Hon Speaker, Cope is supporting this Budget Vote. However, we are concerned about the situation in terms of the supply and generation of electricity.
The Eskom debacle which continues to rumble on means that the limited resources put into this state-owned enterprise are being squandered.
The result for households and enterprises is an unacceptable situation - a continually interrupted supply of electricity, and now soon-to-be-imposed astronomical price hikes. There is no way we can improve the lives of our people with the current crisis being left unattended to. The government is failing to take adequate measures that will change this situation.
We are also concerned about the issue of illegal mining which continues to bedevil the industry. Cope wants to see stronger measures to curb this scourge which has negative effects, both socially as well as for the industry. Thank you.