Speaker, the IFP will support this Budget Vote, but let me just say that if we were dealing today with the previous leadership of this department we would not be supporting it. I say this simply because, in fact, its performance has been very poor over the past few years.
Let me give you some examples. There has been a lot of strategic planning, but very little hands-on interventions that make a difference on the ground. There has been very little support for municipalities from this department here and especially in the provinces. There has been little interaction with the provinces themselves and with the problems that provinces have.
Also, the department sometimes allows crises to happen in a manner that is completely unacceptable. I refer you, for example, to the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act which is actually a very critical problem. It is quite inconceivable how this state of affairs could have come to be. I must say, in this connection, that even our current Minister cannot be absolved completely from this, because although he inherited the problem, it is only now that the interventions are being made.
What is different? Well, we have a new leadership of the department, which is committed, which seems capable. We certainly want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They have made promises to us. They have made promises that they are going to be practical. They have made promises that they are going to be hands-on, and they have made promises that they are going to deliver.
So, on that basis, we certainly intend to engage with them and give them our support. I must say that as the IFP it is not our function to harp on about failures; it is our function to become partners in solving problems. On that basis, we will support the Vote. Thank you.