Speaker, the ACDP shares the view that the state of service delivery in many of our municipalities is appalling. Minister Shiceka was very frank during his Budget Vote earlier this year when he said:
It is a crying shame that after 15 years of democracy, parts of our country still reflect a legacy of apartheid and the unacceptable face of underdevelopment, poverty and marginalisation.
And in commenting on the deplorable state of certain municipalities, he stated further:
The extent of the breakdown in trust is so great that it is placing our democratic state at risk.
We thank him for those frank words. We have also seen a number of areas being engulfed by service delivery protests. Twenty four is too many, hon member. Clearly, we in Parliament must exercise a far greater and more robust oversight function. We welcome the Minister's commitment to deal quickly and effectively with corrupt officials. Citizens are crying out for better service delivery.
Should these issues not be urgently addressed, we will continue to see protests and demonstrations that can, indeed, place our democratic state at risk. I thank you.