10 June 2004
Sekela somlomo, Mphathiswa, malungu abekekileyo ale ndlu yembeko ndiziva ndinolonwabo nochulumanco ukuxoxa kule ngxoxo mpikiswano yolwabiwo mali yelisebe kuba ndinegunya endilizwe ngalo ngumbutho wesizwe iANC ukuba ndiwuxhase, kwakhona sekela somlomo intliziyo yam iyadloba ngaphakathi kuba eli sebe kule minyaka ilishumi iye yafakela umongo ekukhuliseni ulawulo lwesininzi ngophuhliso ethe yalenza. Le nqubo yolawulo lwabantu ayibonakalanga iyimpula kalujaca.
Deputy Speaker,
President Mbeki in his State of the Nation address has given orders on the critical issues agitating our people namely employment creation and eradication of poverty. The critical task facing this august house is to ensure that government delivers its part of the contract.
For us to discharge our constitutional responsibility it is obligatory to understand the challenges that confront us. In support of Minister Sigcau's budget speech I wish to focus on the following issues.
The EPWP is a qualitatively new programme in terms of its scope and overarching principles. The programme is coordinated nationally by the Ministry of Public Works whilst implementation is through the Provincial and Local spheres of government.
The breadth and depth of coordination envisaged by the programme oblige all parties to live up to the challenges of cooperative governance envisaged in section 41(1) of Act 108 1996. The implementation of the EPWP requires seamless mechanisms that deploy resources optimally.
The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) gives effect to earlier cabinet decisions and policy positions on the establishment of a single consolidated funding mechanism to support municipal infrastructure. In this connection the Community Based Public Works Programme, in support of the creation of community assets in rural, historically disadvantaged communities has merged with the MIG. It is conditional grant. (ie) There are certain requirements the Municipalities have to meet in order to access the grant.
To address the challenges of socio-economic development, government has allocated R45 billion over the next five years for municipal and provincial infrastructure grants of which one third (R15billion) will go towards the EPWP to assist with creating 1 million job opportunities.
The programme focuses on the use of government expenditure in labour-intensive projects to create additional employment opportunities. Participants will be trained to create quality infrastructure. The EPWP is a national crosscutting programme that will be funded through line function budgets, and not only through the National Department of Public Works budget.
In the infrastructure sector the conditions placed on the municipal infrastructure grant (MIG) and provincial infrastructure grant (PIG) have been finalised and published through the Division of Revenue Act 2004 (DORA). As indicated above province and municipalities are required to implement a portion of their infrastructure projects using labour intensive construction methods.
Le nqubo yophuhliso yakwa Public Works ayikhiwanga entloko yasuka yaziswa ngaphambi kwalendlu. Ndiqinisekile mna sekela somlomo ukuba izakuphumelela kuba yakhelwe kwinqubo zangaphambili. Apho eli sebe belisebenzisana namanye amasebe kwinqubo zophuhliso amanye amasebe ngala alandelayo:-
Libuye nenduma ukophisa kwezinqubo ezinye zingasetyenziswanga kwaphela, zingomalahlwa nofele zonke ezonduma zingaphambili azikho ngasemva.
Oomalahlwa nofele ke babangelwe ngoongqondondala, amakratshi kumasebe amaphondo kwelinye icala athi akakrwecwanga xa inqubo iqala. Kodwa nabo kungoku nje bafundile ukuba igugu lingaba likhulu umbombo uyaqhosha. Ngoko ke akukhonto bayizuzileyo ngokuma ngaphesheya kuphela, uphuhliso babonile ukuba luyabashiya
Ayikho into yokuba sibenokugcakamela ilanga apha kule nqubo, bathi abagxeki bale Rulumente bona bakubona xa kuhamba iminyaka ukuba mabathini.
Of course Deputy speaker
There are critical challenges regarding the capacity of municipalities to implement EPWP. Yes it would be inappropriate to assign to municipalities the function of implementation without simultaneously developing its capacity. Taking into account the unevenness in the capacities of municipalities everything must be done to build capacity at the municipal level. In this connection it is essential to deploy a dedicated team of professional to operate across spheres of government, and unlock bottlenecks in the delivery chain.
The implementation of EPWP cannot be reduced to a technocratic exercise. As the Reconstruction and Development Programme(RDP) reminds us (1994/5) "Our people, with their aspirations and collective determination, are our most important resource. The RDP is focused on our people's most immediate needs, and it relies, in turn, on their energies to drive the process of meeting these needs. Regardless of race or sex, or whether they are rural or urban, rich or poor, the people of South Africa must together shape their own future. Development is not about the delivery of goods to passive citizenry. It is about active involvement and growing empowerment."
Necessarily the success of the EPWP depends on effective political mobilisation. Maximum coordination of the following stakeholders is critical.
Minmec, Sekela somlomo kufuneka sikuhlengahlengise ukusebenza kwayo khonukuze oosihlalo beekomiti zePalamente bathathe inxaxheba ngokupheleleyo bangabi ngoogcakamel' ilanga kwezintlanganiso. Kuphindwe kujongwe indlela anokuthi USALGA naye angathatha inxaxheba ngayo ngokupheleleyo nabo banganikwa isihlalo sokugcakamela ilanga, khonukuze izigqibo zikhawuleze ukuyokufika apho uphuhliso lwenzeka khona, nathi ingxelo siyifumane kwangoko. Sobe ngokwenjenjalo sizama ukuphathisana ngale nqubo yophuhliso ikhokhelwe leli sebe. Abahlali nabo kufuneka bexwayisiwe khonukuze babeyinxalenye yale nqubo. Bathathe inxaxheba ekuqeshweni kwabantu kwezinqubo ngokubanzi kkonukuze abona bantu babethwe yindlala kanobom, bakwazi ukuba nento yokusa phantsi kwempumlo. Khonukuze ku ngafakwa oompompi baphinde bangakhuphi manzi neendlela zingathi zigqitywa kwenziwa ziphinde zimke namanzi .
Therefore Deputy Speaker working together we can and must turn the tide against unemployment and poverty in our second decade of freedom.