Speaker, hon Minister, the ACDP broadly supports the main thrust of the budget, which is about galvanising society behind a national effort to place the country on an investment-led growth path. This, as we know, resulted in a major shift from consumption spending to spending on the productive side of the economy. We are, however, living in dangerous economic times, as Minister Gordhan said in his Budget Speeh, with serious sovereign debt fears in Eurozone countries, which will have an impact on South Africa. Such uncertain times require boldness, courage and vision. Leaders are dealers in hope. We must bring hope to the unemployed, the poor and every South African.
It is also crucial, of course, to address wasteful and irregular expenditure and corruption, considering that government expenditure will, for the first time, reach the R1 trillion mark. An amount of R25 billion rand to R30 billion is estimated to be lost annually to procurement fraud and corruption.
The ACDP shares the concerns expressed by the appropriations committee in its report, particularly regarding the nonattainment of performance targets and capital underspending.
Lastly, however, it remains the responsibility of each of us to ensure that government departments spend their money efficiently and meet those performance targets. Let us, as parliamentarians, be vigilant on an ongoing basis to prevent fraud, corruption and irregular and wasteful expenditure. We can do this by monitoring quarterly expenditure patterns in every department. I thank you.