The people who do not have policies ... [Interjections.]
Just leave them, Chairperson. I will handle them because they don't know what they are talking about. [Interjections.]
The people who do not have policies speak so much but they don't want to improve on what the ANC has put on the table. The DA has not employed one person who is physically challenged, yet they are able to point fingers at the ANC-led government and say this and that about what the ANC has done, it has appointed this one or that one - I mean, come on! We need to respect others more than anything else. You need to respect your voters. They sent you here to effect changes. They are listening and they will be listening tomorrow that you are supporting no votes. What does that mean? It's irresponsible, you're not accountable and you don't care. You care about yourselves, but that is not the ANC! [Applause.]
Hon Chair, today we appreciate and acknowledge the never-say-die contributions of our forebears. If it were not for the meeting of the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 January 1955, the lives of our people would have remained unchanged. That is very true. Let me quote from the Freedom Charter, our bible. It declares:
All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed, and to bring up their families in comfort and security.
It is for this reason that the ANC-led government promotes home ownership among public servants. The ANC appreciates the proposal on a funding model and an institutional framework for the Government Employees Housing Scheme, GEHS. The ANC applauds the implementation approach, which states that the scheme will be phased in.
The hon members on my left do not say this. They see the scheme and say, "Why are you not implementing it? You must implement it now!" That's the problem. The voters who voted for them must realise today that they have actually misplaced their votes by voting for people who do not care about them, and who do not even care about what is happening in the country.
These are difficult times in the current financial environment. No-one can expect the department to create miracles with regard to the remuneration for the Public Service. I'm trying to give a lecture to the EFF. The ANC, coming from that understanding of fiscal constraints, requests the department to fast-track the development of the remuneration policy for the Public Service, benchmarking on salaries and conditions of service, so as to be able to analyse government spending on personnel.
As the ANC, we develop policies but we also look at our own policies in order to identify loopholes and weaknesses. We don't point fingers. That is what we are going to do because we are here to lead and we are here to govern.
The Department of Public Service and Administration leads the process of the modernisation of the Public Service by assisting government departments to implement their management policies, systems and structural solutions according to acceptable norms and standards.
It is for this reason, hon Minister, that the proposed public sector innovation division is to be anchored and more capacitated. We have realised with the allocation of the budget that you know better, hon Minister, but we will appreciate it - because you will be exercising an oversight over it - if it is more capacitated. There are problems and you have said so yourself, so we really appreciate it.
The ANC envisages efficient and effective systems, and solutions to all service delivery problems. If those systems are put in place through well- capacitated personnel, the ANC will be able to say that, indeed, all South Africans are receiving the services that are due to them.
South Africa is different to what it was before 1994. It is a fact. Whether you deny it or not, it's a fact. The ANC will never fail South Africa's citizenry ... [Interjections.] Thank you.
The ANC will never fail South Africa's citizenry of all colours, creeds and religions. Let us change the negative perceptions of the Public Service because we cannot fail to do that. The 2008-09 global financial recession should be a learning curve for all of us. How the world perceives South Africa is a key element, rather than how you judge individual public servants.
As I close, today the ANC says to all South African people who have jobs that it's a privilege to have a job. Respect it because it is your father and your mother. Do it thoroughly, irrespective of your job description or salary notch, and be honest in front of your supervisor or when he is not there. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]