TUESDAY, 13 JUNE 2000
                                ____

                PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
                                ____

The House met at 09:04.

The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.

                             NEW MEMBER

                           (Announcement)

The Speaker announced that the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr P J de Vos on 12 June 2000 had been filled by Mr R Jankielsohn with effect from 13 June 2000.

                                OATH

Mr R Jankielsohn, accompanied by Mr M J Ellis and Mr T D Lee, made and subscribed the oath and took his seat.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 1 - Presidency:

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Madam Speaker, Deputy President and hon members, congratulations to the new member of Parliament.

As the House knows, the Vote we are discussing today encompasses three budgets, ie those of the President, the Deputy President and the Minister in the Presidency. The three of us will, therefore, address the House on various aspects of the work of the Presidency. Accordingly, I will address the House on issues of governance, the Deputy President will speak on matters of delivery, while the hon Essop Pahad will deal with questions affecting women, the youth, children and the disabled, and their relation to the struggle against poverty.

When our first democratically elected Government assumed office six years ago, it inherited a dismal but challenging situation which demanded that the Government and our society as a whole should engage in a sustained process of the fundamental transformation of our country. Some of the features of this situation were deeply entrenched poverty affecting millions of our people, especially the black majority; a racially divided society in which the distribution of wealth, income and opportunity favoured the white minority; a society marked by intolerably high levels of violence, corruption and a crisis of social morality; a public administration that had been trained and utilised for population control and oppression, rather than the development of society in the interest of all its citizens; a national budget directed, first and foremost, at serving the needs of the minority; a declining economy that had developed behind high tariff walls, among other things, making it internationally uncompetitive; and a country and society that had, more generally and for decades, positioned itself as international outcasts and, therefore, suffered from a weak system of international relations.

Significant progress has been made in addressing all these challenges and many others that we have not mentioned. Nevertheless, it remains true that much work still remains to be done before we can say that our country has made a decisive break with its colonial and apartheid past. We still have some way to go before we can say that our society functions in a way that is truly and structurally focused on the provision of a better life for all.

A critical and central instrument to help us reach that decisive point is the state and the system of governance. I have argued before in this House that this issue is also directly relevant to the question of the distribution of power in our society. The comprehensive, all-round disempowerment of the black majority was a strategic objective and a distinguishing feature of the system of colonialism and apartheid in our country. It, therefore, follows that by establishing a democratic, nonracial and nonsexist state, we seek, among other things, to end this situation of disempowerment.

We seek to do this, in particular, by ensuring that all our people have the possibility to determine our system of governance, to interact with this system and that it works in a manner that serves the interest of these masses. The democratic state must, therefore, function as a social institution that empowers millions in our country who have been disempowered. I raise these questions because there are some inside and outside this House who proceed from the proposition advanced, amongst others, by the British philosopher John Locke, generally considered the first systematic theorist of the philosophy of liberalism. In his State of Nature, Locke argues that all men are naturally in a state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit within the bounds of the law of nature, without asking leave or depending upon the will of any other man.

It is on the basis of such theses that some argue that the greatest freedom the individual can achieve, the state of perfect freedom which Locke wrote about, is achieved in a situation in which there is less government, leading some in our country to agitate for the radical weakening of the state. We have responded to this by pointing out that, in reality, this amounted to a call to protect the power of the powerful and to perpetuate the disempowerment of the powerless. It is, therefore, not a line of march which we will pursue.

In its 1997 World Development Report, devoted entirely to the state in a changing world, the World Bank says:

Around the globe, the state is in the spotlight. Far-reaching developments in the global economy have us revisiting basic questions about government, what its role should be, what it can and cannot do, and how best to do it.

Having pointed to some of the reforms that have taken place, it remarks as follows:

Many have felt that the logical end point of all of these reforms was a minimalist state. Such a state would do no harm, but neither would it do much good.

In its 1999-2000 World Development Report entitled ``Entering the 21st century’’, the World Bank makes the following important observations:

Policy makers in the 21st century will find themselves pursuing development goals in a landscape that has been transformed economically, politically and socially. Two main forces will be shaping the world in which development policy will be defined and implemented - globalisation, that is the continuing integration of the countries of the world, and localisation, the desire for self-determination and devolution of power.

The report continues that, at the end of the 20th century, globalisation has already demonstrated that economic decisions, wherever they are made in the world, must take international factors into account. While the movement of goods, of services, of ideas, of capital across national borders is not new, its acceleration in the past decade marks a qualitative break with the past. The world is no longer a collection of relatively autonomous neighbourhoods that are only marginally connected by trade, for example, and are generally immune to events in other neighbourhoods.

Information and ideas can be accessed in all corners of the globe at the push of a button. So closely interwoven are financial markets that exchange rates, interest rates and stock prices are intimately linked and the amount of private capital circulating in financial markets dwarfs the resources of many countries.

It is within the context of all these considerations, against notions of a minimalist state and responding to the twin pressures of globalisation and localisation that we have been working to transform the state and our system of governance. In its preamble, our Constitution states one of the objectives we must pursue in the following words, to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person'', and states another asto build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations’’.

Where it discusses the national executive, as members of the House know, the Constitution says:

(1) The executive authority of the Republic is vested in the President.

(2) The President exercises the executive authority, together with the other members of the Cabinet, by -

   (a)  ...

   (b)  developing and implementing national policy;

   (c)  co-ordinating the functions of state departments and
          administrations ...

A central matter of concern to our Government, therefore, has been to develop national policies and to implement these policies in a co-ordinated manner, through effective state departments and administrations. Among others, our objectives are to improve the quality of life of all our people and to ensure that we do, indeed, take our rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

The fact, however, is that we inherited a state system substantially ill- suited to meet these objectives. The first of the problems we have to mention is that the national executive itself operated according to structures and procedures we inherited from the previous political and constitutional dispensation.

In time, we came to understand that inherent in this manner of proceeding, were two major problems. The first of these was that it limited the possibility for the Government, jointly, to discuss issues relating to strategy and fundamental policy, unless these matters happened to be presented by individual Ministers. The second was that there were no standing structures designed to ensure the co-ordinated, interdepartmental implementation of programmes that would give effect to agreed policy positions.

To respond to these problems of joint policy formation and co-ordinated implementation of programmes, the Cabinet decided to transform and expand the system of Cabinet committees. This has resulted in the increase of Cabinet committees from three to six, with a more effective and rational clustering of the Ministries, to ensure that we function as a unified Government rather than a collection of semi-autonomous Ministries.

As the House is aware, we have also established the President’s co- ordinating council, constituted of the provincial Premiers, the Ministry for Provincial and Local Government and the Presidency. This body also meets regularly to address all issues pertaining to achieving better co- operative governance between the national, provincial and the local spheres of Government.

Further, to increase the effectiveness of the national Cabinet, we have also restructured and expanded the focus of the Cabinet secretariat. The central objective of these changes is to ensure that the Cabinet system is supported by an executive organ capable of ensuring the implementation of all decisions taken within the system.

This restructuring has also extended to the departments, involving, in the first instance, the directors-general. Consequently, Fosad, the Forum of South African Directors-General, has been established and meets regularly, among other things, to ensure the proper co-ordination of all elements of the work of Government at both national and provincial levels. The directors-general are also grouped into clusters similar to those that group the Ministers and Deputy Ministers together.

The co-ordination and implementation unit, formerly in the Deputy President’s Office, has been transformed into a policy co-ordination and advisory services unit in the Presidency. Its responsibility is to work with the restructured and expanded Cabinet secretariat to provide the necessary support to the Presidency and the Cabinet with regard to such issues as the co-ordination of the processes of policy formation, programme design and implementation.

Together, the policy unit and the Cabinet secretariat constitute the main elements of what in some countries, such as the UK, would be described as a cabinet office. In its report, the Presidential Review Commission says that the creation of a professional service ethos in the Public Service, is ``one of the nine enabling objectives for a democratic and efficient public administration set out in the Constitution’’. As such, it is of considerable strategic importance for the enhancement of the Government’s capability and should be fully understood.

It was in response to this that the Government introduced legislation, which was approved by Parliament, giving powers to the President to appoint directors-general, which powers he or she could delegate to the Ministers. This was done precisely to ensure such professionalisation by making tenancy of their posts by the directors-general’s independent of particular Ministers under whom they were appointed and served.

The existence of such a professional service ethos among the senior echelon of the public administration is clearly a critical element in achieving the effective governance we are working to realise, and for which we have been restructuring Government in the ways I have described. Later, we will return to the matter of skills development within the Public Service as a whole.

The 1997 World Bank Report that we have already cited, devoted to the subject ``The State in a Changing World’’, had this to say:

Although the precise institutional arrangements vary, effective public sectors the world over have generally been characterised by strong central capacity for macro-economic and strategic policy formation; by mechanisms to delegate, discipline, and debate policies among government agencies; and by institutionalised links to stakeholders outside the government, providing transparency and accountability and encouraging feedback … Systems in many industrial countries and in much of East Asia exhibit many of these characteristics. Their absence in many developing economies is a major obstacle to building a more effective state.

More specifically, with regard to our situation, the Presidential Review Commission commented as follows in 1998:

The wholeness of government is weakened, indeed threatened in South Africa by both structural and functional defects. Structurally, the national machinery is too fragmented … Functionally, there exists what many have described to us as a vacuum at the centre of government. Somewhere between the offices of the President and Deputy President, and between these and the departments lies a space which is conventionally filled in virtually all systems of government by a central secretariat or cabinet office. The function of such an office is to ensure that issues and policies requiring consideration by the President, Deputy President and Cabinet are identified, that the ground work for their presentation is thoroughly prepared with all the relevant departments involved, that there is comprehensive and comprehensible briefing, that policies and outcomes are properly and promptly secured and recorded, that implementation follows, and that progress is effectively monitored.

The steps that I have described respond to these critical remarks by the World Bank and the PRC to address the issue of what the former describes as strong central capacity for macro-economic and strategic policy formation'', whose absence the Presidential Review Commission decries as a vacuum at the centre of government’’.

I trust that those who believe they have discovered what they describe as an imperial presidency will take some time to study both what we are doing and the very active international discussion about precisely the same matters that we are addressing. From the very beginning of the construction of our democratic society, we have insisted that we sought a people-centred society that is characterised by a people-driven process of change. Our approach to the issue of governance must therefore respond to these strictures, bearing in mind all the observations made by the World Bank about the universal tendency towards what it defines as localisation, which it says ``reflects the growing desire of people for a greater say in their government …’’

As part of the process of the reform of our system of governance, we have therefore also paid some attention to the functioning of the provincial sphere of government. In discussions in the President’s Co-ordinating Council, we have agreed that we must work together to strengthen the structures of provincial government to enable it better to meet its obligations to the people. Among other things, this will focus on the ability of provincial government to influence the formulation of national policy as well as its ability to support local government.

When he spoke on the occasion of the discussion of his Vote, hon Minister Mufamadi reported to the House that the audit on intergovernmental relations has now been submitted to the national Government. This will help us further to improve the system of co-operative governance affecting all the relevant institutions and procedures.

Undoubtedly, the most extensive process of transformation of our system of governance relates to the critical sphere of local government which is the closest to the people. Again, as the House knows, a central objective of the changes being brought about relates to the strengthening of this sphere of government so that it is better able to respond to the needs of the local communities it serves. This should also provide us with even better possibilities of looking further into the question of the involvement of the people in the process of government, especially in the light of the greater capacity that local government should have to make a significant impact on the issue of the improvement of the quality of life of all our people. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to urge all the political parties represented here, as well as organisations of civil society, to consider the question how best they can help to mobilise the masses of the people themselves to get involved in the struggle to create the kind of society we all desire.

Local government transformation has, of course, brought to the fore the question of the finalisation of the issue of the role, the powers and functions of the institutions of traditional leadership. I am certain that discussions on this matter are going on throughout the country, on the basis of the discussion document that was issued earlier by our Ministry for Provincial and Local Government. As we agreed with the traditional leaders, I hope it will be possible that we meet with them as early as possible, in July this year, to hear their views so that we can move quickly to resolve all outstanding questions relating to the role and place of the system of traditional government.

In the context of the larger question of bringing more people into the process of governance, I must also mention three other important initiatives with which this House is familiar. The first of these is that the four working groups that are bringing the national Government together with organised labour, big business, black business and agriculture have all met and have started working. The Government deeply appreciates the possibility we have to interact with these important sectors of our society, together, to discuss various matters affecting our common future.

Secondly, we are very pleased that the team charged with the task of helping to prepare the legislative framework to enable us to create the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Cultural, Linguistic and Religious Rights has submitted its report. I sincerely hope that we will now be able to move with greater speed to create the possibility for us to deal properly with all matters relating to these important rights. I am convinced that if we handle this matter properly, as we must, it will not only be of great benefit to us as a country, but will also make an important contribution to the global effort to address the issues of the exercise of these rights in other countries.

Again, as the House knows, the National Development Agency has been established and some funding provided. As hon Minister Alec Erwin has explained, when a respectable resource base has been established out of the contributions from the national lottery, more funds will be made available to finance good causes. Accordingly, we hope that this will increase the involvement of the nongovernmental sector in meeting the common challenges we face as a country.

I have already mentioned the effort we are making to encourage the development among the senior echelons of the public administration of what the Presidential Review Commission referred to as a professional service ethos. In this context, I must add that Fosad itself has decided that all directors-general will undergo a continuous process of education and training to further improve their professional capacity. The Cabinet fully supports this decision which will be implemented in co-operation with the SA Management Development Institute.

The system of governance we are working to create is radically different from the one we inherited. It is focused away from repression, control and management of people. It is targeted at helping us to meet the provision laid down in our Constitution of improving the quality of life of all citizens and freeing the potential of each person. Accordingly, ours must be a truly developmental state. One of the most important challenges it throws up is the need for us to sharply improve the professional competence of members of the Public Service and otherwise to increase this capacity within the Public Service.

I refer here specifically to the technical, scientific and technological, accounting, economic, managerial and other professions and not those that relate mainly to the administrative, bureaucratic sphere. Raising the skills level in such areas is consequently one of the targets we are pursuing as an integral part of the process of the reform of our system of governance. According to the latest available figures, going up to the end of 1999, there were only 829 engineers and related personnel in the Public Service. Information technology personnel totalled 1 416. The figure for those with skills in the natural sciences and the economic professions stood at 4 575. Special scientists were 129 in total. People working in economic services constituted 6% of the Public Service and those working in the infrastructure amounted to 7% of the service.

Clearly, this situation has to change fundamentally in favour of the kind of skills profile that would indicate that the Public Service is indeed geared towards meeting the all-round development needs of all our people. This is particularly important in the light of the decision the Government has taken, and which is being implemented, to bring information technology aggressively into the process of governance. For this purpose, the State Information Technology Agency, Sita, has already been established. One of its lead divisions has correctly been named by Sita, e-government. Its task is to ensure that the Government takes advantage of modern communication and information technology, including the Internet, among other things, to improve service delivery and to improve two-way communication between the Government and the people.

By itself, the process of introducing e-government will have a profound effect on the composition of the Public Service, reducing the need for large numbers of administrators and their supervisors. It will, of course, also increase the need for people trained to access and use modern technology for the purpose of improving the process of governance and therefore its impact on the improvement of the lives of the people. These developments and the need generally to raise the skills level within the Public Service further increases the pressure, particularly on the Government and the public sector unions, to conclude all matters that bear on the rightsizing of the Public Service.

The last major issue we would like to mention, which affects our work to reform the state and the system of governance, relates to the issue of globalisation mentioned by the World Bank as one the defining features of modern society. I am certain that the hon members would have made a special effort to inform themselves about the true import of this process of globalisation, its impact on our country and people and its wiping out of the boundaries of isolation which guaranteed the existence of relatively autonomous neighbourhoods.

In the report entitled ``Entering the 21st Century’’, to which we have referred, the President of the World Bank, Mr James Wolfenson, writes:

Globalisation is praised for bringing new opportunities for expanded markets and the spread of technology and management expertise, which in turn hold out the promise of greater productivity and a higher standard of living. Conversely, globalisation is feared and condemned because of the instability and undesirable changes it can bring: to workers who fear losing their jobs to competition from imports; to banks and financial systems and even entire economies that can be overwhelmed and driven into recession by flows of foreign capital; and, not least, to the global commons, which are threatened in many ways with irreversible change.

The additional point we want to raise is that this process of globalisation, with its threats and opportunities, has a profound impact on the sovereignty of states. It is perfectly clear that the smaller the country, such as ours, the greater will be the loss of sovereignty as we get more and more integrated within the global community.

At the beginning of this address, we indicated some of the negative features that we inherited from the apartheid system. The fact of globalisation means that we cannot overcome these negatives except within the context of the global community of which we are an integral part. If the process of globalisation has a negative impact on us, which President Wolfenson describes, this means that whatever the effort we put in, we will never be able to solve these problems. The inescapable conclusion is that we must do everything we can ourselves to impact on the system of global governance that has developed simultaneously as globalisation gathered pace.

As the House is aware, in the past eight weeks, we had occasion to visit a number of countries for various purposes. These have included attending the South Summit in Cuba, the Africa-EU Summit in Egypt, making official visits to the UK and the United States, attending the Ecowas Summit in Nigeria, the Summit on Progressive Governance in Germany and the Nordic Summit in Denmark. Later this week, I will be travelling to Portugal to attend the EU summit and later the Mercosur summit in Argentina. In July, we will have to attend the OAU summit in Togo and the G8 summit in Japan. In September we will have to travel to New York to address the UN millennium summit.

Of course, there have been other recent meetings which relate to the issue of global governance. These include the WTO meeting in Seattle, the Unctad meeting in Bangkok, the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF in Washington, the UN criminal justice conference in Vienna, the Beijing+5 conference on gender equality in New York and the forthcoming Copenhagen+5 meeting in Geneva to review the results of the Social Summit.

As the House is aware, our Government was and will be a very active participant in all these gatherings, with our voice carrying some weight, however limited. At the centre of all the engagements I have mentioned is the critical question of our time, of how humanity should respond to the irreversible process of globalisation while addressing the fundamental challenges that face the bulk of humanity. These include poverty, underdevelopment, the growing North-South gap, racism and xenophobia, gender discrimination, ill-health, violent conflicts and the threat to the environment.

These problems cannot be solved except in the context of the global human society to which we belong. We must and will continue to actively engage the rest of the world to make whatever contributions we can to ensure that the process of globalisation impacts positively on those, like the millions of our people, who are poor and in dire need of a better life. This engagement must necessarily address, among other things, the restructuring of the UN, including the Security Council, a review of the functioning of such bodies as the IMF and the World Bank, the determination of the agenda and the manner of operation of the WTO and an assessment of the role of the G7.

Central to these processes must be the objective of reversing the marginalisation of Africa and the rest of the South and therefore compensation for the reduction of national sovereignty by increasing the capacity of the South to impact on the system of global governance. Some have said that in this international work we have been punching above our weight. It is, however, very encouraging to note that South Africa’s voice is indeed listened to with a certain degree of attention by many on our continent and in the rest of the world. [Applause.]

It had therefore seemed right, as we interacted with many world leaders in the past few weeks, that we should place before them the urgent need to confront the African challenge of ending poverty, conflict and underdevelopment on our continent. It was truly inspiring that all of these leaders, who are faced with the task to continue to respond to the expectations of their own peoples, nevertheless also felt that there was a common human obligation to join the peoples of Africa in a common drive to overcome our continent’s historic problems. As a consequence of this, we will soon start working jointly with other African countries and our partners in the developed world to elaborate a common agenda for a special programme for African renewal.

It is good that we have a state and system of governance, which we will improve in the directions I have indicated, that will enable us to participate in this process, confident that we cannot but continue to advance the project of the creation of a people-centred global community of nations. It is good, too, that even as we engage in this joint international effort, we will continue to confront our own challenges as we will do at the Conference on Racism in August, even as our youth, both black and white, advance the cause of reconciliation as they jointly celebrate National Youth Day three days from now.

We and all who suffer must have a system of governance which not only constructs and repairs roads and bridges but also helps to repair broken souls; which helps to rebuild the pride, the self- esteem and the dignity of those damaged by their poor circumstances. We and billions across the globe are indeed in need of the caring societies that will create a better life for all, a life that the millions will not merely hear about, but one they will themselves live and experience.

It is towards this end that we are engaged in a process of the fundamental restructuring of our state and system of governance, confident that, whatever the problems, we will succeed. I would like to invite all South Africans of good will to join in the challenging work to turn our common dream into a reality. [Applause.]

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, Mr President, colleagues, firstly, I would like to welcome President Mbeki back to South Africa and Parliament. His first year in power has been marked by some accomplishments, which we should acknowledge - and no doubt all the cheerleaders on his benches will - and many missed opportunities, but also an overwhelming number of paradoxes, which I would like to address.

I was intrigued when, at the start of his address, the hon the President suggested that his critics on the left, physically if not ideologically, owe their philosophy to John Locke. Well, all I can say in response is: Rather John Locke than V I Lenin. [Interjections.] But I find it very interesting that the hon the President, defending criticism of his Presidency for being imperial, suggested, in fact, that it was a rational, bureaucratic rearrangement ordered, in part, by a logical reading of the Presidential Review Commission. That, of course, in part, is true. What is equally true, in part, and what the hon the President failed to mention, is that the very same commission suggested that he cut down and radically reorder the Ministries in his Government, which he conspicuously failed to do last June.

I go to my first paradox, and it is that the hon President presides over a very powerful party, as we see, yet an extraordinarily weak Government. On the one hand we have now created - as the President elaborated at length this morning - a presidential edifice which concentrates more power in his office than at any time in this country’s history since P W Botha.

This is an office which has centralised executive power and policy formulation. He says it is in order to rationalise. Others could say it actually undermines the concept of Cabinet’s control, ranging from foreign policy to Aids policy, that the very structures he mentioned usurp the role of Nedlac, for example, while appointing working groups and directors- general which report back to him rather than to Parliament. Certainly, it raises constitutional questions which we should consider.

However, the justification for creating such a behemoth was that through this office would flow greater policy co-ordination, better delivery and faster change quicker to the people. That therefore should be judge and jury of whether that which we have heard this morning has succeeded or failed. So I ask three questions in this regard.

Firstly, this Government should be complimented - and I have done so with much greater generosity than this Government has ever complimented the opposition - for its sound fiscal management. But the paradox is that the very sound fiscal management is thwarted by a blundering foreign policy. We have stood up and applauded and urged this Government, time without mention, to drive through the radical economic restructuring of which we have heard something again this morning. We are still waiting for privatisation and the yet-to-be-sighted, significant labour law amendments which we were promised a year ago. What we have seen in the place of bold policy in respect of antipoverty initiatives is a year of missed opportunities to reverse unemployment and to uproot poverty, and the failure to spend the millions allocated to poverty relief programmes which has been blamed on a departmental weakness and lack of capacity at the very time that this Government has incapacitated the machinery of state, at the very moment when we expect most from the delivery of state. That is a crowning irony and a paradox which we should resolve.

However, I believe that the sustaining and ironic centrepiece of the paradox and the contradiction between party and state is the way in which the hon the President has chosen to collapse the wall which should separate party and state and yet to invoke this division at any time when he tries to ride two horses at the same time. Let me just give the House one example which I think goes to the heart of whether or not we are serious about raising the poor people out of poverty and about creating investment opportunities here; and I refer to the economy.

On the one hand, the Government of South Africa, which the hon the President obviously heads, proclaimed itself, I think, with great responsibility and with no lack of political courage, to be against the national strike called by its ally, Cosatu. Yet, in response to the same strike, in front of those who had caused it and demanded it - the strike which caused continued economic paralysis at home and confusion abroad - the secretary-general of the Government’s governing party, the ANC, Mr Motlanthe, told the May Day rally of Cosatu members that they must ``intensely hate capitalism and engage in the struggle against it’’.

This was obviously challenged, and, thank God, we are a free society in which these lunatic utterances can and must be challenged. Yet when challenged on this, the ANC’s spokesman in the President’s own office there

• where he apparently spends one day a week - Mr Ngonyama, said: ``Mr Motlanthe’s comments constitute a party position taken outside Government.’’ What on earth, in plain and simple language, does this mean? Please explain to the people of South Africa that we have a Government which says one thing and the party of Government which says another; and we are riding both horses at the same time in two different directions.

We move to the second paradox of this Government, to which the President drew close attention this morning, and that is that it represents poor people globally, but neglects them locally. The President has taken on, as he told us this morning, the mantle of representing poorer nations on the world stage. For that, he deserves our acclamation and congratulations, and we are not stinting in giving them to him. But, paradoxically, and that for which the Presidency deserves the widest condemnation, the poorest people here at home have seen and heard little of their President this year. [Interjections.]

Those without jobs, those in dire poverty, and those living with HIV/Aids, have been left wondering what the future holds for them under this Government. The President’s questions about the causes of HIV/Aids have failed to reach their ears. And let me say, if that is the case, then perhaps they are less confused and, in one real sense, better off than if they had heard the mixed messages emanating from him and his office on this crucial issue.

I think the Aids debate is an acute one. I quote the words uttered on 10 May this year by Charlene Smith, who herself survived a horrific rape ordeal. Let us listen to what she said about the Government’s and the President’s stance: If, instead of spending vast amounts of money on recreating the wheel, President Mbeki had taken up the GlaxoWellcome offer - the lowest in the world at R200 for 28 days supply of AZT - and made it available to rape survivors to prevent HIV, 10 000 rape survivors in South Africa would have got the drug. Eighty percent of them would not have sero-converted and become HIV-positive if raped by an HIV-positive person.

As the Americans would say, whom he met recently: Case closed.

This morning we heard in a very elegant and sophisticated way - because the President is an elegant and sophisticated thinker and person and unfortunately some of his colleagues are not - President Mbeki labelling his opponents. Now what we have is a sort of label sticking where we who oppose various policies of this Government are labelled anything from anti-transformation'' toracist’’, when we are definitely none of these things.

Yet there is a big label which I wish to attach to this Government. It is that this Government, to use the words of The Economist, is a ``market- Leninist Government’’. It believes and pays obeisance to the market and to the new world economic order, but yet it seeks, simultaneously, total political domination and control of every aspect of life and every nook and cranny of our society. [Interjections.] Please do not take my word for this. Listen to what one of their long-term allies said. Indeed he was a long-term political prisoner, Dr Anthony Holliday. He said recently, and I quote:

What the President needs to do is to position himself in an environment which subjects him to varied influences, different sorts of advice and constant fearless criticism.

Thus, I come to what I would call the third paradox of the Presidency. It is this. The President claimed the mantle of democracy, with some justification, yet at every single instance he tries to stifle criticism. Intolerance of criticism is, to me, the President’s Achilles heel. How ironic then, and deeply paradoxical, that President Mbeki calls his critics on his Aids policy ``fanatics waging a campaign of intellectual intimidation and terrorism’’, and yet all of us in this House outside of the ANC benches know precisely how the ANC responds to even its mildest critics. Do not take my word for it, because the ANC seems to regard criticism as having some kind of racial bias. So I recently went to have a look at what Professor Sipho Seepe, principal of the Sebokeng campus at Vista University, said. He said, and I quote:

An African renaissance, or any renaissance for that matter, requires an environment that encourages a flourishing and a flowering of ideas. It demands us to rigorously unpack and expose the limitations or the bankruptcy of ideas of those with whom we differ. Simply labelling them does not advance our arguments. It closes discussion and introduces a culture where might, power and privilege determine right.

Now, let us go and pay heed to what the professor says, before we turn to the fourth paradox of the Presidency, which I would describe as a combination of pride and prejudice, which militates against the exact results that the President demands and to which we are committed.

Let me say that I think it is commendable, and I give full credit to him, that, notwithstanding the wastage of billions of rands of taxpayers’ money, the Minister of Education has had the courage to reverse this Government’s failed Curriculum 2005 policy and replace it with a much more modest and sensible Curriculum 21. [Applause.] But surely this should be simply the start of a process. When will the President overcome his pride and admit to other policy mistakes?

This applies most of all on the question in Zimbabwe, because, perhaps, the crowning paradox, irony and contradiction of this Presidency is its extraordinary stance on this issue. If anything contradicts the architecture which the President invokes to the acclamation of all of us, of the African renaissance, it is the goings-on in our northern neighbour. And in this regard, the so-called quiet diplomacy over the crisis has simply resulted in lending support to systematic and state-sponsored terror in that country.

I ask only one question of the ANC. Would the ANC in 1994 have contested as an opposition, which they then were, an election under the sort of systematic terror which confronts the indigenous opposition of Zimbabwe? [Interjections.] Please, answer that question, and then let us have a debate. But let us turn our back on the shameful policy that we have adopted. Let us get real and stop democracy and the rule of law from being flouted and undermined. The crowning irony of this is that, while we concern ourselves about Zimbabwe, we often neglect a symptom of creeping Zimbabweanisation here at home, because the similarity is stark. It is simply this: If we put too much power in the hands of any one man or any one party for too long without check or balance, then we invite the users of that power to abuse that power, whether here, in Asia, Europe or the Middle East. That is why the DP is so determined to build, to consolidate and to strengthen opposition. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

In our view the new South Africa has to be a country worthy of its place amongst the nations in this world; and that requires the pillar of democratic opposition to flourish and to grow. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Madam Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, members of Cabinet and hon members of the House, I must say, at the outset, that I would like to register my party’s recognition of and support for the strong leadership we have received from President Mbeki, and his commitment to transform the economy in accordance with tried and tested economic policies. [Applause.]

Being the last Africans on the continent to gain our liberation, we, indeed, have the benefit and privilege of hindsight to learn from the mistakes of our forebears. The sound fundamentals upon which the growth, employment, redistribution and macroeconomic strategy of the Government are based, enjoy the fullest support of the IFP.

The second peaceful general election is a clear indication of our successful democratic transition. We must now focus on accelerating the implementation of Gear by tackling the economic imperatives that must give effect to it. Notwithstanding the progress that has been achieved in the Government’s restructuring and in our programme of privatising state assets, much still needs to be done to liberalise certain sectors of our economy, to bring both local and international competition.

I believe Gear is our response to the challenges of our globalisation. The opening of our markets to the rigours of international competition must be carefully managed. Before opening our markets, we must first ensure that globalisation is, indeed, a two-way street. I think the Minister of Trade and Industry could give us a good account, after so many rounds of negotiations with the EU, that it was fast becoming a one-way street, and we want a two-way street.

We have to fight for a levelling of the playing field, to ensure access of our products to markets of the developed countries. All the political parties represented in this House must play their part in promoting South Africa as a valued trading partner and a destination for direct investment capital for job creation. The President’s recent overseas state visit must, therefore, be seen and understood within this context. It is amazing to see the lack of appreciation evidenced by the opposition and the unfair criticism of the President’s state visit as being a dereliction of his presidential duties here at home.

In fact, given our situation, we need more visits of this nature and perhaps President Mbeki could consider the appointment of senior Cabinet Ministers and/or special envoys at regular intervals to represent and promote South African interests abroad, to establish economic and cultural links. I must say that we all know that before 1994, the Presidents of this country, for as long as they were seen to be officiating over what the international community declared a crime against humanity, were not welcomed in those countries. Therefore, I do not see why we cannot see the simple reason of trying to turn a pariah state into a more acceptable one internationally. [Applause.]

The successful implementation of the crime prevention and safety and security function of the criminal justice system with regard to boosting investor confidence cannot be overemphasised. When I introduced the Correctional Services debate in this House on 12 May, I focused my attention on raising awareness to the role of my department in crime prevention. In this regard, I praised the President for his regional intervention in June last year in establishing ministerial clusters as the single most important step forward in bringing the much-needed co-operation between the core departments of the criminal justice system, to develop an integrated interdepartmental approach to crime prevention.

However, I also warned against unnecessary interdepartmental competitions resulting from misplaced personal ambitions, as being the main threat to achieving the desired levels of co-operation. Already, through our joint efforts as a cluster, we have been able to formulate and embark upon joint strategies to combat the problem of overcrowding in prisons. I am sure that in the same way that some people would say that one can take a person out of the ghettoes but cannot take the ghetto out of him, others will say that one cannot take the prisons out of me because I am going back to the issue of prisons. [Laughter.]

I am saying that, despite the problems and crisis we are facing as a department due to insufficient resources, we have, nonetheless, managed to make tremendous progress in the fight to prevent or at least minimise prison escapes. We have also been able to focus and intensify the battle against HIV/Aids in the prisons. Notwithstanding our liberal policies regarding the prohibition of mandatory testing for HIV/Aids and the maintenance of separate facilities for HIV/Aids infected offenders in prisons, which is in keeping with constitutionally protected rights of bodily integrity and equality before the law, we have managed to implement effective HIV/Aids prevention programmes in prison, believe me or not.

Health education on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/Aids prevention on admission and constantly throughout incarceration is provided to offenders, and condoms are made freely available in the event of consensual sexual relations. Gang-related incidents and activities are closely monitored and separation, including the transfer of vulnerable offenders, is encouraged. An effective HIV/Aids prevention programme is firmly in place with HIV/Aids focal persons appointed at each prison, to promote awareness, support and capacity-building efforts.

There is also a provincial health co-ordinator for each province, to monitor and ensure the implementation of the HIV/Aids programme. Offenders who allege they have been raped are referred to a medical doctor for examination and treatment, and depending on the outcome of the medical examination, the affected offender would be taken for counselling and also monitored for possible sexually transmitted diseases. I am getting out of prisons now!

The IFP has unequivocally promoted and stated its support for the constitutional protection of indigenous law and the role of traditional authorities in the body politic of this country. The proposed imposition of a property tax on traditional authority land in terms of the Bill pertaining to local government property rates is inconsistent with the use of land within the framework of indigenous and ethic land tenure. Despite the fact that this Bill recognises the concept of a nonbeneficial owner and defines this as meaning an owner of property which is held on behalf of another or the general public, the Bill has failed to include land held by traditional authorities in this definition. I leave that for my colleagues to elaborate on when they speak.

The political insensitivity of this Bill and the manner in which it has undermined the constitutional integrity of, the status and role of the traditional leaders, appears to mean that they will be subjected to the direct influence of the so-called democratically elected councils. This narrow implementation or interpretation of democracy is obviously dangerous and detrimental to our governance.

In conclusion, I think, in the spirit of co-operative governance and intergovernmental relations, as championed in Chapter 3 of the Constitution, the IFP urges the national Government, through the Public Service Commission, to assist provincial governments to build the necessary capacity through training, to effectively meet the challenges of service delivery, being the sphere of governance closer to the people. Where appropriately, the national Government must make additional allocations in terms of section 214 of the Constitution to provide and enhance effective public administration and legitimate provincial economy.

In view of the arguments raised above, we would recommend the establishment of a separate national Ministry for integrated rural development extended to the provincial level in line with the trends in other developing countries, to deal, inter alia, with the issue of poverty in rural areas, peri-urban areas and so on. The main object of such a Ministry would be to mobilise, co-ordinate and streamline resources from other departments for effective utilisation in rural development programmes. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, President of the RSA, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, just over a year ago today, South Africa went to the polls in the second democratic elections. After an overwhelming ANC victory in those elections, this House unanimously elected Thabo Mbeki as the President of the Republic of South Africa. [Applause.]

This House was once again making history by taking that historic and democratic decision. In a matter of a year, it is now an established fact that President Mbeki enjoys recognition as a world-class leader. [Applause.] Very rarely has any parliament in any part of the world succeeded in producing such a high calibre of leaders in such quick succession. This Parliament, our people and our country should be proud of this achievement. [Applause.]

I stand before the House now, extremely proud that we have done and continue to do well as a country. When we went to the people to ask for a renewed mandate in the second elections, we did so on the basis that though we had achieved much in the first five years, more needed to be done to deliver what we had put forward as our main and immediate objective, which is a better life for all.

We did so fully confident that, having laid a concrete foundation in the first five years, this new term of government would see greater accelerated change and delivery. This budget debate on the Presidency gives us an opportunity to evaluate our achievements in the past year and reaffirm the direction in which we are going.

As the President has reported, one of the hallmarks of our Government, guided by the principle of accelerated change, has been a greater emphasis on improved co-ordination. As part of this process, the Office of the President and that of the Deputy President were combined into one office, now called the Presidency. Co-ordination, therefore, exists at the highest level of Government.

The President has referred to the new Cabinet clusters that have been established and these clusters are: social services, international relations and security, governance and administration, economics, job creation and investment, and justice and crime prevention. Crime prevention has been high on our agenda and, as such, we have continuously introduced measures designed to address the issue. Recent consideration and approval by Cabinet of the Firearms Control Bill, which is currently before this House, is one such example. Closer co-operation between Ministers who sit in the crime prevention cluster has yielded significant results. Operation Crackdown, launched in Gauteng on 1 April this year, is one such example. The Operation focused on two main strategies, the fight against crime and violence, and the neutralisation of organised crime groupings. This campaign was a major success in our fight against crime, resulting in the arrest of a considerable number of suspects for serious crimes, and the recovery of a significant amount of stolen property, drugs and illegal firearms.

A comparison between this campaign and Operation Monozite, a similar operation conducted in July and August last year, illustrates a major improvement in the operational efficiency of our integrated and co- ordinated approach. During the first two months of Operation Crackdown, in April and May, a total of 106 594 suspected criminals were arrested, while 58 413 suspected criminals were arrested during the first two months of Operation Monozite. Similarly, Operation Crackdown resulted in the seizure, during the first two months, of 3 722 stolen vehicles and 3 242 illegal firearms, compared to 2 331 stolen vehicles and 2 482 illegal firearms during the two months of Operation Monozite.

Members can therefore see that, since Operation Monozite, we have improved in our tactics, the number of arrests made and the amount of property recovered. These improvements can be ascribed to the better utilisation of intelligence, better interdepartmental co-operation and a significant improvement in the morale of the members participating in these operations. However, we remain mindful of the correlation between crime and other social factors, including poverty.

The social services cluster is continuing to build on the foundation laid in the first five years of our democratic dispensation. Between 1994 and 1998, 3 million people gained access to clean water. By the middle of this year, the figure had increased and is now close to 5,5 million people. [Applause.]

Similarly, we are making inroads into transforming people’s lives by giving them access to electricity. Three million households will have access to electricity by mid-2000, compared to 2,3 million people in 1998. Two million new households will have access to telephones by the middle of this year, compared to 1,5 million people between 1994 and 1998. I want to tell hon members that, with regard to housing, we have also been able to accelerate delivery. To date, we have built some 993 000 houses and have approved subsidies in excess of a million. [Applause.] These achievements indeed are impressive. We must, however, remember that, in the light of the massive historical backlogs, more work still remains to be done.

The land distribution programme has shown steady progress. By June last year, only 41 claims had been settled. This figure has, in a year, increased to 5 511. In response to the challenge to accelerate land reform, an integrated programme of land redistribution and agricultural development has been designed, and consultation with relevant stakeholders is currently taking place. The programme will provide grants to previously disadvantaged South African citizens to access land, specifically for agricultural purposes.

Our challenge remains that of continuing to change land ownership patterns, both for settlement and for agricultural development. We remain committed to redressing the imbalance brought about by our history, and are redoubling our efforts to accelerate land reform measures. Our financial landscape has also undergone dramatic changes as part of our accelerated delivery programme. For the first time, a universally acclaimed budget was presented to us in this House, this year. This was made possible by our consistent pursuit of balanced economic policies, an unwavering commitment to transformation and our focus on achieving economic growth.

To improve our trade relations, we have also been engaging many countries on a bilateral basis and, in the case of Germany and Nigeria, through formal binational commissions. These forums have resulted in the strengthening of economic co-operation. The South African-Nigerian binational was particularly important in taking us a giant step forward towards achieving our goal of the African renaissance.

The International Investment Council, which was appointed by the President, will be holding its inaugural meeting this month. I am happy to announce that we have reached an agreement with some of the major information technology companies in the world to constitute an advisory committee. This committee will advise our Government on information technology matters, to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of development in this sector. The committee will hold its first meeting in South Africa in the second half of this year.

If our programme of accelerated delivery is to succeed, a framework that would both support and facilitate an appropriate environment for the sustainability of Government programmes must be adopted. The necessary legislation must be passed for this requirement to be met. Cabinet has, since the elections, considered the approval of 70 Bills, the majority of which are aimed at irreversibly entrenching the socioeconomic transformation programme that we, as Government, are committed to.

Unfortunately, our prosperity in the first six years of Government has not been as evenly shared amongst our population as we would have liked. As the President stated in his first address to this Parliament, the rural areas of our country represent the worst concentrations of poverty, and are most in need of transformation, as well as infrastructural and economic development.

Since 1994, this Government has considered the development of rural areas as a priority. As such, the provision of basic services such as water, electricity, roads, telephones, clinics, schools, etc, has been one of the key aspects of all Government departments’ work. This has, in the past, taken place in a largely unco-ordinated fashion, with the various departments pursuing individual programmes that resulted in many unsustainable projects. They were unsustainable, not because they were inappropriate, but because they lacked supporting infrastructure.

The implementation of the Reconstruction and Development Programme provided us with invaluable experience in implementing targeted interventions by Government in areas of need. We have also learnt a lot from the spatial development initiatives, which are proving to be a success, particularly in the rural areas, and remain a clear illustration of what could be achieved if all relevant Government departments work together towards a common goal. These projects have unlocked areas previously closed off by a lack of crucial infrastructure, such as roads and communications. Adopting an integrated approach has ensured that all possible areas of development have been explored, and that all gains made are of a sustainable nature.

The concept of an integrated, sustainable rural development, therefore, is not a new phenomenon. It is rather a concerted effort that is driven by a need for Government to find ways to accelerate delivery of basic services to all South Africans. What we need to do, in this term of Government, is to extend this to all other areas of development, with a special focus on the rural areas. The concept places an emphasis on tried and tested interventions and solutions that have a long-term potential for growth.

As has been reported in the various ministerial budget speeches, substantial delivery in respect of rural development has been taking place since 1994, and is continuing. A strategy that details future delivery guidelines in rural areas has been developed by a committee of 17 Ministers. The committee has completed its work, and their report is before Cabinet.

The question of HIV/Aids is one of the major strategic issues that we, as Government, are dealing with. We have developed an integrated and multisectoral approach as part of our strategy to combat the scourge. We continue to encourage efforts to find solutions to the HIV/Aids crisis. A panel of experts to advise Government is in place.

The Centre for Disease Control and the Medical Research Council recently agreed to enter into a co-operative agreement with one another, with the aim of ensuring that the so-called ``dissident views’’ are debated and shared with the mainstream view. In this way, we hope that the answers to the outstanding questions will certainly be found.

The SA National Aids Council, Sanac, has taken the lead in co-ordinating the initiatives of the various sectors represented in Sanac. Allow me to thank the members of Sanac for their commitment and sacrifices that they are making. [Applause.] We now have in place an all-inclusive forum that allows all sectors of South African society to make inputs as to how we should deal with the major challenge facing our country.

Before I close, allow me to introduce a word of caution. The moral decay prevalent in our society is, to this Government, a serious cause for concern. It is clear that without us substantially tackling this issue, all our efforts to transform our society will be greatly undermined. Government is working with leaders from religious, education, business and local communities to embark on a programme for a moral regeneration of our society. We have also requested that this House conducts a debate on this issue so that our collective energies can be pooled in search of a solution to this particular problem.

Let me end by congratulating my colleagues here on our first term in office. It has been a year filled with achievements. We are happy that we have made significant strides. I urge all of us to remember that there is always more to be done. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that we look forward to the challenges of the coming year with even greater enthusiasm. [Applause.]

The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Mr Deputy President, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, whatever else the ANC may or may not be, it is certainly not like a leech preying upon and sucking on the lifeblood of other political parties, in particular the New NP. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

This Vote and the focus of the Presidency is about addressing the scourge of poverty. It is about rooting out discrimination. It is about attending to long-neglected problems such as those related to gender, the youth, the aged, children and the disabled. It is a Vote for the values of the new, democratic South Africa fairly represented in this House. It is a Vote about continuing a process which will eventually lead to a significant redistribution of wealth in South Africa - a country where life was, and in too many cases still is, overcomfortable for the few and overonerous for the many. It is a Vote about change, transformation and renewal.

As Minister in the Presidency, my responsibilities include the development of policies and plans to address the economic, social and political empowerment of people with disabilities, women and the youth, as well as the rights of children. It should be noted that the Presidency takes a significant and growing interest in the aged. We must also set up mechanisms to monitor the implementation of these policies and plans and ensure that all available support is focused to minimise the timeframes required to achieve maximum impact.

Let us look at these tasks in the world context. The key battle today is the fight to overcome the poverty and underdevelopment of the vast majority of people. We must tackle those challenges in our own country with an awareness of implications at regional, continental and international levels. Democratic South Africa can ill-afford to play a role of fortress South Africa. We cannot survive as an island of comparative wellbeing surrounded by a sea of desperate want. What we do locally must be designed to have a positive ripple effect on the outer world. We must also seek support from our allies outside our own narrow borders.

In 1994 we inherited a tragic legacy of inequality in South Africa. The economy was in very serious trouble. Oceans of poverty existed in both urban and rural areas. The majority of our citizens were denied clean water, electricity, housing, proper health, education and welfare. If one looks at the real manifestations of poverty in our country, it is clear that the most vulnerable and poorest of the poor are African women in general and, in particular, African women in rural areas. The poverty of our rural women is a reflection of the disempowerment of women throughout the world. The situation is worse if one is a rural African woman who is disabled or elderly or a rural African child, disabled or not.

In dealing with the challenges of poverty and how it affects the most vulnerable, we cannot merely offer band aid, temporary support or welfare programmes. We need to radically restructure society so that all our fellow South Africans share the same human and socioeconomic rights. I recall a remark Martin Luther King made in 1963. Dealing with the subject of philanthropy, that mixed blessing of the globalised world in which we live, he said:

Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.

This highlights the need to step up the relentless struggle for social and economic justice all over the world. Well-endowed nations and their citizens should not imagine that their charity and aid - which, although welcome, amount to little more than crumbs from the rich man’s table - can possibly by themselves correct the imbalances which have given rise to poverty.

The real way ahead lies not in their charitable acts but in their will to invest - invest in a way that will in the long run fundamentally transform the international economic order. This must also mean the transfer of resources. It must also mean debt relief and, indeed, the cancellation of debts in a new strategic partnership between rich and poor.

Our objective is to transform South Africa and also to seek the engagement of the rest of the world so that the maximum number of people can share in the better life. What is sought, is not only economic wellbeing, but the dignity that goes with it. This is the great unfinished business of the 20th century. We demand social justice for both North and South and greater efforts towards the eradication of poverty and tragedies. Our President, Thabo Mbeki, is pursuing this course with growing acclaim among world leaders as the 21st century unfolds.

Let us now examine our own progress at home. The main task is empowerment. Even if one is to exclude the vast and critical question of race for a moment, we have made huge strides in the empowerment of women. This is reflected, for instance, in the national Parliament, where women number close to one third, and in the Cabinet where 30% of the Ministers and 60% of the Deputy Ministers are women, thus placing us among the world leaders in this respect. Our record in Parliament would be even better if opposition parties followed the ANC’s lead by setting quotas to ensure increasing recognition of the capabilities of women in the realm of politics. [Applause.]

We have also made progress in seeking to ensure gender equity in Government and parastatals. I suggest that it is the private sector that has lagged behind in this respect. [Interjections.] If one doubts this, one has only to look at the faces in the business appointment sections in the Sunday newspapers, and these DP benches.

We have made our reports on international commitments to SADC, the OAU, the UN, the Commonwealth and to those monitoring progress since the big push for women’s rights in Beijing. We have found many nations who look to South Africa as a shining example of what can and should be done.

We must congratulate the women who gathered in New York over the past week for the progressive conclusions reached during the session. I am particularly pleased to note that they have acknowledged the strong possibilities offered by the globalisation process, while acknowledging its negative impact, especially on developing countries.

But we need to do far more. We must give women, in particular in the rural areas, real power over their own lives at every level, and for this there must be all round commitment. So far, the Office on the Status of Women has established national and provincial directorates. It has carried out an audit and extensive consultations, with input from the Commission for Gender Equality and hundreds of other stakeholders. It has drawn up a policy framework and identified priorities.

Government enjoys a high level of legitimacy among women as a target group of the South African gender programme, but there are undeniably high expectations of delivery. Whereas women want greater access to Government resources, elimination of all forms of violence against women and eradication of poverty, there are as yet no clear performance indicators and timeframes to guide Government in the call for delivery.

To bridge this gap, the OSW is developing a national gender action plan. Such a plan will provide a common understanding between Government and civil society on outputs, outcomes, performance indicators and timeframes. We work from the premise that gender equality is an agreed national goal. This is what is just, and nothing less than justice will do. One of the priorities is the transformation of the Public Service in this respect.

The reconstruction of the Public Service must be carried out in such a way that gender issues are addressed in strategic planning and action as an integral part of the entire programme and not in an isolated manner. It is through this that gender will become part of the overall governance of our nation. Gender justice must become a way of life in South Africa, not an add-on or an after-thought.

We are in the final stages of setting the framework for a national gender policy, a framework that has been extensively influenced by the work we were engaged in at Government level in the last four years. This framework will be translated into a plan of action for the empowerment of women, bringing together the efforts and specific contributions of a range of departments and provinces.

The identification of gender focal points in national departments and the Offices on the Status of Women in the provinces and the expressed commitment to achieve these bear witness to a groundswell of determination and activity which has laid the foundation for transformation. We expect to begin to reap the fruits of this hard work during the next few years.

The management of cross-cutting issues such as violence against women and women’s response to HIV/Aids remains one of the serious challenges for the OSW. While this is a clearly gender-based activity the technical work often resides in other sectors such as Welfare, Health and Justice.

Many of the issues we have to face in relation to the empowerment of women are echoed when we examine the needs of our disabled, our youth and our children. I shall not repeat these points, but limit myself to the issues, which pertain specifically to these other disadvantaged citizens of our nation.

In the realm of the disabled, if we do not lack commitment, we do still lack adequate information. We do not yet have an adequate audit of the extent of the challenges we face or the extent to which people with disabilities have been integrated in the structures of Government. Similarly, pending state tender board approval, a disabled people’s budget project is expected to study and report on the extent and impact of Government spending on disability.

We could be speaking of about five-to-six million disabled people, which is a huge challenge. But we have made the necessary change in opinion, viewing as we do the problems of the disabled not as welfare matters but as directly concerning human rights, quality of life issues and access to resources. The Integrated National Disability Strategy has set these parameters and brought about the necessary paradigm shift.

Indicative of this shift are the 11 disabled persons in the benches of Parliament. We have more MPs with disabilities than almost any other parliament in the world. [Applause.] We can truly be proud. The Office on the Status of the Disabled has embarked on a training programme for all national departments, building capacity around the understanding and implementation of this strategy. Following this series of interventions, the Interdepartmental Disability Co-ordination Committee was recently launched.

Education for people with disabilities and the integration of these learners, where appropriate and practical, into mainstream education remains a challenge. We are working in tandem with the Department of Education to examine this question in depth and arrive at carefully considered policies, avoiding rushing into decisions which may be philosophically sound but practically impossible within budget constraints, whilst maximising integration wherever it might genuinely benefit the learner.

The sheltered workshops we inherited for the adult disabled are little more than places of safety and sometimes not so safe. Tragically, they often merely make provision for disabled people to while away their productive time unproductively. The need to transform these so as to develop and sustain economic viability and personal growth, as well as secure jobs for people with disabilities, has been discussed with the Departments of Welfare and of Labour. At the moment we are not spending wisely. We want rather to invest with the possibility of real returns in terms of employment and economic sustainability. This area will be one of our priorities in the next twelve months.

The economic integration and empowerment of people with disabilities was enhanced through the launch of the Thabo Mbeki Development Trust in December 1999. In 1999 President Mbeki indicated that we would work towards an accelerated delivery of assistive devices for disabled people. We have achieved this through the assistance of various international friends in the USA and Taiwan.

One of the main challenges remains the building of technical capacity. In this regard we are currently exploring a number of options for possible international financial support. Our relationship with the Swedish International Development Agency is entering its second year and is proving helpful. The fruits of targeted work on the fronts of employment equity for disabled people can be seen in the employment equity legislation this House passed. Ours is now to ensure the monitoring of effective implementation of these laws.

October this year will see the opening of the 2000 Paralympics. In 1996 South African disabled athletes returned from Atlanta with medals, world records and pride. We envisage more successes at this year’s international showcase of triumph over the adversity of disability.

Turning to our youth, youth development and the challenges facing young people in South Africa today are issues which have been in the forefront of many of our minds over the last few days. These are an appropriate focus today, three days before we commemorate the 1976 uprisings. Our youth must play a key role in addressing the issue of poverty. We need their active participation in the economy and their engagement with socio-political issues which are key to the success of the African renaissance. Appropriately the National Youth Commission agreed unanimously with the youth sector to focus all Youth Day celebrations on the fight against HIV/Aids.

The foundations for an integrated approach to youth development were laid not only in the Youth Policy, handed to former President Mandela in 1997, but in the practice of co-ordinating and monitoring Government initiatives to address the challenges young people face. These include the possible uses of the Skills Development Fund and other Department of Labour initiatives like the skills programmes, learnerships, entrepreneurship opportunities and other training possibilities for unemployed or underqualified youth, helping them to find career paths structured in relation to qualifications and standards registered on our National Qualifications Framework. This is not to say that the NYC is not without serious challenges as a statutory body. Challenges to all of us on a broader level are youth unemployment; the high and increasing incidence of HIV/Aids amongst young people; crime; poverty; the absence of accessible economic opportunities for young people. All these require an acceleration of the countrywide implementation of the National Youth Policy.

The foundation plans for national youth service and youth economic participation are already being put into practice through pilot programmes this year, ensuring they become ongoing national realities benefiting young people. For example, we have the training of unemployed young people in the fields of literacy and environmental affairs as well as the youth enterprise support programme developed and co-ordinated in conjunction with Ntsika Enterprises.

The National Youth Information Service, struggling to cope with the over 100 000 HIV/Aids and career-related calls received since last November, will need to be dramatically upgraded to accommodate the increasing demand. The NYC has experienced problems with regard to administration and management capacity. Our office has initiated a process in conjunction with the NYC to remedy these weaknesses.

Perhaps the most difficult task for all of us concerns the rights of the child, particularly in the case of young children. These aspiring citizens are the most vulnerable of us all. In the realm of the vulnerable and the neglected, the children of our nation, we have diligently reported to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. South Africa presented its first country report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in February this year - a report hailed by the UN committee as one of the better reports received.

Although we have been commended on the quality of our reports, there have also been responses which have pointed out gaps and challenges facing us. We have secured valuable support from the private sector and civil society to launch a sustained public awareness campaign on the rights of the child. It is frequently not only children, but adults, who need better education on this matter, and we are seeking to do just this.

We have no illusions about the sensitivity of these initiatives. We hope to make children and parents aware of the rights of the child, and we recognise that these are traditionally considered matters best dealt with in the confines of the home. With the generous assistance from Telkom, we have secured the skills and networks of the national children’s rights committee to do extensive advocacy work in this field over the next 12 months.

The Children’s Promise project has been successfully launched with the support of Woolworths, SA Airways and MTN. Further to this, Government will, in the coming year, pay very special attention to the multiple and complex questions concerning the aged. This issue is also receiving greater prominence in international forums. In our own country, we owe a great debt of gratitude to our elders who, for so long, bore the brunt of oppression and exploitation. The Freedom Park Trust, which is part of the legacy project, was finally launched on 1 June this year. This important work to capture our history will continue.

Members will realise that most of the matters and initiatives referred to here involve more than just the Presidency. A host of departments, the private sector and civil society are involved in these joint efforts. These efforts are of crucial importance in our fight against poverty and degradation. Here we have a chance, literally, to change the world, but we must take it step by step. We have a sense of direction, and we have a sense of commitment to those who were previously so vulnerable and so neglected, even to the point of being invisible in the land of their birth. As Wally Serote wrote in 1997:

please let us be intolerant of evil of racism of sexism of poverty of disease let us pull the electricity and the water pipe let us build the houses and the toilets let us build the road and be intolerant of the criminal let us build the school let us build the créche and the clinic and the hospital to turn the mind to build against evil.

[Applause.]

Mr M C J VAN SCHALKWYK: Madam Speaker, last week a popular Afrikaans TV programme ran a dramatised version of a real-life incident. A white student appeared on the programme. He achieved an A symbol in his matric year and applied for admission to university for medical studies. A black student who received a C symbol also applied. The white student was turned down, because he was white. [Interjections.]

In arguing his case before a TV jury, the black student said something that can best be summarised as follows: Do you white people not know that this country now belongs to us?'' The person who first conveyed this to me said: If you stop dreaming in your own country, what is left?’’

On the same occasion, a father who had watched this programme together with his son said that his son asked him : Pa, is dit waar?'' [Dad, is this true?] - The father then wanted to know from me and the other people around the table:Wat sê ek vir hom?’’ [What do I tell him?] I know that millions of black South Africans could also never live their dream. Many black South Africans had to pay exactly the same price in the past based on the colour of their skin. The reality now is that many white, coloured and Indian South Africans are paying such a price, and when I put this issue on the table, I put it not as an issue to divide, but because it divides.

I cannot pretend to speak on behalf of black South Africans, but I can put this issue on the agenda to find a solution and not to leave it simmering. Two wrongs do not make a right. People are now born with a certain skin colour and are expected to pay a price for the past. It is wrong.

At his inauguration on 10 May 1994, at the Union Buildings, former President Nelson Mandela pledged:

The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us … We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people.

Then he said:

We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.

Op 23 Mei 1999 het adjunkpresident Mbeki hom tot Afrikaners gerig toe hy gesê het, Afrikaners is Suid Afrikaners, en die Regering sal 'n fout begaan as hy hulle marginaliseer''. [On 23 May 1999 Deputy President Thabo Mbeki addressed Afrikaners when he said,Afrikaners are South Africans, and the Government would be making a mistake if it were to marginalise them’’.]

What is happening in practice in our country? In Durban, an Indian student was denied admission to the medical school, because she is Indian. Afrikaans-speaking, coloured South Africans experience considerable discrimination in the workplace for which they blame unbalanced affirmative action. [Interjections.] And I know that many on this side will not agree. Just in the past two weeks, we saw reports that Eskom wanted to get rid of over a thousand white workers, because they are white. [Interjections.] Under pressure, they backtracked. It is true, they backtracked. The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that there are too many whites in its service. I am putting a reality on the table.

The President’s Government went on record, when affirmative action legislation was discussed, that it was not a zero-sum game where the result would be to get rid of some in order to accommodate others. I bring these issues to Parliament knowing full well that it is painful and difficult to discuss them.

The MINISTER OF ARTS, CULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Madam Speaker, will the hon leader of the New NP take a question?

Mr M C J VAN SCHALKWYK: Madam Speaker, at the end of the speech, if I have time, I will take the question.

I bring these issues to Parliament knowing that it is painful and difficult to discuss them. I know that full well, but such is our responsibility. Our role is to highlight these realities and to point out the dangers of this new social engineering that does not augur well for the relations between communities.

I know that there are many incidents where black South Africans can rightfully say that they are still being discriminated against today and where they experience naked racism. [Interjections.] We must put all of these realities on the table, and I am putting one part of it on the table. I would like to ask the President today: Is it possible to continue to believe in your undertakings? Are your convictions still as you announced them weeks before you became President? I trust that they are. I believe it is vital after almost a year into his Presidency that he deals with this issue, which is of real concern to minority communities.

The President and his colleagues can shout it down and they can shout whatever they want, but it is a real concern. The Government is dragging its feet on the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. I hope that I am wrong, but more and more the signals are that this commission will be a toothless instrument, like the Youth Commission, in which people are paid extravagant salaries for doing almost nothing.

A good concept runs the risk of being discredited because the requisite seriousness of intent is lacking. I hope I am wrong, but our impression is that the Government intends this commission to be a toothless complaints commission which will be an excuse to divert issues of concern to just another commission, which is neither very effective, nor properly empowered. If this happens, the commission will simply be a dumping ground for complaints.

We run the risk of grievances being channelled from one talk-shop conference to the next, without any real action being taken to address these grievances. This commission will not remove the need for proper legislation on the language issue. It will also not suddenly turn around the feeling of marginalisation in some communities. This issue is an issue for our national agenda that we must not and cannot avoid and that we should address in a fearless and honest manner.

There is also a message to minority communities, and that message is that there is no future in isolation. There is no future in dressing up bitterness as moral conviction. Withdrawing into a psychological laager only creates a false sense of security. Minority communities must oppose any effort to dilute their birthright in this country. They must continue to fight to be part of the mainstream, and they must resist attempts at isolation, either forced upon them or self-inflicted. Minority communities should unlock their talents to the advantage of the country as a whole, and the country must provide the opportunity for them to do exactly that.

Afrikaanssprekendes bestee deesdae uitermate baie energie aan debatte oor die verlede. Dit is tyd dat ons daardie energie herkanaliseer om oor die toekoms te dink en te debatteer. Afrikaanssprekendes gaan nie geskenkpakkies van enigiemand anders af kry met toekomsverrassings daarin toegedraai nie. Hulle sal hulle eie toekoms moet oopdink en oopdoen. Dit kan net gedoen word in die een of ander vennootskap waarin alle gemeenskappe deelgenote is.

Afrikaanssprekendes moet ook die vermoë hê om binne die groter geheel hulle sin vir selfverantwoordelikheid te behou en uit te bou. Wit en bruin Afrikaanssprekendes moet nou met dade die kunsmatige grense van die verlede vir altyd oorsteek en die ideaal van een gemeenskap begin leef. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Afrikaans-speakers nowadays devote a great deal of energy on debates about the past. It is time for us to rechannel that energy so as to contemplate and debate the future. Afrikaans-speakers are not going to receive gift packages from anyone else containing surprises wrapped up for the future. They will have to conceive and establish their own future. This can only be done within some or other partnership in which all communities have a share.

Afrikaans-speakers should also have the faculty, within the larger totality, to retain and to extend their sense of self-accountability. White and brown Afrikaans-speakers must now decisively cross forever the artificial boundaries of the past and start to live out the ideal of one community.]

The issue of Zimbabwe … [Interjections.] I expected this reaction. The issue of Zimbabwe has been dominating the headlines in our country for months now. The New NP has been one of the President’s critics on the handling of this issue, not as a kneejerk reaction, but because our conviction is that quiet diplomacy was not the way to deal with this issue. All our concerns and predictions about the dangers of quiet diplomacy and the meaninglessness of Mr Mugabe’s undertakings have since been proven. It is now clear that the election in Zimbabwe is so fatally compromised that it makes a free and fair election impossible.

Even if it now proceeds, the result will be suspect and it is going to continue to be a source of instability. Going through the motions of an election in Zimbabwe belies the fact that intimidation and the curtailment of normal political activity have dealt the process a fatal blow. What could have been the launching pad of the President’s vision of the African renaissance - to stand up with courage and conviction for what is right, to give moral leadership, to alienate old political friends if necessary - is now, instead, becoming just another tombstone in our continent’s graveyard of elections conducted in the absence of real democracy.

This feeds the new wave of Afro-pessimism that has emerged all over the world, and which could sound the death knell for his vision of an African renaissance. We are supporters of the African renaissance vision. We said that we would support the President on those occasions when he provided that kind of leadership that our region and our continent crave, but his failing to put political distance between himself as President and President Mugabe, between our government and that of Zimbabwe, and subjecting our country’s interests to a failed approach of quiet diplomacy, we believe, was a mistake.

Kaizer Nyatzumba recently wrote:

What is difficult to understand, however, is the impression increasingly being created that President Mbeki has set himself up as Mugabe’s defender with regard to the violations of human rights.

We would like the South African President to be known and to be seen on the African continent as just the opposite, the defender of human rights. I would like to call on him, even at this late stage, to provide the kind of moral leadership that he promised this country when he was elected President. The ill-considered approach towards Zimbabwe will mean that we in South Africa will reap what has been sown in Zimbabwe.

The New NP has, for some time now, expressed its concerns about various circumstances and factors that impact negatively on the morale of the Police Service. Just this morning it was reported that since January this year, 27 police officers have been killed in Gauteng alone. These men and women are the only buffer between us and some of the most brutal criminals in the world. But, in this process, there have been efforts to tie their hands behind their backs. The process to reverse section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act must be fast-tracked to send a clear and unambiguous message that the overstretched Police Service will be empowered, not only to defend itself, but also to act against criminals under extreme circumstances in which split-second decisions are very often the difference between life and death.

A licence to kill … [Interjections.] No, Mr Minister, that section 49 which you passed in spite of our arguments, is tying the hands of the Police Service behind their backs and the Commissioner of Police is now calling on you to reconsider. [Interjections.] This an issue that requires the active attention of the President of our country.

In conclusion, the first phase of the President’s term was characterised by the establishment of policy frameworks. The second phase was characterised by his attempts to ensure an international presence. The third phase should now be characterised by an accelerated domestic delivery and the building of our nation in which all our communities have faith in the future. That is our task now.

Strong opposition is now the watchword. [Interjections.] Is strong opposition the strength of one’s convictions, is it the decibel level of threats, or is it the ability to also build a better South Africa notwithstanding differences? To me and the New NP it is the strength of conviction and the unambiguous willingness to build this country, notwithstanding differences but fearlessly expressed. That is strong opposition. [Applause.]

Mr D A HANEKOM: Madam Speaker and hon members, it is a huge privilege to speak in this debate. Of course, in the ANC, we welcome an opposition and I would like to say to the President that that is what I am going to speak about - the role of the opposition and the extent to which the opposition can make a positive contribution towards what we are trying to achieve, and whether they are doing so.

I think it is very important for us to just reflect a bit on the institutional framework in which debates take place. It is we, the ANC, who created this institutional framework. We created the platform for people to air their views freely, to enter into debate and to influence policy in this very institution in which we sit today. It is this institution which we value very greatly, and we will fight for it, we will fight to protect it and we value the opportunity it gives to the opposition parties to influence policy and events in our country.

We believe that if the opposition use this opportunity constructively, they can enhance the work of Government. They can, indeed, make a positive contribution towards the kind of change we are trying to achieve in our country. However, the question is whether opposition parties are indeed doing that, and whether opposition parties are using this platform to the greatest benefit of our country, rather than just for the narrow pursuit of votes. My impression is that the tendency of opposition parties is to abuse this platform and to pursue votes in a rather opportunistic fashion, and that is unfortunate. This does not apply to all opposition parties, nor to all members of such opposition parties. But this is an alarming tendency which we are seeing in this very important institution - Parliament.

We coined a very important phrase during the election campaign in 1999, and that is that we are together fighting for change, the kind of change that the hon the President referred to in his speech. He referred to change in the power imbalances that we have, change from the current situation of poverty, of powerlessness, of disease, of illiteracy and all of those realities which face us today. Those are the changes we need in our country and we will continue, together, fighting for that change. That is very important.

However, I do believe that it is very important for us to analyse this situation. The other day Ronnie Kasrils spoke about the four pillars of water delivery. Let us also talk about four pillars which are necessary for the achievement of change. Firstly, we need to understand the current situation and assess it very honestly. What do we have today? We have a situation today in which poverty prevails, in which many, in fact, the majority of our people are desperately poor. We have a situation in which we still have a lot of unfair discrimination and disrespect for many of our citizens. This is the reality that most people are faced with, the hard reality of bad treatment, poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, etc. Those are the challenges that we have to confront.

The next pillar would be the kind of change we want so that we know what we are trying to achieve and what we are striving towards. It is very important for us to have vision in terms of where we want to go.

Thirdly, what are the most effective strategies that will enable us to achieve that change? What weapons do we need to fight together for change? What instruments do we need? What policies should be in place, laws, budgets and so on - how are we going to achieve that change?

The fourth pillar, and it is very important, is achieving that change together, fighting together for that change. This is very important.

I said I would speak about the opposition parties. Let me then just briefly refer to the DP. I think the DP coined a most unfortunate slogan during the 1999 elections, and that was ``fighting back’’ - fighting against change. They did themselves a lot of damage in the process. [Interjections.]

They know that they did themselves a lot of damage and their challenge today is to correct some of that damage that they did to themselves. In the DP there are talented people, people who could make a very valuable contribution to what we are trying to achieve. That is a fact. The other unfortunate fact, though, is that many of those talented people are there because they want to protect inherited privilege, and this is also unfortunate. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

The other reality is that there are many people in the DP who are simply confused. We would like to tell them that they are misplaced. [Laughter.] Some people in the DP genuinely want to effect change. We do not doubt that, but they are in the wrong party, in the party that chose to fight against change. [Interjections.]

I must say that as far as the New NP is concerned, I was a bit disappointed by Mr Van Schalkwyk’s speech. I think Mr Van Schalkwyk has played quite a constructive role in this Parliament, but he seems now to be competing with Tony Leon. This is unfortunate. [Laughter.] He should not do that. He is making a mistake. He should not descend to the level of the DP, because he will be doing an injustice to his own party. I should not be advising him, but I will offer him that bit of friendly advice. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

I think that they have also chosen - and their voters should be mindful of this - to emphasise what they are now calling themselves, and that is a Christian democratic party. Well, what about those voters who voted for them in good faith, possibly in confusion, but who are not Christian? Let them take careful note of that. What about the Muslim voters? They cannot call themselves a Christian democratic party and represent the interests of anybody other than a narrow group of Christian people in our country. He should take note of that.

As far as the democratic component is concerned, well, we know that this party’s track record does not speak of democracy, and we hope that that has changed. But I doubt that they would offer any meaningful solution to the people in our country who have aspirations of improving their own lives. Nonetheless, let us say that we hope that they will join us in this common endeavour to effect change in our country.

In the Western Cape Mr Van Schalkwyk’s party has offered four seats in Cabinet to a party which only receives 5% or 6% of the vote in the Western Cape. He should reflect on that. Maybe he could change that. He should take our advice and do something about this. [Laughter.]

Regarding the other parties in our country, well, what we have is the FF and the AEB. What is the difference? We have the ACDP and the UCDP. What is the difference? We also have the PAC and Azapo. What is the difference? The truth, though, is that I would like to say a word of praise about the ACDP and the UCDP. From a time when they were criticised quite severely for adopting a narrow fundamentalist approach, they have become, I think, much more constructive in their contribution to this Parliament, and we congratulate them on that.

I do think though that we should reflect on the fact that if one wants to serve the interests of one’s constituency, one should really join us in this common pursuit of effecting change in our country. The truth is that more sincere and committed Christians voted for the ANC in the 1999 elections than for all the other opposition parties combined, and that is the truth. [Applause.]

The situation regarding the FF and the AEB is an interesting one. However, I do think that the time has long passed of parties pursuing the narrow interests of a racially defined or ethnically defined group of people. This is not necessary. They must reflect on this.

We have a person who is affectionately called ``ou Cassie’’ - Cas Aucamp - who made an outstanding contribution when we were debating the equality Bill in the committee. The ANC took him seriously because he took us seriously, because he listened, because he contributed, because he was honest. Ou Cassie must keep this up and then he will be doing his people a favour. [Applause.]

I want to make a general comment about the UDM. Well, of course, there is a lot of confusion in their ranks. I think a lot of people joined the UDM for opportunistic reasons, others not so. Those of them who are standing behind the ANC in this process of transformation, we urge them to join us and to continue to stand behind us.

The PAC and Azapo, I believe, have made a very good contribution to the debates in this Parliament. I honestly believe this, with the exception of one well-known individual in this Parliament. [Laughter.] The rest of them have all played a very constructive role.

I wish to make a general comment again. I would like to say to the President that I do not often like to describe myself as a white South African. I do not wake up in the morning thinking of myself as a white South African. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Yes, hon member.

Dr C P MULDER: Deputy Speaker, would the hon member Hanekom be so kind as to take a question?

Mr D A HANEKOM: I certainly will if I have a little bit of time left at the end of my speech.

Dr C P MULDER: I will wait. Thank you.

Mr D A HANEKOM: I do not wake up thinking of myself as a white South African, and neither do Jeremy Cronin, Rob Davies, Barbara Hogan and the other white South Africans who are sitting in this Parliament, but we are white South Africans and we would not wish to deny that. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr B H HOLOMISA: Madam Speaker, President, Deputy President and hon members, in an extraordinarily rapid period from 1994, South Africa’s standing in the world has shifted from that of an international pariah state to that of a partner whose role in a wide range of bilateral and multilateral relationships is accepted and encouraged.

I believe that it is only proper that we commend all those who are responsible for this, particularly President Mbeki and his predecessor, Mr Mandela, for their efforts in changing the status of our country internationally. The lifting of economic sanctions in 1993 and the establishment of a new democratic order in 1994 have not been accompanied by a large amount of direct foreign investment in our economy.

The South African economy finds itself in a very peculiar situation. There is general agreement among our economists that all the economic fundamentals are sound and in place, as confirmed by our favourable international rating, yet jobs continue to be shed, long-term foreign investors stay away, the gap between the haves and the have-nots widens. Millions of rands are leaving this country on a daily basis, without any hope that they will ever come back.

Whilst waiting for the much-publicised promises of overseas investment, there is a need to discuss the extent to which our own domestic resources can be utilised to initiate economic growth which would promote job creation. A successful foreign policy of any nation is one which meets the domestic needs. The international agreements we have signed do not guarantee the survival of, and a competitive edge for, our domestic manufacturing sector. We have opened the floodgates for the swamping of our markets with foreign manufactured goods from foreign industries, that either have a technological edge over our own industries, or pay low wages and use child labour, thus presenting unfair competition for our local manufacturers.

If one looks at the large and frequent delegations from our provincial and central Government departments to foreign capitals, one is puzzled by the minimum number of investments resulting from such visits. The money spent on these visits does not only cover accommodation and travel. For instance, last year it was reported that the SABC spent R1 million to cover the then Deputy President’s visit to the United States of America. Surely in the context of our economic priorities, and the critical needs of the majority of South Africans who live in poverty and misery, this is a luxury that we cannot afford?

Many will agree that it is time that our real interests are evaluated in terms of the extent to which overseas visits can promote them. Such an exercise must be based on a redefinition of what these needs are and why a commitment for direct investment is not forthcoming. Clearly, something is wrong and therefore we must ask ourselves: What do we need to do?

In order to redress the economic disparities of the apartheid era, we cannot afford to leave that responsibility to individuals in the ruling party, or to their chosen consultants, any longer. We have international examples of some of the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development, in which governments subsidise their farmers. This has enabled the farming and agricultural sector, in countries such as France, to compete successfully on the international market. We should look, therefore, at a middle course that would cautiously transform our production relations in a manner that would incorporate a social programme that brings relief to the millions who are beginning to believe that they lived better under apartheid, where the state was not shy to intervene, albeit under the separate development policies.

Since its transition to democracy, South Africa is undergoing a path- breaking struggle to achieve structural reforms. Evidently, academic economic analysis and debate need to move on to the development of a detailed and far-reaching policy agenda capable of tackling the inheritance of apartheid and radical enough to turn around the South African economy and society. It is not enough to draw on international evidence only, without addressing the peculiarities of the South African situation. For this country, only a regulated and state-led growth and development strategy offers the possibility of economic change sufficiently deep and sustainable to address the problems of poverty and inequality, and to strengthen democracy. It is too early and immoral for Government to throw the fate of South Africans to the performance of market forces without any form of government intervention. Although the partnership between business, labour and Government is often emphasised, it is clear that there is confusion about the political basis of economic policies. Government must accept its responsibility in the social and welfare spheres, even in the context of economic strategies that are based on Gear. Ideologically, the widespread acceptance of economic orthodoxy from stabilisation to trade liberalisation and privatisation has been the key reason for lack of progress in the delivery of social and physical infrastructure.

In response to the Leader of the Opposition, the hon Tony Leon’s proposal for strengthening the opposition and, in particular, to the last speaker before me, I would like to note that there is the strong opinion that the transformation process cannot be confined to the economic sphere only and that, indeed, in the political arena, transformation is also needed. Proponents of this view suggest that such a transformation will culminate in the emergence of two major political parties on the centre stage of national politics in our society. Experiences in established democracies elsewhere give credence to this view. Britain and the United States of America are examples that come to mind. The economic and political stability of these countries is common knowledge.

We are convinced, as a party, that such a process will need the support of, and acceptance by, the majority of the citizens of this country. Such support will not only give legitimacy to these developments but, most importantly, will prevent them from degenerating into tendencies in which appeals to racist and narrow class interests are utilised as a vehicle for the mobilisation of followers in pursuit of short-term gains. A two-party system that is anchored on a commitment to the transformation of our society provides the best prospect for democratic consolidation in South Africa.

Our analysis of the changing sociopolitical order in South Africa indicates that there will be discernible political shifts along interest group divides, distinguished by common concerns and aspirations. This process will move towards the crystallisation of two major political streams, which express the ethos of the beneficiaries of the established order on the one hand, and the aspirations of the emerging major social groupings that are marginalised on the other hand. This will necessitate the emergence of two major political formations representing these interest groups.

The tremors of social change have dislodged people and groups from familiar traditional positions. Five years ago no one, in his wildest dreams, could have visualised top Afrikaner academics, businessmen and the likes of Fismer and Pik Botha campaigning for the ANC, and their erstwhile mortal foes urging their Afrikaner volk to take the great trek into the ANC. We encourage these trends because they defuse racial political polarisation.

The President’s call for a national debate on the rise and emergence of racism and fascism in South Africa could not have come at a better time. South Africa has a painful history in which racial divisions and social inequalities have coincided with party-political formations. The resultant antagonism and mutual suspicion will continue to mar our society for some time yet, because they cannot be easily wished away by the Constitution that highlights nonracialism and unity in diversity. Therefore, we need a Government that will seriously address the negative impact of these divisions whenever an attempt is made to appeal to them in the heat of political contestation.

We also need a proactive and strong opposition that understands and appreciates the passage from oppression to freedom in our society and is thus able to fully commit itself to the transformation of our society and the consolidation of democracy in a South Africa that is free, prosperous and at peace with itself and its neighbours.

Finally, South Africa stands a better chance than any other country on the continent to avoid the painful experiences of Congo, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, etc. In order that we do not squander this golden opportunity, both economic and political transformation must be accelerated. Our people are waiting.

Kucacile ukuba elinye kumakhasi oxwebhu lwam ndilinike umhlekazi. [Kwahlekwa.] Ndiza kulithabatha ngelinye ixesha. Hayi, makaliyeke, ndimxolele. [Kwahlekwa.]

Xa ndivala, masibulele kumhlekazi uSekela-Mongameli ngokusiqinisekisa ukuba uwajongile amaphandle. Kodwa ke nanjengoko imvula iza kuna kwakhona, kwaye kuza kuyiwa nakunyulo, siqaphela ukuba kubi phaya ezilalini. Akuhambeki ezindleleni. Bekukhalaza uMphathiswa wezeMali kunye noweMicimbi yeNdalo esi Ngqongileyo ngexa bebeye eWild Coast, besithi iindlela azilungiswa.

Siyamcela ke uSekela-Mongameli ukuba athethe nomphathiswa wakhe ukuba alungise ilizwe, kwakunye nabaphathiswa abaphethe kumaphondo ukuba balungise iindlela. Aze angayiyeki le ndaba yaseMzimkhulu bendimbhalele ngayo. Aze ayijonge laa ndawo, abantu baneengxaki phaya. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[Apparently, I have given the hon Deputy President one page of my speech. [Laughter.] I will take it at some other time. No, he can have it, I have forgiven him. [Laughter.]

In closing, let us thank the hon Deputy President for assuring us that he is looking after the rural areas. However, we note that, as the rain is imminent and as we will be holding elections again, the condition of the rural areas is bad. Roads are terrible. The Ministers of Finance and of Environmental Affairs were complaining when they visited the Wild Coast saying that the roads were not repaired.

We appeal to the Deputy President to talk to his Minister to do something about the situation and to the MECs to repair the roads. He should also not forget the Mzimkhulu issue that I wrote to him about. He must please watch that area, because people that reside in that area have problems. [Applause.]]

Ms T R MODISE: Madam Speaker, it is interesting, as the hon Holomisa was telling this House, that the economic policies of this country should not be left in the hands of individuals, he was actually also showing this House that he is definitely not one of those individuals, because he could not even number his pages. [Laughter.] It is also interesting that the hon Holomisa exhorts us, from this side of the House, to go and make sure that the roads are passable. I am sure that he was also referring to the erstwhile Transkei where he had all the power, resources and time to have repaired roads.

We are faced with the challenge of transforming South Africa into a truly nonracist, nonsexist, united and democratic country. But the greatest challenge that South Africa faces is finding a leadership that is honest and committed to democratic change. We must acknowledge that there are tensions and contradictions that obtain within our society and we need to find ways to resolve those. I believe that we are all united on issues of clean government, the culture of human rights and transparency. I believe that we are also united in wanting to build a nation whose value systems reflect our determination to root out lawlessness and corruption.

The ANC is an organisation of principle. We believe in transparency, accountability and clean governance. We respect human rights and we fight for the unity of all the people of South Africa. These principles extend to our agenda, as was reflected in our election manifesto. People will remember that at the top of the list was the delivery of basic services and human resource development, building the economy, creating jobs, combating crime and corruption, transforming the state and building a better Africa and world.

The first quarter of President Mbeki’s governance began, interestingly, with what the opposition called his hands-on approach and interference in administrative issues. They called on the President to pay more attention to what they called politics in the country and in the region. Now that he is doing this, they are up in arms. They want him in the House and they want him everywhere else but where we want him to be - out in the world, in the region and, internationally, on the economic and political scenes.

The hands-on approach was, indeed, important, in that it sought to lay down and fine-tune administrative measures necessary for faster and better service delivery to our people. This approach led to the clustering of functions and responsibilities for better co-ordination, consultation, and utilisation and rationalisation of resources. Not only had we inherited a bloated Public Service, but closer scrutiny also revealed that a concentration of low-skilled categories and low quality of personnel spending existed.

The first five years of a democratic South Africa also reflected our Government’s tendency to want to change too many things too quickly without considering that our policy demands were not in line with the capacity of the Public Service to deliver. There was and there still is a need to transform the public sector.

Policies and legislation had to be put in place to effect this transformation. The White Paper on transforming the Public Service provides the framework for practical implementation of this strategy. The Batho Pele concept, having been informed by the historical disregard and humiliation of the majority of the citizens of this country, standing in long queues, old, hungry and haggard, has value for money, access to services, dissemination of information, respect, courtesy, openness, transparency and good standards of service as the anchors.

It was necessary to provide training to change the Public Service from a desk and rule-bound system to a result-oriented service machinery. The Public Service Commission provided national and provincial workshops and training sessions to help members of the Public Service to understand their rights, responsibilities and effective ways of service delivery. The Labour Relations Act provides for the realignment of the conditions of service of the Public Service employees to that of the private sector. The Public Service Act provides for better access to information and strategies on the activities of any given department. This enables the employees, within a given department, to place themselves for growth within the broad organisational goals and objectives. This can only lead to better job satisfaction. The establishment of the Public Service Commission also provided for better liaison between the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality and the Auditor-General. The Public Service Commission also acts as a monitor and arbiter of the activities, policies and ethos of the Public Service.

I believe that democracy imposes on all citizens the responsibility to engage in politics and issues of governance in order to strengthen and safeguard our hard-won freedoms. That is why the creation of partnerships between Government, the public communities and the public representatives is important. It is only when these partnerships are effective that public confidence is encouraged enough to criticise, to monitor and even to enhance Government policy. This means that communities that are informed are better placed to monitor the quality of delivery that is given to them, and they are better placed to challenge when such delivery is not forthcoming.

It is only when communities are empowered and alert that they can contribute to the rooting out of rogue elements within our societies. It is only when communities are respected and confident that a culture of human rights grows and becomes entrenched. It is only when people trust that they will work towards oneness of purpose, that they will demand accountability of their public representatives and Government.

What has happened in this year? To start with, local government has been rationalised and streamlined. There is greater co-ordination and co- operation between the functions of the department. There is better financial control amongst the provincial legislatures. The monthly President’s Co-ordinating Council ensures that the President actually has his finger on the pulse of the country. The economic activities since the establishment of the international investment council are very promising, despite what the hon Holomisa says.

South Africa’s role as mediator has increased, following the President’s intervention in Zimbabwe, the DRC, Sierra Leone and even Nigeria. The skills levy compels companies to give more training, and, ultimately, this can only add to a better national pool of skills for South Africa. The Public Financial Management Act spells out the powers of the executive and differentiates these from those of the directors-general. This means that directors-general can be held more accountable.

There is room for improvement though. It will take us a while before we can say that the Public Service is truly representative of the people of South Africa. If one looks at the figures for women in the public sector, one is tempted to say that things are really looking up for black women, but if one starts unpacking even those figures for women, one will find that the image of a black woman weaving a white apron and carrying a tea-tray is far from getting out of our minds and eyes. Therefore, there needs to be more focus on training African women.

The geographic and racial mix of the Public Service will also take a long time to reflect the true South African society. This is mainly due to the historical lack of institutions of higher learning in provinces like the Northern Cape and the North West. There is also a need to re-examine our attitude towards the integration and development of the Khoisan people. Do they remain a novelty or a tourist attraction, or do we actually start integrating the Khoisan into mainstream society?

We need also to examine the role that MPs play in ensuring that there is service delivery. We need to ensure that we understand our oversight roles, and, therefore, Parliament needs to put resources into the training of MPs so that we do not find a situation which currently obtains, for instance, in KwaNongoma, where MPs are accused of actually interfering with and misdirecting police activities. We need to ensure … [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Rev K R J MESHOE: Madam Speaker, hon President, hon members, I want to start my contribution to this Vote on the Presidency, by asking the hon the President to clarify, in his closing remarks, two specific issues he raised in his speech. Firstly, when talking about globalisation, the President, among other things, said that the smaller the state, as in our case, the greater the loss of sovereignty as a result of globalisation.

We accept the fact that with globalisation, individual states cannot be effective players economically on their own, but the truth is that big economies which dominate globally are powerful individual states first. South Africa must first become an individual economic giant to become a regional giant and eventually a global economic giant.

Secondly, the President spoke of a government that will not only repair roads and bridges but one that will repair broken souls. How is this Government going to do that? The Deputy President went further to say that moral decay in this society is a serious concern to this Government. He further said that Government is working with religious and business leaders, and other members of civil society, to engage one another in debates that hopingly will result in a moral regeneration.

It is commendable for Government to look for solutions to the moral decay destroying this country. What Government has to know is that the solution to this decay is not necessarily going to be a politically correct one. Government must be humble enough to accept the fact that they cannot solve the problem of moral decay without God. If they are serious about this search for a solution, then they cannot and should not ignore Jesus Christ

• the greatest and the only leader who can transform the lives of individuals. He specialises in transforming lives and rooting out moral decay in individual lives, homes, society and, of course, governments.

We further commend the President for his efforts to speed up Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, and his drive to raise international funds to purchase 118 white-owned farms that would be used to resettle many landless blacks in that country. We agree with the Danish Prime Minister’s principled position that his country will not support solutions via violence. He is correct in insisting that the Zimbabwean government must stop the violence and ensure free democratic elections before his government gives money for land reform in that country.

What we find appalling and unacceptable is President Mugabe’s continuous racist war-talk in his election campaign. It is immoral for any president who claims to believe in human rights and democratic principles to verbally attack a section of his citizenry, and thus expose them to racist attacks by hooligans and thugs. The major responsibility of any government is to ensure that there is protection, justice and safety for all members of society, including those who belong to opposition parties. It is equally immoral for a president to encourage his supporters to undermine the rule of law and court orders because of his obsession with political power.

What is worrying for most peace-loving South Africans is President Mbeki’s deafening silence about the lack of political tolerance and abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe. If free political activity and electioneering by opposition parties in Zimbabwe is not allowed, and the SA Government, that claims to be the champion of human rights in Africa, is quiet about it, then South Africans have a legitimate concern about the future free political activities of opposition parties in this country. [Interjections.] I know that the President has said that farm invasions will not be tolerated in South Africa. But, thus far, he has said nothing about the intimidation and killing of members of the opposition in Zimbabwe, and I would appreciate his responding on this matter.

Quiet diplomacy may be appropriate in raising international funds to buy farms in Zimbabwe, but it will not work to ensure justice and protection for targeted members of some communities. During the apartheid era, it was the ANC that called for boycotts and actions against businesses and countries that tried to use quiet diplomacy with the apartheid government. They rejected it and said it would not work when human rights were violated in this country. What makes them believe that quiet diplomacy will end human rights violations, torture, and terrorist attacks against members of the opposition parties in Zimbabwe?

Listen and look carefully at the effects of quiet diplomacy on President Mugabe, for example. His attitude is not softening up but getting worse. He must be told by the South African President and Government, in no uncertain terms, that state-sponsored terrorism is unacceptable. The time has now come for President Mbeki to address important issues that he has been avoiding, especially the right of opposition parties to free political activity without any intimidation from members of the ruling party and some agents of the state. No area must be turned into a no-go area. The earth does not belong to the ruling elite - the earth belongs to God.

At a time when the US government and Europe are negotiating with China to open up business opportunities for those countries’ companies - for example, in the communications industry - South Africa and Zimbabwe are reportedly engaged in talks with China to purchase arms. Our apparent defence of President Mugabe is doing us no good, especially with regard to foreign investments that have to come into this country and the region. How can we be champions of peace in the region and, at the same time, purchase arms from China at such a volatile and unstable period as we have now?

Africa needs a new breed of godly leaders - men and women of integrity who understand that a call to be a leader, is a call to be a servant; men and women who understand that the time of life presidents in Africa is over. Former President Nelson Mandela was correct when he said that leaders who do not want to leave office at the end of their term are afraid to stand trial for the crimes they have committed, and the ACDP supports his sentiments regarding the Zimbabwean issue.

Since it is well known internationally that our President has a keen interest in the subject of HIV/Aids, especially in Africa, I will now turn my attention to that subject. The ACDP has been making calls for HIV/Aids to be made a notifiable disease, but Government has not responded to date. We regularly hear reports of people with HIV/Aids deliberately infecting others with the virus, and the Government is doing nothing about it. It is not only those who are HIV-positive who have rights, but also those who are still free from this deadly disease. Government must put in place measures to protect such people from those who want to infect them. Although we have supported a call by Patricia de Lille and the PAC for party leaders to go for an HIV test, that call does not go far enough. What is the use of going for the Aids test and keeping the results to oneself? The ACDP calls on all members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers and the President all to go for an Aids test and then to make their status public. If they are unwilling to do it, then their call for those who are HIV- positive to come into the open and their call for a war on Aids will remain empty political rhetoric and propaganda. We must lead by example. When we come back from recess, I will stand in this Parliament with a certificate in my hand, declaring my status, and I challenge the President and all other political leaders and members of Parliament, especially those from the ruling party, to do the same. [Interjections.] Yes, be brave and do it.

The problem of job losses in this country remains a serious concern. More jobs are being lost instead of being created. The plan to introduce and impose property tax is going to exacerbate this … [Time expired.]

Mr K M N GIGABA: Madam Speaker and Comrade President, thank you for affording us the opportunity to engage in this debate, especially on the eve of National Youth Day, on which day the President was inaugurated.

In 1998, the President delivered the two nations’ speech during which he outlined the constitutional obligations of South Africa with regard to creating equality and eradicating poverty in order to eradicate the injustices of the past. The President further urged us to regard this as our common national challenge in the true spirit of patriotism. We should all agree that this process will take a long time, and that it will be a result of intense struggle - a consequence of our people taking their destiny firmly into their own hands.

When we speak of poverty, we must also acknowledge that it affects different sectors of our people in different ways. We must state here today that one of the most neglected sectors in South Africa is young people, many of whom, as a result of systematic marginalisation, find themselves living in poverty. Proceeding from this view that a substantial number of our youth is still marginalised, we must go further to state firmly that urgent interventions are required to reverse the tide of poverty and marginalisation among the youth. This we must do because, as a nation, we must be interested that those who are entrusted with the destiny of our country must be sufficiently empowered to fulfil this task. On a sustained basis, we must deliberately advance the situation of the youth to ensure that they are properly prepared, as we stated here last week, to fulfil their historic revolutionary role at the helm of the pursuit of the African century.

We are convinced that the President is serious when he urges us to eliminate poverty. We have witnessed his active role in the sphere of youth development in particular, and his commitment to the fulfilment of the legitimate aspirations of our youth. It has been because of this vision and profound commitment to the youth that the President has continued to promote the National Youth Commission and the entire programme of youth development in the country.

On many occasions, we have spoken about the achievements of the National Youth Commission and referred to what it has achieved in raising the profile of youth issues. We have applauded it for scoring enormous achievements in spite of detractors. We have praised the fact that it has remained focused on its duties and mandate despite unfair attacks from the representatives of the privileged. Through its work, the commission has earned the respect and trust of youth, without which it certainly would have failed.

Certainly, we must, as the ANC Youth League’s ``Youth Vision 2000’’ states, continue to advocate for the strengthening of the commission and enhance co- ordination between the national and provincial tiers. We are satisfied that the Presidency has complied and continues to comply with this view. It makes sense that having fulfilled some of its earlier mandates successfully and sooner than expected, we had to start amending the National Youth Commission Act. We must proceed on this path in recognition of this fact of progress of the commission.

Again we should reject as absurd the notion that there is any one institution that should alone fulfil all the needs of youth and ensure that they are educated, skilled, employed or have enterprises. Certainly, to give the commission this mandate would truly have been thoroughly naive and stupid. Further, to try to score cheap points through genuine youth interests is blatantly opportunistic. To believe that youth unemployment will be resolved through some unsustainable coupons is to satisfy nothing but a retarded thought.

The ANC has made far-reaching proposals to address youth unemployment. At the same time, we have taken practical steps to address this problem. Last week we spoke at some length about these initiatives, including those taken by labour and business. Further, we also highlighted the frustrations faced by many youth who want to get involved in business and create more jobs, such as a lack of access to credit and information.

Of course, championing poverty elimination among the youth also requires that, within the integrated rural development strategy framework, we pay systematic attention to the plight of the rural youth, who remain the most marginalised and underprivileged. Among others, we will address such issues as their access to employment, entrepreneurship, education and training, sports and recreation, primary health care and productive land, indeed, to create future farmers.

To address poverty requires that we should, as a people, acquire a certain level of human solidarity among all our people, black and white. We should all subscribe to such ideals as the permanent elimination of poverty, the attainment of sustained improvement in the standard of living of our people and, through this, the enhancement of their dignity. If these words sound familiar to the President, it is because he said them himself in April this year in Havana at the South summit.

We have acknowledged before, that as a consequence of centuries of systematic impoverishment of all our people, the existence of two nations in our country is sadly characterised by the fact that one nation is quite wealthy and happens to be white, while the other one lives in poverty and happens to be black. The human solidarity we seek should resonate among all our people and become the basis for uniting them in their diversity - !ke e:/xarra //ke.

Greater challenges face the generations of the future, both black and white. From different and parallel paths, they have traversed to reach this moment in our history as a nation when they should start again with their journey, only this time their separate journeys converge into one common journey. The youth of South Africa has been charged by history to become the custodian of our country’s destiny. Thus, we should applaud the initiative of the ANC Youth League and the Afrikanerbond Youth League, on National Youth Day, to hold a joint national conference on nation-building.

Eradicating poverty also means that we must fight the spread of HIV/Aids. Once more, we should reaffirm the time-tested practice of ABC: abstain, be faithful to one’s partner or condomise. We should say that HIV/Aids is preventable. This is the disease the youth must defeat. In many ways and in every locality, the youth are heeding the message. They are not only practising safe sex or no sex at all, they are also hard at work, seized with the challenges of defeating this disease.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the North West, there are positive, living ambassadors. In the Goldfields and Sasolburg regions of the Free State, the youth are forming anti-Aids youth clubs. In the western regions of Mpumalanga and in KwaZulu-Natal, youth organisations are addressing churches, schools and even setting up information tables at the sports grounds and shopping malls. The message is simple: Stop HIV/Aids. Defeat HIV/Aids. Today, we must say that, despite the problems and the hurdles they confront on their way, our youth are morally and psychologically getting ready to fulfil their historic tasks. In every locality, millions of unsung young heroes exist. A new cadre of the youth, a new cadre of African patriot arises from our shores, from the very act of our continued self- emancipation. They look up to the Comrade President’s leadership.

Sikhokhele Zizi. [Lead us, Zizi.] [Applause.]

Genl C L VILJOEN: Mevrou die Speaker, agb President en Adjunkpresident, die land soek positiewe leierskap van die President, sy hande op die stuurstang. In hierdie jong demokrasie is versoening, samewerking en patriotisme nie vanselfsprekend nie. Dit moet uit sterk leierskap van bo af kom, gesteun deur vrywillige, spontane meewerking van onder af. Tans glip die geleenthede een vir een by ons verby. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Gen C L VILJOEN: Madam Speaker, hon President and Deputy President, the country is seeking positive leadership from the President, his hands on the wheel. In this young democracy reconciliation, co-operation and patriotism are not a matter of course. They must come from strong leadership from the top, supported by voluntary, spontaneous co-operation from the bottom. Currently the opportunities are passing us by one by one.]

The President himself has formally emphasised the need for what he calls giraffe vision, meaning that we should focus on the future and guard against the obstruction of our view by the immediate surroundings and troubles. However, perhaps we need an ant’s view, as well, in order to be able to work harder to first build the country and have a firm base on which to establish our giraffe vision.

The so-called miracle has, by no means, been secured. It cannot be taken for granted at this stage. I therefore join the criticism that the President seems to be preferring the role of a super Minister of Foreign Affairs. I criticise the fact that he acts as if this country is a well- balanced and stable democracy that experiences and is blessed with fixed patriotism and a sense of national unity. This is far from being the case. I sincerely hope that we will now see more of him, and that his prolonged absence abroad was part of a specific strategy to build initial relationships with international personalities. That is important, as is investment.

There is work to do internally. There is the issue of building a new African culture as opposed to a Westminster culture. We are, at present, miles apart and sometimes we battle to understand each other. To many on this side of the House, the President and some of his Ministers appear to be intolerant of criticism. We sense frustration, but it might just be a matter of culture.

Recently, Dr Magoba, the President of the Medical Research Council, warned that it is not proper to criticise an African leader in public without approaching him first through a private discussion. Of course, such a leader should be approachable. The point I wish to make is that we rushed into a Westminster system without getting to know the customs and the culture of the many parts of our new composition.

This House has inherited the westernised system of government and opposition. We have an overwhelming African majority in government versus the small, mainly westernised, minority in opposition. In the traditional African culture, the chief often consults with the council of elders, and the chief is regarded as being the leader by the people. As an Afrikaner claiming to be indigenous, this culture of consultation appeals to me as being very sensible, and could be used and introduced as a means of merging conflicting cultures into a national patriotism. It is also a way to foster a sense of belonging and sharing amongst minorities instead of the abrupt attitude we sometimes get, such as that of the hon Mluleki George when he said: ``We have the power and we will push through this Firearms Control Bill.’’

Mis ons nie ‘n geleentheid nie? ‘n Forum vir beraadslaging tussen die President en die partyleiers kan ‘n gees van ubuntu en onderlinge verdraagsaamheid skep, al is die idee uit pas met Westerse gebruike in die opposisie. Tans stuur ons af op ‘n meerderheidstaat. Die ``winner-takes- all’‘-benadering pas nie in Afrika met al sy minderhede nie. Dit lei tot oorheersing, onderdrukking en selfs uitwissing.

Dit was my party se filosofie om veral tussen Afrikaners en die swart meerderheid te bou aan so ‘n oplossing. Dit is ook my persoonlike ideaal en hoop om ‘n bydrae te lewer omdat ek belangstel daarin en omdat ek toegewy voel aan Afrika. Die April 1994-akkoord wat gesluit is met twee hoofrolspelers, ons huidige President en Adjunkpresident, word egter nie meer eerbiedig nie. Dit is ‘n hoop wat vervaag het.

Die forum vir gereelde beraadslaging tussen ons partye is al in 1998 eensydig deur die ANC gestol. Dit het ook stil geword. Die wedersydse begrip en onderlinge respek wat bestaan het, het weggekwyn en verhard tot ‘n normale Westerse meerderheid-minderheid politieke getwis. Mis ons nie geleenthede nie?

Baie politieke faktore het tesame met die vervaging van hierdie hoop ‘n sterk invloed op Afrikanerkiesers uitgeoefen en so hulle stempatrone beïnvloed. Misdaad was die sterkste faktor, gevolg deur onderwysstandaarde, gebrek aan werkskepping, teleurstellende ekonomiese ontwikkeling, dalende morele standaarde, ondoeltreffende regering, swaarder belasting en nog vele ander.

Die vrees onder my steunbasis het oor belange gegaan en dit verklaar die polarisasie wat tans plaasvind. Dit werk die noodsaaklike voltooiing van ‘n nasionale versoening teen, wat skynbaar nou minder aandag kry. Dié polarisasie herskep rassisme en dit bring rassemeerderheidsdominasie mee, wat maklik totalitêre afmetings kan aanneem.

Daarom vra die land verstandige leiding, want daar is ernstige implikasies met betrekking tot versoening, wat juis een van die punte van kritiek teen die President is. Dit is duidelik dat sy oormatige spoed met transformasie neerkom op swart bevoorregting op talle wyses ten koste van versoening. Hoe belangrik die transformasieproses ook al mag wees, kan ‘n mens nie die een doen en die ander laat nie.

Prof Jakes Gerwel sluit ‘n artikel oor rassisme in die Rapport van verlede Sondag af met die volgende stelling:

Waaroor ek dikwels wonder, is hoe ‘n jong wit Suid-Afrikaner vandag moet voel en hoe ons in die openbare gesprek oor strukturele gelykheid hulle die versekering van onbedreigde behuisdheid kan gee.

Dit is eenvoudig: daar is geen morele basis om teen jong blankes te diskrimineer as hulle nie in die verlede deel aan die politiek gehad het nie, want dit sal neerkom op rassisme en ‘n nuwe vorm van apartheid.

Ja-stemmers in die 1992-referendum se sterkste verwagting was om ‘n konflik te beëindig en vir eens en vir altyd vrede, veiligheid en voorspoed te kry in ‘n verdeelde land. Die versoeningsriglyne van 1993 se tussentydse grondwet is lank vergete. Onthou agb lede nog die nasionale skikkingskodisil? Dit het riglyne bevat soos herstel, nie vergelding nie; begrip, nie wraaksug nie, en ubuntu, nie viktimisering nie. In die plek daarvan het die voortdurende verwysings na wraak en onverdraagsaamheid oor die verlede toegeneem. Dit skep nuwe rasse-onmin en -haat. Ek wil agb lede hier ‘n voorbeeld gee uit Unisa. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Are we not missing an opportunity? A forum for consultation between the President and the party leaders could build a spirit of ubuntu and mutual tolerance, even if the idea is out of line with Western traditions in the opposition. We are currently headed towards a majority state. The ``winner- takes-all’’ approach is not appropriate in Africa with all its minorities. It leads to domination, oppression and even extinction.

It was my party’s philosophy to work on such a solution, particularly between Afrikaners and the black majority. It is also my personal ideal and hope to make a contribution because I am interested and because I feel committed to Africa. The April 1994 accord which was reached with two primary players, our current President and Deputy President, is, however, no longer being honoured. It is a hope that has faded.   The forum for regular consultation between our parties was unilaterally stalled by the ANC in 1998 already. It has also become quiet. The mutual understanding and respect which existed, have faded away and hardened into a normal Western majority-minority political battle. Are we not missing opportunities?

Many political factors, together with the fading of this hope, have exerted a strong influence on Afrikaner voters and influenced their voting patterns in this way. Crime was the strongest factor, followed by educational standards, lack of job creation, disappointing economic development, declining moral standards, inefficient government, heavier taxation and many more.

The fear among my support base centred around interests and this explains the polarisation which is currently taking place. This counteracts the essential completion of national reconciliation, which is apparently now receiving less attention. This polarisation is recreating racism and brings with it domination by the racial majority, which can easily take on totalitarian proportions.

The country is therefore asking for sensible leadership, because there are serious implications with regard to reconciliation, which is precisely one of the points of criticism against the President. It is clear that his excessive speed with regard to transformation amounts to black privilege in many ways, at the expense of reconciliation. No matter how important the transformation process may be, one cannot do the one and not the other.

Prof Jakes Gerwel concluded an article on racism in Rapport of last Sunday with the following statement:   Waaroor ek dikwels wonder, is hoe ‘n jong wit Suid-Afrikaner vandag moet voel en hoe ons in die openbare gesprek oor strukturele gelykheid hulle die versekering van onbedreigde behuisdheid kan gee.

It is simple: There is no moral basis to discriminate against young white people if they did not participate in politics in the past, because this will amount to racism and a new form of apartheid.

The strongest expectation of those who voted yes in the 1992 referendum was to end a conflict and, once and for all, achieve peace, security and prosperity in a divided country. The guidelines for reconciliation in the interim Constitution of 1993 are long forgotten. Do hon members still remember the national settlement codicil? It contained guidelines such as restitution, not retribution, understanding, not revenge, and ubuntu, not victimisation. In place of this the constant references to revenge and intolerance regarding the past have increased. This creates new racial unrest and hatred. I would like to give hon members an example here from Unisa.]

A memorandum from the Black Progressive Force to the principal, Prof Nel, headed: The principal and Absa are crooked, bloody racist enemies of transition'' and which ends off by saying thatThe time for you to go has come. Please leave or we will throw you out. If you think you are untouchable, know that you are playing with fire’’ reminds me of the Zimbabwean style of intimidation. Ek praat oor die faktore wat vrede, veiligheid en voorspoed in die land beïnvloed. Die WVK-proses kom nie tot ‘n end nie. Dringende taalwetgewing is nodig. My kollega sal later hieroor uitwy. Meer as 800 boere in die nuwe Suid-Afrika is slagoffers van die wreedste aanvalle, vernedering en brutale moorde. Die Regering skep die indruk van gelatenheid hieroor.

Nog erger, as die Business Day van 8 Junie reg is, dan gaan die ANC binnekort ‘n kongres hou met onder meer ‘n besprekingspunt oor hoe die druk op twee sektore, naamlik die media en die boeregemeenskap verhoog kan word. Vir my klink dit weer na Zimbabwe. Beoog ons Regering en die meerderheidsparty ook om revolusionêre druk te gebruik om teenstanders verder in die nuwe Suid-Afrika mee te intimideer? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[I am talking about the factors which influence peace, safety and prosperity in the country. The TRC process has not been completed. Urgent language legislation is necessary. My colleague will elaborate on this later. More than 800 farmers in South Africa have been victims of the cruellest attacks, humiliation and brutal murders. The Government creates an impression of resignation about this. Worse still, if the Business Day of 8 June is correct, the ANC is soon going to hold a congress with, amongst others, a discussion point on how pressure on two sectors, namely the media and the farming community, can be increased. To me this sounds like Zimbabwe again. Are our Government and the majority party also envisaging using revolutionary pressure to further intimidate opponents in the new South Africa?]

If that is so, it is not democracy but crude mob rule. The legitimacy of such a democracy is then in question in a state with a permanent majority, mainly of one race, and a permanently subjected minority of another race.

With time against me, I will summarise two important issues. My party welcomes the idea of African renewal, but this needs closer definition and clear priorities. Part of the renaissance should be reformation - the rebuilding of moral values to heal the distorted minds with so many injuries caused in the many years of revolution and strife.

Secondly, poverty is everybody’s concern and we differ on how the Government is trying to solve it. Our message to the President today is that we need the giraffe’s view, but we also need the ethics of an ant. We need leadership to rebuild internally.

Today I will support this Vote hoping that with the state of the nation address next year, we will witness some moves on our concerns on cultural freedom, sound language legislation and the acknowledging of practical needs for the rights of minorities - the localisation phenomenon which the President mentioned earlier.

Ms F HAJAIG: Madam Speaker, hon President, Deputy President, Ministers and colleagues, firstly I would like to take this opportunity to thank the President for his enriching vision and the leadership that he is providing to the majority of our people. [Applause.]

The President has referred, time and again, in his various speeches all over the world, to the challenges of globalisation. Yes, globalisation is an irreversible fact of life. The world is becoming smaller and interconnected. No country is untouched by globalisation. Globalisation is generally seen as a process in the world economy propelled by neoliberal economics, where transnational corporations are locating their production and parts of production systems in various parts of the world to supply markets everywhere.

Even as a descriptive process, the actual reality is somewhat different. Financial markets have become globalised, functioning around the clock and around the world. Manufacturing and manufacturing capital are much less so, and even when corporations are relocating themselves to supply distant markets, it is a phenomenon confined to a few countries and regions and is largely absent from most parts of the Third World.

The globalisation process has spread to just a few parts of the developing world, mainly to the Far East and South East Asia. Even within those areas, it has spread unevenly. Everywhere else there is evidence of increased marginalisation. The Asian financial crisis has caused even some of the great success stories of economic development to falter. It has plunged economies, which were the fastest-growing in the world, into severe recession. Millions of people have seen their expectations shattered, employers bankrupted and families rendered destitute. Unemployment has soared, wages have fallen, and standards of living have plummeted. Developed nations are continuously assuring us that the only way in which we can hope to uplift our populations is by entering the global economy.

If we are to benefit from the greater pool of capital and bigger markets out there, we must, we are told, put certain things right. We must simply impose a package of measures, including deregulation, privatisation, currency exchangeability and fiscal conservatism. However, one has to wonder whether, if the playing fields were level, the US and other G7 countries would be so optimistic about globalisation. If conditions were the same throughout all nations, would those in what is currently the developed world still be advocating greater and still faster openness in free trade regimes?

The World Trade Organisation trading system is presented as a rules-based system, with a credible and enforceable dispute-settlement process. There can be no argument that a multilateral system based on rules is better than bilateral arrangements based on power. However, the rules constituting the system are asymetric and imbalanced, and lay an unjust and iniquitous burden on poorer countries, treating unequals as equals. These imbalances and inequities need to be changed if this system is to gain acceptance. The WTO leaders are ignoring the above developments and continue to promote vigorously their version of globalisation; that is dismantling the state and state regulations, and expanding the space for transnational corporations and neoliberal economic agendas of the North.

Despite the fact that the WTO is based on equality of rights and obligations of its members in theory, in practice the decision-making process at the WTO is used to advance the agendas of the major powers, particularly those of the US and Western Europe. This globalisation, as a process in the world economy, has been confined to a few countries and regions and it is spread unevenly, resulting in benefits for a few and marginalisation for the majority of nations.

Globalisation as a prescriptive norm of economic policy promoted by the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO is accentuating these problems and its backlash has become identified with the trading system. The rules of the system need to be modified to reverse the built-in imbalances against the South, Africa and the poor everywhere. Recent developments in the world economy mean that there is no longer an assumption that one has to accept everything imposed by the rhythm of globalisation.

The world economy is increasingly being administered by a new generation of financiers manipulating a glut of liquid capital. The unregulated influence of investment and merchant banks, stock brokerages and large insurance companies cuts across natural boundaries and represents a challenge for governments of developing and vulnerable countries. The speculator has emerged as a key player, driven by the objective of generating ever more profit with scant regard for any social cost. The speculators are far removed from the real economy, yet their decisions affect economic corporations across the many stock exchanges. Their decisions impact on employment and on productive output. They operate in different financial markets, including money, futures, options and capital and they speculate on the future prices of currencies and commodities.

Technology provides a super-highway for international transactions. Geographic locations and time no longer act as an obstacle to the financial system. The New York Stock Exchange, for example, can handle more than 300 000 transactions a day with a capacity of more than 2 billion shares. Any instability on the NYSE will impact negatively on the global financial system. The risks of financial instability for developing countries are now significantly greater than before and their ability to absorb economic shocks is also limited.

The IMF and the World Bank have acted as the financial inspectorate of the world, protecting the activities of speculators and the free movement of capital. The first priority has been the creation and protection of an economic system in which large and powerful economic entities trade most and move capital without hindrance from national governments. These global economic and social forces often seem to make the task of governing a nation state, especially a developing one, almost impossible. Yet a strong, sovereign nation state is absolutely necessary to ensure that competition is fair and global change is managed in a way that is beneficient to its people.

The President has aptly pointed out that a constitutional, democratic and economically viable nation state is necessary. However, the question remains as to how a developmental state, such as ours, enters the global economic system, opening itself to the vagaries of the strong, developed nations and still comes out with the benefits that are supposed to accrue to it, having fulfilled all the structural adjustments required by the IMF and the World Bank.

The global imperatives of free trade are targeted at opening up all strategic groupings - Asean, SADC, Nafta, the EU, and Mercosur. Regional endeavours of this sort, despite the advantages, can be a strain on national societies, further weakening the power of most governments.

It is imperative that small developing nations join hands and speak with one voice as to what their needs are and how to negotiate collectively for them. States characterised by poor internal cohesion and institutional weakness will not survive this stressful period. Few but the most successful and adaptive states will emerge unscathed, but weak states, particularly in Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and elsewhere, may collapse. The continental architecture will change, just as it already has. All this suggests that we are entering a period of great uncertainty.

Last, but not least, I wish this House to note that the energy of women in terms of human resources is not adequately used. This puts further strain on developing nations. Here the challenge is one of human resource capacity and institutional strengthening for the management process in global competition. The link between women’s economic position and free-market policies needs to be understood across the globe, especially in developing nations. It is mainly men who are retained as core workers, and women who are pushed out into the more exploited periphery. Unless we address this, developing nations cannot move at the pace they need to fulfil the objectives of poverty eradication and a better life for all. [Applause.]

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Madam Speaker, hon President and hon members, the Presidency, being the highest office in the land, attracts interest from all parties. Apparently that is why the House is so full today.

The administration and regulation of national symbols reside in the Presidency. Many people keep asking about the new coat of arms which, admittedly, was advertised for and went on tender, but was introduced to the nation unsaid and unsung. People usually expect a national symbol like this to be introduced with pomp and splendour.

Five years have passed since the acceptance of the new national anthem, yet it is still unknown and perhaps unsung in certain circles. By this time there should be no need to play a tape or import a choir to sing the anthem at a ceremony while members of the public remain silent, except those who sing some verse that appeals to them. The anthem has to be sung more often in order to have people internalise it. Above all, it has to be sung with the necessary decorum and deportment.

While it is appreciated that the National Youth Commission has had to seek accommodation elsewhere with new equipment, and that the budget was drawn up before passing the National Youth Commission Amendment Bill, which this House passed only last week, the increase in this programme’s allocation boggles the mind when it is taken into account that the commission has been reduced to only five permanent members. The commission will have to be more visible to be more credible in addressing the needs of all the youth.

We welcome the provision that the President may appoint directors-general to departments or delegate such powers to Ministers. This will help ease tensions when the chemistry between a Minister and a director-general fails. The President will step in to find a replacement for the director- general. We have had instances in which people have had to leave the Public Service because of their incompatibility with their Ministers.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Minister in the Presidency has no portfolio committee to report to, his Ministry has succeeded in changing the circumstances of disabled people in this country. The introduction of child rights is laudable, as the unit will minister to abused children. The section on the status of women will surely drive home to all that women, particularly those in the rural areas, have a place in the sun.

The introduction of the policy co-ordination and advisory services unit is also welcome, as it will come in handy when scrutinising and refining legislation to avoid the passage of Bills which may infringe on the Constitution, as was the case in the past. That the President’s co- ordinating council will be checked by himself bodes well for the enhancement of co-operative governance. May this develop into a statutory body.

It is hoped that instances such as that of the disconnection of telephones in the Northern Province will be addressed instantly. The hon Modise said here that there was an improvement in the financial administration of the provinces. Yet, from day to day, we hear that some province or other has had a problem with its finances, and that some are still going to keep people who do not have the necessary qualifications, which is a loss of money. [Applause.]

Business suspended at 12:27 and resumed at 14:02.

                          Afternoon Sitting

The MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Deputy President and colleagues …

Mr J H VAN DER MERWE: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: With respect, I have the next speaker on the list as Mr Albert Mncwango of the IFP.

The SPEAKER: Order! I am afraid the list in front of me is the one that I follow in calling members. Hon Minister, please proceed.

The MINISTER: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Deputy President and colleagues, this morning, as I watched the Leader of the Opposition, I was reminded of the Bible-thumping tele-evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart. At the same time, I was wondering whether this House was not being subjected to the wiles of a crafty salesman who was trying to sell us the virtues of AZT by stealth.

To the hon member Marthinus van Schalkwyk I can only give this simple advice: Avoid Tony Leon like the plague. While he is carrying him on his back here in the Western Cape, he is hellbent on gobbling up whatever is left of the rump of the once mighty NP, the founders of which must surely be turning in their graves. [Laughter.] What seems to be keeping those two members together is not so much any matter of principle but their mutual, intense, historic hatred of any notion that the plight of the majority of our citizenry, the erstwhile victims of apartheid, must receive urgent attention. [Applause.]

The hon the Leader of the Opposition made a strange observation this morning, namely that the President of the Republic speaks well and commendably for the poor of the world but not for the poor of this country. This strange and warped logic, of course, assumes that the poor of this country live in a world separate from the world as we know it, outside the ranks of the poor of the world, and that our President speaks only for those who are not in South Africa. What we were not told is that, presumably, the disciples of John Locke, who was quoted by the President this morning, who in the heyday of apartheid never cared about the plight of the majority, speak for the poor of this country and yet, of course, their utterances are always overwhelmed by their own action.

This logic is fed by sentiments such as those expressed by the two strange bedfellows who, over the weekend, proclaimed on national TV that South Africa deserves a resident President and not a travelling one. One would understand such sentiments only if one remembers that not so long ago, because of the choices the forebears and predecessors of these strange bedfellows made and imposed upon our country, their apartheid state presidents did not have even a fraction of the world responsibilities that rest upon the shoulders of our country since the demise of apartheid. [Applause.]

South Africa plays an important role in the world today. Our President has become a critical spokesperson for the so-called Third World which all of us ought to be proud of. As the Zulus will tell the members: Ukwanda kwaliwa umthakathi. [Increase of family is prevented by a witch.] [Applause.] A clear example of the onerous responsibility that rests upon his shoulders is the recent meeting in Berlin, which he was the only African president invited to attend. The meeting, which brought together a few progressive world leaders, was called to determine the governance agenda for the next century. We are advised that the President took advantage of this and placed the plight of the world’s poor, including South Africa’s poor, at the centre of its deliberations.

The meeting with the Nordic countries, which played a crucial role in hastening the demise of apartheid, firmly committed that group of countries to Africa. Before then, the South-South summit held recently in Cuba, chose our President and the Presidents of Nigeria and Algeria to go and argue the case for debt relief with the G8 on behalf of all developing countries, not only African countries. Once again: Ukwanda kwaliwa umthakathi. [Increase of family is prevented by a witch.] [Interjections.]

Recently, the President led delegations to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States. At the meetings which the President and those of us who were honoured to be part of his delegation had with our counterparts, important matters such as the training of members of our SA Police Service, the Scorpions, prosecutors, magistrates, legal draftsmen and court managers were canvassed. As we address this House this afternoon, we have quite a number of our personnel undergoing training in the two countries in many of these areas.

Lest anyone forget, it was none other than our country which played a critical role in the resolution of both the Lockerbee and East Timor issues. Without a president who has the necessary stamina and who travels and traverses the globe, we would never have been able to make these and many other claims. Our President, besides, chairs the Commonwealth high level group which is intended to review the role of the Commonwealth and advise on how best the Commonwealth could respond to the challenges of the century. Its report and recommendations are expected to be tabled in Brisbane, Australia, in 2001. Needless to say, our country is the current chair of the Nonaligned Movement as well, with heavy responsibilities resting on the shoulders of our President.

Some of the President’s Ministers have had the honour to chair some the world’s most important institutions. My colleague, Alec Erwin, for example, chaired Unctad. In April, in Vienna, I had the privilege to be asked to chair the UN’s 10th congress on crime prevention. My colleague Trevor Manuel, I am reliably told, will be the chairperson of the meetings of the boards of governors of the IMF and the World Bank to be held in September in Prague. [Applause.] Our participation in all these forums has not only enhanced the profile and image of our country, but has enabled us to contribute to the agenda and, indeed, to transform the thinking of many in these forums.

Again, it needs to be underlined that before the demise of apartheid, it was unthinkable to see any apartheid president, and, for that matter, any president of its Bantustan creatures, traverse the globe the way our President does. It is something that all of us ought to be proud of, as a country.

Those who are saying that we spend a lot of time and effort on the world outside South Africa are grossly mistaken. It is because of these onerous duties that this country carries - this side of apartheid - that it is unavoidable that members will see the President and big entourages of South Africans traverse the globe. After all, we brought about the end of apartheid and members rejoiced as a people - quite rightly so - when the Rugby World Cup was held here. Something grossly unthinkable.

There are so many other things that have happened under the stewardship of the hon the President and under his predecessor. Mabayeke abathakathi ukwala ukwanda. [Wizards should stop rejecting multiplicity.] [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr M A MNCWANGO: Madam Speaker, in one year, the Presidency has accomplished a great deal across the broad spectrum of challenges confronting South Africa. However, no matter how great it may be, what has been achieved remains overshadowed by the towering challenges which still remain to be attended to.

Faced with tasks which at times seem overwhelming, one must accept the need to shift gear and act with greater courage, stronger resolve and at a faster pace. There are matters which can just no longer wait for development and must be tackled in an outspoken, uncompromising and unwavering fashion.

The time has come for the Presidency to be heard with words which carry significance and with deeds which have a tangible impact on the realities of our people. Our people are struggling under the plight of crime and they want to hear from their President and see his words materialise in deeds. People see the state collapsing before the threats of racketeers, strongmen and people bent on intimidation operating in many communities and look up to their silent President.

People in townships want their President to have the strength and courage to face up to and put in place any taxi-driver who places his personal interest above that of our communities, and fear his ominous silence. The people want to hear the President speaking about unemployment, in a language which creates jobs and economic growth, not summits.

People want to hear about the moral standing that our country takes in the promotion of democracy on our continent and seek the leadership of their President, to distinguish between right and wrong. Maybe, people can no longer distinguish between silent diplomacy and the diplomacy of silence used to disguise the frustration of dealing with problems which seem too big, too unsolvable and too tremendous.

The President has undoubtedly already conquered his place in history by spearheading, together with my leader, Prince Buthelezi, the peace initiative between the IFP and the ANC. Because of the courage and determination of these two giants of our time, South Africa’s greatest and bloodiest conflict has begun to be reconciled.

The truth about the black-on-black conflict is slowly beginning to emerge and communities are reconciling. However, the road ahead is still long and uncertain, filled with obstacles, enemies and setbacks. The full measure of the President’s leadership will be tested on his outspoken courage and determination in dealing with these challenges. Now, more than ever, the course of reconciliation hinges on the balance between progress and major setbacks. One further step back may lead us into an irretrievable point of no return.

The recent assassination, for instance, of the mayor of Nongoma, Mr J B Skonde and the other IFP leaders in the area, are just the apex of a crescendo of violence which has targeted IFP leaders for many years. The dogs of war are on the loose again and the President must speak out with as loud a voice as he can muster to call them back, once and for all.

Behind the corpses of these heroes of Nongoma, there are hundreds of other victims whose stories remain untold and whose sacrifices never made it into the columns of newspapers. However, their memories remain vivid in our communities, as do the grievances of their families. They cannot be ignored because these wounds must be healed in order to reconcile.

There has been a systematic campaign to annihilate IFP leaders in Nongoma, which commenced a few minutes into the new millennium. Four people, including an IFP organiser in the area, were attacked and killed in cold blood. The perpetrator of this heinous massacre managed to evade the arm of the law for three months, until he was found harboured in the house of a prominent leader, unfortunately, of the President’s organisation, at Empangeni. We cannot blame the entire organisation for this fact, but we can, nevertheless, expect the organisation to take the strongest visible measures against such conduct. Unfortunately, no measures were taken, no condemnation uttered; sending the silent message of condonation, if not support.

Again, the dogs of war were on the loose. A few months later, Mr Sombese Buthelezi, the deputy chairperson of the IFP branch at KwaMinya, was again attacked under cover of night, sustaining serious injuries. He is one of the few who lived to tell the tale and could clearly identify his attackers who, too, are members, unfortunately, of the ANC. They are still mysteriously on the loose, most likely counting on the protection of friends. The ANC has taken no public measures to condemn them nor isolate them from the many who may be inclined to help them while on the run. Once again, silence is perceived as complicity. The dogs of war respect neither holidays, nor women, nor children. On Good Friday, when even belligerent armies will observe a truce, Mr Z T Ntshangase, the IFP councillor of Nongoma, was mowed down in a gruesome and horrific manner, together with two women supporters of the IFP, on their way to church. The modus operandi of these attacks reflects a pattern of hit-and-run violence which has remained constant for several years, and which the IFP exhaustively documented before the Goldstone Commission. To this day, no comprehensive investigation into this pattern of violence has ever been conducted by any organ of the state, in spite of the fact that a commission of inquiry of some special investigative task team has been established by the President or by other Ministers to investigate almost anything else.

In law, politics and morality, one becomes co-responsible for a misdeed when one interferes with the righting of a wrong. After the assassination of Mr J B Skonde, the investigation was nearly derailed in a most suspicious fashion, which suggests the direct involvement of the ANC provincial leadership. An attempt was made to surreptitiously remove the suspects from the investigating officers by a group of policemen ostensibly acting under the instruction of an ANC provincial Minister of Health, who obviously had no jurisdiction in the matter. Once again, this blatant interference with the course of justice found no reprimand from the ANC top national leadership. This is not the first time that this ANC leader has been associated with the obstruction of justice and numerous other dubious activities. The message that goes out is clearly spelled out in silence.

The message that goes out is that the President must find the strength to deal with problem cases even within the ranks of his own party, so that together we can find the strength, courage and resolve to deal with the enormous problems confronting the country and the continent. Law, order, peace and stability begin at the grass-roots level. If we can get it right there, we can do it across the country and, indeed, the continent. [Applause.]

Mrs W S NEWHOUDT-DRUCHEN: Madam Speaker, hon President, hon Deputy President, hon members, visitors and members of the disabled community, our Constitution, one of the most advanced constitutions in the world, provides that there should be no discrimination on the basis of disability, race or gender. It also promotes, and therefore recognises, the need for the promotion of sign language.

We have, apart from other laws, an integrated national disability strategy document, as mentioned by Minister Pahad. It looks at different disabilities and how women, children, the youth, people living in rural areas and the elderly, just to name a few, are affected and how they are accommodated at all levels of society in South Africa, for example in housing, health, transport and communication.

In our society, we need social transformation to take place, but how can we achieve social transformation? We need to understand our history as disabled people. In the past, disabled people were always seen and viewed as people living on welfare. They were never given the opportunity to think or to do anything for themselves. This is an old medical model. The social model is in line with what we want today. We are looking at society and its shortcomings, and we are also looking at the capabilities and the abilities of disabled people.

Members of our communities are disabled people, so we need to understand and enforce this social model. We need to understand and to work with organisations that work with disabled people, like the DPSA, Disabled People of South Africa, which has come a long way in fighting for the human rights of disabled people, and organisations like the SA Federal Council for Disabled People and Defsa.

With social transformation taking place, public awareness regarding disabled people also takes place. It looks at how society views us as disabled people. It is very important, especially in families, how people view disabled children and youth. Today, in the year 2000, we have many disabled adults who serve in important positions in Government, the public sector, commissions and right here in Parliament. [Applause.]

Disabled people who take part in international sports events, bring back medals for South Africa. However, I want to say, and stress this point, that I hear many stories about parents hiding and locking up disabled children at home. [Interjections.] Members of their families are locking them up at home, because they are fearful that the community will punish and ridicule them.

Many of our disabled children’s grants are being abused, instead of ensuring that they go to school, get an education and become fully integrated into society. We still have people, in the TV world, for example, who do not think that it is beneficial for disabled people to act. They would rather take able-bodied people to act as disabled people. What, then, is the role of the disabled person? This is very disempowering for us as disabled people. We, as disabled people, and the community, will not accept this.

Our responsibility as members of Parliament who work in our constituencies across South Africa, is that we need to inform our constituencies, our communities, and our families that transformation is taking place now, and inform them that disabled people also have abilities. [Applause.] We have positive role models that parents of disabled people can look up to and contact.

Social transformation needs to take place within the police force, in the education sector and in the workplace; and, especially, we need access to information, like that on HIV/Aids. Access to information for disabled people has been lacking for a very long time, but transformation cannot happen if the highest institution in South Africa, namely Parliament, is not fully transformed. Consultation cannot take place in South Africa if Parliament itself does not see the need to consult with disabled members. I therefore want to say that our political party has been fully responsible for our needs as disabled people. [Applause.]

For us to function fully in an integrated society, we need assistive devices, for example, telephonic communication devices, the teldem, Braille, personal assistants and interpreters. Our hon President, when he addressed the nation, called for the acceleration of assistive devices for disabled people. Parliament itself has given us computers and scanners, which assist us as disabled people, but we have to see that the daily lives of disabled people in South Africa have to change and we have to provide them with assistive devices. [Applause.]

We can work through the joint monitoring committee - a portfolio committee in Parliament - for the improvement of the quality of life and status of children, women, youth and disabled persons. Section (5)(a)(iii) of the Constitution provides that the Pan South African Language Board must promote and create conditions for the development and use of sign language. Let us look at the history of sign language, my language. During the apartheid era, sign language was oppressed. It was doubly oppressed, because only the black deaf could use sign language. The coloured and the white community were not allowed to use this language; but, because of this oppression, this language thrived in the black communities. Other communities looked at this and it formed a medium of communication between deaf communities. PanSALB, therefore, now has a responsibility to work for and promote sign language, and it must become an official language of South Africa, as in Uganda, for example.

With that language being official, we can lobby and have full access to all levels in South Africa. I am saying this because we were, and still are, service providers. We see various departments have budgets for translators and interpreters, but when they invite deaf people to meetings and workshops, we then need to negotiate for payments for sign language interpreters, because they always use the budget as an excuse.

The OAU has declared that the next 10 years will be the African decade for disabled people. This is a kick-start for us for the next African century. It provides Government, the private sector, the international community, and organisations for disabled people, with a unique opportunity to make sure that there are no barriers to people with disabilities, so that they can participate equally and develop in their communities.

People with disabilities need to participate fully in the moral and economic renewal of Africa; thus, benefiting debt relief, expanding international markets and ensuring that African infrastructure is barrier- free. President Mbeki has led the way in making sure that the rights of the disabled people to dignity and equality, and thereby development and prosperity, are realised. He has put disability issues on his agenda, and in his address to Parliament he said:

… to build a caring society. This society must guarantee the dignity of every citizen on the basis of a good quality of life for every woman, man or child, without regard to race, colour or disability.

This is the work that lies ahead of all of us. [Applause.]

Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, I did not anticipate a standing ovation at the start of my speech, but I thank members very much.

It is always a pleasure to participate in the debate on the President’s Vote. This is the Parliament that elected him unanimously, and must vote the money and approve the policies for which he comes here each year to obtain a new mandate. I would like to remind him that on 25 June 1999, at the opening of Parliament, he promised a partnership with the people in the fight against corruption. He made a commitment to honest, transparent and accountable Government, and repeated that commitment several times thereafter.

A year has passed since the promise and the time has come to take a look at the report card. We are entitled to ask the question: Is the country less corrupt than it was a year ago? Are the corrupt, the venal, the greedy and the stealers of the people’s money being caught, tried and punished? The answer to that is not yes, but a resounding no, and Mr Pahad knows that! [Interjections.] One of the most distressing failures of the Government - of which that hon Minister is a member - has been a failure to stamp out corruption in South Africa. I am not saying that the hon the President, the Cabinet or his Ministers are corrupt: I am saying that the impression one has is of a greedy new elite picking out from the spoils of office, while an ineffectual Government sleeps.

The ANC would have us believe that they are trying to promote a better life for all, when we all know that while the poor get poorer, the cronies and the powerful get richer. They do so often on the money which they steal from the aged, the children and the poor. The hon the Minister of Justice expressed amazement just now that the Leader of the Opposition had drawn a distinction between the poor of the world and those of South Africa. What that hon Minister does not understand is that the poor of the world may well be the concern of the President, but the poor of South Africa are his burden and responsibility. [Interjections.]

The fact is that in South Africa, the poor are getting poorer under his rule and Government. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is getting ever wider. Part of the thing that makes one sick is to see that corruption is rampant in this country and quite properly the President condemns it. But rather than a blitzkrieg on corruption, the President chooses quiet diplomacy. In particular, he has failed to inculcate a culture and determination to root out corruption and end the amazing tolerance towards it which one sees, particularly in some of the provinces of this country.

He has failed to establish a strong and really effective capacity to fight corruption; to ensure and underpin the independence of the existing investigation units responsible for fighting corruption; and to insist and ensure that the corrupt, even if they are big fish, pay for their crimes. Instead of a strong and clear lead, couched in unambiguous terms, we hear from him jargon such as the following:

We need a paradigm shift from external sanctions to stronger internal control with anticipatory management system. To meet the challenges of stemming the tide of corruption, we need to march to the tune of a new song, the song of regeneration and rebirth, the song of our renaissance, the song signalling the birth of the new public servants.

I do not know what all that means! These poetic flights of fancy, no doubt, appeal to Mr Wally Serote, but they drown out any clear message on the fight against corruption, because the people of this country do not know what he means. [Interjections.] Instead of strengthening with resources, human power, equipment and national support the existing agencies which we need to fight corruption, the Government stunts them. The SAPS is grossly understaffed, and Minister Tshwete is sitting there looking very satisfied about it. The Scorpions operate in a twilight zone, because they have no legislation governing them, and Minister Maduna is doing nothing about that. The investigative … [Interjections.]

Mr M S MANIE: Madam Speaker, I would like to know whether the hon member is prepared to take a question.

Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, at the end I would be delighted to answer Mr Manie’s question. If he wants to know what happened to his father’s pension, I do not have the answer! [Laughter.]

The investigative directorate of Oseo is battling under the load and the Heath Unit is treated by this Government as though it is an illegitimate child whose father insists on blood tests before paying maintenance. That is how they carry on with the Heath Unit, instead of saying that they are proud of it, they established it and it is there to fight corruption. What they do is to starve Judge Heath of money and make him wait around while all these 128 mandates gather dust in his office.

The hon the Deputy President advised the House this morning that crime was higher on the agenda of the Government. My feeling is that the chairman of the board passed that item on the agenda without getting to it. The President and his genial, competent and kind Deputy both represent us with dignity and style, and mix with princes, queens and presidents. They move between palaces, parliaments and summits. It is left to the DP to move around our towns, townships and cities. [Interjections.] The ANC representatives are never there. The DP are the ones who visit police stations, old age homes and schools. We talk to the ordinary South Africans, who tell us of their suffering.

These hon members laugh at the suffering of people. I want to read them a note which was handed to Mr Tony Leon, when he was on a walkabout two Saturdays ago. The note says:

Dear Tony, watching from above here on the balcony, I wonder what is going on in this country of ours. I have always voted DP and hope opposition will work. My beautiful daughter, 15 years old, was raped outside our home at 14:30 one month ago, and it seems to be quite normal in South Africa. We cannot even walk in our streets. What are you doing about it? How can we believe in this country?

This is the cry of a mother, and I can give hon members a hundred notes like that. [Interjections.] These people say corruption and crime are rampant in this country. At the same time as this goes on, the police are bleeding; the police stations are grossly understaffed. Instead of providing us with 12 000 policemen - which is what we need in this country

• they are giving us 1 200 this year, which is not enough to cover the people who commit suicide and those who are murdered, retire or die. That is a fact in South Africa.

If this Government is really serious about having crime and corruption on the agenda, it is time they stopped talking about it, telling us how important they regard it or about paradigm shifts and all the other nonsense that comes with it. They must address the concerns of ordinary people: solve crime in the streets, empower our policemen and stock up our police stations, then they will be seen to be doing something about it. People like me and those I represent, the ordinary people of South Africa, will know that they really mean it. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

Mr R P Z VAN DER HEEVER: Madam Speaker, the hon President of the Republic of South Africa, the address by our hon President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, once again exhibited the characteristics of a vintage Mbeki address: vision, honesty, boldness and above all, integrity.

Listening to our President’s address, it struck me how clear he always is on issues about which there seems to be enormous confusion amongst opposition parties. The President’s position on a people-centred society, characterised by a people-driven process of change, has indeed elevated the debate in this Chamber to the noble heights at which it should always be. However, in spite of the President’s moral leadership, his detractors have been busy behind his back. The President should be aware of the criticism levelled against him, on the occasion of his state visit to the USA, by sections of the media and the opposition that he is spending too much time on foreign affairs-related issues.

There is, however, a contradiction inherent in this criticism, because, on the one hand, we find the hysteria in sections of the media in our country

• a hysteria mirrored in the addresses of both the hon Leon and the hon Van Schalkwyk this morning - that he should have condemned Zimbabwe on the question of the occupation of farms. In other words, there is a serious clamour on the one hand, that he should involve himself, boots and all, in a foreign affairs issue on the continent but, on the other hand, there is the flippant suggestion that he is spending too much time on foreign affairs-related issues. [Interjections.]

It appears that it is in order for the hon the President to devote his undivided attention to issues outside our country when the welfare of white people is at stake. [Interjections.] However, when he goes abroad, appealing to global superpowers to confront the African challenge of poverty and underdevelopment and to reverse the marginalisation of Africa, then we have the most eloquent criticism from the opposition on how much better it would have been if he had rather stayed at home. Brothers Leon and Van Schalkwyk should consider whether this does not give credence to the stereotyping which they are complaining about, namely that their criticism as an opposition is mainly based on racial considerations? [Interjections.]

The attack by the ubiquitous Douglas Gibson on the ANC also comes as no surprise. [Interjections.] The DP has become so obsessed with becoming an opposition to the ANC, with fighting back, that it has entirely forsaken its role as a parliamentary party that tries to contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing this emerging democracy of ours. [Interjections.] The hon Douglas Gibson, for example, jumped out of his skin here in front trying to create a fight-back image. [Interjections.] What solutions has he provided here today? None. He has foamed at the mouth, he has waved his arms, but sadly, his speech did not contribute to a solution.

In the one province where the DP and New NP are in power, the Western Cape, the DP, as an 11% party, has control over 70% of the provincial budget. [Interjections.] In the present stand-off between the DP and the New NP over this matter, there is a great test of political character being faced by the hon Marthinus van Schalkwyk. Does he have the necessary resolve to fundamentally address the problems of a very unholy alliance? Both the DP and New NP have become so preoccupied in being the opposition to the ANC that they have completely forgotten their political responsibility to contribute towards finding solutions to the problems in the Western Cape: the ongoing taxi violence, the lingering and debilitating racism in the Western Cape and the inability to establish a united nonracial society in the Western Cape.

In his address, the hon Leon referred to what he called the scrapping of Curriculum 2005 by the Minister of Education, the hon Kader Asmal. I think that if the DP representatives had attended the education portfolio committee meetings more regularly instead of using committee time to plan a fight-back strategy, then Mr Leon would have been better advised on this issue.

Curriculum 2005 has been conceived within the broad paradigm of outcomes- based education. [Interjections.] The Minister has made it quite clear that his department remains committed to outcomes-based education, but that it would review specific aspects of Curriculum 2005, in respect of certain problems which have been identified with regard to the implementation of the new curriculum.

I want to inform the hon Leon that the ANC Government has the political maturity to accept mistakes which are made in the hurly-burly of implementation and to apply constructive remedies where required. [Interjections.] This is more than can be said of the DP which today, a year after becoming the Official Opposition, still espouses the same hackneyed platitudes which it pronounced during its infamous fight-back campaign last year.

The forthcoming local government elections provide our country with a rare and historic opportunity to transform local government to meet the needs of the country in this new millennium. It provides us, as South Africans, with the opportunity of deepening our democracy and mobilising our people to participate in changing their lives for the better. However, if local government is to effectively fulfil the powers and functions allocated to it and the increasing responsibilities heaped on it, and if it is to be the major site of service delivery and development it is identified to be, it has to be allocated more funding. While I understand that flinging more money at local government is not the answer, I believe that there is room for national and provincial Government to contribute more to help municipalities to develop strategies, to raise more revenue, to grow their local economies and to improve their financial management capacity.

I want to say to the President that, in approaching the local government elections in November this year, we are painfully aware that many of the opposition parties such as the DP, in particular, will stoop to any level to destabilise a smooth election process in an effort to score cheap political points. [Interjections.] In this regard, we can only think of the attempt by the New NP to gerrymander the Tygerberg municipality boundaries to exclude Khayelitsha in 1996, and the enforced postponement of the Western Cape elections due to problems raised by opposition parties. The 1996 tax revolt in Sandton, with the implementation of rates and service payment boycotts, is another case in point of the desperate lengths the opposition will go to, in this case, the DP, to undermine South Africa’s emerging local government system.

In this regard, the ANC was the party which set the most conciliatory approach when, after the ANC victory in the local government elections in Durban in 1997, it offered positions to its chief regional rival, the IFP. In this regard, the hon President is to be congratulated that his organisation, the ANC, still sets the most diligent example with regard to political maturity and statemanship. It is the ANC which has placed co- operation at the heart of the local government sytem. It is the ANC which has proposed the phrase ``co-operative governance’’ rather than government. It is the ANC which has defined its key priority as building an integrated performance-oriented, people-centred and accountable system of government, free of corruption and with a commitment to serving the people.

We can only appeal to the opposition, the DP, the New NP and others to stop their party-political bickering, bleating and posturing, and to join hands with the ANC in promoting co-operative governance and supporting an effective system of provincial and local government for accelerated service delivery. In this appeal to the opposition, we wish to hold up the example of our hon President who always tries to rise above narrow party-political considerations and who, indeed, puts South Africa first. [Applause.]

Mr R S SCHOEMAN: Madam Speaker, hon President and colleagues, I regret to inform the hon member Van den Heever that free advice is worth what it costs; and he gave us a lot of unsolicited advice today. Unfortunately, the way in which he gave it also undermines its credibility, and we will chart our course according to our principles and our views, and our analysis of what this country needs.

I would also just like to say, if I may, that I am sure that all members of this House have again been impressed by the hon Newhoudt-Druchen, and the example that an hon member such as she has set in confronting adversity with such success and optimism. I think her actions here today in addressing this Chamber have reminded us how the disabled of this country need the support of every single member of this Parliament.

I would also like to say, in referring to the hon the President, that leaders of real significance are often associated in people’s minds with a particular speech or a defining moment in their presidency. For Abraham Lincoln it was the Gettysburg Address, for Winston Churchill his ``Never Surrender’’ speech, for Mr F W de Klerk his speech on 2 February 1990 in this very Chamber, when he committed our party and this country to a new South Africa. Nelson Mandela, apart from making some great speeches over the years, such as his inaugural address, also captured the symbolism of a rainbow nation sharing a victory, not only in a sports game but also over itself, when he appeared in a Springbok jersey at Ellis Park after the Rugby World Cup in 1994.

In the case of the hon the President it will be argued that his very eloquent ``I am an African’’ speech, delivered in this Chamber on 8 May 1996, will be seen to be a definitive articulation of where Africa has come from, but more importantly, where it is going. In that sense the hon the President will continue to be seen as the leader who held up the vision of the African renaissance. The New NP supports this vision, as the leader of my party has again reiterated today.

But we must also say to one another that in the four years that have elapsed since that landmark speech, conditions in Africa - especially in respect of democracy in Africa - have in fact, with one or two exceptions, deteriorated, and one says this with sadness, and not with satisfaction. Civil wars rage; dictators like Kabila go unchecked; tyranny, political intolerance and corruption are still rampant in large parts of Africa. But the fact of the matter is also that these realities have led a publication like The Economist to refer in an editorial last month to ``Hopeless Africa’’. It serves no purpose for us to react aggressively or with anger to that very brutal and rather cynical assessment.

However, we would say that what should be done is that every country in Africa should rather assess the problems it has and its own circumstances. I would like to appeal to the hon the President to make it clear to his co- leaders in Africa that Africa as a continent will only be renewed if each of its constituent parts is renewed. The African renaissance cannot be driven from here, from Nigeria or from any other single country. The most meaningful contribution which South Africa can make to the African renaissance is that of a South African renaissance that is led here by the President himself. We must lead by example as a country. That is the most powerful form of leadership.

The hopeless Africa syndrome is not new. It is Afro-pessimism again, which has been around for a long time. But I believe that we must also, be very alert to the danger of South Afro-pessimism, or pessimism in our own country based on widespread concern, fear and frustration resulting, inter alia, from crime, lawlessness and continuing poverty, racism and conflict in our own country.

The hon the President will be attending a number of summits in the next few months, as he has done in the past few months. This activity on the global stage has, of course, benefits for Africa - we know that - and for South Africa’s standing. But I believe our standing internationally no longer needs to be proved. It is self-evident.

However, I want to tell the hon the President that the view from the summit is wide and light and optimistic, but that down in the darker valleys of South Africa we all know that the perspectives and prospects are often very different. I would appeal to the hon the President that the priority of Government now must be to put our own house in order in respect of the basic human needs and rights of South African citizens, including their right to be free from fear, from racism and discrimination, and from poverty.

We as a party are committed to achieving that objective in the conviction - in the words of President Mbeki himself - that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. That is our joint challenge in this House, and as every party in this House - to turn that vision into reality. [Applause.]

Mnr D V BLOEM: Mevrou die Speaker, mnr die President, ek wil met die President begin. Ons moet vir hom sê dat die mense daar buite tevrede is met wat hy as President doen. [Applous.] Hier is mense wat volgens peilings gaan en praat van vyf uit vyf, vier uit vyf en ses uit vyf. Hulle het nie steun daar buite nie en nou kom praat hulle van vyf uit vyf. Met die plaaslike bestuursverkiesings gaan ons hulle weer wys dat die ANC die Regering is en die meeste steun in hierdie land het. Ons gaan hulle wys. [Applous.] [Tussenwerpsels.]

Ek het darem ook goeie nuus vir die opposisie.

Mnr M J ELLIS: Baie dankie!

Mnr D V BLOEM: Ek was Sondag in die kerk. [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek het nagmaal gebruik en wyn gedrink. Die predikant het vir my gesê ek moet kalm bly as ek hier kom praat, maar dit lyk my daar is ook ‘n ander soort wyn. Daar is ‘n predikant hier - Meshoe - wat ook wyn drink, maar dit lyk vir my daardie wyn is met iets gemeng, want hy kan nie stilstaan as hy hier staan nie. Hy gaan hier aan soos ‘n perd wat dagga gerook het. As ‘n mens ‘n perd dagga gee, dan raak hy wild en kan nie stilstaan nie. Maar ek wil nie so baie praat nie. Die opposisie moet daardie predikant bedank wat gesê het ek moet kalm bly, want anders het ek hulle gevat. Maar ek is kalm. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr D V BLOEM: Madam Speaker, Mr President, I want to start with the President. We must tell him that the people out there are pleased with what he is doing as the President. [Applause.] There are people here who follow polls and they are talking of five out of five, four out of five and six out of five. They have no support out there, so now they come here and talk about five out of five. In the local government elections we are going to show them again that the ANC is the Government and that it has the most support in this country. We are going to show them. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

I also have good news for the opposition.

Mr M J ELLIS: Thank you very much!

Mr D V BLOEM: I went to church on Sunday. [Interjections.] I took communion and drank wine. The minister told me to remain calm when I come here to speak, but it seems to me as if there is also another kind of wine. There is a minister here - Meshoe - who also drinks wine, but it seems to me as if that wine is mixed with something else, because he cannot stand still when he stands here. He carries on like a horse that has smoked dagga. If one gives a horse dagga he goes wild and cannot stand still. But I do not want to talk that much. The opposition should thank that minister who said I must stay calm, or I would have tackled them. But I am calm. [Interjections.]]

Mr M J ELLIS: What have you been smoking?

Mnr D V BLOEM: In 1986 - 14 jaar gelede - het iemand vir my ‘n boek gestuur vanuit die tronk in Delmas. Daardie persoon is bestempel as ‘n terroris en aangekla van hoogverraad. Die boek, getiteld Praat met die ANC, is geskryf deur ‘n groep jong Afrikaners wat in Lusaka met die ANC samesprekings gaan voer het. Ek gaan nie oor die boek praat nie, maar oor die boodskap wat die boek vergesel het. Op die voorste bladsy skryf die ``terroris’’ die volgende woorde:

Dennis, ons is verplig om alle Suid-Afrikaners te bevry en met grootmoedigheid te hanteer, vernaamlik die Afrikaners, ten spyte van wat hulle aan ons gedoen het en steeds doen. Hulle is ‘n belangrike deel van ons land se mense.

Hierdie ``terroris’’ is vandag ons Minister van Verdediging, Kameraad Terror Lekota. [Applous.] Hy is een van die leiers wat die dood in die oë gestaar het, maar nooit bitterheid getoon het nie, maar liewer vir die onderdrukkers gepleit het. Dit is die gehalte van leierskap wat die ANC het. Hy is deel van die span wat onder die leiding staan van President Mbeki.

Twee weke gelede sê die leier van die VF, die agb Constand Viljoen, dat hy bereid is om die land te verlaat ter wille van sy vuurwapens. [Tussenwerpsels.] In dieselfde asem kla die generaal oor plaasmoorde. [Tussenwerpsels.] In alle plaasmoorde word gesteelde wapens gebruik. Die moordenaars steel dié wapens van wettige eienaars. Almal weet dit. Ek glo nie dit sal goeie leierskap van die generaal wees om die land te verlaat ter wille van vuurwapens nie. [Gelag.] [Applous.]

Genl C L VILJOEN: Mevrou die Speaker … [Tussenwerpsels.] Mevrou die Speaker, sal die agb lid bereid wees om ‘n vraag te beantwoord? [Tussenwerpsels.]

Mnr D V BLOEM: Net later as ons buitekant is, mevrou die Speaker. [Tussenwerpsels.] As ons buite is.

Ek wil hê die generaal en die ander Afrikaners moet luister. Hierdie is hulle volkstaat en alle Afrikaners se land. Hulle moenie lafaards wees om ter wille van wapens die land te verlaat nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]

‘n Week gelede besoek die agb Patricia de Lille die Pollsmoor-gevangenis, vergesel deur ‘n groep mense van die media, om kinders in die tronk te gaan besoek. Ná haar besoek eis sy dat alle kinders onmiddellik uit tronke vrygelaat word. Ek moet dit baie duidelik stel dat die ANC dit geensins goedkeur dat daar kinders in ons tronke is nie, maar ons moet ook die realiteite van ons land aanskou.

Van hierdie kinders word deur dwelmbase gebruik om dwelms te versprei. Van hulle is aangekla van moord, huisbraak en ander ernstige oortredings. Kom ons kyk waar die probleem lê. Oorbevolking in ons tronke is die grootste probleem en ons moet ook kyk na wat hierdie probleem veroorsaak. Watter rol speel die Polisie en howe in hierdie verband?

Ek moet begin met die Polisie. Op die oomblik sit ons met ongeveer 63 970 verhoorafwagtendes, en hierdie probleem het in 1995 ontstaan. Van hierdie persone sit so lank as vyf jaar alvorens hulle sake aangehoor kan word. In sommige gevalle word hulle vrygespreek. Ek het ‘n gevoel dat daar iewers ‘n verskuilde agenda by van die polisie en sekere landdroste in ons land is. Daar is van die landdroste wat sake aanhoudend uitstel en van die polisie raak ontslae van dossiere.

Hierdie mense wil ons Regering onder leiding van president Mbeki in ‘n swak lig stel. Daar is van hulle wat rassisties is. In sommige plekke is dit steeds die ou verkrampte landdroste en polisie waar niks verander het nie. Ons moet gaan kyk wie is hierdie meer as 63 000 verhoorafwagtendes. Dit is swartmense wat daar sit.

Op die oomblik is daar 12 tronke vir jeugdiges landwyd. Hierdie tronke het al die nodige fasiliteite vir jeugdiges. Van die fasiliteite is vier in die Wes-Kaap, twee elk in Gauteng, Vrystaat en KwaZulu-Natal, en een elk in Mpumalanga en Noordwes. Die fasiliteite kan egter net 6 000 van die ongeveer 14 000 jeugdiges huisves. Verhoorafwagtende kinders is die vernaamste probleem.

Die Regering het hom daartoe verbind om kinders wat nog nie gevonnis is nie buite die gevangenis te hou. Ongelukkig is dit nie altyd moontlik om dit te implementeer nie. Die Departement van Welsyn het plekke van veilige bewaring vir hierdie kinders in byna al die provinsies gebou, maar intussen het iemand die ou fasiliteite gesluit. Ons weet nie wie en waarom nie. Dit is ‘n probleem.

Ek moet die swaar strawwe verwelkom wat die howe verkragters oplê, maar ek wil ook graag ‘n ernstige beroep op die howe doen om swaarder strawwe op te lê vir diegene wat die polisie dag en nag uitmoor. Ek doen ‘n beroep dat hulle nooit uit die tronk vrygelaat moet word nie. Hulle, tesame met verkragters, moet vir ewig in die tronk lê, want hulle is nie nodig in hierdie gemeenskap nie. [Applous.]

Ek wil afsluit met die kwessie van vigs in ons land. Die tronke word oorstroom deur vigslyers. Dit is almal van ons se plig om te help sorg dat ons hierdie euwel van vigs uitroei en beveg. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr D V BLOEM: In 1986 - 14 years ago - someone sent me a book from the prison in Delmas. That person was branded a terrorist and charged with treason. The book, entitled Praat met die ANC, was written by a group of young Afrikaners who went to Lusaka to hold talks with the ANC. I am not going to talk about the book, but about the message that came with the book. On the first page the ``terrorist’’ wrote the following words:

Dennis, ons is verplig om alle Suid-Afrikaners te bevry en met grootmoedigheid te hanteer, vernaamlik die Afrikaners, ten spyte van wat hulle aan ons gedoen het en steeds doen. Hulle is ‘n belangrike deel van ons land se mense.

Today this `terrorist’’ is our Minister of Defence, Comrade Terror Lekota. [Applause.] He is one of the leaders who faced death, but never displayed bitterness, and instead made a plea for the oppressors. This is the quality of leadership in the ANC. He is part of the team that is led by President Mbeki.

Two weeks ago the leader of the FF, the hon Constand Viljoen, said he was prepared to leave the country for the sake of his firearms. [Interjections.] In the same breath the general complains about murders on farms. [Interjections.] In all murders on farms stolen firearms are used. The murderers steal these firearms from legal owners. Everyone knows that. I do not think that it would be sound leadership on the part of the general to leave the country for the sake of firearms. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Gen C L VILJOEN: Madam Speaker … [Interjections.] Madam Speaker, will the hon member be prepared to take a question? [Interjections.]

Mr D V BLOEM: Only later, when we are outside, Madam Speaker. [Interjections.] When we are outside.

I want the general and other Afrikaners to listen. This is their volkstaat and the country of all Afrikaners. They must not be cowards and leave the country for the sake of firearms. [Interjections.] A week ago the hon Patricia de Lille went to Pollsmoor Prison, accompanied by a group of people from the media, to visit children in the prison. After her visit she demanded that all children should immediately be released from prison. I must say very clearly that the ANC does not in the least approve of children in our prisons, but we also have to face the realities of our country.

Some of these children are used by druglords to distribute drugs. Some of them have been charged with murder, housebreaking and other serious offences. Let us look at where the problem lies. Overpopulation in our prisons is the biggest problem, and we must also look at what is causing this problem. What role do the Police and the courts play in this regard?

I must start with the Police. At present there are about 63 970 awaiting- trial prisoners, and this problem arose in 1995. Some of these people wait for as long as five years before their cases are heard. In certain cases they are acquitted. I have a feeling that somewhere there is a hidden agenda among certain police officers and magistrates in our country. There are some magistrates who keep postponing cases and some police officers who lose dossiers.

These people want to put our Government, under the leadership of President Mbeki, in a poor light. There are some of them who are racist. In some places there are still the old ``verkrampte’’ magistrates and police and nothing has changed. We should go and see who these more than 63 000 people are who are awaiting trial. It is black people who are waiting there.

At the moment there are 12 prisons for juveniles throughout the country. These prisons have all the facilities required for juveniles. Of these facilities four are in the Western Cape, two each in Gauteng, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal and one each in Mpumalanga and the North West. The facilities can, however, house only 6 000 of the approximately 14 000 juveniles. Awaiting-trial children are the most important problem.

The Government has committed itself to keeping children who have not yet been sentenced out of prison. Unfortunately it is not always possible to implement this. The Department of Welfare has built places of safety for these children in almost all the provinces, but in the meanwhile someone has closed down the old facilities. We do not know who and why. This is a problem.

I must welcome the heavy sentences that the courts are imposing on rapists, but I would also like to make a serious plea to the courts for heavier sentences for those who are murdering the police day and night. My plea is that they must never be released from prison. They, together with rapists, must stay in prison for ever, because they are not needed in this community. [Applause.]

I want to conclude with the question of Aids in our country. The prisons are crowded with Aids sufferers. It is the duty of all of us to help to ensure that we eradicate and combat this evil of Aids. [Applause.]]

Dr M S MOGOBA: Madam Speaker, Mr President, honourable House, I sincerely wish that our new democracy was not so undemocratic as to allow me, a leader and a preacher of one of the most powerful churches in this country, to speak for only six minutes when millions of Methodists, PAC members and Africans all over would want to listen to what I have to say about the wars that still afflict our country and what we in the PAC think should be done to get all of us out of this morass. [Interjections.]

We in the PAC welcome the President back home in more ways than one. To carry the concerns of Africa in one’s bosom and to be an advocate of Africa at this time cannot be an easy assignment. Ours is a bleeding continent whose wounds have been open for a long time. The unity of Africa and her revival are imperatives that no one can ignore. This task calls for a vision of Pan-Africanism and the dedication and sacrifices of the fathers and heroes of our beloved Africa.

Our deep concerns for what is happening in the DRC, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Eritrea, southern Sudan and Angola, and the ongoing crisis just across our borders in Zimbabwe, come from this deep, Pan-Africanist commitment. We appreciate how tricky the Zimbabwean issue might have been for the President, because it revolves around one of the issues which remains the biggest unfinished business of all - the land question, which we had, from day one, always considered to be the most fundamental in the search for the solution of national and social questions of this country.

White farmers in South Africa should never become complacent and delude themselves into thinking that what is happening in Zimbabwe cannot be repeated here, especially when they continue to own 87% of the land and Africans, whose land was grabbed by colonial invaders and the vicious so- called 1913 and 1927 Acts, are being assigned mere crumbs of land, namely 13%. We in the PAC have asked for a national indaba which, we are convinced, is more urgent than the Codesa of 1991. Our future as a nation depends on our finding a solution to this colonial problem. Today, it is Zimbabwe. Tomorrow, it will be Kenya and then Namibia and South Africa. [Interjections.]

The problem of Aids demands priority attention. No amount of equivocation will help. Saving lives is a priority. Politicians should listen to scientists and researchers. We must pour a lot of financial resources into research, so that the ultimate cure for Aids can be found. In the meantime, we must spend a lot of money on Aids drugs such as AZT and Nevirapine. It is estimated that, at a cost of R100 million, we could save at least 35 000 babies, and with a few billion rands, the whole pandemic could be contained. This is not a lot of money. If we spend billions on the Defence Budget, why can we not spend the same amount, or more, on the HIV/Aids scourge?

The Government’s attempt to respond to crime is appreciated, but we are watching to see whether these drastic measures will help. If they do not make an impression on the hardened criminals and international cabals who think that South Africa is a soft target, the Government should take even more drastic measures. Let me state that we are not interested in savage methods, but the bottom line is that the state owes law-abiding citizens protection. The criminal is a citizen also, and has human rights, but if he abuses these rights and makes the life of law-abiding citizens intolerable in the extreme, then the criminal must be contained or removed from society without costing the state a lot of money which ordinary, law-abiding citizens need to eke out an existence.

Unemployment is also this country’s major challenge. Many adults and many young school and university-leavers are feeling desperate. The Government has not made a dent in this problem. We need drastic measures to help job creation. If foreign investments do not help, we should urgently consider measures like a shorter week, unemployment grants or an employment tax on those who are lucky enough to be employed.

About 18 million of our people live below the poverty line set at an income of R353 per month. Of these, 71% are women. From 1994 to 1999 it is estimated that 500 000, that is half a million, people lost their jobs and that unemployment levels in the country now stand at 35%. Political power without economic power is useless. People need jobs. People cannot eat promises or votes.

Our education is also in a state of disarray. There is just no future without education. A country in a state of transition from oppression to self-rule needs a revolution in education. Free education up to the first degree, or for five to ten years, could help to level the playing fields. No child should fail to receive an education merely because of the poverty of his parents, otherwise the cycle of poverty will not be broken.

Discipline, of course, is critical for both teachers and pupils. The PAC will want to support this Vote and we are watching the situation very closely. I want to say that I believe that the hon Bloem misunderstood the hon Patricia de Lille. The hon Patricia de Lille did not say that prison doors should be opened and all children should be released. She was merely blowing the whistle that the situation in the prisons is absolutely intolerable and should be corrected.

Mrs M L NGWENYA: Madam Speaker, Comrade President, colleagues, it is an honour to speak in the debate on the President’s Vote. I want to speak about the lives of senior citizens in this challenging world. The experiences of older persons are as diverse as the sands of the beach. The experiences of young people today are equally diverse. Somehow, even though they are different, it does not exclude learning from one another. Letlhaku le lefsa le ema ka le letala. [New generations subsist on the experiences of the older generation.]

Last year, which was declared the year of older persons, our former President, Comrade Madiba, announced an increase of 4%, which translated as R20, into the pockets of the elderly. A year ago, the disability grant stood at R540 per month, which is a basic amount. This income support to the vulnerable members of our society compares very well with the meagre sum of R200 every two months that was offered under the apartheid regime.

The situation in which our elderly find themselves while waiting for attention at paypoints is something which is unacceptable. They wait exposed to the elements and sometimes in vain. There should be the provision of adequate facilities, such as some shade, seats and shelter, to show that we respect their advancing years.

The legacy of our past is with us in the way that some older people are made to wait longer than they should to receive their pensions. Those who were illiterate were disadvantaged, when they could not give the date of their birth. Some officials simply assigned them a birth date. So those persons had to suffer, because these people worked hard, they looked fit and appeared to be much younger than their real age. Some even looked younger than their first-born children.

Under apartheid, senior citizens and the hardships they faced were invisible. They were victims of crime, ill-treatment and poor service, but they were not seen. No, let me correct that. They were seen, but until now, people were not aware that Government could help. As Government acknowledges problems affecting our senior citizens, there is much improvement in their lives.

I want to comment on the initiative of Comrade Minister Zola Skweyiya, and his Department of Welfare, in creating a ministerial committee on the abuse, neglect and ill-treatment of older persons. This is a project that must succeed. This commission has six months in which to do its work of investigating and making recommendations on how to deal with abuse and neglect. However, for the committee to do this work successfully, we need a further allocation to manage to go around the worst rural areas of the previous Bantustans of the Northern Province, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. It means going that extra mile.

These committees are going about their tasks by visiting all provinces of the country, and I for one will make sure that when they come to the deep rural areas of my province, the Northern Province, I shall direct them exactly where to go. This commission has opened a platform where our older persons can, for the first time, be given a chance to express themselves on how they feel about the service they get from the Welfare department employees. Batho Pele was never the culture of the opposition parties, but they can open their big mouths about the poor and all that. [Interjections.]

I promise that there will be positive things that they will start with before they break our hearts about the negative attitude and bad treatment that they experience from the Welfare employees. Furthermore, they are getting more money that can actually allow them to survive. These ones, who today can shout and speak with big mouths about poor people, never knew about the poverty of our people. [Interjections.]

Last year … [Interjections.] What do you know about my province! Shut up! [Laughter.] [Interjections.] Last year we remembered the heroes of our country and we again remembered the contributions they made in our history and in the building of our new society. Those we speak of as elders were, in fact, the core of our liberation struggle, the pillars of our new society, and the veterans who fought to bring about our dream - a government for the people by the people.

Their names are the trumpet calls for the others to build our foundation. I am talking about Comrade Nelson Mandela, Lilian Ngoyi, Madinoge, Morwamoche, Francis Baard, Ray Alexander, Helen Joseph, Elias Motsoaledi, Peter Nchabeleng, John Nkadimeng, Walter Sisulu, Alex La Guma, Neil Aggett, Govan Mbeki to name a few. There are some veterans still in this House who are fighting the battle against poverty and the battle for a better life. Those are Sister Bernard Ncube, Bertha Gxowa, Mme Mildred Lesiea, Baba Fazzie, Comrade John Phala, Comrade Nelson Diale, Bra Ike Maphoto, Tata Andrew Mlangeni, Billy Nair, Reggy September to name a few.

Today we walk tall and free in the roads of our towns and villages because of their bravery and success. It is our task to fill in the gaps so that the history of our country is fully exposed. It is the way of our democratic Government to do it with action more than with words. [Applause.]

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Madam Speaker, Comrade President, Comrade Deputy President, colleagues and members of this House, we once again confirm in no uncertain terms that globalisation is no panacea.

At the 15th session of the group of experts on the UN Programme in Public Administration, it was stated, and I quote:

It holds no cornucopia, or even the promise of firm progress for humankind. Rather, like the forces of nature, it can prove to be beneficial to those who have the capacity to harness it, but also devastating to those that are caught unprepared.

The lesson and warning that can be drawn from the world’s varied experience of the past decade especially, is that capacity-building in terms of institutions and the high levels of competencies for governance and leadership have seldom been so important to all.

But then, of course, the hon waddling Douglas says he does not understanding the need for systems. I believe there may be much else he does not understand as well, but let us give him the benefit of the doubt and state that, unlike the forces of nature, globalisation is neither neutral nor value-free. Whilst it manifests itself primarily through technological and economic forces, it is backed by political muscle in particular areas. This is the point made by our President this morning, and hence the need for a strong voice for the South, the developing world, and for the majority of the world’s people who are poor and marginalised. We saw this again last week in New York where certain forces tried to roll back achievements that the women of the world had made around reproductive health and rights, and those forces failed because there was, indeed, again, a strong voice that said: ``Let us speak out for the marginalised.’’ Although technological and economic aspects of globalisation have been accorded importance, there are, nevertheless, important political, social, institutional and cultural dimensions which deserve far more attention than they have received to date. And that needs a voice - not a voice from a distance, but one that will participate and influence directly.

Our President has also reflected on the effects of a retreating state and the negative trends that have come with globalisation. The UNDP Human Development Report of 1999 captured the divide between the rich and poor, and I quote:

… the concentration of knowledge and wealth in the hands of a small elite whose priorities have often taken little cognisance of the plight of millions. The spectacular growth in the numbers of ``super- millionaires’‘… and so forth.

And surely, we do not want to leave the voice in the hands of those few who would want to manipulate globalisation in their interests. It is hence important for our national democratic, nonsexist, nonracial state to have the capacity, through human resources, institutional capability and policy interventions, to promote people-centred development and accelerate the fight against poverty, hunger, ignorance and disease. This will only be possible if the state has been transformed from the instrument of the powerful few into a driver of development for this country as a whole; and hence, we are proactively involved in programmes to make that happen.

Our state also actively seeks partnerships with a range of role-players in order to fulfil this responsibility. And those role-players are not limited nationally; they are there regionally and internationally. We must complement the traditional structures of public administration with networks that contribute to access and responsiveness of services. We must embrace new technologies, both to assist us and to manage our organisations better, as well as to enable and to increase accessibility of services to those underserved areas. The e-Government initiative referred to by the President, is one mechanism to make this happen. We must, as I have stated earlier, pursue such networks at international, regional and national levels, and we cannot overemphasise this.

If the state is to deliver on the challenges before it, it must have the capacity to co-ordinate and implement policy. To achieve this, a strong strategic centre is necessary, which continuously links the various efforts and programmes of institutions into a coherent whole. If the state is to have impact on the problems before it, it must have a clear strategy and a centre that ensure that the strategy is well executed and monitored; and where better than in the Presidency itself? This cannot happen if that capacity does not exist at the centre to analyse policies and to ensure that we adopt policy packages that are politically appropriate, affordable and administratively feasible.

Another initiative currently under way, as referred to earlier in the day as well, is to build the professional, managerial and technical capacity of the Public Service. The President has referred to the programme for national and provincial heads of departments. We are also establishing a senior management service, which will comprise a cadre of high-level executive managers. This will increase our complement of high-level managerial skills in the Public Service, which currently constitutes a gap in the capacity of the Public Service to adequately translate policy into programmes.

There are certain constant elements that the state requires, and that is the need for high integrity, belief in the Public Service, professional values and standards, a democratic ethos and a genuine respect for basic human rights. We have heard various leaders of opposition parties today reflect their narrow myopism and their understanding of globalisation which clearly belie their claims, or attempts to convince the electorate, that they have the ability to govern.

Now to borrow a phrase from my colleague Minister Asmal, it started out with the ``urban scarecrow’’ who, heaven forbid, will soon be peering at us from lampposts once again. He completely missed the importance of the role of South Africa and the leadership role of our President in shaping global governance in order to ensure benefits to the South, to the marginalised poor, and to women and children in the developing world.

If the President were to limit his interaction, on this uncalled-for advice, to merely talk with people in our country, he would be doing a grave injustice to those who elected him to office, because the intervention has to happen at various levels. It needs to, through those interventions, look at an extension of resources to the developing world, the opening of markets, the improvement of governance initiatives internationally and locally, and the ensuring and strengthening of the transforming of state machinery to deliver more efficient and competent services.

Hon Meshoe should note that globalisation did not start today, and again his definition is flawed. Does he remember the three kings from Orient? They clearly understood the interconnectedness between peoples and communities, hence they went to the stable in Bethlehem. I wish to tell the hon Meshoe that it also took the ship of Marco Polo, who was in search of world markets - his attempts were quite devious and otherwise, but the movement was necessary - to open up horizons.

To the hon Holomisa - who is not even here, but let us speak about it, anyway - globalisation cannot be captured in the time warp that he is in, hankering after a past when he was the only small and big general in a little fiefdom. We should be wary of talking for the world from our personal vantage points, and then decide that that it is what local communities expect. We need to move forward, and ensure that we take forward the challenge of governance locally, regionally and internationally. If we are to ensure that we respond to the challenges confronting us in an appropriate manner, then the systems are very much a part of that. [Applause.]

Rev K M ZONDI: Madam Speaker, this debate is not so much about the rands and cents that make up the total expenditure of this cost centre in our national Budget, but is really about the various key activities that are conducted in this pinnacle centre of state power for the good of our nation.

The Presidency is the very focus of our national life. In a very real sense, the activities of this elevated office constitute the sum total of the output of the institutions of political power in this country. Where this office succeeds, it bestows honour and prestige to all citizens. This enhances the sense of national pride and heightens the spirit of patriotism and unity, as well as the desire to work for the common good. Where it fails and underachieves, it could become a source of embarrassment and national shame.

The incumbents of this office inevitably have to walk the tightrope of the inherent political risks attendant to their work. When they do well, they are sometimes commended for it, but when they make mistakes, even the good that they have done is forgotten and they receive a round of condemnations. So, we approach this debate seeking to give praise and encouragement where these are due and similarly to constructively criticise what is seen to be shortcomings that could have been avoided.

We want to thank our President and his Deputy for working tirelessly to put this country in contact with other powerful nations of the world. Others call it globetrotting - as if whenever the President or the Deputy President travel to various countries, they are not working, but on holiday. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This country of ours, which had pariah status in the dark days of apartheid, badly needs interface with other countries of the world. This economy cannot grow in isolation from the stronger ones of the richer nations of the world. This country, through the efforts of the President and those working closely with him, is steadily becoming a respected member of the international community, as well as a responsible and exemplary citizen of the world.

It would be suicidal in a situation of an increasingly globalising world economy for us as a nation to remain on the fringes of the prevailing and evolving system of international business and world trade. All the President’s initiatives and various forays into the international community are commendable and important in so far as they have enabled us as South Africa to introduce into the agendas of various powerful multilateral forums, our own priority issues. Under the exemplary leadership of the President, South Africa has, indeed, learnt to become a good neighbour, for he has championed with vigour and determination the course of the great continent of Africa and the urgent need for a renaissance that will enable it to overcome the adversities of its past and its present.

We have seen specific decisions and courses of action being taken in respect of the situation in countries of the Great Lakes Region and others in Southern Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, to mention but a few. And yet, commendable as these initiatives have been, they needed to be undertaken within the context of a broad and clearly articulated vision that is capable of capturing the imagination of the various stakeholders and actors in this great unfolding drama of our integration into the fold of the community of nations and the role that we are expected to play therein.

We need to see our President exercise leadership, both domestically and internationally, by articulating a vision of foreign and domestic policy that spells out our nation’s principles and priorities in as clear and unambiguous a manner as possible. South Africa has, under his leadership, made strides in the international arena. However, there is a need for similar strides to be made on the home front against many social ills and problems that continue to deprive South Africans of their hard-earned freedom.

There is an urgent need for us to conquer unemployment, poverty, disease, ignorance, crime, and the social and moral decay which are eating away the good old-time values of honesty, integrity, moral rectitude, industry and others from our communities these days. His leadership will surely make a difference. One of the areas where we urgently need to make positive political strides on the home front is on the issue of the future dispensation and role of traditional leadership and system of governance. There is a need to reach finality on this matter long before the forthcoming local government elections. Failure to make visible progress on this delicate matter might, in fact, jeopardise the smooth running of those elections. We hope that it will not come to that.

We say this, not because of any intention on our part to seek to delay or to scuttle the envisaged elections in any way. In fact, we are convinced that South Africa needs those elections sooner than later, in order for us as a country to complete the process of the democratisation of our institutions of governance. Last week, when I pointed out the dangers that could befall this country if we fail to sort out as speedily as possible issues impacting negatively on traditional leadership and governance during the Vote of the Department of Provincial and Local Government, I was dismissed by the Minister as a mere prophet of doom. I do not mind the label, but it is the doom that I mind.

There is concern among the traditional leadership of KwaZulu-Natal that, while consultations and discussions with the President proceed smoothly and are at a delicate stage, some of his lieutenants could sabotage the process by proceeding to develop and implement policies and mechanisms that would appear to render these ongoing consultations redundant. These concerns are heightened by a rumour that has been circulating, that the Government actually wants to charge people living in traditional areas rates over land allocated to them under that system, and on property they hold in those areas.

Early this year, when inkosi Ngubane, who is the MEC for traditional affairs in KwaZulu-Natal, raised this as a concern of amakhosi, he was accused by the chairperson of the Demarcation Board of misleading the public and unnecessarily heightening their concerns. If there is no substance to this rumour, let us boldly dispel it. But if there is any, let it be discussed in the open forums where amakhosi are involved. We commend the President for personally taking this issue and welcoming the amakhosi when they brought it to him as an important matter that warrants attention from that high office.

In conclusion, I want to again thank the President for the energetic manner, seriousness and personal commitment with which he took the challenges of this office, entailing a lot of hard work and usually very little appreciation by those for whom he breaks his back daily in trying to serve them. In many instances, it is really a thankless task. We thank him for everything he does every day to promote the interests of this country.

Ngithi siyabonga kuye. Mzizi! Siyabonga. [Ihlombe.] [To him I say thank you. Thank you, Mzizi. Thank you. [Applause.]]

Mof D M MOROBI: Mof Speaker, motlotlehi Mopresidente Thabo Mbeki, Motlatsi wa motlotlehi, Mong Jacob Zuma, Matona a Kabinete a hlomphehang le maloko a Palamente, ke lebohela monyetla oo ke o fuweng ho tla kopanela dipuisano tsena mmoho le lona. Ke ikemiseditse ho tshohla ka ha ``welfare delivery to rural women’’. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)

[Ms D M MOROBI: Madam Speaker, hon President Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Mr Jacob Zuma, hon Cabinet Ministers and members, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this issue with you. I intend to say something about welfare delivery to rural women.]

In South Africa, we have rural provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Northern Province and Mpumalanga. The rural women in these provinces were stripped of their dignity by the previous regime under the NP. These women were exposed to all types of malpractices. The welfare department of that time specifically catered for white communities only.

South Africa’s apartheid history had devastating effects on the lives of millions of people in rural areas, specifically women. Women were stripped of their land and were left with a small portion where no development took place, because development would have robbed the state of its cheap labour. It would also have meant recognising that rural women also had the right to access to land or property ownership.

The state that older women and widows in rural communities were in, the issue that family members of a husband seized his property when he died, and also the fact that women could not acquire land or property without involving or seeking authority from a male partner, irrespective of whether they were married or not, left women powerless. I am reminding this House of the reality from which we come.

The rural women were poor, illiterate, unemployed, vulnerable to HIV and Aids, as their husbands were migrant workers and had no income, which led to poverty. They had no access to resources, especially as facilities in rural areas are less resourced. Violence was also prevalent. Women were violated. About 72% of African women who live in rural areas are poor, underdeveloped and neglected.

The welfare service devised systems which facilitate the development of human capacity and self-reliance and enable a socioeconomic environment for rural advancement, to curb violence and to empower the poor rural women. Welfare started focusing on channelling funding towards the kick-starting of women’s skills development. They also ensured that they became gender sensitive, changing the mindset and removing gender-stereotype programmes that might perpetuate domestic violence.

Rural women are involved in more positive socioeconomic programmes in their areas that are put in place by the Welfare Department; that is poverty eradication initiatives and income-earning projects. They are now informed and also have access to resources, like the women in the Eastern Cape, who have a project there called the Magusheni Project.

The Welfare Department ensures that it will create a developmental path that is sustainable and will serve the future generation. It also explores a financial policy environment that is conducive to rural development. It has also grown a pool of knowledge that strengthens programmes and processes to address issues of gender equality, so that marginalised rural women are the beneficiaries. There is also the formulation of other initiatives to address illiteracy among rural women, such as the Abet centre at the Nolela Secondary School in the Ermelo district in Mpumalanga.

The President of South Africa, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, has singled out HIV/Aids as a national priority. The rural women are also infected by this virus. A 1997 survey estimated that there are presently 100 000 orphans in KwaZulu-Natal. If the current trend persists, this could increase to 250 000 within the next few years. There is a platform upon which a secure environment towards awareness of preventative efforts against HIV and Aids is built.

Rural women have the opportunity to establish projects and to create strategies of how to educate the communities to live positively with people affected by or infected with HIV/Aids, how to care for full-blown Aids cases, and also how to give emotional support to such people, such as the Thandanani Association of Aids Orphans project in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. Communities with the highest rate of infection are often the most impoverished and marginalised, because these are conditions conducive to rapid HIV transmission. This will create a foundation from which we can translate President Mbeki’s call for a caring society into reality.

The democratic Government has laid the foundation to respond to the social crisis facing our country. We say, as the ANC, that never again will rural women live in poverty and ignorance.

Ho Mopresidente Mbeki ke re, e ne e se ka phoso ha bomme ba Afrika Borwa, ebile e le bona moloko o mongata, ba ile ba kgetha mokgatlo wa rona wa ANC hore o etelle naha ya Afrika Borwa pele. Ke rata ho etsa boipiletso ho motlotlehi Tony Leon le ba mokgatlo wa hae, hore hobane ba nkile nako e telele ba le ka lehlakoreng la kganyetso, ke ne ke tla re ba shebe mehato ya Mopresidente mme ba e sale morao. [Ditlatse.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)

[To President Mbeki I say, it was not by mistake that South African women, who are also the majority of the population, chose our party, the ANC, to lead South Africa. I would like to appeal to the hon Tony Leon and his party to follow in the footsteps of the President, because they have spent a long time on the opposition side. [Applause.]]

Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, our President, Deputy President and Ministers, greetings to the people seated on the gallery. Amongst them is my hero Mr A Rajbansi, leader of the Minority Front. [Applause.] Just watch out. The Bengal Tiger is around.

I bring best wishes from the leader of the Minority Front, Mr A Rajbansi, to the hon President, the hon Deputy President and the person who always holds the fort of the Presidency - Acting President, the hon Minister of Home Affairs.

The President’s recent visit abroad has earned him respect as Africa’s elder statesman. The United Nations, Britain, President Clinton of the United States of America and many others in the international community have showered him with praises.

The World Bank has also praised South Africa for handling our affairs systematically. No doubt, the medium-term expenditure estimates are designed to improve the financial situation by the expansion of core activities, which include the National Youth Commission, the Office on the Status of Women, and the rights of disabled persons and children. The balanced budget is allocated on a fair and objective formula to enable the Presidency to enhance its worthiness by functioning within the ambit of the Constitution and meeting the demands of the national and international communities.

Therefore, the vast masses of South Africa are proud of the hon President. He should not worry about the pipsqueaks here, who boast about effective opposition. The MF policy is one of constructive engagement. Prior to 1994 the pipsqueaks never squealed about the necessary repairs required for the President’s accommodation, or the purchase of silver, or the purchase of a jet.

The Minister of Home Affairs is correct to put forward the argument that the new presidential jet has received unfair criticism because certain individuals cannot tolerate blacks in power.

The DP in 1997 criticised the purchase of a small Mercedes Benz by the mayor of Inner West Council in Durban. In contradiction, Mr A Rajbansi, our leader, pointed out that the Mercedes Benz S320 that was parked in the car park at the City Hall in Durban, was purchased before 1996 for the DP mayor. In other words, it is good for a white politician to receive incentives, but not for the black politician to enjoy equal status. [Applause.]

The African renaissance is what Africa requires. The rise of Africa above petty politics and interracial, tribal strife has to be given our highest priority. African potential has been sapped by foreign domination in terms of its wealth and strength. South Africa’s role in uplifting the African continent must be supported without hesitation. Stimulating progress in our neighbouring countries will automatically generate deserved progress in South Africa.

It is a pity that Zimbabwe has become a local-government election issue through the efforts of a party that wants to thrive on misleading voters with black-fear tactics. Such cheap tactics are bound to fail in the long term. May the MF remind such parties about what happened to Adolf Hitler, even with the temporary success of its chief tactician, Dr Goebbels.

The MF wishes all in the Presidency well. May our President get his speedy jet speedily. [Applause.]

Sithi kuMongameli, ubaba wezwe lethu, sicela ukuthi iNkosi ibe naye. [Kwaphela isikhathi.] [Ihlombe.] [We ask God to be with our President, the father of our country. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]

Nkskz A N SIGCAWU: Mhlali ngaphambili, uMongameli, uSekela-Mongameli, abaphathiswa namasekela, malungu ePalamente, uvuselelo ngokutsha lweAfrika luqala ekhaya.

Amakhaya ke ahlukile, afana ngeentlanti kuphela. Ezinye zezo ntlanti azinabulongwe bokusinda zindlu kuba ooDyamluthi, ooBliskop, nooDyakophu, iinkomo zehlobo, zaba lilifa lamaxhalanga. Ndithetha ngamakhaya apho iimvaba zamasi zagqola umsi, namaselwa alokoza amaphela. Nditsho apho iingxangxasi zingasakhali sele, nasibhakabhaka singasandandazeli nqilo, nalapho ukuntyiloza kwezagwityi kujike kwaziingoma zosizi ngenxa yenxele likakhetsekile.

Mna ndiza kuthetha ngophuhliso nenguqu eyenziwe ngulo Rhulumente ukhokelwa yi-ANC kubantu basezilalini. Ndichonga oomama, ootata nolutsha lwasezilalini kuba intlupheko ithe kratya ezilalini. Imisebenzi eyenziwa ngulo Rhulumente ukhoyo, okhokelwa nguMongameli woMzantsi Afrika, mininzi kakhulu. Namhlanje abantu bakuNtabankulu bazigwagwisa ngezikolo ezitsha nezivuselelweyo, izibhedlele neekliniki.

Isicelo esinaso kukuba kukhawuleziswe iindlela eziya kwezi zikolo, iikliniki nezibhedlele. Sesiphakamisile kwiSebe leMisebenzi kaRhulumente ukuba injineli mazikhe zize nacebo limbi lokwenza iindlela ukuze zingakhukuliseki msinya. Kanti nabo banikwa iikontraki zokwakha iindlela mabavavanywe phambi kokuba banikwe ikontraki, ze bazibophelele kuwo nowuphi na umonakalo odalwe bubuyekeyeke bomsebenzi wabo.

Kuluvuyo ukuva ukuba ikliniki yaseNtsizwa iza kufikeleleka kuba isabelo sabo kulwabiwo-mali siphumile, neseendlela ngokunjalo. AmaMpondo namaXesibe athi, ukuba ebengekho uMongameli ngebesaphila entlango. Namhlanje, ngenxa yakhe baxhamla amanzi acocekileyo aphuma ezimpompeni.

Le projekti yamanzi exhaswe ngemali evela kwi-EU yadala amathuba omsebenzi nezakhono koomama, kootata nakulutsha lwaseMpuma Koloni. Nokuba kunjalo, kufuneka sigxabhagxabhise ukufikelela nakwezo ntili zingekawafumani.

Ngokubhekisele kwisifo uGawulayo, lo Rhulumente ukhoyo uyaqhuba efundisa ngaso. Akhona amaphulo akhoyo ajongene nesifo uGawulayo kwaye ayaqhubeka. Siyayicela into yokuba iSebe lezeMpilo liye kufikelela ezilalini, ukuze liye kufundisa abantu malunga nesifo uGawulayo. Umzekelo, iSebe lezeMpilo eMpuma Koloni likhuphe izithuthuthu ukuya kujonga abantu abanesifo sephepha ezilalini nabakreqileyo kunyango. Ezo zithuthi zifikelele apho kungekho ndlela yakuhamba iimoto ezilalini. Sicela namanye amasebe kaRhulumente ukuba alandele emkhondweni walo mzekelo mhle kujongwane nesi sifo singuGawulayo. Lukhona ulutsha ezilalini kwaye alubonakali lusenza nto. Isizathu sesokuba iimali ezikhutshwa yiKomishoni yoLutsha zokuqhuba iiprojekti ziya kulutsha lwasezidolophini. Nakubeni ndiyincoma iKomishoni yoLutsha, ndiphakamisa ukuba yehle iye ezilalini, iye kufundisa ulutsha ngoku iiprojekti ezijoliswe kwisifo uGawulayo kwakunye nokuvula izikolo zokufundisa abantu abadala, lusebenzisa imfundo yalo.

Iikomishoni azichongileyo uMongameli mazijongane nomsebenzi wazo. Usekho unkxwe kuluntu lwasezilalini nolukhubazekileyo ngempatho embi oluyifumana koomabhalane bawo onke amasebe kaRhulumente. Ezi komishoni azaziwa nee- ofisi zazo. Zikwimimandla ethe qelele. Loo nto idodobalisa inkqubo yophuhliso kaRhulumente.

Ngokuphathelene nocando, siyayazi into yokuba ezinye iinkosi azihambisani nalo. Siyacela kwiinkosi ukuba ziyamkele inkqubo yocando kuba iza nophuhliso olululo.

Imitsi kaMongameli, ayenza ethule ethe cwaka, ithunuka abanezazela. Ngubani ongayaziyo into yokuba izolo oku ebekwaSotshangane eve kuvakalisa uvelwano ese noncedo ngexesha lentlekele yezikhukula zezolo? Namhlanje, ngelo liso lakhe libukhali, uthi ummandla weSADC mawungaphazanyiswa zizixholoxholo eziza kwenza sibe buthathaka ze sihlekwe nazezinye izizwe ngokungakwazi ukulawula. Ngubani obe nokuyenza loo nto apha kule Ndlu ngaphandle kwakhe?

Xa ndiza kuhlala phantsi, ndifuna ukuthi asinguwo unyaka wokuqala lo uMongameli esebenza. Uqale ukusebenza ngexesha ebenguSekela-Mongameli. Ongayaziyo loo nto makayazi. Ndiyamazisa namhlanje khon’ukuze azi, aqonde, aqiqe phambi kokuba athethe. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)

[Mrs A N SIGCAWU: Chairperson, hon President, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, members of Parliament, the African renaissance begins at home.

Households differ from one another, with the kraal being the only common feature. Some of the kraals have no dung with which to smear the floors of the mud huts, because the cows, the Dyamluthis, Bliskops and Dyakophus, quality breeds, fell prey to vultures. I am talking about households where the traditional sourmilk sacks are covered with soot and sourmilk jugs are cockroach-infested. I am talking about places where falls have been deserted by frogs, where the longclaw no longer hovers in the sky and where the chirping of the quail has turned into a song of grief because of hunger.

I am going to talk about development and the change brought about by the ANC-led Government among rural people. I refer specifically to women, men and the youth from rural areas, because poverty is rife in the rural areas. A lot has been achieved by the present Government, which is led by the President of South Africa. Today the people of Ntabankulu boast new and renovated schools, hospitals and clinics.

Our request is that the construction of roads to these schools, clinics and hospitals be speeded up. We have recommended to the Department of Public Works that engineers should come up with new ideas so that they can construct durable, flood-resistant roads. Even those who are awarded building contracts should be evaluated before they are awarded contracts and should be liable for any shoddy workmanship.

It is a pleasure to hear that the clinic at Ntsizwa will be accessible since its budget has now been approved, as well as the budget for the construction of roads there. The Mpondos and Xesibes say that had it not been for the President, they would still be living in desert-like conditions. Because of him, today they enjoy clean tap water. This water project, which was funded by the EU, has created job and skills-development opportunities for women, men and the youth of the Eastern Cape. Be that as it may, we must speed up the process so as to take water to those remote areas that do not have a water supply yet.

With regard to Aids, the present Government continues to educate people about it. There are Aids-related projects and they are ongoing. We request that the Department of Health go to rural areas and educate people about Aids. For instance, the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape has made motorcycles available which are used to visit people who default on their TB treatment. Such motorcycles can reach places with no roads for vehicles. We also request that other Government departments follow suit so that Aids can be combated.

There are young people in rural areas and they do not seem to be doing anything. The reason for this is that the funds allocated by the Youth Commission go to the youth in urban areas. Although I commend the Youth Commission, I propose that the commission go down to the rural areas and educate the youth about undertaking Aids-related projects and about opening adult education institutions, using the education they have acquired.

The commissions that the President has appointed should do their work. There are still rumblings among rural people and the disabled regarding the bad treatment they receive at the hands of the clerks of all Government departments. People do not even know where the offices of these commissions are. They are situated far away. That retards the Government’s development programme.

Regarding demarcation, we know that certain chiefs do not support it. We appeal to chiefs to accept the demarcation process because it brings real development.

The strides taken by the President, quietly, touch those who have a conscience. Who does not know that just yesterday he was in Mozambique to express our condolences and to give our support during the tragedy of the recent floods? Today, having cast his sharp eye, he says the SADC region should not be disrupted by upheavals as this will weaken us and lead to other nations mocking us as unfit to rule. Who else could have done that in this House other than he?

In conclusion, I want to say that this is not the first time the President has worked hard. He started working hard when he was Deputy President. Anyone who did not know that should know it now. I am informing him or her today so that he or she knows, understands and thinks before he or she talks. [Applause.]]

Mr C AUCAMP: Madam Speaker, hon President, we are by now used to your imbongi, Miss Rajbally. In an interview with the SABC, I was asked to give the President a mark out of ten for his first year in office. My reply was that he did not qualify for examinations, because he was absent too often. [Laughter.] Unfortunately, they only broadcast my second answer, according to which he passed narrowly.

On a more serious note, as head of state and of the executive, the success or failure of a President is also measured on the performance of his whole Government. I must state the fact that several departments of state are in a mess, administratively and because of a one-sided application of policies. Therefore, we welcome the President’s intention regarding capacity-building, as expressed this morning. He must remember that there is no alternative for experience.

The impression is that the President has had a successful international tour. I sincerely hope that this success will result in more foreign investment in South Africa, and progress in his vision of an African renaissance amidst the African pessimism of the day. To a certain extent, this tour had to serve as a form of damage control around the fiasco in Zimbabwe.

This brings me to a serious point of criticism. The President’s ``silence is golden’’ approach did not succeed. The whole democratic world, and the majority of South Africa’s citizens, waited in vain for a sound and clear signal from the leading country in this subcontinent and for a firm and public recommitment to the rule of law and the acknowledgement of a constitutional right to private property.

During the questions sessions in Parliament, the President said that he understood the fears of citizens, although, in his opinion, these were unjustified fears. If these fears are understandable, why is he not addressing them? The whole situation in Zimbabwe calls for that. In the meantime, Mr Mugabe goes from bad to worse. The whole world and the UN agree with Mr Pallo Jordan that free and fair elections are impossible. My question is: Up to what stage is the President going to persist with the silent diplomatic approach? Clearly, it is time for a change of gears.

I want to devote the second part of my speech not to the fears, but to the justified aspirations of the people I represent in this House. Whereas the President has the first responsibility to uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, what is his reply to what is clearly a racist statement by the Director-General of Foreign Affairs that he is in the process of phasing out all Afrikaner males at senior level?

The next point is that the AEB welcomes the long-overdue establishment of the section 185 commission, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. Here, the devotion of especially the President to the diversity part of the new motto will be judged on the extent to which reasonable proposals from, inter alia, the AEB will be answered. National unity can only be preserved through respect for the collective rights of our communities and peoples.

Further questions are that, about a year ago, the President consulted with Afrikaner community structures. Was there any feedback? What is the answer? Another outstanding promise made in the state-of-the-nation address a year ago is that there would be a special desk in the Office of the President to attend to the interests of the Afrikaner people. As far as I know, such a task force has yet to be established. The last request is that he pay personal attention to the petition from organised agriculture - Aksie: Stop plaasaanvalle. [Action: Stop farm attacks.]

I conclude by stating that the AEB would like to be fair and reasonable in the evaluation of the Presidency but as they say, in Zulu, izandla ziyagezana. [Interjections.] The one hand needs the other in order to get washed. Surely the bulk of Afrikaner people have played their part. It is time now for a speeded-up performance from the other hand when it comes to our justified collective interest.]

Mrs B M NTULI: Madam Speaker, hon President, Deputy President, Ministers, ladies and gentlemen, development in South Africa under the apartheid government entailed a specific context comprising the oppression of black communities. It was labelled development, but this always meant separate development, in paradigms determined by the ruling class in the South African system of minority governance. In the political struggle for liberation and majority rule, organisations of civil society helped the majority of South Africans survive decades of drastic oppression. While the history of the political struggle in South Africa is fairly well known, the contributory activities of this Government and civil society are less known.

Comrade O R Tambo once said:

As black South Africans, we have lived within the entrails of a racist beast for many a long year. We have been constricted by a system of social organisation based on the premises and practices that those who are white are inherently superior and those who are black must, in their own interest, be objects of policies decided exclusively and solely by the white people.

Hence, the DP, the New NP and other white parties reject all our programmes. The apartheid demon has been transmitted to the DP. Perhaps they just pretend to be democratic. I do not know.

My focus today is on the sector where I come from, that of rural women. The challenge is to empower this sector to participate actively in all spheres of government and at all levels of the economy. The idea is to strengthen, consolidate and mobilise our activities towards developing the rural women, youth and the disabled in these areas.

Omama bakhathele ukukhothamela abamhlophe kube sengathi yibo bodwa abakwazi ukwenza amathuba emisebenzi. Omama bathi bayakwazi ukuzenzela. Omama mabangabukelwa phansi. [Women are sick and tired of asking for jobs from the white people, as if they are the only ones who can create job opportunities. Women are saying that they themselves can create jobs. Therefore, they should not be taken for granted.]

However, in reality, our aims are hampered by mainly three factors, namely, access to land, access to finance and skills training. Uma lokhu kungenzeka, omama bangakwazi ukusebenza ngokuqiniseka. [If this can happen, women will work with confidence.]

Women in general are marginalised in the economic sector, but there is no doubt that the most marginalised group is rural black women, despite the known fact that women have the best record for the repayment of loans.

Omama mabanikezwe umhlaba futhi basizwe ekwenzeni amasimu anokubabuyisela inzuzo ethe xaxa. Kufanele iphele le ndaba yokuthi bangabalimi abancane. Bancane uma kwenzenjani?

Ngakho-ke, ngithi komama emakhaya, amakhosi mawasinike umhlaba silime. Vele kwakungomama ababesebenza amasimu, behlakula, ukuze kudliwe kahle. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)

[Women should be given land. They must also be assisted in ploughing big fields so that they can grow many crops, which will enable them to gain a higher profit. They should not be called subsistence farmers. Why are they called that?

Therefore, I would like to inform the rural women that the amakhosi should give us land so that we can plough it. Even in the past, it was women who ploughed and tilled fields so that people would have food.]

The President has spoken about accelerating change. There is no change in the rural areas and the problem lies with some of the officials in the departments, more especially those that are at the managerial levels. They pretend that our policies are not right and that there are no programmes of action. They deliberately do this to frustrate the programmes of the ANC Government.

Ngalokho-ke yonke imiNyango mayiphumele obala isho ukuthi ibathuthukisa kanjani abantu abasezindaweni ezisemakhaya, ikakhulukazi omama. Ngibhekise emiNyangweni efana nowezeNhlalakahle, ezeMpilo, ezoLimo, ezoHwebo ezeziMboni kanye nowezoMhlaba. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[Therefore, all departments must come out clearly and tell us how are they planning to improve the lives of the rural people, especially those of the rural women. I am referring specifically to the Departments of Welfare, Health, Agriculture and Land Affairs and of Trade and Industry.]

We need a strong programme of action and the necessary infrastructure to develop the rural areas …

… ukuze omama bakwazi ukuzenzela imisebenzi baziphilise ngoba phela obaba bayehluleka. Abaningi baphelela emahostela eGoli naseThekwini. Kuye kuthiwe selokhu wahamba ubaba waya kofuna umsebenzi. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[… so that women will be able to create jobs for themselves because their husbands are unemployed. Most of them are crammed into hostels in Gauteng and Durban. People say a man had left his family a long time ago to look for a job.]

As much as I agree that people who did not have water, now have access to clean water, a lot still has to be done. On electricity, yes, Eskom is trying hard, but sometimes it is frustrating because the type of electricity that they give to the rural poor is a cause for concern. One drop of rain and it goes off. Besides the quality of electricity, a large number of people are still without electricity. Siyacela-ke ukuthi izimpilo zomama ziphuculwe, kwakhiwe nezindawo zokuhlala zezolimo ezibizwa ngama-agri villages ukuze bahlale kahle. Ake sinike omama amasimu athe xaxa ukuze sibone ukuthi ngeke yini benze ezibukwayo na. Ngiyakholwa ukuthi bangatshala kudliwe kahle kuphinde kusale, futhi bafinyelele ezingeni lokwenza lokhu okuthiwa ngama-agro industries. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[We appeal to the Government to improve women’s lives. Agricultural villages should be established so that women will have a better life. Let us give women plenty of ploughing fields to see if they do not surprise us. I am convinced that they can produce plenty of food which might prompt us to build agricultural industries.]

If we talk about farming, let us give our people land that will make them proper farmers and not subsistence farmers. Let us also give our people tenure rights, which means property rights. Speedy redistribution of agricultural land is very important so as to be able to alleviate poverty. Let us stop farm evictions and give people the right to ownership of land.

Ayikho le ndaba ekhulunywe ngumhlonishwa uMcIntosh yokuthi abantu abane- Aids, ngalokho, ngeke bawuthole umhlaba. [The hon McIntosh was out of order when he said most people were HIV-positive, therefore they should not be given land.]

With the evictions that are taking place on the farms, poverty is going to be like wildfire. People are removed from the farms, their livestock is taken or killed, their graves are levelled to the ground, and their houses are demolished. In short, the lives of their children are disturbed. Families are squatting and the tendency of evicting people without alternative settlement is increasing. The Government has the programme of land reform and this programme is greatly disturbed.

Izindlela mazilungiswe emaphandleni ukuze omama bakwazi ukuziqalela amabhizinisi amancane. Uma siza kwezokubolekiswa kwezimali, bonke ababoleka imali bayehluleka ngoba omama abanalo ilungelo lobunikazi bomhlaba. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[Roads must be constructed in the rural areas so that women will be able to start small businesses. Money lenders cannot assist rural women, because women do not have land ownership.]

Rural entrepreneurs do not own land and are categorised as high-risk clients by the banks and other financial institutions. Financial institutions are reluctant to engage in lease agreements with black entrepreneurs in acquiring movable assets. Thus the so-called previously disadvantaged are still outside the economic mainstream because they cannot accumulate enough ``own contribution’’ or collateral. This impacts negatively on black rural women entrepreneurs. Access to finance is still a major problem for blacks in this country.

All promotion agencies, for example Ntsika, Khula, IDC, and others, are known to women in the rural areas, but they have no impact …

… ngoba lezi zinhlangano zikude nabantu. Sengathi nabamabhange nabo manje bathi: Hhayi, i-ANC mayiphathe kwezepolitiki, kodwa thina sizobambelela emalini ukuze sibone ukuthi bazokwenza kanjani uma bengenayo imali. Kungakho-ke abantu bakithi badliwa ngomashonisa; labo mashonisa bangabantu abamhlophe. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.) [… because these organisations are far from the rural people. It seems as if banks are saying: ``No, the ANC should rule in the political sphere only. We will still control the financial sphere and we want to see what are they going to do, because they do not have money.’’ That is why our people are ripped off by white microlenders.]

We want the involvement of the disadvantaged in the economic mainstream. We care for the poor and we know what it means to be poor. Economic transformation must mean poor people participating in the economic development of the areas where they live, to be able to create job opportunities for themselves and others. Nowhere in the Bible did God say blacks cannot create jobs.

Sonke sidalwe ngomfanekiso kaNkulunkulu. UNkulunkulu, ngemvelo yakhe, uyakwazi ukusungula izinto. Ngakho-ke nathi siyakwazi ukusungula izinto. Ngalokho-ke kulabo abalwa nokuthuthukiswa komama emakhaya, ngithi bayizitha zaleli vangeli. Amasonto nawo kufanele abonakale ewenza umsebenzi wokuthuthukisa lezi zindawo. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)

[We are all created in God’s image. Naturally, God is capable of initiating things. We, too, can initiate things. Therefore, those who oppose the improvement of the lives of the rural women are the enemies of Christianity. Churches should take part in improving the rural areas.]

Churches were used to brainwash our people to make them believe that God has given whites the right to govern the uncivilised and the uncultured Africa.

Ake silisebenzise kahle izwi leNkosi. Asisebenze sonke nebandla ukulungisa lo monakalo owenziwe ngegama leNkosi. UNkulunkulu akahlekwa. [Let us use God’s name in the proper manner. We must work together with the church in correcting the errors that were made in God’s name. One cannot laugh at God.]

The economic struggle has begun. In order to ensure that rural development is taking place, we encourage communities and traditional leaders to make use of the community partnership programmes. These allow communities to go into partnership with other investors who can bring business skills and finance to rural projects. There can be tourism, agriculture or all of these. The DTI and Land Affairs have worked together on this. A further important factor is the blacklisting of our people. This issue should be discussed thoroughly at the highest level of decision-making in Government. I do not suggest that people should not pay their debts, but the way in which it is done is not acceptable.

Umuntu ufakwa ohlwini lwabantu abangakhokhi kahle yize noma ekweleta amasenti angama-50. [One is blacklisted even if he or she owes 50c.]

The state should play a facilitating role in the economic development process for women in the rural areas.

Uma silungiselwa kahle izindlela nokunye, singomama, sizosebenza. Siyathembisa. KuMfundisi uMeshoe ngithanda ukuthi kuye make abe yisibonelo esihle kwezenkolo ngoba ukhuluma ngendlela enganambitheki. Akanayo indlela yokukhuluma. Ngamanye amagama uhlazisa ivangeli.

Ngithanda ukusho ukuthi ivangeli lithi zonke izinto azenziwe ngohlelo nangemfanelo, kodwa yena indlela akhuluma ngayo ayikhombisi ukuhlonipha ngisho nabaphathi abakhona kule Ndlu. Ivangeli lithi thina esingamakholwa sifanele ukuba yincwadi efundekayo, engabhalwanga ngezandla; kodwa kuthi uma umuntu ehamba, afundwe ngabantu ukuthi uphethe ivangeli. [Kwaphela isikhathi.] [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)

[We, the women, will work if roads can be constructed. This is a promise. I would like to warn Rev Meshoe against the way he speaks. He should set a good example because he is a Christian. He does not have good speaking manners. He is bringing Christianity into disrepute.

The Bible says that everything must be done in the correct manner, but the way he speaks does not show that he has the respect of hon members in this house. The Scriptures say we the Christians should be a readable letter, not a letter that is written by hand. A person should show that he is a Christian wherever he walks. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]

Mr M A MANGENA: Madam Speaker, compared to the Ministries that received tens of billions of rands, the R83 million allocated to the Presidency, which is the highest office in the land, is minuscule. Yet, whatever is wrong or right about the Ministries which affect some aspect of our lives in one way or the other, we are justified to cast our eyes beyond the Ministries, to fix our gaze on the Presidency. Precisely because the Presidency is the quintessence of Government, we are justified to apportion blame to or heap praise on the Presidency.

If there is any class that has benefited most from the advent of democracy in our country since 1994, it is the black petit bourgeoisie. That class consists of most of us sitting in this House and those in the provincial Parliaments, most administrators in the Public Service, the lawyers, the doctors, the teachers, nurses, journalists and so on.

Democracy has freed this class from the constraints imposed on it by apartheid, allowing the black petit bourgeoisie to play its classical role to join its counterpart in the white community. It is our class that is the main beneficiary of our affirmative action. Promotions that happened in the Public Service, in the parastatals, in media houses and other private companies have benefited mainly this class.

Black economic empowerment is also the sweetest music in the ears of this class. The black petit bourgeoisie has seen the greatest upward social movement in recent years. It has trekked in large numbers from the townships and villages to more affluent residential areas. If patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and other such hospitals lie on the floor, under their own blankets, for lack of beds, the black petit bourgeoisie, with its medical aid, can lie in private hospitals.

If schools in the villages and townships suffer from poor teaching, lack of books and stationery, the children of the black petit bourgeoisie would be better off in former Model C and private schools. If millions of our people live in mikhukhu [shacks] and the small RDP houses, the black petit bourgeoisie would be living in better houses elsewhere.

Of course, all of us have benefited in some ways from the freer political environment that now exists in our country. There are more black people with access to electricity, clean water and telephones today than there were under white, oppressive rule. But there are also areas, such as employment and levels of poverty, that have deteriorated in recent years.

The challenge that faces all of us, but especially the black petit bourgeoisie, which has a big hand in the public life and in the Ministries, is how to accelerate the process that allows everybody to benefit more from our democracy. In grappling with that challenge, we naturally look up to the Presidency to lead us. Obviously, we do not expect the Presidency to determine the class structure of our society, or to recast the behaviour of those classes, but, because we do expect the President to grey faster than all of us, we do expect him to lead the way in the tackling of this serious issue facing our young democracy. [Applause.]

Ms N E HANGANA: Madam Speaker, hon President, hon members, before I start with my speech, I would like to rectify a speech that was misleading to Parliament by the hon Mr Holomisa, who claimed that the SABC’s coverage of the President’s recent US trip had cost the SABC R1 million. That is untrue, Mr Holomisa. That trip cost the SABC R303 000, and I can break it down for him. Perhaps his many secret files have misled him. [Laughter.]

Mr B H HOLOMISA: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: I have just handed over a copy of the source to the President.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon member, we can only allow you to speak if you want to ask the hon member a question. If you have any other thing to say, you can say it at another time.

Mr B H HOLOMISA: The message has been conveyed.

Ms N E HANGANA: Madam Speaker, governance and delivery are inseparable. The object of Government is delivery in partnership with the people. An electorate has the choice of returning one of a range of parties to power. It exercises that choice with only one thing in mind: What will the party do for me, my family, my community and my country?

The ANC won the electoral support of the vast majority of South Africans. The people clearly understood the policies of the ANC and wholly identified with those policies. The ANC now has the power to transform the country in terms of the vision we had developed and nursed for decades, whilst Mr Holomisa was still enjoying himself in South Africa.

Racism has only been one of the damaging effects of apartheid ideology. Even to the most casual observer of this new Parliament, it soon becomes apparent that apartheid was as sexist as it was racist. In addition to excluding black South Africans from government and the legislature, apartheid denied adequate representation to women, who account for 53% of the population. Today 16 women are members of the Cabinet and 120 are members of the National Assembly, and that thanks to the ANC.

From the Speaker down, the Public Service is increasingly embracing women and their skills and valuing their insight in law-making and policy application. But the transformation achieved in the space of six years is only the beginning of a process to broaden the range of women’s influence in politics, the Public Service and civil society.

Those women who are in positions of influence have become an invaluable empowerment resource for marginalised communities, which include marginalised women. The growing core of female leadership in the country is crucial to the extension of democracy. In assuming the mantle of role- modelling, female political leaders also serve as an inspiration and motivation. However, while the women leadership makes inroads into public and high-profile institutions, their contributions remain valued and needed at the grass-roots level.

Many men and women are still negotiating their way through the legacy of apartheid and looking for opportunities brought about by South Africa’s political and social transformation. Since the 1994 elections, the ANC has undertaken a systematic approach to achieve gender equality in line with the constitutional commitments.

It has been reported that millions of Africans have died of Aids. This Government indeed reflects the seriousness with which it regards this topic. A historic declaration on HIV/Aids and a call for South Africans to join hands in partnership against HIV/Aids were made to save the nation. The ANC’s political programme is the mainstream political view in this country. Broadening the debate on HIV/Aids has not stopped Government from addressing the pandemic in accordance with the mainstream scientific view. All existing programmes are continuing and new ones are being developed.

A major priority in the 2000s will be a campaign to increase access to voluntary HIV testing and counselling. The goal is to have more than 25% of the population tested over the next two to three years. Guidelines on rapid HIV testing have been developed. Some misguided missiles in this House are, unfortunately, using this epidemic to win votes because their parties are shrinking by the day and by the hour. [Interjections.]

Once an individual has gone for testing, to make the results of such testing public remains the constitutional right of that individual. Patricia de Lille should respect those rights and stop politicising this epidemic. This Government has established a body that will advise it, drive the multisectoral approach to the HIV/Aids epidemic, advocate the effective involvement of sectors and organisations in the implementation of response programmes and strategies, and mobilise resources.

The ongoing debate on the termination of pregnancy has been widely welcomed by all role-players - those that are for and against this service to women. Organisations such as Unicef have been calling for access to safe and legal terminations, because they have acknowledged the large number of children orphaned by their mothers dying from back-street abortions.

Internationally, the trend is towards legalising termination of pregnancy. As well as showing a commitment to fighting unnecessarily high levels of maternal mortality, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act also recognises the present Government’s commitment to and respect of women’s rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Under the previous legislation, it was doctors, psychiatrists and judges who were making decisions about women’s lives and health. Women can now make those decisions themselves. Women who have been raped or abused, no longer have to go before a judge and be interrogated by this judge - usually a male judge - on what had happen to them in order to access termination of pregnancy services.

While acknowledging that implementation is a process, we cannot deny that challenges still exist, and a lot of work will need to be done to address them. The following are the areas that need special attention. Services are mainly available at hospital level and, therefore, inaccessible to women, particularly in the rural areas. Lack of trained staff has been identified as one of the problems facing those trying to decentralise the termination services. Distances to services and lack of information are a problem and GPs need to be trained in the use of drugs and techniques, so that they can play a supportive role in providing the service. That is an insinuation by political parties that are against the termination Act. I am of the opinion that despite the horror and deaths, they would rather see poor black women continue to have backstreet abortions.

In order to gain an understanding of why women are still aborting in the back streets, a particular NGO initiated a study by interviewing women attending hospitals in Gauteng where incomplete abortions were reported. The study is still in progress, but findings based on nine cases from Baragwanath Hospital are: Women were between 21 and 43 years old, lived in Soweto and had between 0 and 9 children. Several had had previous backstreet abortions. Methods used included laxatives, painkillers and traditional healers. Nursing staff were also involved. There are two examples of medical involvement. The one was a GP who charged … [Interjections] … R300 for some tablets and the other was at a clinic in Komas which was run by nurses where women were given four misoprostol tablets and charged R250 for each one. If complications occurred, women were told to go to their nearest hospital or clinic.

Most women knew something about the law, but lacked specific information such as that termination was available on request and where they should go to get such services for free. Some were told that lists were full, asked why they wanted to kill their babies, accused of being murderers and they feared being shouted at. In some cases, these services are provided by GPs and nurses who want to profit from the situation. Therefore, efforts are needed to protect patients from abuse by staff in health facilities and to take action against staff who infringe on patients’ rights.

I would have liked to concentrate on women in housing, but I do not have much time left.

Mr D H M GIBSON: [Inaudible.]

Ms N E HANGANA: You are the one who is boring! [Interjections.]

Basically, the people’s housing process consists mainly of women who build their own houses. The rural subsidy will help rural householders, most of whom are women. Housing subsidies cater for the special needs of disabled people, many of whom happen to be women. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Speaker, I quote:

There is no difference between President Mbeki and President Mugabe. Why are they the same? Because you can never trust a black man.

These statements anger President Mbeki and I can understand why. [Interjections.] They are typical racist statements, stereotyping all black people as being the same. It is not true. But I am also tired of the ANC’s backbenchers coming to this podium and stereotyping white people, and more specifically, Afrikaners.

An HON MEMBER: Hear, hear!

Dr P W A MULDER: For example: All Afrikaners are in South Africa only to exploit other people. It is not true and is a stereotype. When Afrikaners argue in favour of their language, the reaction is that they want to oppress other languages, and it is untrue. When I argue for self- determination, the reaction is that it is racist and a result of right-wing politics.

What nonsense! Have any of these people studied the history of self- determination, as we did in the FF? In Turkey, the Kurdish movement for self-determination is a socialist one. In Britain, the conservative Tories could not address the Scottish issue. Delegating certain powers to Scotland was too radical and too modern an issue for the conservative Tories. The Labour Party had to address it.

Why do I get angry? It is because these are typical racist statements stereotyping all Afrikaners as being exactly the same.

An HON MEMBER: Hear, hear!

Dr P W A MULDER: Afrikaners must learn that all black people are not the same, and that all African leaders are not Mugabes. Black people, also those in this Parliament, must learn that all Afrikaners are not the same. People and politics are just not that simple. Stereotyping is dangerous. This was exactly the problem we struggled with in 1993 in our negotiations with the ANC due to stereotyping on both sides. Back then, at public meetings, our supporters asked me who this Mbeki was that I was negotiating with. Was it true that he had studied in the Soviet Union and was a member of the SA Communist Party? Was he serious about addressing these matters and did I trust him? Then a racist stereotype was put forward by a supporter who said that I could not negotiate with a black man in good faith and trust him.

An HON MEMBER: He did not say ``black man’’.

Dr P W A MULDER: He put it in stronger terms.

I answered all these people in public and justified to them why we were negotiating with Mr Mbeki. If that hon member there becomes the next President, he will see how I go about doing that. I told them of my impressions of Mr Mbeki. As a result of these negotiations, an accord was signed between the ANC and the FF on Afrikaner self-determination. It was signed in public on 23 April 1994. In it were the agreements and conditions that made it possible to convince our supporters to take part in the 1994 elections.

In those days, expectations were high. It was our difficult task, as FF politicians, to explain to our supporters what section 235 of the Constitution and this accord meant. Later, in a bilateral discussion at Deputy President Mbeki’s house on the implementation of section 235 of the Constitution, Mr Mbeki said to us that Afrikaners with such aspirations must create a de facto reality on the ground and put it before the Government for de jure recognition.

In the light of this, many steps and actions were taken on our side. Let me give one example. Prof Boshoff and a few others accepted the Deputy President’s challenge to create a de facto reality on the ground. Section 2 of the accord between the ANC and FF reads as follows:

The parties further agree that in the consideration of these self- determination matters, they shall not exclude the possibility of local, regional and other forms of expression of such self-determination.

In the light of this section, they bought the small deserted Karoo town of Orania for R1,5 million. They will be the first people to say that Orania is not a volkstaat as propaganda would like to make it out to be, but only a town. They had to rebuild most buildings. They built their own waterworks, developed a new sewerage system, repaired electric power infrastructure, repaired roads, erected a school and so on. No Government money or money from big business was used to do this. It was done with R10 and R20 donations from supporters, Afrikaner supporters who did not believe the racist stereotype that one does not negotiate with black people because they are all the same and one cannot trust them. That is why they did it.

It is now six years later and Orania is in the news because of the municipal demarcation. The Government must now react de jure to a de facto situation. We had positive discussions on this issue with Minister Mufamadi. However, he was not part of the original ANC team. He therefore admitted to not having all the background information. Prof Boshoff had positive discussions with Premier Manne Dipico. The President was abroad on important business while this was going on.

I want the President to personally attend to this matter. First, we must have a face-to-face discussion about it because of its importance to us, and because of the road that we have travelled together on this issue. Our supporters see it as a test of whether one can negotiate with the Government in good faith or not.

Last year, in this debate, I discussed four mistakes made in South Africa’s past that might be repeated by President Mbeki’s Government after the elections. What I predicted is happening. The hon the President started out by reaching out to Afrikaners, and we applauded it. Fifteen months ago, he promised a special desk in his department. Nothing happened. I personally wrote to him and invited him to open the most modern dairy facility in the southern hemisphere built by Afrikaners. I did not receive a reply.

The supporter who had told me that I must not negotiate with the Government has now left our party and has joined the DP, interestingly enough. The question is, what must we do now? Should we fight back? Do not trust and do not negotiate. Is that the message I should take back to my supporters? For the future and for the sake of South Africa, I hope the answer is no. [Time expired.]

Mr L P M NZIMANDE: Somlomo, bathi ngesiZulu: Inkunzi isematholeni. Umsebenzi wami namhlanje ngukuthi kumele ngizwakalise izwi labancane enkulumweni yabahlonishwa abakhona eNdlini. [Madam Speaker, in Zulu they say the leaders of tomorrow are among the young people. My task is to express the views of young people on the speeches that are presented by hon members.]

Hon President, hon Deputy President and hon Minister Pahad, I do not know whether I should be mischievous, as the opposition has been today in the debate and with their messages which I failed to understand. Nonetheless, I will say what I have prepared on behalf of the children and add their voices to our endeavours as a country to alleviate the plight of all our people.

As I was preparing, I found a book which always stays within the context of the legacy that we are trying to deal with as we unravel in our endeavours. I found in it a quotation by Father Trevor Huddlestone made at the Harare conference on children of resistance, in 1988, wherein he reminds us that ``in this very turbulent world, across the face of the earth, there are many struggles for human rights’’.

However, I believe that nowhere in the world has the struggle found a clearer focal point than in South Africa, and that focal point has been there ever since the beginning of this century. The Union of South Africa came into being by the deprivation of the franchise of the African people. Again and again, in the course of the struggle, it was the children themselves who recognised that it was their future which apartheid destroyed.

They saw its destructiveness against their fellows and in the life imprisonment of their leaders. They felt it in their very being through multiple deprivations and in the break-up of family lives. Children as young as seven years old were shot down for making a protest for their future. We have, indeed, passed through a long and hard road from those brutal days of oppression and the legalised violation of children’s rights by the dictatorial NP and its cohorts in the DP. [Interjections.]

Indeed, the lives of many generations of South African children have not been easy ones. Our children have faced the terrible ills of racism, poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, diseases, homelessness, rape, assault and many other barbaric forms of abuse, despite the hard work and many achievements of both Comrade former President Mandela’s and the present President’s Governments. Many of these legacies of apartheid and colonialism remain. It will take a great deal of time, effort and collaboration by all sectors of society to overcome these challenges to our fledgling democracy.

It is critical that we give credit where it is due, despite all the dirty politicking by the opposition political parties. [Interjections.] The ANC has seen to it that children’s rights, including socioeconomic rights, are guaranteed by the Constitution and are non-negotiable. South Africa can rest assured that the ANC will never stoop to the level of certain political parties and seek to score cheap political points at the expense of our children, who are being killed and orphaned by HIV and crime. [Interjections.]

These difficult challenges will not stop us from laying the foundations for the reconstruction and development of this country. The legislative framework with regard to the protection of the rights of the children has been established. These include the national plan of action, the monitoring bodies such as the Office for the Status of the Child and Parliament’s Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth and Disabled Persons.

As further testimony of the Government’s commitment to protecting our children, we have ratified the conventions and have appropriately reported to the international world in February this year, as Minister Pahad indicated earlier on. We have also further ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child, which also adds to our approach to our foreign policy. This causes us not to run around like headless chickens and trespass on other people’s autonomy in their own countries, as we are being pushed to do by opposition parties here, particularly the DP. [Interjections.]

We further ratified the convention against child labour and, of course, the principles of the Beijing conference. We have ensured that all pregnant mothers and children up to the age of six are still enjoying access to free health care and that children in the poorest of our areas still enjoy access to some schooling, despite some of them being harassed in farm schools and elsewhere. We also have all our programmes aimed at eradicating many socio-economic ills affecting our people.

It is critical that Parliament should continue to give its support to the Government in the adoption, implementation and monitoring of these policies. I further urge our President to continue his efforts and hard work to strengthen the co-ordination of all Government departments in terms of policies and programmes, to ensure that the budget processes prioritise and reflect the many needs of our children as much as possible, and to mobilise all possible resources to achieve this.

I would also like to add to what Minister Pahad said earlier on. This started in Gauteng and empowered children with the celebration of child protection week, where children were given a voice in the Children’s Parliament hosted by Comrade Sam Shilowa. It is, indeed, indicative of our commitment to give a voice to every person, and indeed, emphasises the taking of power to the people, as we committed ourselves to do in the Mafikeng conference.

Of course, I want to remind everyone that even I read in the General Aids Statement 2000 of the ANC, that we are still committed to and we have declared criminals … [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Ms M SMUTS: Madam Speaker, considering the approaching cocktail hour at the end of a very long day, I regret that I am not offering a pass-the-peanuts type of speech. But I believe that there are serious matters that should be addressed. With one year down and four to go, I believe that we have a duty to ask whether the transition is still on track.

The first issue that prompts this question is that of reparation. [Interjections.] Last week the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was accused in this place of sitting on R270 million, while reproaching Government for ignoring its obligations. But the fact of the matter is that the TRC cannot use the money in the President’s Fund. Ministerial regulations that were issued early in 1998 limit interim urgent relief to amounts between R2 000 and R5 000. It is the final reparation programme that everyone is waiting for. The remaining amnesties will make no material difference.

The hon the Minister of Justice seems finally to have got the message, but I must ask why it has taken so long. It is not as if the message of betrayal has not been conveyed repeatedly. Why is the ANC all over the place on this issue, when our undertakings flow from a constitutional obligation? They flow from the interim Constitution, that historic bridge between the past of a deeply divided society'' anda future founded on the recognition of human rights, democracy, peaceful co-existence and development opportunities for all, irrespective of colour, race, class, belief or sex’’.

The second issue that gives rise to dismay is this very question of race and colour. In constitutional terms we have rejoined the human race by picking up where we departed in 1948, when South Africa went against the tide of post-World War II antiracism and more. In the words of the President of the Constitutional Court, our Constitution demands that our society be transformed from the closed, repressive, racial oligarchy of the past to an open and democratic society. He believes that we have temporarily lost our way, as hon members know, out of greed. His concern is the indignity of poverty. But it is the racial part of that racial oligarchy that catches my eye.

Certainly, in constitutional South Africa no law can ever be passed that allows the formalisation of such a thing ever again, thank God! But there is room to manoeuvre in politics, and more than one way of achieving rule by a racially determined few. We have to ask the question here whether the present appeal to Africanism has not become all but indistinguishable from a new nationalism. [Interjections.]

Interesting comparisons have been drawn between the hon the President and Gen Smuts, but is there not a comparison to be made also with the very author of the historic aberration of 1948, Dr Malan? When others were uniting the two nations of that time - Afrikaners and English-speakers - after regaining sovereignty, he reignited Afrikaner republican nationalism. Are we to repeat such a cycle? Our hon President argues cogently that he must engage the world to compensate for the loss of sovereignty in a globalising world. Our own problems, he says, are addressed by holding a conference on racism this winter.

I wish to say that the hon the President’s Africanism was initially intriguing. To me it looked on one level like the consolidation of black support, to ensure the necessary economic reform. It also held the promise of the kind of inspiration that leads to aspiration, the kind of can-do thinking that is the key to success - which is, incidentally, the exact opposite of the idea that the world owes us.

Unfortunately, Africanism seems to be deteriorating simply into a consolidation of former anti-apartheid forces into anti-legacy-of-apartheid forces, for lack of a real unifying factor. If I understand Mr Motlanthe correctly, that is the ANC’s exact intent. The effect is, of course, polarisation. In my view, white men have been turned into scapegoats - a kind of outgroup which racism routinely creates to consolidate its cause, according to social scientists. If that is the effect, we must look at the phenomenon, must we not?

Boetman is gevolglik die bliksem in. [Consequently, Boetman is enraged.] He has set the newspaper columns alight. In my view, it can be no accident that it is formerly ANC-aligned or anti-establishment white men who feel most infuriated. It is not for nothing that the Afrikaner ones feel doubly abused.

Moet die slaglammers van PW se wit nasionalisme die sondebokke van ‘n swart nasionalisme word? [Must the sacrificial lambs of PW’s white nationalism become the scapegoats of black nationalism?]

That, quite simply, was not the deal. It was not the deal that the sins of the fathers would be visited upon the sons. [Interjections.]

If my friend, Ms Jana, wishes to ask a question she should …

Ms D P S JANA: Madam Speaker, will the hon Dene Smuts take a question?

Ms M SMUTS: Madam Speaker, I regret not. As always, I have very few minutes. [Interjections.]

Ms D P S JANA: What is she afraid of?

Ms M SMUTS: It is important that we restore discourse to its previous levels. We appreciate the fact that Mr Mopp from the Presidency has called on Chris Louw. I have thanked the Ministry of Arts and Culture privately - and I am now doing so publicly - for the priority it gave the Anglo-Boer War commemoration - a matter on which I used to debate - even over the liberation monument.

We are not, as an opposition, saying that we must forget the matter of race. We do say that it must be dealt with in the context of equality, where the Constitution places it, and we do say that it may be dangerous to stoke a winter of discontent on the one side of the old divide, and to cause dismay or feelings of betrayal on the other. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF SAFETY AND SECURITY: Madam Speaker, Comrade President, Comrade Deputy President, hon members, the problem of political assassinations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal is really a very serious one. I personally do not think that it is a matter that we should be using as a political football. We are talking about many lives that are being lost across the political spectrum. It is a distortion of reality to say that only members of one political party are time and again being assassinated in that province.

Whenever I listen to hon member Ndlovu addressing the political situation in that province, I am always impressed by the sense of responsibility with which he addresses that problem. And at all times, inside and outside this House, I feel very compelled to listen to him even when he whispers to me outside this particular Chamber - in the corridors here. [Applause.]

I do not think that the hon member Mncwango represents the aspirations of the people of the province, who are sick and tired of the bloodletting in that province; people who are doing everything in their power, in all echelons of political formations - that is, the ANC and the IFP in the main

• to see to it that there is peace. We want to see a situation of peace prevailing. It is, certainly, not in the interest of both parties to be using inflammable language, particularly at the level of leadership. One understands very well that some of us, like a tokoloshe, do not grow. A tokoloshe remains stunted. It remains a friend of one’s grandsons, even when he has been hobnobbing with one as a teenager. [Laughter.] That is the problem we are facing. We need to address that situation with all the maturity that we can muster.

The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development and myself, in the wake of the assassinations recently, have had a number of discussions with the leader and the President of the IFP, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. We are exploring ways and means of reaching down to the ordinary person in that province, far below the top and middle leadership, so that we can find lasting solutions to peace in that province. The hon member Mncwango is a disaster to these efforts that we are pursuing. He is just bad news for the solution of the problems in that province. [Interjections.]

When I was listening to the hon Tony Leon and the hon Stanley Mogoba saying: Welcome home, Mr President'', it reminded me of what one old NP member said, somewhere in the Free State, when Dr Verwoerd was explaining to his party faithful the problems that they were experiencing in the UN after the entry into that body of many black African countries. The question which that old man rose to raise in his bewilderment was:Wat soek julle daar?’’ [What are you doing there?] [Laughter.] What did they want there to be subjecting themselves to that barrage of attacks from the Nkrumahs and the Nyereres of this world? What did they want there? Exactly the same kind of idea permeates Tony Leon’s mind, similarly with Mr Mogoba, to begin to wonder in this hour and era why the President is spending some time outside the borders of this country addressing issues that directly affect our own fortunes as a country and even as a continent.

The President’s visits abroad, very much like his predecessor’s, have made a tremendous contribution towards refocusing other world leaders on the urgent problems of poverty alleviation in our country and on the rest of the continent. Democratic South Africa, unlike the fascist, racist regime which had become the skunk of the civilised world and which was given a veneer of respectability by the DP members who sat in this Chamber and even served in its security forces, needs and has to be in communion with its partners in the global village. The basis to take forward the processes of change and transformation in pursuit of the noble goal of improving the quality of life of our people can never be attained in a situation of political quarantine.

Those elements, both in this House and outside it, who shout until their voices are hoarse about the President’s interaction with other leaders here and abroad, are nothing other than political somnambulists with a deep- seated nostalgic yearning for the past. [Laughter.] Perhaps their hypocrisy needs to be catalogued on an hourly basis. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]

The hon Tony Leon, in his speech this morning, spoke of, and I quote him, neglect for the poor locally'' and the President's support for what he calls, and I quote again ,a system of terror in Zimbabwe’’. I say to Comrade Deputy President that as we speak today, hundreds of farm tenants in South Africa are being physically abused, forcibly evicted and left alone to contend with the harsh realities of winter on the roadside. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The MINISTER: One family was even forced to share a dwelling with pigs, whilst others are even denied the right to bury their dead on some of these farms. [Interjections.] This brand of barbarism, a relic of the hideous past, has not elicited even the slightest reaction from this charlatan who professes to be a champion of democracy and the rights of the poor. [Applause.] [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: May I suggest to you that the word ``charlatan’’ is unparliamentary and that the hon the Minister should be instructed to withdraw it. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon member, to whom was the hon Tshwete referring as a charlatan?

Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, the hon Minister Tshwete was referring directly to the Leader of the Opposition and pointed to him at the same time. [Interjections.]   The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon Tshwete, to whom were you referring?

The MINISTER: I was specifically referring to hon Tony Leon. [Laughter.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, in that case, you have to withdraw it. It is unparliamentary to refer to another hon member as a charlatan. Please withdraw it.

The MINISTER: Madam Speaker, it is a dictionary term but, fine, it is withdrawn. This brand of barbarism, a relic of the hideous past, has not elicited even the slightest reaction from this party of charlatans who profess to be champions of democracy and the rights of the poor. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]

On the contrary, the hon Tony Leon travelled to Zimbabwe. He travelled to Zimbabwe to take the war veterans to task for their occupancy of white- owned farms. [Interjections.] He has not shown that courage here at home to call to account the savage assaults, evictions and even the slave wages that have become the lot of black tenants on white farms in this country. [Interjections.] [Applause.] They are not doing that.

That hon member is a hypocrite. What he is, is a hypocrite. We are going to unmask him, and he is going to be unmasked for the hypocrite that he is. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The MINISTER: He is supposed to be a role model. He is going to be unmasked today. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Your time has expired, hon Minister. [Interjections.] [Applause.] Mr P H K DITSHETELO: Madam Speaker … [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Could we have some order, hon members. Please address the House, hon member.

Mr P H K DITSHETELO: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Deputy President, the UCDP acknowledges the fact that the Offices of the President and Deputy President have amalgamated to form the Office of the Presidency. The rationale behind the amalgamation, as contained in the Presidential Review Commission report, is to enable the President to fulfil his constitutional and other functions effectively and efficiently.

The UCDP would like to give the Office of the Presidency the green light and ask the House to support the budget in its current form. We are of the opinion that there is an apparent duplication of activities in the Office of the Presidency which has as a result contributed to this significant increase of R83,9 million in the year 2000-2001.

We note with concern the expenditure allocation of R10,6 million to the Youth Commission and their expressed need to fund the move to a new building and higher rental payment for office accommodation. We view this as unnecessary expenditure when other Government buildings stand empty. The offices of the status of women, disabled persons and child rights would be best served under one department as this fragmentation has a proclivity to create a bloated bureaucracy resulting in less money left to spend on actual programmes.

The President, as head of state, is expected from time to time to honour other international engagements as planned and other emergency visits as the situation dictates. However, the President’s international obligations should be balanced against a need to spend quality time at home and to address pressing domestic issues.

We do realise the importance of global politics and the need to have someone of President Mbeki’s calibre to represent and lobby for South Africa, Africa’s economic recovery and meaningful foreign support. No doubt the President has successfully accomplished his mission internationally, and we would humbly request him to now spend more time accounting to Parliament by answering questions directed at him instead of at the Deputy President.

Other Ministers should be empowered to relieve the President in dealing with foreign matters. We would hope that President Mbeki’s understudy, Nkosazana Zuma, has learnt something about making friends internationally.

May Almighty God give Bawo Mvuyelwa Mbeki wisdom and courage to release the people of South Africa and Africa from the bondage of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

The MINISTER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY: Madam Speaker, President of the Republic of South Africa, hon Deputy President, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, especially aba basekuhlaleni [from the local community], since the advent of democracy in our country Government has been engaged in a number of initiatives designed to effect the transformation of our society. Critical elements of that transformation have been the transformation of our economy and the development of our society in order to address the ills of the past.

In June 1999, the President expressed Government’s desire to develop an integrated and sustainable rural development strategy for South Africa. The theme of his speech at that time emphasised the importance of building on the gains that we have made, and signalled the commitment of Government to capitalise on potential synergies amongst various Government programmes in order to promote and support rapid and equitable rural development in our country.

In his speech, he also signalled the importance of and the emphasis on an integrated and sustainable approach. Various successful interventions have been undertaken by Government since 1994. These include the community-based public works programme, the co-ordinated municipal infrastructure programme, the local economic development fund, the rural housing programme, the land care programme, the technology centres, the local business service centres, the adult education programmes, the bulk water supply, and many more.

These programmes are high-impact programmes. They are vertically integrated programmes with delivery systems across the different tiers of Government. Furthermore, Government also, in its review of the preliminary progress made by national Government in the delivery of programmes in the rural areas, identified that Government made contributions, particularly in social investment, especially in infrastructure; in economic development; in human resource development; in natural resource development through agriculture. All of these provide us with a firm foundation on which to build the strategy that we are poised to develop and are busy developing. But who are these rural people of South Africa?

Ngoobani aba bantu sikhathazeke kangaka ngabo singuRhulumente? Aba ke ngabantu abahluphekayo. Ngawonamahlwempu akhoyo apha kweli lizwe lethu. Amathathu kumaphondo ethu, awona anamaphandle, ngamaphondo ahlupheke kakhulu. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)

[Who are these people that we, as Government, are so worried about? It is the poor people that we find in our country. The three provinces which have the most rural areas are the poorest provinces.]

According to the census of 1998, the rural population comprises 45,5% of the entire South African population, 11,5% of whom fall within the ages of 0 to 4 years. Therefore, 54% of all the children of South Africa live in rural areas. The age group between 5 and 19 years of age, which comprises 33% of the total population of South Africa, comprises 54% of this age group which lives in the rural areas.

Our senior citizens comprise 4,8% of our population and 46,7% of this age group also live in rural areas. This leaves us in the rural areas with the people between the ages of 20 and 55 years, who have the potential of being the most economically active, forming 31% of the rural population. As we know, most of them struggle to find employment. We therefore would argue that any intervention in the rural areas will have to look specifically at this age group and at the young people who are likely to shoulder the future of the development in rural areas. It also has to look at women who are likely to be the ones taking greater responsibility for the children, for the aged, and, generally, for the families.

Rural areas, in some cases, are bestowed with natural resources, like minerals, water, tourist sites and farming land. However, value-adding to those resources in our rural areas has not taken place significantly. We therefore argue that our approach in our integrated rural development strategy will have to ensure that we are able to locate beneficiation in the rural areas. Government is therefore looking very carefully to ensure that we maximise these synergies.

The President has clearly articulated the challenges of aligning our structures and Government with our vision, and with the challenges of a better life for all. The Government is challenged with ensuring that it is not forced to retreat from development by global opinion which sometimes sees a less involved Government. We should instead give up development to the markets which, as we know, will never give us the development that our people need.

Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all conclusion that can be drawn from the opportunities, threats and the impact of globalisation. Smaller countries like South Africa, with extreme inequalities, need to find a role that can benefit from the advantages of globalisation while looking after their own vulnerable people. Countries like South Africa and Brazil would, at their own peril, ignore the basic-needs approach which many of their people need in order to be able to survive.

Amongst the strategic choices that South Africa is therefore left with when it comes to the development of rural areas is much more enhanced integration. We already have a well-established cluster approach in South Africa within Government, and that will ensure that the established programmes that I made reference to, like the community-based public works programme, are packaged programmes that are ready for delivery in rural areas. Only with greater efficiency and greater co-ordination will we realise greater advantages.

We have also learnt lessons about the importance of infrastructure in rural areas - roads, water, energy and telephones. We are therefore poised to ensure that there is greater synergy between social infrastructure and economic development. We have also learnt from the SDIs about the importance of clearly identifying economic advantages and ensuring that there is synergy between productive activities and market access.

We have also learnt, in the last five years, about the importance of sustainability. In our evolving thinking, therefore, we should see the importance of involving local people in finding solutions; because it is only when people are directly involved in finding solutions that they will be able to ensure that there are no white elephants.

It is going to be very important that we dedicate resources and time to the development of rural municipalities. Not only is there a lack of general human resources in the rural areas, but many of the people in the rural areas who have skills will tend to want to go the urban areas. It will, therefore, be critical that whatever strategy we adopt, it should ensure that we strengthen the rural municipalities which have to bear this greater responsibility.

We have identified the importance of reliable data as a critical resource that is needed for effective planning. We therefore went ahead and looked at how we can co-ordinate all our data in Government in order to ensure that it can be used to maximum effect for planning. That work has proven to us that with modern technology one can, at the press of a button, see in what village a potato will grow best, if there is a road in that village and whether that potato will find its way to the market.

There is a shortage of financing in the rural areas. A strategy for the rural areas will need a co-ordinated approach to rural finance, which must include procurement, which only Government can deliver in an effective way. Even just 5% of the Government’s procurement budget will do wonders for the development of productive activity in the rural areas.

We have also not neglected theory. Economic development economists we consulted have indicated the importance of a basic-needs approach and how it has worked and delivered, especially in relation to growth, employment creation and redistribution.

Dr J T DELPORT: Madam Speaker, Mr President, I am not going to take issue with the Government today, because I want to address the issue of opposition politics. However, let me say in passing to the hon the Minister of Safety and Security that one can now understand why he could not even command the respect of school children. [Interjections.]

Opposisiepartye wat buite die ANC-dampkring staan, is dit eens dat ‘n verenigde opposisie gewens is. Die vraag is egter hoe dit bereik gaan word.

Die DP het in hierdie verband die inisiatief geneem en met sy aanbod baie ver gegaan, omdat die aanbod inderwaarheid die deur oopmaak vir ander partye om met die DP saam te werk om by ‘n enkele, gekonsolideerde party uit te kom. Die struktuur hiervan sal natuurlik onderhandel moet word. Dr Luyt en die FA het reeds positief op hierdie aanbod gereageer. Ek verwelkom dié party se besluit.

Die DP se voorstel maak sin, en wel om die volgende redes. Eerstens volg dit die harde werklikheid van die opposisietoneel in Suid-Afrika. Die werklikheid is dat die beginsels, beleidstandpunte en siening van die DP oor die opposisie se rol en die leierskapsgehalte van die DP veroorsaak dat dié party dag vir dag groei. [Tussenwerpsels.] ‘n Mens gooi nie ‘n wenresep weg nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Daardie agb kollega moet na my luister. ‘n Mens versterk dit eerder. Dít is wat die DP wil doen.

Tweedens, die beginsels van die liberale demokrasie bied ‘n politieke tuiste aan almal wat in gelykberegting glo, omdat dit ook die regte van taal, kultuur en godsdiens tot die uiterste sal verdedig. Dit staan iedereen binne die party vry om daardie regte na te jaag, sy eie regte, met die volle ondersteuning van die party. Die party is nie ‘n werktuig van net een groep, taal, kultuur of godsdiens nie. Dit gee nie voor om Christelik te wees nie. Dit beskerm elkeen se reg, ook myne, om ‘n Christen te wees. Die jongste liberale denkrigting oor die erkenning van - luister na die term - die reg op minderheidsuitlewing, maak juis by uitnemendheid hiervoor voorsiening. Terloops, dit is in elk geval verkeerd om dit aan politici oor te laat om te besluit wat Christelik is. Ons eie apartheidsverlede getuig hiervan. [Tussenwerpsels.]

Die klousule wat die oorstap van parlementslede belet, het die politieke toneel gevries. Ons moet nou ‘n einde daaraan maak deur ooreenkoms te bereik tussen die opposisiepartye. ‘n Konsolidasie hier en nou, of die begin daarvan, moet ‘n einde maak aan die stryd tussen mense met dieselfde politieke oogmerke. Die bloedverlies moet gestop word. Die gebruikmaking van politieke wapens wat die ANC kan bevoordeel, soos byvoorbeeld om die koalisie in die Wes-Kaapse op die spel te plaas en daarmee selfs die risiko van ‘n verkiesing in die Wes-Kaap te loop, moet nou einde kry. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Opposition parties standing outside the sphere of influence of the ANC agree that a united opposition is desirable. However, the question is how this will be achieved.

The DP has taken the initiative in this regard and has achieved much with its proposal, because the proposal, in fact, opens the door to other parties to work with the DP to achieve a single, consolidated party. The structure of this party will, of course, have to be negotiated. Dr Luyt and the FA have already reacted positively to this proposal. I welcome the decision of this party.

The proposal made by the DP makes sense, for the following reasons. Firstly, it follows the hard reality of the opposition situation in South Africa. The reality is that the principles, policies and viewpoints of the DP concerning the role of the opposition and the quality of leadership of the DP are resulting in the party growing on a daily basis. [Interjections.] One does not throw away a winning recipe. [Interjections.] That hon colleague must listen to me. One should rather strengthen it. That is what the DP wants to do.

Secondly, the principles of liberal democracy offer a political home to everyone who believes in equality of rights, because this will also defend the rights of language, culture and religion to the extreme. Every single person within the party is free to strive for these rights, his own rights, with the full support of the party. The party is not a vehicle of only one group, language, culture or religion. It does not profess to be Christian. It protects everyone’s right, including mine, to be a Christian. The latest liberal school of thought about the recognition of - listen to this - the right to live life to the fullest as a minority, in fact pre-eminently makes provision for this. Incidentally, it is, in any event, wrong to leave it to politicians to decide what is Christian. Our own apartheid past attests to that. [Interjections.]

The clause which prohibits members of Parliament from crossing the floor has frozen the political arena. We must now put a stop to this by reaching agreement among the opposition parties. A consolidation here and now, or the beginning thereof, must put a stop to the fight between people with the same political objectives. The bloodletting must be stopped. The use of political weapons which can favour the ANC, such as jeopardising the coalition in the Western Cape and thereby even running the risk of an election in the Western Cape, must now come to an end.]

There is a last and very compelling reason for consolidation. It is important to move to the next phase in South African political history. That next phase …

Prof B TUROK: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: What on earth does this have to do with the President’s Vote? [Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order! Hon member, will you please take your seat. That is not a point of order. [Interjections.] Please proceed, Mr Delport.

Dr J T DELPORT: Madam Speaker, I trust that I will be allowed some latitude for this uncalled-for interruption.

The next phase is to reach out in dramatic fashion to the millions of ANC supporters who are becoming disillusioned with that party. [Interjections.] This can be done only from a strong support base and principles that allow an unqualified invitation. The DP has taken a bold step by effectively inviting other parties to become co-trustees of the principles of liberal democracy. [Interjections.] It has, by its blank invitation, expressed confidence in the bona fides, integrity and quality of other opposition members in this Assembly, legislatures and municipal councils.

We trust that other leaders will also be bold and follow the step that Dr Luyt has taken. Let us start talking. We invite opposition members here to become partners and shareholders of a movement that will forever be the custodian of democracy and freedom for all South Africans. [Interjections.] Let us start doing that now. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Mr Deputy President and colleagues, today we are acutely conscious of the fact that the technological revolution and information highway has ensured that we are constantly bombarded with sensational reports of African conflicts, brutality and famine.

Mr D H M GIBSON: [Inaudible.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER: The Afro-sceptics and Afro-pessimists have been reinforced in their conviction that nothing good can come out of Africa. A recent editorial in the Washington Post noted:

Africa’s apparent hopelessness is now so widely accepted that it is in danger of becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.

Sadly, elements from the left are the Judases who are the purveyors not only of Afro-pessimism, but also of South African pessimism. The interventions made by the hon Leon and his party reflect a muddled and distorted right-wing neo-liberalism and an infantile disorder.

Mr D H M GIBSON: You know that you are talking nonsense! [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER: Like Goebbels and Hitler they apparently believe that if they continuously repeat lies and distortions, they will somehow become the truth. [Interjections.] Clearly, hon Leon and his sycophants have made up their minds and refuse to be confused by facts.

Let us look at the facts. They refuse to acknowledge that the South African Government has principally and consistently championed the cause of democracy, human rights, peace and stability. Unlike the hon Leon, we do not do so selectively.

Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: The hon the Deputy Minister referred to the hon the Leader of the Opposition as Goebbels and said that we tell lies. [Interjections.] That is unparliamentary and he should withdraw it if he did use those words. [Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order! Deputy Minister, did you refer to Mr Leon as Goebbels? [Interjections.] Order! To my recollection, and the note I made confirms this, he said ``like Goebbels and Hitler’’.

Mr D H M GIBSON: Yes!

The DEPUTY MINISTER: You do not know English!

The SPEAKER: Order! I do not think that he made a specific reference. I will … [Interjections.] If you have a point of order, Mr Leon, would you raise it after I have completed what I have to say! [Interjections.] Order! If it was a reference to a party, we have dealt with that before. We have said that that is not unparliamentary. I will, nonetheless, look at the Hansard. I was listening very carefully.

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, as you invited me to rise on that point, I would like you to look at the matter in the context of this Parliament having passed a solemn motion on the Stockholm Declaration on the Holocaust. I would like to know whether it is parliamentary for a member of the executive to refer to a member of this Parliament, who incidentally happens to be of a particular religious origin, as ``like Goebbels’’. [Interjections.] If it is parliamentary, then I would ask you to reconvene Parliament and ask us to reconsider our support for that declaration. [Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order! Hon members, I do appreciate Mr Leon’s advice as to how I should consider points of order. I think I am aware of how to look at them. I have already indicated that I will look at the Hansard in the context of this Parliament’s Rules of what is parliamentary and not parliamentary. Please proceed, Deputy Minister.

The DEPUTY MINISTER: We have been actively involved in Angola, the DRC, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, the Middle East - an issue on which the opposition is very silent - Western Sahara and East Timor, to mention but a few.

It is in this context that I want to deal with the issue of Zimbabwe, a matter which has been so heatedly raised by the opposition and sectors of the media. It is not surprising, because consciously or subconsciously it evokes memories of the Mau Mau, rampaging blacks and deep feelings for kith and kin. It is, therefore, an issue that can easily be exploited for limited political gain.

Hon Leon asked whether the ANC would have agreed to participate in the election in 1994 if there had been intimidation and violence. I do not know on what planet he was living. Is he not aware of Chris Hani’s assassination, Boipatong, Bisho, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the bombs that were exploding in many places on the eve of the election? [Interjections.] Did he, besides making a lot of noise, not follow the proceedings of the TRC which exposed the activities of Third Force elements right up to the eve of the election? Obviously not! [Interjections.] The hon Leon, hon Van Schalkwyk and Bible-thumping Rev Meshoe must have been too busy fabricating their speeches to read this morning’s newspapers, which reflected President Mbeki’s view. He said:

We want free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. We are against stolen elections. South Africa will not accept rigged elections in Zimbabwe.

Those hon members would do better reading than living in their dream world. [Interjections.]

The President has also been attacked for our approach of quiet diplomacy. According to the Oxford dictionary quiet'' iscalm, unobtrusive, not showy’’. Diplomacy'' ismanagement of, and skills in managing international relations and tact’’. If that is our critics’ understanding of quiet diplomacy, not only are we willing to defend it, but we shall pursue it in Zimbabwe and elsewhere. [Interjections.]

Why does the opposition conveniently forget that we have consistently said that violence must end, that conditions must be created so that the veterans leave the occupied farms and that the land issue must be dealt with in terms of the 1998 agreements? [Interjections.] Why must the noisy vessels on my left conveniently forget that the ANC in Parliament has passed several motions on Zimbabwe? We have played an important role in ensuring that thousands of independent observers have gone to Zimbabwe. We have sought to mobilise funds to help to implement the 1998 land agreement. What more do the windbags on the left want us to do? [Interjections.]

Are they secretly harbouring the notion that we must, as in the past, ``send in the boys in uniform to sort out the naughty blacks’’ or is it simply an opportunistic game to get votes for the local government elections? The DP’s election campaign is to use swart gevaar tactics to stampede minorities into voting for them. [Interjections.] Let me remind them that such tactics were used by fascists in the forties and are, once again, rearing their ugly head in Europe. This is a dangerous game for the DP to play. [Interjections.]

Elements of the opposition, living in their own stupid world, continue to refuse to accept that after years of being a pariah state, South Africa has now joined the community of nations as a most important and respected player. This is acknowledged by many countries and leaders. Let me mention a few. The Skagen declaration states:

We, the participants of the Nordic-South-Africa summit, note with appreciation the ever strengthening ties between South Africa and the Nordic countries.

The Nordic prime ministers expressed their support for President Mbeki’s African initiative for rapid economic growth and sustainable development on the African continent. Prime Minister Blair said:

We congratulate President Mbeki and his Government on their sound management of the economy, and the principles they are working towards, and we pledge our support for South Africa’s drive towards encouraging the rebirth of the continent.

This attitude, which reflects the attitude of world leaders, reflects the reality and exposes the DP view to be the rubbish that it is. [Interjections.] Kofi Annan, in his message for the Millennium Summit, posed a challenge. He said:

The central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalisation becomes a positive force for all the world’s people, instead of leaving billions of them behind in squalor. Market forces alone will not achieve it. It requires a broader effort to create a shared future, based on our common humanity in all its diversity.

It is precisely to meet the challenge that Kofi Annan has put that President Mbeki and his other Government Ministers and officials have been going abroad. They have done it in order to convince the international community to respond to this challenge.

I therefore find it difficult to understand the hon Leon’s ridiculous statement that the President has taken on the mantle of responsibility in respect of the poorer nations of the world, but has not done anything about the poor at home. It is only his twisted logic that will explain how we develop a people-centred, modern, prosperous economy in splendid isolation. [Interjections.] How do we tackle the gross legacies of the underdevelopment of the past in splendid isolation? How do we champion the cause of the poor in South Africa in splendid isolation? [Interjections.] The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: My, but you are a speech writer! [Laughter.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER: Let me tell my colleagues on the left that we will continue to ignore the stupid logic of the hon Leon and his sycophants and continue to do what we have been doing. [Interjections.] Let me inform the dinosaurs of politics in the DP and others on the left that today a fresh wind of confidence and optimism is blowing across our continent. The President reflected this when he recently said:

There exists on our continent a generation which has been victim to all things which created the negative past. This generation remains African …

I wonder whether those members are -

… and carries with it a historic pride which compels it to seek a place for Africans equal to all other peoples of our common universe. I believe that the new African generations have learnt, and are learning, from the experience of the past. I further believe that they are unwilling to continue and repeat the wrongs that have occurred.

I hope those members will learn that. [Interjections.]

These leaders are leading the campaign for an African renaissance. The train for the African renaissance has left the platform. I believe that the DP, the political dinosaurs that they are, have remained on the platform. [Interjections.] I want to say to them that we hope they remain splendidly on that platform. As they try to use ethnicity for politics in the South African context, we will be building a new democratic South Africa that is genuinely nonracial, transformative and committed to the poor of the world. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY: Madam Speaker, Mr President, Deputy President and hon members of this House, we have been debating now, I think, for close on six hours, and, I think, in listening to this debate today, all the strengths and weaknesses of our land were very well paraded before this House and those watching their TVs. However, I think we should be proud that we have achieved this level of democracy so soon after centuries of repression and a lack of democracy. One great advantage of a democratic process is that it allows everyone to speak for themselves, and in the process, we can see those who really think about things and those who are merely trying to manipulate opinion, no matter what the problem is, or the reality is, at the time.

The hon President has earned the respect of his comrades and our people and, indeed, of the world’s leaders, because he thinks and he offers a way forward based on the possibilities and obstacles that exist in the situation. In this, I believe, he has absorbed the very essence of our liberation struggle, and we find that essence to a depth of wisdom that the leadership of this great land needs if we are, indeed, to bequeath to all our children, irrespective of their race, sex, creed or disability, a better life.

I am quite certain that there is no person in this House or beyond, that is not fully aware of the immense problems we face of poverty, unemployment, racial reconciliation and personal safety, amongst many others. Hundreds of years cannot be undone in six years, a mere blink of time. There is no question that we have a long way to go.

What is clear, however, as the hon President has indicated, is that we know exactly where we are going. We will respond to wise counsel. In fact, we continually seek it. We have invited some of the world’s top business leaders, some of the world’s top scientists and now, some of the world’s top brains in IT, to give us advice and counsel on the best way of moving forward in this modern world.

However, we will not be diverted by political sound bites or the economics of advertising agencies. This debate offers an excellent opportunity to draw on all the political resources of our land, and many speakers here today have given us the benefit of their sincere views. It is not required of us that we agree with everything, but it is required of us that we listen.

To me, it is a great pity that the leader of the main opposition party seems to be in a mould of politics that sees everything as a mere media tactic, designed to win wavering voters to cross the floor from one tiny little camp to another. I gather, today, that an earth-shattering political announcement was made, that the DP and the Federal Alliance will fight the local government elections together. [Interjections.] Very interesting.

I also found it very interesting that the hon Delport, instead of addressing the problems of our land, made an impassioned plea to the New NP to join them. Let us hope that the other leaders of the parties in this House, who, I think, were generally far better and more sincere in their views, do not get entrapped in this mirage of purported media-type success. [Interjections.]

The hon President’s message was as clear and determined as always. There is no denial of the problems and there is a profound understanding for those of us that overcome these problems. This will require of us years of hard work along a determined and consistent strategy. Once again, the hon President has outlined this strategy.

One of the problems, however, is that it is a complex strategy because the problems are complex, and I should be a little bit more forgiving to some of those who have never had any experience of leading anything serious and, probably, therefore, cannot quite understand the complexity of certain matters. [Laughter.] However, let us be generous of spirit to these young men that are doing their best to do something in politics. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] One day Tony will catch up. The problem is that we will all be out of this room by the time it happens. [Interjections.]

For those who have been watching what has been happening in the hon President’s one year as a President, I think that they have seen that he has essentially led us in focusing on four fundamentally important policy programmes, and he has dealt with them briefly again today. First, but not necessarily in order of precedence, as all of these are fundamentally related to each other, we had to restructure our economy to become globally competitive. The economy we inherited was dead in the water, was standing still, everything was out of line, and we had to restructure it. I believe that we have made considerable progress in this direction over the past six years.

Secondly, and the hon President dealt with this in detail today, but he was specifically talking about the period over the past year, we have had to fundamentally restructure the system of governance in this country. I think, more than just saying that, the hon President has indicated why this is important, because one cannot restructure the economy without restructuring the structure of governance. It is part and parcel of a set of forces across the world that we are aware of and are responding to.

Thirdly, and I would like the hon President to allow me to say a few more words on this issue, one has to have an international economic strategy. What is that strategy? The strategy is that the fundamental problem in the world economy today is that more than two thirds of the world’s population live in poor countries. The extent of poverty, after one century of industrial development, is getting greater, not less. Accordingly, the fundamental challenge of our time is development of all the world’s countries; and, in Africa, this is the prime objective of what has to happen.

Now, we have not just stood up and said: Develop. We have set out, systematically, the following key areas that will have to be addressed. Firstly, the flows of foreign aid cannot get less, they will have to get greater; but they must be targeted to meet the basic social infrastructure and, therefore, an infrastructure necessary for development.

Secondly, we have to reduce and forgive debt, because it has a stranglehold on the economic possibilities of the developing countries of the world. Thirdly, the agreement reached in the WTO is fundamentally imbalanced against the developing countries. [Interjections.] We have to redress that, not by breaking up the WTO, because we support the rules, but by a series of very clear and focused propositions that we have made, time and time again, over the past four years.

Next, we have to deal with the question of the international financial system. It quite clearly has major structural problems, and one of the problems is that the decision-making structures of the international financial institutions are overly weighted towards developed countries and, accordingly, they are not alive to the problems of development.

These are the specific issues that we have been putting forward. It made eminent good sense to use the occasions that happened to come together over the past month and in the next two or three months, to systematically address this. I want to congratulate the hon Mr President. I think there is not a shadow of doubt that by seeing the possibility of consistently being present and talking, from the Commonwealth summit, NAM, through to the G77 summit, through all the meetings they are having, the hon President has seen that if we persistently put our position, we will change the balance of forces in the international economy. [Applause.]

Finally, the fourth aspect that the hon President has been addressing in this past year, particularly with the Deputy President, is the realisation that globalisation is not an unequivocal good. In fact, it is a complex and somewhat dangerous process. One of the most powerful tendencies in globalisation, as can be seen all the time, is the tendency towards inequality, uneven development and marginalisation.

Accordingly, we got down and addressed that with a strategy to deal with poverty and the integration of our rural areas. We knew that we could not engage globalisation for the benefit of our peoples, unless we dealt with all four of these things at once - restructure the economy, change the governance, have an international strategy that opens up possibilities, and have a strategy that deals with the dangers of poverty, inequality and marginalisation.

If people had been listening, they would have seen that we have been doing this for a year. Instead, they try to score short-term, silly, political points and talk about Smuts and all sorts of other things, when, in fact, what we did was to time our intervention very well and to use the moments that we had to entrench our position.

I want to make one final point which addresses some inaccuracies in the points that the hon member Holomisa raised. In the period between 1973 and 1992, South Africa’s share of foreign direct investment in the world economy dropped by -0.7%. That is, there was zero foreign investment over a 20-year period. Argentina and Australia got nine billion dollars’ worth of foreign investment over that period. Subsequent to that, only in 1994 did South Africa, for the first time in 20 years, get foreign direct investment. That is something we have done! [Applause.] It has not dropped!

My final point is that, more interestingly still, our strategies are beginning to take effect. In the first quarter of 2000, 150 million dollars’ worth of investment was made in factories. A year before that, only $25 million came for investment in factories. So, we are making progress. If Mr Holomisa would be a bit more co-operative and see what is happening instead of trying to destroy our economy, he would be getting somewhere. [Applause.]

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Madam Speaker, I understand that there are some members of Parliament who have not received an invitation to attend the reception in the Old Assembly at 18:30. Has Minister Asmal not received his? Everybody is invited.

Let me first of all thank the Ministers and the Deputy Ministers who serve in the national Government. I think that they have done a lot of good work in the past 12 months. I think we have, in both the Ministers and the Deputy Ministers, a group of thinking people, a group of people who are quite capable of standing on their feet, and a group of people from whom I have never gained the feeling that they are intimidated by the President. Indeed, in all the discussions we have had in the Cabinet committees and in the full Cabinet, I have never sensed that there is anybody there who feels that they have to toe a particular line because a particular person has spoken. [Applause.]

I am saying that, because when I read these things about the President who is autocratic, who is surrounded by dunderheads who cannot think … [Laughter.] [Interjections.] Well, it is true that there might be one or two dunderheads.

It always puzzles me why that is said, because part of what Minister Erwin said about the standing of the South African Government globally and the standing of these Ministers is true. It does not matter where one goes, whether to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and all manner of places, one gets a similar response, throughout the continent and from the rest of the world, about the quality of these people that somehow we, as South Africans, see as people who cannot think and that, therefore, the President surrounds himself with yes-people. I do not know who those people are.

I would really like to say thank you very much to the Ministers and Deputy Ministers for the work that they have done. They have indeed ensured that even though the President might occasionally be out of the country, with half-a-dozen other people, it does not mean that the governance of South Africa ceases. It does not mean at all that the programmes that the Government is pursuing with regard to all manner of matters come to a halt, awaiting the return of the President. I would also like to say a similar thing about the premiers. We have fortunately agreed with them to set up a co-ordinating council. So, that gives us the possibility of being able to interact a bit more closely with them. My sense of the premiers also is the same - of their being people who think and are very committed to doing things to change our society for the better. I think they constitute a very important tier of government. I think they have done very well. The same would go for the directors- general, including the director-general in our office, the Rev Frank Chikane.

I really want to assure the country that whatever they may read or hear, they do not have a Government that is composed of people who cannot think, who cannot stand on their feet, and who will not give the President advice which contradicts his view. This does not include the people I have spoken of. They do not behave like that.

The hon Holomisa spoke about the R1 million spent last year by the SABC to cover the expenses of the then Deputy President’s visit to the United States of America. That came from an article in the Sunday Times of 11 June

1. [Interjections.] An HON MEMBER: It came from City Press!

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: No, the one he gave me is from the Sunday Times. [Laughter.] So, that is where it came from. He did not suck it out of his thumb. It may be that the paper is wrong, but he was quoting from that newspaper. [Laughter.]

I am glad that hon Minister Tshwete has addressed the comments made by the hon Mncwango. I must say that I was somewhat taken aback when the comments were made, because, apart from anything else, the IFP and the ANC had decided to set up structures precisely to deal with this kind of matter. I think it would be a great pity if we did not deal with an issue such as this timeously, but waited on a debate such as this to raise it, because, in the meantime, more people are dying. I wish that we could find a way of ensuring that those joint structures of the ANC and IFP actually deal with this matter.

I have discussed this matter before with the Ministers of Justice and of Safety and Security, the consequence of which, in the past, was that they did go to Nongoma to deal with this matter. But it is not as though we have ignored it because indeed, as Minister Tshwete said, this matter is very serious and we have been very concerned, together with Dr Buthelezi, about ensuring that these matters are addressed. So, I really hope that the matter will be dealt by those structures, apart from what the police have to do - in terms of intelligence work and the role played by everybody within the criminal justice system - to address this particular matter.

I think we all heard very clearly the comments made by the hon members Newhoudt-Druchen and Nzimande, dealing with the matters of disabled people and children, and so on. I was listening quite carefully, and I am quite certain that Minister Essop Pahad was too, so that we can see what else we can do in this regard. I was a bit disturbed when the hon Newhoudt-Druchen made some comments about Parliament. I understood that Parliament was not quite responding in as comprehensive a manner as it should on the matter of support for disabled people who are members of this Parliament. I am sure we might want to look at that, Madam Speaker.

It was a bit of a pity that the hon Derek Hanekom had to be cut off. He was speaking in a very interesting way and they say that he was cut off from his job. I thought that his advice to the opposition was very interesting.

An HON MEMBER: Maybe we do not need it.

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Maybe you do not. I, certainly, would not want to give any advice. I have complained in the past about the quality of some of our discussions here. The matter keeps coming up. I do not know how we should address it. I think that there are certain things that, perhaps, we should not do.

The hon Tony Leon raises the matter of the use of AZT in instances where women have been raped. It is illogical. I do not know if the manufacturing company here, that manufactures AZT, is in fact selling AZT for that particular purpose or is giving it out to patients who are in those circumstances, because if they are doing that, I am not sure that it is legal. The reason for that is that AZT is not licensed in this country for that particular purpose. Indeed, it is not licensed in any country in the world for that particular purpose. The reason for this is that the manufacturing company says that AZT is not a vaccine. Therefore, one cannot use it in this instance where somebody gets raped, possibly by somebody who is HIV-positive, and if one gives that person AZT, it will stop an infection. The manufacturing company itself says that AZT is not a vaccine and therefore it cannot work in the circumstances, which is why they have never applied for the licensing of AZT for that purpose in any country.

An HON MEMBER: What about the offer that they made you?

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: Glaxo Wellcome would not have made an offer to the Government for AZT to be used in this way. [Interjections.]

Mr A J LEON: But they made an offer!

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: No, Tony, they did not. You should give me the evidence of the offer. We have discussed this matter with them. We have discussed this matter with them and have said that there is this demand which is strange, because they have not applied to the MCC for this purpose. There is not a single clinical study anywhere in the world which deals with this. The manufacturing company said that, of course, they would not apply for this particular application because it is illogical. It is absurd, because if it worked, then there would be no need to work further on a vaccine because this would be a vaccine.

It is very easy to check this one. We just need to telephone Glaxo Wellcome tomorrow. [Laughter.] It is quite easy to check that out. That member should try to speak to them again and tell them what I said about this. I say that it is not licensed in this country for that purpose. It is not licensed anywhere in the world for this purpose, because that company has not applied, for the reasons that I have indicated.

We have discussed the matter of Zimbabwe in the past and I do not want to go back to that. Clearly, none of our positions have changed with regard to this, not unexpectedly. Thus I do not want to reopen this particular discussion, except to say that, as a Government, we continue to pursue a particular objective which is to assist the people of Zimbabwe to find a solution to the problems that face them. Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad just recently referred to our own elections in 1994. During March 1994, 552 people died in this country as a result of political violence. In April 1994, the month of the elections, 480 died. On 24 and 25 April 1994, in Germiston, Johannesburg and Pretoria, 21 people died and about 200 were injured.

At about this time, shortly before those Johannesburg and Germiston bombs, the hon Joe Nhlanhla, Sydney Mufamadi and I had a meeting with commanding officers of the then security police of the SAP to discuss this issue as to how we might deal with it. That was a few days before the elections and we came to an agreement about how to deal with it, and indeed they acted to stop it.

An HON MEMBER: But the election was not rigged.

The PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC: What I am saying is that there was a lot of violence in this country around the 1994 elections. Indeed, I may say that there was a lot of violence in Zimbabwe around the 1980 elections. There was a great deal of violence in Zimbabwe during the first elections in

1. But everybody took the position and attitude that said: Let us do whatever we can to make sure that these elections work and succeed as best they can. That, fortunately, is the position that has been taken by the European Union, the Commonwealth, the United Nations, SADC and even this Parliament.

Regarding the hon Aucamp, the United Nations has not said a negative thing about the Zimbabwe elections. They and the others have said: Let us go there to assist and to make sure that this election takes place in these conditions as quietly as possible. It is the same attitude that the rest of the world took with regard to our elections.

I am saying that we have taken that attitude with regard to the challenges that face Zimbabwe. We will not agree about this thing which says that one needs to use particular language which is approved by particular people. But what I am absolutely certain about is that, as this country and certainly as the Government, we have a duty to ourselves to make sure that that situation in Zimbabwe does not get out of control. We have to engage it to try to find solutions to the problems that face Zimbabwe. That has to be our central objective and it is an objective that we will pursue.

One of the points that the hon Derek Hanekom made, I think quite correctly, was that, obviously, it is not possible to influence Government - I am talking about the opposition parties - by resorting to slogans. The hon Marthinus van Schalkwyk tried to raise this matter too of what constitutes opposition. Is it the strident voice or what is it? Clearly, it is not possible. Minister Alec Erwin was quite correct in that we are very much open to suggestion as to what we might do to meet all these challenges that we have. But the throwing out of slogans is not going to help. It has to be done and I understand that opposition parties are opposition parties. They must oppose, be militant and all that. [Interjections.] That is what opposition parties must do. But, of course, they must then not complain if we say that we heard the slogan, and we continue doing whatever it is that we want to do. [Laughter.]

It is being said that one of the problems we have is a strong ANC and a weak Government. I have not the slightest idea what that means. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] It probably sounds nice to the person who says it, but the substance of it cannot actually be argued. [Laughter.]

I was a bit concerned when the hon Marthinus van Schalkwyk - I am not giving any advice at all - came back to a position where he could say that the New NP is a party of the national minorities. I think, even if the New NP knows that it does not have the support of the majority of Africans in this country, he should claim that support. [Laughter.] He should claim it and call them his supporters. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

I think that for an important political party in our country to define itself in such exclusively racial terms, does not sit comfortably. It might be correct for the New NP to do that, but to say that they are a party of the national minorities and therefore when he speaks he is expressing the fears of these national minorities, and that this is the constituency that he represents and so on, is not correct. I think the constituency really ought to be a bit wider than that, because the New NP is an important party that carries much weight.

I agree with the points that were made by the hon Renier Schoeman. Among the things that he mentioned was the need for each of our African countries themselves to engage these problems of peace, stability and democracy and so on. That is quite correct. And, indeed, that is very much central to all the interaction that we have with the rest of the African continent. What he said is that all of us believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. Yes, indeed. And I think it is precisely that belief that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, that must surely lead the New NP to say: ``I may have two supporters today, but I represent them. Here are these two African people. They are part of my constituency. I am not just their representative.’’ I think that leads very quickly to positions of talking once again about the swart gevaar and so on. For the New NP, with its history, I think, as I said, that matter sits a bit uncomfortably.

I am quite happy to see the hon Pieter Mulder about Orania. I am not quite sure why, but I am quite happy to see him about the matter. [Laughter.] So, we will arrange that. To the hon Gen Viljoen I say that, yes, indeed, the miracle is not guaranteed. Reconciliation is not guaranteed. That, indeed, is why we must all work at these things. And while working at them, there clearly are going to be some difficult issues to raise. And one of them is the issue of racism that we have to deal with. It is going to be very uncomfortable.

The hon Mudene Smuts talked about Africanism and an appeal to Africanism. I do not know what is meant by Africanism. [Laughter.] Really, I do not. I am quite happy to debate the matter with her, so that she can explain to me what this Africanism is. [Laughter.] She was counterposing it to reconciliation. What is this Africanism which is counterposed to reconciliation. She also asked whether this was not nationalism of the D F Malan type. [Laughter.] I really do not know what she meant.

I was saying that this issue that the hon Gen Viljoen raises about the need not to take for granted these achievements that we have made as a people is correct. But in dealing with that, we will have to deal with these difficult issues, like the issue of racism. Indeed, regarding the conference, I think that I did not say that this was the only thing that we had to do about racism. We are dealing with racism every day, absolutely every day. I did not suggest, at all, that the August conference was the only way to deal with the matter. But that conference is important because it enables all of us, as South Africans, to put on that agenda all of these issues, so that we can engage one another to see where we are going.

I had hoped that hon Deputy Minister Pahad was going to raise this matter of the Director-General of Foreign Affairs that the hon Aucamp talked about. I do not know anything about Foreign Affairs saying that they are going to chase away all Afrikaners. [Laughter.] It certainly would not be wise and would certainly not be Government policy. Nor would it be Foreign Affairs policy. Foreign Affairs would never have a sovereign right to take a decision like that.

In reply to the hon Musa Zondi, I have had two meetings with the traditional leaders from KwaZulu-Natal. At the last meeting, the second meeting, we agreed that at the end of June they would have completed a process of consultation based on the discussion paper that was distributed to all the traditional leaders. We also met a delegation, which was broader, of Contralesa, with traditional leaders from all over the country, including the traditional leaders from KwaZulu-Natal. We discussed the same questions and agreed to the same thing. They are doing this work. They are consulting. They want to finish that consultation process by the end of June. So, as early as possible after that, we will then have this interaction.

So, that discussion about the role and the place of the traditional leaders is not something that is hanging in the air. There is practical work that is going on with regard to that. And I hope that when we do engage at the end of this month or the beginning of the next, with the traditional leaders, after that process of consultation, we may indeed bring that matter to some finality.

The matter of the rates was also discussed with the traditional leaders from KwaZulu-Natal in the first meeting that we had. We discussed this issue and came to an agreement about it. At the second meeting that we had with them, it did not even arise because we had discussed it then and the matter, I thought, was resolved. I do not think there is a particular problem with regard to that, but, certainly, we need to move to the solutions that the hon Musa Zondi was indicating.

The last thing I would like to say is that the hon Alec Erwin has already responded to some of the comments made by the hon Holomisa on the questions of the economy. So, I do not need to go over that ground. The hon Holomisa might remember the decision taken by BMW, some time back now, to shift production of their three series BMW to South Africa. As part of effecting that decision, the then CEO of BMW, Pischetsrieder, came and I saw him.

I told him that I was very interested that he was here because what I read in the South African newspapers that there were a lot of questions. There were questions like: Why has BMW taken such a decision? Because, after all, this country is crime ridden and this, that and the other. And Pischetsrieder told me that it was not only the South African press, but there was a very strange thing that South Africans had actually contacted him in Munich, and actually asked him why he was coming into South Africa because this country was crime ridden. [Interjections.] He promised me that the BMW company was not going to be discouraged by people like that because, fortunately, they have known this country for quite a long time.

Two and a half months ago, I also met a very leading fund manager. He is very well known globally. This matter about crime in South Africa came up again. He asked the same question and said: But why are South Africans so enthusiastic to communicate this message about South Africa?'' They are a big fund in the United States and they are all over the place. He said: You are the only people in the world who are so desperately keen to inform everybody that there is crime in your country’’, and he said that he could not understand it. [Interjections.] I will tell members his name outside. He gave some instances of particular countries which, in reality, had worse crime rates, but he said that his board did not even know that there was crime in those countries. I will give members the name of the fund manager outside.

The reason that I am making this comment is that I was a bit worried and disturbed when at some point the hon Holomisa, basing himself, I am sure, on information that he got from somewhere, and believing the information to be correct, spoke out very loudly about, in reality, a government that was acting dishonestly and dishonourably. It could not be trusted. He said that we were talking about peace in the Congo and all these things, while, in the meantime, we were sending weapons to perpetuate the war.

There never was any truth to this story, but what it does is to communicate a message that one has a country and a people who are not worthy of the sort of confidence that we, as a country and as a people, say we are worthy of. I think those messages do not help at all. I do not know what is to be gained from communicating messages like that. But, in the end, thanks very much for the participation and let us go and have a party. [Applause.] Debate concluded.

The House adjourned at 18:25. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

                        MONDAY, 12 JUNE 2000

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson:

The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the relevant committees as mentioned below:

 (1)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Provincial and Local Government and to the Select Committee on
     Local Government and Administration:


     Reasons for declaring a state of disaster in the Province of
     KwaZulu-Natal in terms of section 2(1) of the Civil Protection
     Act, 1977 (Act No 67 of 1977).


 (2)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Public Works and to the Select Committee on Public Services:


     (a)     Report of the Department of Public Works for 1999-2000 [RP
          100-2000].

     (b)     Memorandum by the Minister of Public Works setting out
          particulars of the Building Programme for 2000-2001 in respect
          of Programme 2: Provision of Land and Accommodation of Vote 26
          of the State Account [RP 93-2000].


 (3)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Justice and Constitutional Development and to the Select Committee
     on Security and Constitutional Affairs:


    Reports of the South African Law Commission on the -

     (a)     Constitutional Jurisdiction of Magistrates' Courts,
          Project 111 [RP 80-2000];

     (b)     Conflicts of Law, Project 90 [RP 81-2000];

     (c)     Sharing of Pension Benefits, Project 112 [RP 82-2000];

     (d)     Review of the Law of Insolvency, Project 63 (Volume 1) [RP
          89-2000];

     (e)     Review of the Law of Insolvency, Project 63 Volume 2) [RP
          88-2000].


 (4)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance:
     Recommendations of the Financial and Fiscal Commission on 2001-
     2004 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework Cycle, submitted in terms
     of section 9(1) of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act,
     1997 (Act No 97 of 1997).


 (5)    The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
     Public Accounts for consideration and report. It is also referred
     to the Portfolio Committee on Finance and to the Select Committee
     on Finance for information:


     Report of the Auditor-General on Performance Audits completed at
     the South African Revenue Service during 1999 [RP 96-2000].

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

Papers:

1. The Minister of Education:

 (1)    Government Notice No 207 published in the Government Gazette No
     20945 dated 1 March 2000, National Policy for designing school
     calenders for ordinary public schools in South Africa, made in
     terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No 27 of
     1996).

 (2)    Government Notice No 208 published in the Government Gazette No
     20945 dated 1 March 2000, School calender for public schools for
     the year 2001, made in terms of the National Education Policy Act,
     1996 (Act No 27 of 1996).

 (3)    Government Notice No 252 published in the Government Gazette No
     20994 dated 24 March 2000, Appointment of a replacement to serve
     as a member of the South African Qualifications Authority, made in
     terms of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995 (Act
     No 58 of 1995).

 (4)    Government Notice No 400 published in the Government Gazette No
     21093 dated 20 April 2000, Revision of the policy document: Norms
     and standards for instructional programmes and examination and
     certification thereof in technical colleges, Report 190 (92/04),
     made in terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No
     27 of 1996).

 (5)    Government Notice No 401 published in the Government Gazette No
     21093 dated 20 April 2000, Provisos for the Senior Certificate
     programme, made in terms of the National Education Policy Act,
     1996 (Act No 27 of 1996).

 (6)    Government Notice No 402 published in the Government Gazette No
     21093 dated 20 April 2000, The deletion of the category providing
     for foreign candidates as contained in the policy document, a
     Résumé of instructional programmes in public schools, Report 550
     (97/06), made in terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996
     (Act No 27 of 1996).

 (7)    Government Notice No 449 published in the Government Gazette No
     21143 dated 4 May 2000, Appointment of persons to serve as members
     of the Review Committee to review the National Outcomes-based
     Curriculum and Progress with its implementation, made in terms of
     the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No 27 of 1996).

 (8)    Government Notice No 404 published in the Government Gazette No
     21093 dated 20 April 2000, The inclusion of a continuous
     assessment component in the final Senior Certificate examination
     at Grade 12, made in terms of the National Education Policy Act,
     1996 (Act No 27 of 1996).

 (9)    Government Notice No 448 published in the Government Gazette No
     21143 dated 4 May 2000, Call for comments on the draft document -
     National Curriculum Framework for further Education and Training,
     made in terms of the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No
     27 of 1996).

 (10)Government Notice No 403 published in the Government Gazette No
     21093 dated 20 April 2000, Approval of an extension of the Gauteng
     Youth College Programme, made in terms of the National Education
     Policy Act, 1996 (Act No 27 of 1996).

1. The Minister of Finance:

 Report of the Executive Officer of the Financial Services Board on the
 Road Accident Fund for 1998-99.

1. The Minister in The Presidency:

 Report of the Government Communication and Information System for 1999
 [RP 58-2000].

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

National Assembly:

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the Sea Transport Documents Bill [B 28 - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 7 June 2000:

   The Portfolio Committee on Transport, having considered the subject of the Sea Transport Documents Bill [B 28 - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with an amendment [B 28A - 2000].

2. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Implementation of Basic Conditions of Employment Act in Public Service, dated 26 May 2000:

 The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, having
 received a briefing on the measures taken in anticipation of the
 implementation in the Public Service of the Basic Conditions of
 Employment Act, 1997, reports as follows:


 A.     Introduction


     On 9 November 1999, the Public Service Commission (PSC) briefed
     the Committee on two reports, namely the Management of Remunerated
     Overtime in the Public Service [RP 171-99] and the Management of
     Leave in the Public Service [RP 172-99].

     The PSC's investigations and reports were prompted by the
     realisation that the costs to the government of paying leave and
     overtime were considerable, that these costs had been increasing
     rapidly in recent years, and that they were likely to increase
     further after the coming into force for the Public Service of the
     Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (the Act), on 1 June
     2000.

     The PSC report on the Management of Remunerated Overtime was
     formally tabled and referred to the Committee for consideration
     and report on 11 April 2000. The Committee would like to
     investigate in greater depth some of the management and policy
     issues relating to leave and overtime, and will therefore report
     in terms of the referral at a later date.

     In the interim, however, with 1 June 2000 rapidly approaching, the
     Committee decided to obtain a briefing from the Department of
     Public Service and Administration (the Department) on measures
     taken in anticipation of the coming into force of the Act in the
     Public Service. Mr Alvin Rapea, recently appointed Deputy Director-
     General of Labour Relations and Conditions of Service in the
     Department, accordingly briefed the Committee on 24 May.


 B.     Briefing by Department


     1. Background


          The Act was enacted on 1 December 1997. In terms of the
          transitional arrangements, the Public Service was afforded an
          extension of 18 months from the date of commencement. The Act
          commenced on 1 December 1998, and the implementation date for
          the Public Service was therefore 1 June 2000.

          The Act is divided into 11 chapters, and regulates a variety
          of substantive standards of employment. The following are
          important for the Public Service:


          (1) Working time.


          (2) Leave.


          (3) Particulars of employment.


          The provisions of the Act, except for the core rights, can be
          varied through collective bargaining in terms of section 49 of
          the Act.  Applications for determination may also be made to
          the Minister of Labour, subject to the requirements of section
          50 of the Act.


     2. Core rights
          (1) The employer's obligation to arrange working time, taking
              into account the health and safety and family
              responsibilities of employees.


          (2) The 45-hour working week.


          (3) The protection afforded to employees working between the
              hours of 23:00 and 06:00.


          (4) 21 days' paid vacation leave.


          (5) Sick leave.


          (6) Maternity leave.


          (7) Prohibition of certain types of child labour.


          (8) Regulations issued by the Minister to regulate hours for
              work for health and safety reasons.


          Mr Rapea affirmed that the Public Service respects the core
          rights and will adhere to them.


     3. Regulation of working time (Chapter 2 of Act)


          (1) Ordinary hours of work


              Generally a 40-hour week prevails in the Public Service.
              In those instances where employees work more than 45
              hours per week, the Public Service will be able to comply
              by obtaining agreement to either averaging hours of work
              or compressing the working week as contemplated in
              sections 11 and 12 of the Act.


          (2) Overtime
              The Act limits the number of hours that an employee may
              work overtime to three hours per day and 10 hours per
              week. The Public Service would be able to comply once the
              limits have been varied by collective agreement.
          (3) Meal intervals


              The Act requires that an employer must give an employee
              who works continuously for more than five hours a lunch
              break of at least one continuous hour. It may be reduced
              by agreement to not less than 30 minutes. A minimum lunch
              break of 30 minutes presently applies, and an agreement
              is therefore required to confirm current practices.


          (4) Rest periods


              In terms of the Act, an employer must allow a daily rest
              period of 12 consecutive hours and a weekly rest period
              of 36 hours. Generally the Public Service complies. In
              specific instances, variation must still be negotiated.
              (For example, the health sector: Ten hours; SAPS: Six
              hours.)


          (5) Night work


              Night work between 18:00 and 6:00 may only be worked by
              agreement, the payment of an allowance is required and
              transport must be available (though not necessarily
              provided by the employer). Variations are required to
              deem night work from 19:00 to 7:00, which is the current
              practice (for example, in Correctional Services and the
              SAPS).


          (6) Obstacles


              (a)  The current overtime rate is one and a third,
                   whereas the required rate one and a half. At present
                   the employer is negotiating to retain the current
                   overtime rates.


              (b)  The Act rate for Sunday work is one and a half for
                   those who normally work on a Sunday, and double for
                   those who do not normally work on a Sunday. The
                   Public Service currently pays double for those who do
                   not normally work on a Sunday and the normal rate for
                   those who do normally work on a Sunday. The employer
                   is currently negotiating to retain the current
                   overtime rates.


     4. Leave (Chapter 3 of Act)


          (1) Annual leave


              Generally, in terms of the Act, an employee will be
              eligible to 21 days paid leave in a 12-month leave cycle.
              Presently, in the Public Service, employees receive in
              general 30 days or 36 days after 10 years' service.


          (2) Sick leave


              An employee is entitled to 36 days sick leave in a three-
              year cycle. The Public Service sick-leave dispensation
              exceeds this requirement by far, since 120 days are
              afforded with pay and a further 120 days with half-pay
              within a three-year cycle, as well as a further 92 days
              at the discretion of the head of department.
          (3) Maternity leave


              In terms of the Act, an employee is entitled to at least
              four consecutive months' maternity leave (unpaid).
              Presently in the Public Service employees are entitled to
              paid maternity leave for two confinements. Paid maternity
              leave may also be granted in exceptional cases. Vacation
              leave and unpaid leave may be used for further
              confinements.


          (4) Family responsibility leave


              An employee may be granted three days in a leave cycle
              when his or her child is born, or when his or her child
              is sick, and in the event of death. Presently, in terms
              of Resolution 3 of 1999 of the Public Service
              Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), individual
              departments negotiate their own policies on special
              leave.

              In terms of leave, therefore, the Public Service's
              provisions are currently more favourable than those
              required by the Act, so the Public Service therefore
              complies.


          (5) Particulars of employment and remuneration (Chapter 4 of
              Act)


              The Act requires that certain particulars be provided and
              maintained in respect of an employee and that information
              be made available with regard to the employees'
              remuneration, deductions, etc. The Public Service
              Regulations, 1999, require that such information be
              provided to an employee.


          (6) Implementation process


              (a)  The implementation process in the Public Service was
                   launched in May 1998 with a workshop comprising of
                   employer representatives and employee organisations.
                   Major employing departments/sectors such as the SAPS,
                   Education and Health have been assisted by the
                   Department of Labour to identify their needs for
                   purposes of variation by collective agreement in
                   terms of section 49 of the Act.


              (b)  A workshop was also held to assist other departments
                   and provinces.


              (c)  An implementation guide has been made available to
                   assist departments.


              (d)  Sectors/departments are presently in the process of
                   negotiating the variations as required to implement
                   the Act.


 C.     Findings


     1. The Committee notes that the Public Service will implement the
          Act on 1 June 2000, "except for the areas being negotiated".
          The Public Service already complies with the Act to a large
          extent (in terms of leave and particulars of work).


     2. The Committee is concerned that the negotiations have not been
          completed in advance of the implementation date, but accepts
          that the State as employer commenced an implementation process
          in May 1998, six months after the enactment of the Act and two
          years prior to the commencement date for the Public Service.


     3. The State as employer is seeking variations in the regulation
          of working time and remuneration, including the following:


          (1) Maximum daily and weekly overtime.


          (2) Specific instances relating to rest periods.


          (3) Night work between 19:00 and 7:00.


          (4) Retention of current overtime pay rate of one and a third.
          (5) Retention of current Sunday work ordinary pay rate.


 D.     Recommendations


     The Committee recommends that the Department brief the Committee
     on the extent to which the Public Service is complying with the
     Act in three months' time (end of August 2000), or when
     negotiations have been successfully concluded, if agreement is
     reached before the end of August.


 Report to be considered.

                        TUESDAY, 13 JUNE 2000

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson:

 The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the
 relevant committees as mentioned below:
 (1)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Trade and Industry and to the Select Committee on Economic
     Affairs:


     (a)     Report and Financial Statements of the Investment South
          Africa for 1998-99.

     (b)     Report and Financial Statements of the National Gambling
          Board for 1998-99, including the Report of the Auditor-General
          on the Financial Statements for 1998-99.


 (2)    The Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of
     the National Gambling Board for 1998-99 contained in the Report of
     the National Gambling Board for 1998-99 is referred to the
     Standing Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and
     report:


     Report and Financial Statements of the National Gambling Board for
     1998-99, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the
     Financial Statements for 1998-99.


 (3)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Health and the Select Committee on Social Services:


     (a)     Government Notice Number 341 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21042 dated 7 April 2000, Correction notice
          regarding Government Notice No 149 of 11 February 2000 made in
          terms of Pharmacy Amendment Act, 2000 (Act No 1 of 2000).

     (b)     Government Notice Number R.397 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21100 dated 14 April 2000, Amendment of
          regulations, changing deadline for comment as published in the
          Government Notice R.137 of 18 February 2000, regarding the
          performance of community service by persons registering in
          terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service
          Professions Act, 1974 (Act No 56 of 1974).

     (c)     Government Notice Number R.427 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21136 dated 5 May 2000, Amendment of
          regulations governing Microbilogical Standards for mineral
          water made in terms of Foodstuff, Cosmetics and Disinfectants
          Act, 1972 (Act No 54 of 1972).

     (d)     Government Notice Number R.428 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21136 dated 5 May 2000, Amendment of
          regulations governing Microbilogical Standards for edible ices
          and egg products made in terms of Foodstuff, Cosmetics and
          Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No 54 of 1972).

     (e)     Government Notice Number R.450 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21144 dated 5 May 2000, Regulations regarding
          the performance of community service by pharmacists made in
          terms of the Pharmacy Act, 1974 (Act No 53 of 1974).

     (f)     Government Notice Number R.498 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21178 dated 19 May 2000, Amendment of
          regulations regarding the performance of community service by
          persons registering in terms of the Medical, Dental and
          Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No 56
          of 1974).

     (g)     Government Notice Number R.497 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21175 dated 19 May 2000, Date of commencement
          of community service by dentists made in terms of the Medical,
          Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974
          (Act No 56 of 1974).

     (h)     Government Notice Number R.499 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21178 dated 19 May 2000, List of approved
          health facilities for the purpose of performing community
          service by dentists in the year 2000-2001 made in terms of the
          Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions
          Act, 1974 (Act No 56 of 1974).

     (i)     Government Notice Number R.547 published in the Government
          Gazette Number 21237 dated 29 May 2000, Amendment to the list
          of approved health facilities for the purpose of performing
          community service by dentists in the year 2000-2001 made in
          terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service
          Professions Act, 1974 (Act No 56 of 1974).


 (4)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and the Select Committee on Finance for consideration and
     report:


     (a)     Supplementary Estimate of Expenditure to be defrayed from
          the National Revenue Fund during the Financial Year ending 31
          March 2001 [RP 4-2000].

     (b)     Explanatory Memorandum to the Supplementary Estimate for
          2000-2001.


 (5)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and to the Select Committee
     on Education and Recreation for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum of Vote 4 "Arts, Culture, Science and
     Technology", Supplementary Estimate 2000-2001.


 (6)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Education and to the Select Committee on Education and Recreation
     for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum of Vote 8 "Education", Supplementary
     Estimate 2000-2001.


 (7)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Health and to the Select Committee on Social Services for
     information:


     Explanatory Memorandum of Vote 13 "Health", Supplementary Estimate
     2000-2001.


 (8)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Labour and to the Select Committee on Labour and Public
     Enterprises for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum of Vote 19 "Labour", Supplementary Estimate
     2000-2001.


 (9)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Provincial and Local Government and to the Select Committee on
     Local Government and Administration for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum on Vote 22 "Provincial and Local
     Government", Supplementary Estimate 2000-2001.


 (10)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Water Affairs and Forestry and to the Select Committee on Land and
     Environmental Affairs for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum on Vote 34 "Water Affairs and Forestry",
     Supplementary Estimate 2000-2001.


 (11)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Welfare and Population Development and to the Select Committee on
     Social Services Affairs for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum on Vote 35 - "Welfare", Supplementary
     Estimate for 2000-2001.


 (12)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Environmental Affairs and Tourism and to the Select Committee on
     Land and Environmental Affairs for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum on Vote 9 - "Environmental Affairs and
     Tourism", Supplementary Estimate for 2000-2001.


 (13)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration
     and report. It is also referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Agriculture and Land Affairs and to the Select Committee on Land
     and Environmental Affairs for information:


     Explanatory Memorandum on Vote 3 - "Agriculture", Supplementary
     Estimate for 2000-2001.


 (14)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Housing and the Select Committee on Public Services:


     Government Notice Number R.437 published in the Government Gazette
     Number 21136 dated 5 May 2000, Dissolution of the Pretoria Region
     Rent Board and extension of the area of jurisdiction of the
     Southern and Western Region Rent Board to include the Pretoria
     area, made in terms of sections 2(1) and 2(2) of the Rent Control
     Act, 1976 (Act No 80 of 1976).


 (15)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Provincial and Local Government and the Select Committee on Local
     Government and Administration:


     Report of the Department of Provincial and Local Government for
     1999.


 (16)The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Justice and Constitutional Development and the Select Committee on
     Security and Constitutional Affairs:


     Report of the National Prosecuting Authority for 1998-99 [RP 99-
     2000].


 (17)The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Finance and the Portfolio Committee on Transport and to the Select
     Committee on Finance and the Select Committee on Public Services:


     Report of the Executive Officer of the Financial Services Board on
     the Road Accident Fund for 1998-99.

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

Papers:

1. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:

 (1)    Regulation Number R.14 published in the Government Gazette
     Number 20997 dated 24 March 2000, Establishment of Investigating
     Directorate: Corruption, made in terms of the National Prosecuting
     Authority Act, 1998 (Act No 32 of 1998).

 (2)    Regulation Number R.16 published in the Government Gazette
     Number 21039 dated 31 March 2000, Commencement of certain sections
     of the Witness Protection Act, 1998 (Act No 112 of 1998).]

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

National Assembly:

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Education on the South African Council for Educators Bill [B 26B - 2000] (National Council of Provinces - sec 76), dated 12 June 2000:

   The Portfolio Committee on Education, having considered the subject of the South African Council for Educators Bill [B 26B - 2000] (National Council of Provinces - sec 76), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 76 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 26C - 2000].

2. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the Identification Amendment Bill [B 33 - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 12 June 2000:

   The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, having considered the subject of the Identification Amendment Bill [B 33 - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill without amendment.

3. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Finance on the Supplementary Estimate [B 7A - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 77), dated 9 June 2000:

   The Portfolio Committee on Finance, having considered and examined the Supplementary Estimate [B 7A - 2000] (National Assembly - sec 77), reports that it has concluded its deliberations thereon.

4. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration on Provincial Visits, dated 23 May 2000:

 The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, having
 sent delegations to six provinces in March 2000, reports as follows:


 A.     Rationale for visits
     e Public Service must function, and be structured, in terms of
     national legislation. In terms of the Public Service Act, 1994,
     the Public Service is made up of national departments, provincial
     administrations, provincial departments and organisational
     components.

     In terms of the Act, the Minister for the Public Service and
     Administration is responsible for determining policy for the
     Public Service. Section 3(2)(a) of the Act outlines the key areas
     for which the Minister is responsible, including Public Service -


     1. functions and organisational arrangements;


     2. employment and other personnel practices;


     3. salaries and other conditions of service;


     4. labour relations;


     5. information management and information technology; and


     6. transformation and reform.


     The Department of the Public Service and Administration (the
     Department) is also responsible for the facilitation of the
     implementation of policy, through interventions in and
     partnerships with national and provincial departments.

     The Committee exercises oversight of the Department (in respect of
     both its dual role of policy formulation and the facilitation of
     implementating policy). The Committee also has an obligation to
     ensure that these policies are properly implemented by the Public
     Service (i.e. both national and provincial departments).
     The Commmitee therefore conducted visits to the provinces with the
     following broad purposes:


     (1)     To evaluate the impact of the Department's policies in the
          provinces and its interventions and partnerships, in order to
          assist provinces.

     (2)     To assess the extent to which national Public Service
          policy has been implemented by the provinces (and, if not, for
          what reasons).

     (3)     To draw conclusions and make recommendations in respect of
          these areas.


     The Committee's visits to provinces were therefore not so much
     "tours of inspection"' but rather fact-finding missions, and were
     viewed by members as learning experiences. The Committee sought to
     identify and explore transversal problem areas towards finding
     solutions and to learn about and to publicise good practices in
     management and service delivery.


 B.     Department's activities to be evaluated
     1. Assisting departments with management plans


          The Cabinet took a decision in August 1999 that all
          departments at national and provincial level must develop
          management plans by 1 December 1999. These management plans
          were to consist of the following outputs:


          (1) Strategic Plan
              (a)  Core objectives to be described.


              (b)  Activities to be described.
               
              (c)  Goals and targets of department to be described.


              (d)  Programme for attaining goals and targets, with
                   costing, to be described.


              (e)  Functions to be contracted out and abolished, to be
                   described.


          (2) Organisational structure and post establishment


              A detailed organogramme, with an indication of the number
              of posts for each component and decentralised office, and
              a description of the activities of each unit.


          (3) Service Delivery Improvement Plan


              (a)  As specified in the Public Service Regulations.


              (b)  Publication of Annual Statement of Public Service
                   Commitment.


          (4) Human Resources Plan


              (a)  Available resources assessed in accordance with the
                   Public Service Regulations.


              (b)  Needs specified.


              (c)  Shortages/deficiencies/oversupply of staff and
                   skills defined.


          In terms of the Integrated Implementation Programme, the
          Department took an active role in assisting national and
          provincial departments to develop their management plans.
          Three Department teams gave focused, hands-on assistance to
          three provinces (the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the
          Northern Province), and another Department team assisted the
          remaining provinces and national departments in developing
          their plans.

          Not all national and provincial departments had completed
          their management plans by 1 December 1999, and the deadline
          was extended to 31 March 2000. Information from the management
          plans and other sources was nonetheless utilised in the
          drafting of the Department's Personnel Expenditure Review and
          the draft remuneration policy, which were considered by the
          Cabinet in February 2000.


     2. Following through on Integrated Implementation Programme
          assistance


          Following on from the Integrated Implementation Programme was
          the Interprovincial Support Programme, a partnership between
          the Department and (initially) three provinces, supported by
          donor funding from various international donors (with a
          contribution of R30 million over three years from the UK
          Department for International Development). Additional
          provinces have joined the initial partners, and the budget for
          the three-year programme has expanded, with the assistance of
          other donors, to R50 million.

          A central thrust of the Interprovincial Support Programme was
          to create a learning network for the sharing of best
          practices, to be co-ordinated by the Department. Other
          elements of the programme include funding for technical
          expertise to assist in the implementation of policies and
          programmes, including, inter alia, performance management
          systems, Batho Pele, financial management systems and anti-
          corruption measures.


     3. Batho Pele (service delivery policy)


          The White Paper on the Transformation of Public Service
          Delivery, subtitled "Batho Pele" (a Sotho adage meaning
          "People First"), was approved by the Committee in September
          1997 and promulgated by the Minister in October of that year.
          The policy required a radical change in the way departments
          were required to approach service delivery, an approach that
          incorporated concepts and processes previously unknown in the
          Public Service.

          The implementation of the policy by departments has been
          "variable". The Department of Home Affairs, as one of the
          pilot departments, was the first to launch its service
          standards in terms of this policy in June 1998. Several
          departments, including provincial departments and provinces as
          a whole, have since launched their service standards.


     4. Alternative service delivery mechanisms


          The Department has undertaken to develop an overarching policy
          framework for alternative service delivery mechanisms.
          Pressure on personnel costs has already led many departments
          towards establishing such mechanisms, including outsourcing
          and public-private partnerships.


 C.     Specific objectives of visits
     1. Management plans


          To be exposed to the practical working of the management plans
          in provinces in a concrete, focused way. The Committee adopted
          a sectoral approach, as follows:

          Provincial Department.
          Output under review.
          Economic sector department (specifically finance portfolio).
          Strategic plan.
          Central co-ordinating department (Office of the
          Premier/Director-General).
          Organisational structure.
          Social delivery department (specifically health portfolio).
          Service delivery improvement plan.
          Infrastructure department (specifically public works
          portfolio).
          Human resource plan.


     2. Interprovincial Support Programme


          To learn to what extent and with what success the follow-up
          programme to the Integrated Implementation Programme has been
          implemented in the provinces that have joined the programme.


     3. Site visits - Batho Pele


          To visit delivery sites in the provinces, and would like to
          focus on those initiatives that reflect the implementation of
          the Batho Pele policy in the province (such as "one-stop
          shops", welfare paypoints and clinics).


     4. Case studies - alternative service delivery


          To be exposed to the ways in which such strategies have been
          employed by provinces thus far, and with what success, by
          means of cases studies or site visits.


 D.     Logistical arrangements


     The Committee selected the three provinces that were participants
     in the Interprovincial Support Programme (the Eastern Cape,
     KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Province) and three provinces that
     were considering becoming participants in the IPSP (the Northern
     Cape, the Free State and Mpumalanga) for the visits.

     Three delegations, encompassing all full members of the Committee
     who were available, visited two provinces each, as follows:

     Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal: Mr J Sitole (leader), Mr R
     Sikakane, Mr B Mkhize, Mr B Mthembu, Mr A van Jaarsveld, Adv Z
     Madasa and Ms Z Mene (Committee Secretary).

     Northern Province and Northern Cape: Mr R Baloyi, Ms C September,
     Mr P Mbongo, Mr P de Vos and Mr A Mamabolo (Committee Secretary).

     Free State and Mpumalanga: Mr N Nhleko (leader), Mr L Modisenyane,
     Mr M Kgwele, Ms L Maloney, Mr M Da Camara, Mr Isaac Mfundisi and
     Mr R Shaw (secretariat).
     The delegations visited their provinces during the week of 27 to
     31 March 2000. The programmes for the delegations were drafted by
     the directors-general of the provinces in accordance with the
     requests made by the Committee regarding its objectives. In most
     cases, the Premiers of the provinces approved the programmes, and
     in some cases it was discussed in the province's Executive Council
     meetings.

     The Committee utilised funds from its Department of International
     Development project funds, which allowed for three full
     delegations to be sent and therefore for all interested members of
     the Committee to have the opportunity to be exposed to provincial
     government management and service delivery issues.


 E.     Key findings


     1. The level of compliance with the national requirement regarding
          management plans appeared to be satisfactory. In one province,
          the delegation was presented with a full set of every
          department's plans as a demonstration of full compliance.


     2. The Offices of the Premier in various provinces have almost all
          undergone restructuring and upgrading recently, and the
          establishment of some are quite considerable (350 posts).
          These structures should above all be giving effect to the co-
          ordinating role of the Premier in terms sec 125(2)(e) of the
          Constitution and of the Director-General in terms of sec
          7(3)(c)(ii) of the Public Service Act, 1994.


     3. The finance departments' strategic plans revealed concerns in
          almost all provinces regarding their ability to raise their
          own revenue, and a suggestion that opportunities in this
          regard should be extended. It was further argued that
          individual departments that raise revenue should be entitled
          to retain all or a percentage of those revenues.


     4. A related issue which emerged in meetings with finance
          departments and heads of department in one province in
          particular, was the restriction placed on the borrowing powers
          of provinces in respect of capital projects. The Committee is
          not convinced that the requirements of the Loans Co-ordinating
          Committee are unreasonable, however, especially in view of the
          high interest rates payable on such borrowing. Where this
          restriction impacts on public/private partnerships, the public
          sector should seek to bring some other asset (other than
          capital for infrastructure development) to the table: Ideally,
          this would be the contribution of the private sector partner.


     5. Many provinces' public works departments exemplify the current
          Public Service dilemma regarding an overabundance of unskilled
          staff (at levels 1 to 6, concentrated at levels 1 and 2).
          Productive work cannot always be found for these workers, and
          a subsidised transition to a new form of employment as a
          member of an employee-owned company or a public/private
          partnership or another form of alternative service delivery
          would be desirable from the point of view of the government,
          which can no longer afford such high proportions of personnel
          expenditure relative to capital expenditure. However, these
          State workers are paid at a rate that is often 50% higher than
          their private sector counterparts, making such a transition
          less easy to negotiate. Where successful transitions have been
          made, the unions have been involved every step of the way, and
          very often five-year transitional periods with guarantees have
          been instituted.


     6. The Committee believes that private sector involvement is
          highly beneficial in projects of a certain nature. The
          operation by the government of vehicle fleets for one purpose
          or another has in many instances proved wasteful, and even a
          breeding ground for corruption. Systems of leasing or
          outsourcing, where a private sector partner has a profit-
          related incentive to ensure that fraud and corruption are
          minimised and that costs are contained as far as possible,
          lead to savings for the government, and should be applied.


     7. Public works departments also appear to be the locus of an even
          older problem, namely the failure to integrate the employees
          of the former homelands with the rest of the provincial
          workforce. In such cases, under-employed workers are often not
          so much determined by sector as by geographical location. The
          problems in dealing with this problem include the lack of a
          retrenchment tool to serve as a means of forcing employees to
          choose between redeployment and termination of services. The
          relatively high cost of living in the urban centres lends a
          degree of support to claims that redeployment to the bigger
          cities should take place on favourable terms (i.e. involve a
          promotion). Primarily, however, the government must have the
          option, and a retrenchment tool is indispensable.


     8. Infrastructure backlogs, particularly backlogs in the
          maintenance of roads, have reached crisis proportions in many
          provinces. There is an urgent need to spend more money on
          construction and maintenance of roads. The obstacles
          preventing provinces from establishing their provincial roads
          agencies should be removed.


     9. In those provinces where retrenchment and the need for
          retrenchment tool were discussed, the need for a social plan
          was also raised. In the poorer provinces, State employment is
          the sole source of income for many individuals, families and
          extended families. Retrenchments are likely to excacerbate the
          problem of poverty in those areas. A social plan, including
          financial counselling and reskilling, is essential.


     10.     While there is an oversupply of workers at lower levels,
          provinces across the board are finding it difficult to attract
          and retain managers and professionals in Public Service
          departments. Health professionals and technical professionals
          are scarce and many vacancies exist for these posts in
          provincial departments. A strategy is required to provide
          incentives that provinces may offer to such workers,
          particularly incentives for working in outlying areas, as
          opposed to working in the main centres.


     11.     The Integrated Implementation Programme greatly assisted
          the provinces in complying (particularly the substantial
          assistance provided to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the
          Northern Province). Compliance is still not 100%. The
          implementation of the follow-up programme, the Interprovincial
          Support Programme, appears to have been subject to certain
          delays. It is essential that any obstacle to implementation of
          the Interprovincial Support Programme be removed.


     12.     Managers who have responsibilities that extend to rural
          areas or small towns, should be visiting them on a regular
          basis and interacting with staff there. Greater interaction
          and co-ordination between departments at small town and rural
          level could result in the integration of some services,
          leading to greater efficiency and improvement in the quality
          of service offered in those areas.


     13.     The Committee believes that one-stop shops are an exciting
          development and that they should be replicated where the
          conditions are appropriate, usually where Public Service
          offices have large geographical jurisdictions. It is important
          to develop one-stop shops in close co-operation with the
          community that uses the facility, and interdepartmental co-
          operation is indispensable.


     14.     Another sound practice in provinces with large
          geograpahical expanses under their jurisdiction is the
          "Cabinet Meets the People" programme, in terms of which the
          Provincial Executive travels to a town or city in the province
          every second week to hold meetings with the communities. This
          is a laudable practice, and all strategies aimed at bringing
          the government closer to the people are in keeping with the
          letter and spirit of the Constitution.


     15.     One of the provinces visited, was a full participant with
          the State Information Technology Agency (SITA), which was
          established in 1998 to consolidate the State's IT interests.
          SITA was established to promote savings through bulk-buying
          and rationalisation of licencing agreements, and to ensure the
          inter-operability of State IT systems. Wastage has occurred in
          those government departments who have been relying on outside
          consultants, owing to their own lack of expertise, and co-
          ordination has been poor. Those provinces that have not
          approached Sita, should do so to investigate participation.


     16.     HIV/Aids was of serious concern in the provinces visited.
          The treatment of HIV/Aids is placing a strain on the resources
          of provinces, in particular on the health and welfare budgets.
          National strategies and campaigns focusing on prevention are
          required to support provinces' efforts to treat and care for
          victims of the disease.


     17.     Departments in those provinces that were affected by the
          floods in March, expressed dissatisfaction with the level of
          assistance they received from the government.


 F.     Recommendations


     1. That the Department negotiate a retrenchment tool and social
          plan to assist provincial departments to address the problem
          of lower-level staff in excess of operational requirements.


     2. That the Department develop initiatives relating to the
          recruitment and retention of managers and professionals in the
          provinces, including the introduction of appropriate
          incentives for skilled personnel to take up posts outside the
          main centres, and report thereon to the Committee during the
          third quarter of 2000;


     3. That the Department provide a broad overarching policy
          framework for alternative service delivery, and in addition
          provide practical hands-on advice and assistance, where
          feasible, regarding the adoption of alternative service
          delivery mechanisms by departments and good practices
          regarding the implementation of such mechanisms.


     4. That the Department, in consultation with the Public Service
          Commission, if necessary, ascertain the whereabouts of certain
          disciplinary appeal cases, submitted by the KwaZulu-Natal
          Department of Public Works in September, October and November
          1999, ensure that the proper directions and/or relief are
          given in these matter, and report to the Committee thereon by
          31 July.


     5. That the Department, through the Steering Committee of the
          Interprovincial Support Programme ensure the following:


          (1) That all obstacles to the implementation of the
              Interprovincial Support Programme are removed as soon as
              possible, and that the participation of additional
              provinces is fast-tracked.


          (2) That the learning network of the Interprovincial Support
              Programme convene meetings to share information and good
              practices regarding -


              (a)  the elimination of ghostworkers from the system
                   (other related meetings may focus on ghost
                   pensioners, and the clean-up of the Persal system, in
                   general);


              (b)  the integration of services, specifically the one-
                   stop shop concept (as pioneered in the Northern
                   Cape); and


              (c)  alternative service delivery in the infrastructure
                   and "agriculture and allied" sectors.


          (3) That the national and provincial co-ordinators of the
              Interprovincial Support Programme report to the Committee
              on progress made in respect of the implementation of the
              programme, including the establishment of the learning
              network, by 31 July 2000.


     6. That the national Department of Health provide technical
          assistance and support to the Eastern Cape Department of
          Health regarding the most effective utilisation of its budget
          in addressing the increase in the incidence of HIV/Aids in the
          province.


     7. That the Free State Department of Social Welfare table the
          details of its award-winning welfare pay-out system (and the
          re-registration procedure that precedes it, now that it is
          fully implemented in the province, at the Welfare Minmec, and
          obtain leave to present such details to facilitate a
          discussion on the relative efficacy of the systems and
          procedures utilised in the various provinces in the delivery
          of welfare payments, with a view to sharing knowledge and good
          practices, within a reasonable period).


     8. That the Free State Department of Education table the details
          of the book-packing project (which provides temporary
          employment packing books for distribution to schools) at the
          Education Minmec, and obtain leave to present such details, to
          facilitate a discussion on the replication of the project in
          other provinces, in the interests of the promotion of
          employment in the country, within a reasonable period.


     9. That the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health review the rental
          of R15 000, paid by the Dabeka Health Centre for the Botha's
          Hill Clinic, and report to the Committee on the matter by 31
          July.


     10.     That the Eastern Cape Department of Health investigate and
          rectify inadequate provision of basic equipment and services
          at the Ndevana Health Centre and the training of its staff to
          manage budgetary matters, and report to the Committee on the
          matter by 31 July.
     11.     That the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works give
          urgent attention to the renovation of the place of safety in
          the province visited by the Committee delegation, and report
          to the Committee on the matter by 31 July.


     12.     That the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Welfare table
          details of its Siyavuselela Project with the Welfare Minmec,
          and obtain leave to present such details in order to
          facilitate a discussion on the good practices which emerged
          from that project, with a view to sharing knowledge and good
          practices, within a reasonable period.


     13.     That Mpumalanga provincial departments, in particular the
          Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, prioritise
          the integration, by redeployment or other means, of workers
          located in former homeland areas, as a matter of urgency.


     14.     That the Mpumalanga Department of Finance meet with
          Mpumalanga's revenue-collecting departments to draw up a plan
          of action, aiming to maximise and optimise revenue collection
          in the areas where it is currently permitted, and report to
          the Committee on the matter, by 31 July.


     15.     That the Finance Departments of all provincial
          administrations table proposals at the Finance Minmec
          regarding -


          (1) the extension of revenue collection powers for provinces;
              and


          (2) the creation of a mechanism that would allow for the
              retention by a department in certain instances of savings
              or funds accruing to that department, and obtain leave to
              present such proposals at the Finance Minmec, to
              facilitate a multilateral discussion on this matter,
              within a reasonable period.


     16.     That the Mpumalanga Department of Health report to the
          Committee regarding the state of repair of the X-ray equipment
          at Rob Ferreira hospital, and on which department/s are
          responsible for such equipment's repair, by 31 July.


     17.     That the Office of the Eastern Cape Premier investigate
          whether the Eastern Cape Department of Welfare is provided
          with adequate infrastructural arrangements to carry out its
          duties effectively and efficiently, and report to the
          Committee by 31 July on the progress the government has made
          in furnishing suitable accomodation to that department.


     18.     That the Northern Province Departments of Local Government
          and Housing and of Education give serious consideration to the
          introduction of a vehicle leasing and maintenance scheme, with
          private sector involvement, if appropriate, that will avoid
          the high incidence of misuse of vehicles, which has been
          highlighted as a result of the successful anti-fraud and anti-
          corruption campaign in the province.


     19.     That the Northern Cape Department of Transport, Roads and
          Public Works table details of its affirmative procurement plan
          at the Public Works Minmec, and obtain leave to present such
          details in order to facilitate a discussion on the replication
          of the project in other provinces, in the interests of the
          promotion of SMMEs, within a reasonable period.


     20.     That the Committee and the Standing Committee on Public
          Accounts review the matter of the implementation of the
          findings of the Judge White Commission, once judgment on
          appeal has been handed down, in the Yalezo case.


 Report to be considered.