Hon Chairperson, though government has indeed achieved much over the past 15 years, its performance in many areas has been unsatisfactory. Many departments and institutions have failed in their attempts to deliver to ordinary South Africans and to fulfil the duties that they have been mandated to fulfil.
The service delivery protests which have been experienced in many parts of the country are evidence that the people are fed up with this unacceptably bad service they are receiving. Overspending and underspending, as well as mismanagement, are just some of the crises which need to be solved if government is to improve its performance. For this to happen, the oversight and monitoring mechanisms must be improved, and managers and staff who do not perform their duties properly must be dealt with accordingly. They must not be allowed to continue in their positions if they are not performing, and they must be held accountable for their failures.
A good starting point in this regard would be to improve and strengthen the mechanisms tasked with monitoring and evaluating performance. The IFP supports this initiative. It is critical to the success of government. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]