by
M Hlengwa MP
National Assembly
Honourable Chairperson, Honourable Minister and The Deputy Ministers
I want to say at the outset that the IFP supports the budget vote, lest I do not find time now to actually deal with the issues that have been raised. It will be dereliction of duty on my part if I do not correct what has been said by honourable Bhanga, to come and attack the King in the fashion that you have, based on nothing else other than hearsay. You know, I think we have got a responsibility in this House to present facts to South Africans and you must condemn xenophobia in the strongest possible terms and not to exacerbate it in the manner that you have.
The Minister of police and the premier of KwaZulu Natal were present when the King spoke at Pongolo. And both of them have said that the King at no point did he issue an instruction for people to be attacked in the manner that they have. Secondly, traditional leaders fully understand their role and function within the parameters of the Constitution in terms of chapter 7 and 12. So to come here in the fashion that you have and attack, based on nothing else but you want to glorify Queen Elizabeth in England and all the other Monarchies is totally unacceptable.
So because the King is not here to defend himself and as his subject I think I should say: he condemns xenophobia just like all of us in this House condemn xenophobia. Traditional leaders condemn xenophobia like we should.
None of these attacks took place in jurisdictions where traditional leaders reside – none of them. They took place in the cities. Why should they be blamed for it? Just because they are not here to defend themselves then you ride on the crest that you are here to do so. That is very, very wrong and then you come to elections and you want to masquerade them like King Dalindyebo and say that they have joined you. They are only good for elections, but when it comes to dealing with their issues you are totally adverse to that.
Honourable Minister I want to say that your back-to-basics programme is an island of hope in a sea of chaos and it is important that we implement it, because the audit findings of the Auditor General have consistently pointed out that those audited had findings on compliance and regulations, many of which related to supply chain management, irregular and wasteful expenditure mainly due to a lack of basic controls, a lack of consequences for poor performance and transgressions. So as municipalities continue to find themselves, one way or the other to collapsing, it is important that you put in place measures that are going to actually in fact ensure that they don’t do that, because if local government fails then it’s the people that suffer. If the local government works South Africa works, because all development as far as we are concerned is local.
And I am not a Zulu nationalist. I take strong exception to that honourable Mileham, strong exception to that. We are sick and tired of being attacked by you on the basis of race and ethnicity and when we throw that back at you, you cry foul play. Why should we allow to be bullied by DA on everything that we tell? Why must we do that? Why must we do that? So don’t at any point attack me as a Zulu national. I am first and foremost a South African and a South African who happens to be a Zulu, but respect all ethnicities. If you want to transcend South Africa to an ethnic politics that is your own baby to feed but don’t drag all of us into that.
I want to say honourable Minister that the issue that you have raised, I wanted to touch on it is that, it’s totally unacceptable that government departments particularly health, public works and basic education are owing so much money in terms of rates and tax to municipalities. Because I think that on its own sets up local government for failure, when their counterparts in government, which are government departments, are not paying.
So it is incumbent on all of us to ensure that people do exactly what they are supposed to do with the point of departure that we are be back to basics. We can’t be pessimistic about it because we have a duty and responsibility to ensure that local government is a sphere of this government, actually works and performs and succeeds for the sake of many South Africans who on a daily basis are suffering and faced with living in poverty as the reality. And they need those basic services and service delivery to be part and parcel of their lives.
I thank you!
