Chairperson, the whole country is waiting with positive expectation for the successful implementation of the programmes and the intentions of the new government. Critical to the successful implementation and endorsement of the government programmes will be the role of the Government Communication and Information System, GCIS, whose Budget Vote we are debating here today. I want to state from the outset that my party will support this Budget Vote because of the critically important role we think the GCIS has to play in the successful implementation of the government programmes, as well as in promoting buy-in from the public.
This does not, however, mean that we are 100% satisfied with the current and past performance of the GCIS. We do so in the understanding that the GCIS will accept that there is always room for improvement in the execution of their mandate. For example, I pointed out during briefings to the portfolio committee last week that, while the communication and information aspects of the GCIS at national level were very effective and satisfactory, the communication abilities of provinces and municipalities leave much to be desired. We want to, once again, implore the leadership of the GCIS to attend to this as a matter of urgency.
The issue I would like to raise in this debate is that of the information documentation that comes out of the GCIS such as Vuk'uzenzele: Firstly, we believe that there is room to improve the user-friendly nature of the contents, so that even those of our people who are not literate enough could derive maximum benefit from the publications of the GCIS.
Secondly, the distribution system and the network of the publications and information leaflets of the GCIS may work very well in urban areas, but in rural areas such as the district of Nkandla, a district both our President and I come from, are very problematic and require attention and improvement.
It is also of the utmost importance that the leadership of the GCIS reviews government's advertising, especially by provincial governments such as that of KwaZulu-Natal. They must also communicate with the public through advertisements in the media, but we must be vigilant that the quality and nature of the content of such advertisements are not being abused to promote and enhance the personal profiles and standing of individual MECs within the political power stakes of their own political party at the expense of public funds.
I am sure that if the political leadership of the GCIS and the Presidency are sensitive to the necessity of separation between party and state, our fledgling democracy will be deepened and grow in the right direction. I thank you. [Applause.]