Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of Finance, hon members in this House, all protocol observed, as Limpopo, we are thankful that this Bill was sent to our province by the NCOP. We find that to be in line with the Constitution, particularly section 76, as it applies to this specific Bill.
We not only submitted this Bill to the legislature and the Portfolio Committee on Treasury but took it to the people through public hearings. We see this Bill as a transmission belt between the needs of the people and delivery by government. We are proud of the ANC for ensuring that this process in the Constitution is adhered to. That is why people in Limpopo have confidence in the leadership of the ANC. [Applause.]
We find this Bill to be redistributive. When we say "redistributive" we mean to redistribute funds to those who, in the old days of apartheid, were deprived and not given the chance to express themselves. They were made passive recipients, but now they are active participants. If you look at the infrastructure, school infrastructure and urban settlement development grants, you will see that all those grants are redistributive. This is a very productive policy, which should be encouraged. Surely we should give ourselves, as government, a round of applause for embarking on a challenging process. [Applause.] The ANC will go into the corridors of history, recognised by the people for its redressive policy. We are redressing the imbalances of the past.
This Bill plays a supervisory role because it allows us and government to supervise municipalities, provinces, national Ministries, as well as premiers, including the one of the Western Cape. What better supervisor could there be?
We took the decision as a province that we were going to fight the colonial design in our province because by colonial design, South Africa - its economy in particular - was built in such a way that its neighbouring states brought labour to work as migrants.
Obviously we know that this House and Treasury will take note of the implication of our province bordering on a number of countries. We have a challenge, for example, in Musina, because when our brothers and sisters come across the border to seek education and health, we cannot chase them away because it is against the policies of the ANC to do so. The ANC encourages us to live with our neighbours and to look after their health as good hosts. We are going to remove the colonial design that was created - roots, stem and branch - through this Bill, so that we have an integrated economy here in the Southern African Development Community, SADC.
We are proud of the fact that the issue of disaster management has been addressed because in the past, in our province in particular, we suffered disasters. Hon members must understand that when disaster strikes, it does not come with drum majorettes so that we can see the drum majorettes there. It just happens like a tsunami. The funds that have been reserved will help us to deal with such unforeseen circumstances.
As a province, we are encouraging our people, consciously so, to work with Statistics SA in the upcoming census. With correct and unbiased statistics, Treasury will be able to manage its fiscals, particularly when it comes to the equitable share, having a clear understanding of population, as well as verifiable statistics. This will be the responsibility of each and every citizen. We are also encouraging our municipalities and hospitals to keep records of the services that they provide, as well as of the death and birth rates, so that we don't have inflated birth rates or deflated death rates.
What we want specifically is to ensure that there is good governance and delivery. As the province of Limpopo we are proud that, slowly but surely, Treasury is replacing organised confusion with systematic order. The organised confusion is from the past. They are introducing systematic financial order.
I can see that there are some political parties such as the DA that want the ANC to adopt a spaza-shop approach to finance. We will never do that. [Interjections.] I want to emphasise that if there is a programme on corruption, it is the ANC that is leading this campaign, through its hotlines and its structures on the ground. [Applause.] We can now see that many municipalities no longer have disclaimers.
I want to say that if you have a bus in the village and it's just lying there, it is possible for bees to come and make a hive in there. It is possible for chickens to come into the bus and lay eggs. It is also possible for dogs to sleep underneath the bus. But because the ANC bus is on the move, through this Bill, other parties are barking at the ANC. [Applause.]
We, as Limpopo, are saying that, with insight, hindsight and foresight, this Bill is the most important developmental tool. It promotes a productive economy, and on that basis our people are behind us and they gave us the mandate to support this Bill as a province. Thank you.