Absent MPs delay passing of revenue bill

Cape Town – The National Assembly could not pass the division of revenue bill on Tuesday, as the required 50% plus one member were not present in the chamber during the voting process.

Members of the DA and EFF left the National Assembly chamber during voting and there was therefore no quorum to have the bill ratified.

Speaker Baleka Mbete said the bill will serve before the National Assembly at another time.

Earlier on Tuesday, MPs extensively debated the amendment bill, which serves to make provision for changes in the allocations to provinces and local governments in the current financial year.

The DA’s Malcolm Figg said in his speech that debt service costs for 2016/17 was estimated at R147.7bn, which is the fastest growing expenditure item in the budget.

The decrease in revenue as a result of lower tax collections and increased national spending on debt, Figg said, compromises government’s ability to deliver basic services, address poverty and create conditions for economic growth and job creation.

Figg concluded, saying the DA has offered the ANC a solution through a proposal to get rid of President Jacob Zuma in Parliament with its no confidence motion on Thursday.

“But in the end, while you sit here comfortably and assist your corrupt President to enrich himself, his family, his many wives and friends, the people are suffering.”

The EFF’s Floyd Shivambu said in his speech Parliament should have an urgent discussion about the principles and processes surrounding the division of revenue.

He said the local government authorities receive less than 10% in terms of direct allocations from the national revenue fund.

“That explains municipalities’ permanent incapacity to deal with developmental issues. Our municipalities don’t have water. But the manner in which they are financed causes them to be unable to deal with creating jobs and driving economic development.”

According to Shivambu, the biggest portion of South Africa’s resources is allocated to the national sphere of government.

“It goes towards a nuclear programme that will cost us more than R1trn and our government has already decided to give it to the Russian mafia and the criminal Gupta family, instead of giving it to local government.”

He suggested that municipalities receive at least one third of the national budget.

Mkhuleko Hlengwa from the IFP said municipalities are unable to generate sufficient revenue because of “jobs for pals”, and failure to follow the regulations of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). “And then there are no consequences. Municipalities should not be used for fiscal dumping.”

The ACDP’s Steve Swart in his speech bemoaned the fact that R177.1m will be allocated towards fixing school infrastructure that was destroyed during violent protests in Vuwani in Limpopo earlier this year when residents torched 24 schools in the area, because of a decision to include the area into the newly established Malamulele Municipality in the Vhembe district.

Swart said job creation and poverty alleviation would now have to take a backseat because school infrastructure needs to be fixed.

Celiwe Madlopha of the ANC said the governing party will continue to monitor municipalities’s use of grants allocated to them. “We firmly believe all municipalities should focus on value for money and prudent spending, through transparent procurement practices, effective revenue collection and paying service providers within the required 30-day period.”