, with the recommendations being acted upon.
The reason for the Western Cape visit was to investigate the land restitution of the Ebenezer people at Lutzville in the lower Olifants River Valley. The beneficiaries of this restitution programme are a very annoyed and unhappy group of people because the project had progressed to a point, but now, when the land should be transferred or people compensated, nothing is happening.
The Department of Land Affairs is not entirely honest with the beneficiaries about the problem. Farms have been allocated and bought, but transfers cannot take place because the former owners cannot be paid owing to a lack of money. Also, the beneficiaries who do not want land but want remuneration instead cannot be paid because of this lack of funds. National government and specifically the Department of Land Affairs must solve this problem urgently, because it has already been in process since 1995 and needs to be concluded.
The second big problem in that area is that of the fishing communities - Mr Harris indicated that as well. These people are in dire straits because of fishing quotas that were taken away from them. No alternatives have been put in place to support the families. These people depend on sea resources for their livelihood, not just to make money but actually to have food to eat. These small communities were never a threat to resources in the sea; they are too small to be a threat. The actual threat is the big fishing companies, which use big fishing trawlers to fish.
The government will have to address these problems because these people are practitioners of fishing and nothing else. They are solely dependent on the sea. Alternatives such as aquaculture farms to replace the depleted resources and provide income are a solution. The rest of the issues are covered in a report that is with the NCOP.
I wish to thank the NCOP delegates for their participation and contribution through the visits. It is, however, very easy to assess a problem, but to solve a problem takes much more initiative and energy. I want to plead with this assembly to help and work together so that we can solve these major issues, which I have highlighted, as soon as possible by working together in all spheres of government. I thank you again for the opportunity to be here and address you. [Applause.]