FRIDAY, 1 JUNE 2007 __

                PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

                                ____

The House met at 9:03.

The Deputy 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.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 2 - Parliament:

The SPEAKER: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members of the House, fellow South Africans, the Budget Vote of Parliament is being debated on a very important day, 1 June, which is International Children’s Day. This is a day that signifies the importance of children, not only to our society, the African society, but to humanity as a whole.

In our own country we have a few legal indications as to how important children are to our society, and even to the work of this Parliament. We have the Children’s Bill of 2005, which was passed by this Parliament; we have the Children’s Charter; we have the AU Charter on the Rights of Children; we even have, at a global level, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

I’d like to call upon us today to rededicate ourselves to developing vigilant communities that care for our children. We need to practise the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”, as it typifies the importance of the role of the wider community in raising, nurturing and protecting children, not abusing them.

We often remind ourselves that children are the future. If you bring up abused children who always experience violence or lack of love, you actually are creating a society of bitter people who think that violence is normal and who also think that abuse of other human beings is normal. [Applause.]

Hon members, coming to Parliament, I’d like to start off by dealing with issues relating to the governance of Parliament. Very early in the life of the Third Parliament, the matter of the governance model was tabled for a series of discussions. Based on lessons learnt during the First and Second Parliaments and on recommendations coming from many discussions during those times, the present governance structure was ultimately adopted.

According to this, there are two bodies that report to the Houses on different aspects of running Parliament. The Joint Rules Committee focuses on the core functions of Parliament as provided for in section 45 of the Constitution. In order to remove the operational matters from bogging down the Joint Rules Committee as in the past, the Parliamentary Oversight Authority was created. It is, like the Joint Rules Committee, a multiparty body co-chaired by the presiding officers, but is much smaller. It is supposed to receive quarterly reports from the Secretary on operational matters, and I will, upfront, confess that the Parliamentary Oversight Authority has not met this year. I am quite sure that I’m going to get a few, not just rocks, but bricks, coming my way on this matter.

The Joint Rules Committee and the Parliamentary Oversight Authority are effectively two sides of the same coin. While the Joint Rules Committee ensures policy formulation and implementation in regard to the core business of Parliament, the Parliamentary Oversight Authority is responsible for formulating policy directives in respect of the various services and facilities of Parliament, and ensuring and monitoring implementation of the policy.

The following forums feed into the Parliamentary Oversight Authority. There is Chief Whips’ Forum and the forums of the two Houses that facilitate consensus-building on matters of mutual interest as well as channel members’ perspectives on policies affecting them. There is also the Parliamentary Budget Forum, which is also a multiparty structure that prepares Parliament’s budget; and the Quarterly Consultative Forum, which facilitates the input of Members of Parliament on matters concerning members’ facilities and support.

As should be expected, there have been some tensions between some of these bodies. The Whips Forum and the Quarterly Consultative Forum, as I have said before, are both structures that channel issues of backbenchers. This matter, the fact that they tend to play the same role in this respect, was brought up by the two structures. However, the apparent initial clashes were thrashed out and some mutual approach as to how they can work together was arrived at.

Let me now come to the question of the role of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, in particular as it relates to the question of the accounting of Parliament. As you know, Parliament’s accounts are audited by the Auditor- General. The question arises: What should happen if Parliament receives a qualified audit? The National Assembly Rules provide that all the Auditor- General’s reports go to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa. There is no argument about that.

There has, however, been debate on these matters. One of the important questions relates to the fact that Scopa is a committee of only one of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament, as you know, constitutionally, is made up of two Houses: the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces. When, therefore, you are talking about Parliament’s reports, you are talking about reports emanating out of joint business, out of the workings of both Houses. So, this is a matter we need to apply our minds to, as to how then do you say issues relating to the whole institution, which is made up of two Houses, go only to a structure of one of the Houses? The debate is still going on, but in the meantime we have ensured that the Secretary to Parliament does appear before Scopa and does ensure that all questions that need to be raised are answered.

At this point, I wish to straighten the record in relation to the much- talked-about qualifications. The facts are as follows: Since the Third Parliament started in 2004, we have received three Auditor-General’s reports. The first one, for the 2003-04 period, reflected eight qualifications covering the Second Parliament. The 2004-05 report reflected one qualification. The 2005-06 report again had one qualification. Therefore, I want to dispel this notion that is in the public domain, that every year Parliament has many qualifications.

Parliament’s new audit committee was appointed in February 2007 and has met four times since then. For the information of hon members, the chairperson of the new audit committee is Mr Chose Choeu, who used to work for Parliament some years ago. Other members are Mr Coovadia, Mrs Qunta, Mr Nondabula, our own hon Mabe from the National Assembly and hon Botha from the National Council of Provinces. That is the audit committee that audits the books of Parliament on an ongoing basis to ensure that we keep to the rules that are provided for, generally, and in particular the principles as provided for in the Public Finance Management Act.

Hon members, having hit the mid-term point in November 2006, Parliament came into 2007 with a keen sense of having less time ahead for us than what’s behind us. That usually jolts one’s sense of urgency and need to focus. Among the many things we still have to do before the next election are the following: We still need to pass outstanding legislation giving effect to the Constitution; we still need to repeal old apartheid statutes; we do have the ongoing ad hoc committee reviewing Chapter 9 institutions, which will table its report in another two months or so.

Parliament has to oversee the implementation of its recommendations, including carefully looking at Parliament’s own capacity and structures to engage in this area of the work of all these institutions.

Madam Deputy Speaker, in his reply to the state of the nation address debate in February this year, the hon President engaged around Parliament’s theme, Masijule Ngengxoxo, Mzansi [Let’s deepen the debate, South Africa.]. He suggested the following three points for consideration by an appropriate parliamentary structure. Firstly, he raised the issues of social transformation, including the important issues of national and social cohesion and a national value system; secondly, he raised the issue of the eradication of poverty as something that needs to engage us in a deep debate; and thirdly, he raised the issue of the reduction and eradication of crime. These are three such very important matters, hon members, that I thought I should use this opportunity to remind us of them. We have to find a way of engaging on these matters seriously.

Hon members, I have raised the matter of changing patterns in the functioning of Parliament as we move further away from the beginning of the democratic dispensation with its attendant institutions.

Previously during informal discussions on cutting down drastically on time spent by MPs in Cape Town, a caution was raised. This caution related to concerns from the executive in particular, that cutting down the time could immobilise the institution when important legislation needs to be passed. This is a valid concern that requires our collective careful consideration.

The question we need to pose though is whether we all need to be in Cape Town all the time. If not, how should we reorganise our work and how do we identify those matters that everyone should come to discuss? Which matters must perhaps be left to fewer people to process while others do more oversight work? If that is not the way to go, how should we change that? The change might be effected only in the Fourth Parliament. But given that it is us who are living through these times of changing patterns, where fewer and fewer pieces of legislation are being passed - and we have already said to ourselves at the beginning of the life of this Parliament that we need to do more monitoring and oversight on delivery on the ground, the responsibility then falls on us to engage in analyses and recommendations for the future.

Hon members, let us also remember that the independent panel we decided to create during the APRM process is presently at work. A reference group of parliamentarians keeps contact with them and helps them when necessary. We hope that the panel will be able to table a report before we rise at the end of the year. The report of this panel will be a welcome mirror and a tool to enable parliamentarians to engage constructively as it develops our parliamentary democracy as envisaged by our Constitution - what are the specific points we need to pay attention to and how? That will be a positive engagement on debate about Parliament. There has been a lot of issues raised but we think that a fuller basis for debate is something that would help us to engage in that debate more constructively.

Before getting to the figures, I wish to touch on the hosting of the Inter- Parliamentary Union’s 118th plenary assembly in April 2008. Hon members, we expect between 1 300 to 1 500 Members of Parliament from more than 140 parliaments of the world. For Parliament, this will be the single biggest gathering we will ever host. It will be a full week of activities for which we have secured the Cape Town International Convention Centre as a venue. A steering committee of more than 20 MPs is spearheading the preparations. In addition, under the Department of Foreign Affairs, an inter-Ministerial committee will handle a number of portfolios requiring the involvement of colleagues from the executive.

Coming to the appropriation on Vote 2, Parliament’s appropriation increased between 2003-04 and 2006-07, rising from R639,9 million to R1 billion - an average annual increase of 16,5%.

I will quickly touch on the five programmes that drive our strategic objectives to realise our vision and mission. Under Programme 1, Administration, expenditure has increased between 2003-04 and 2006-07, rising from R150,1 million to R216,1 million at an average annual rate of 12,9% as a result of increased human resource capacity, restructuring in several components and additional accommodation. Our ICT requirements increased due to the implementation of Parliament’s master systems plan, including the introduction of the Oracle enterprise resource planning system, a system to manage travel arrangements, etc.

Projects scheduled for this financial year include a members’ furniture project for suitable office furniture and facilities for Members of Parliament’s offices.

In Programme 2, Legislation and oversight, expenditure increased from R80,3 million to R73,5 million between 2003-04 and 2006-07 – an average annual rate of 29,3%. Expenditure has been strongly influenced by the “Taking Parliament to the People” programme of the NCOP; providing additional oversight capacity mainly in the form of research, technical and content support services for committees and implementing the initial phases of the language project. The provision of additional oversight capacity and support to the committees of Parliament in the form of research, communication, technical and content support, is an ongoing project to further improve the efficiency of Parliament’s oversight capacity.

In Programme 3, Public and international participation, expenditure increased from R16,6 million to R84,5 million between 2003-04 and 2006-07 at an average annual rate of 72,1%. There were significant increases in all subprogrammes, mainly influenced by increases in 2004-05 and 2006-07 in the Public Affairs subprogramme to increase participation in Parliament. The 66,2% average annual increase in compensation of employees between 2003-04 and 2006-07 addresses needs in the areas of media relations, public relations and events management. Overall expenditure has also increased due to the hosting of a number of important international activities and participation in several international forums.

Projects to be implemented in this financial year include the continuation of the implementation of the language policy, the establishment of a parliamentary call centre, the upgrading of publishing systems and video conferencing facilities. In Programme 4, Members’ facilities, expenditure increased from R87 million in 2003-04 to R151,2 million in 2006-07 at an average annual rate of R20,2%, mainly due to changes in the travel policy and related entitlements, the rising cost of air travel and operational costs following the 2004-05 elections.

In Programme 5, associated services, expenditure grew rapidly from R71,7 million in 2003-04 to R156,8 million in 2006-07 at an average annual rate of 29,8% due to the 76,7% increase in 2006-07 in the Constituency Support subprogramme for constituency and party administration allowances. This trend continues over the MTEF period, when expenditure is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 21,1%, reaching R278,4 million in 2009-10 to accommodate further support to members.

Madam Deputy Speaker, in conclusion I wish to say that in spite of our challenges, we have also been making a lot of progress, about which rather little is being said. Yes, we have had the travel voucher problems, but we now have a successful new travel system and we wish that more stories could be told about that success. Under our training programme, about which I hope Madam Deputy Speaker will say more, 72 Members of Parliament graduated on 10 May 2007. Given that the training is geared towards improving MPs’ capacity in their work in Parliament, we must be proud of this success story. [Applause.]

Hon members, I can’t end without making reference to our beautiful new emblem. It is a thing of beauty that celebrates the soul of South Africa. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]

Ms C C SEPTEMBER: Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. I stand here in support of Budget Vote No 2 and in this Vote the ANC puts the people at the centre of, the reason for and the core around which the activities of Parliament are arranged. Inseparably part of and lying at the core of oversight and accountability is the issue of how this developmental state ensures that those who are ordinarily excluded from the mainstream activities - the rural poor, the indigent, women, the disabled, children and the marginalised - are participants in and have access to Parliament.

One of the key tasks of Members of Parliament is to feed the opinions and needs of the community they represent into the parliamentary processes. Their very jobs depend on their ability to hear, understand and interpret the views of the electorate.

Surely, this is a special skill, which they bring to work with committees and which other types of inquiry processes cannot assess. Anyone can talk to experts and the organised lobby groups but Members of Parliament are especially placed to tap into the general community.

The ANC, at its National General Council meeting in 2005 stated that participatory democracy should be enhanced and that the legislative arm should discuss and implement mechanisms to address the following key issues: a public participation unit to educate on the role of the public in the elections process in relation to service delivery; government documents must be simplified and where possible, they must be produced in languages understood by the community; we need to explore appropriate mechanisms to empower communities to engage better with the state; strengthen all formal and informal nodes of contact between civil society, the executive, legislature and administration; institute an aggressive national programme of civic education that familiarises all citizens with the Constitution, new structures, citizens’ rights and obligations, participation, and so forth; government should be encouraged to systematically review whether a hierarchy of recourse avenues exist for dissatisfied citizens, are accessible to all and function effectively at all levels of government and in all sectors.

Generally speaking, there are four basic reasons why we should get the public engaged in a particular policy process. At first, we need to improve governance that has to do with democratic legitimacy, accountability, trust, citizens’ rights, empowerment, etc. Secondly, regarding social capital and social justice, we need to tackle exclusion and increase equity, build relationships, networks and ownership. Thirdly, we need improved quality services, projects and programmes that are more efficient that meet the needs and reflect broad social values. Lastly, there is the issue of capacity-building and learning, which would build confidence, skills, understanding, awareness and knowledge.

The ANC therefore welcomes, in the strategic plan and budget of Parliament for 2004-09, the effort to expand access to Parliament in order to be in touch with the people who are ordinarily outside of national debates in society and the establishment of parliamentary democracy offices in each province. These offices would play a key role of providing relevant information about the oversight work of committees, provide opportunities and arrange for the people’s voices to reach Parliament by allowing their views and needs to be expressed in parliamentary committees, as well as acting as the planning platform for Parliament and its committees to visit the rural areas, where people are often excluded from our oversight.

Looking at the gallery section of Parliament, it has, since the ANC came to power, become an accepted sight to see schoolchildren, grandmothers and fathers, in fact, people who would otherwise not have been allowed into this institution, to be part of the National Assembly. When they attend, they become part of this Assembly, so that when we gather, we do not gather as their representatives in an isolated, elevated way, removed from them. [Interjections.] Rather, we gather as the people, for the people, with the people as we legislate. We also oversee the implementation of policies along which their lives are being transformed. In line with this view of a parliament of the people, we developed a vision that in part says that we are building –

… an effective people’s Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.

We have to be realistic and ask whether we are as accessible as we should be. Do we use the budget allocated for this institution in ways that ensure that we reach more people that do not have access to the oversight activities of Parliament?

It has been noted that committees in the legislatures offer the most important platform for public participation. Public hearings seek to obtain the views of civil society on draft legislation and policy. Members of the public may also be invited to make written or oral submissions to a committee. We should do more to overcome the challenges of the system, tending to favour those with the resources to attend and make submissions at public hearings. Parliament currently makes provision in its budget to enable those without funds to travel to Cape Town to make presentations and as Home Affairs did recently, goes out to hear views on a Bill, despite resource challenges.

There are a number of general constraints on the optimal functioning of committees. Perhaps the most obvious of this is the inadequacy of budgets and staffing in the legislature. This means that some committees inevitably work better than others.

We have worked through a legislative programme that was more intense than that of any parliament in Southern Africa in the past, and probably in the world. We should build on the examples that we have had in this very Parliament when the then Portfolio Committee on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology developed a programme that aimed not only to bring people closer to the legislative process by helping to demystify science and technology, but also draws on the rich cultural traditions and indigenous knowledge of the people. The knowledge, expertise and often neglected cultural forms of sectors of our society are drawn into the mainstream of political and economic life.

We can refer to the wonderful experience we have had over the years as Parliament gathered with the people in what we refer to as the People’s Assembly. We gathered in Soweto and recently in the rural area of Oudtshoorn – we won’t talk about how the aircraft landed. When this happens, the people are drawn into the experience of meeting parliamentarians, seeing their leaders and representatives and speaking to them. We, on the other hand, are humbled by the wisdom expressed in plain language by these people when they tell us openly and honestly about the shortcomings of our policy. We should, maybe, explore some other forms of engagement and should maybe also explore things like e-government for Parliament. It has the potential to involve citizens in the governance process by engaging them in the interaction with policy makers, throughout the policy cycle at all levels of government. This would strengthen civic engagement and contribute to the building of public trust in government.

Gauteng has established a public participation and petitions office separate from the information and communications directorate, with a dedicated staff and budget and with a mandate to promote public participation by marginalised constituencies. The office has engaged in an extensive public education programme for many years now and has worked effectively with the committee section to promote public participation in committee hearings. Maybe we should see how this can also assist us, as the public participation process needs to be designed with this in mind. It should be robust and as independent as possible of party political pressures. As the ANC, we celebrate our victories and good deeds but we remain acutely aware of these shortcomings. We express this without fear, knowing that by recognising our shortcomings, we shall, in future, continue to develop this.

Developing a strong parliament or legislature involves articulating an alternative concept of parliamentary politics, which fundamentally unsettles the trivialising logic of oppositionism. More important is the idea that a strong Parliament and legislatures are entirely consistent and arguably required by our transformative political project.

We celebrate National Children’s Day and today in Bonteheuwel, in the multipurpose community centre, there will be children’s participation and we welcome the fact that children are being asked to participate here also. Children will give messages by way of posters and there will be a panel discussion where the children will ask the panellists some questions relating to child abuse, health-related issues, the SAPS and issues relating to social development. I thank you. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, first of all, may I say that I am humbled by my election to this position of Parliament and secondly, I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, the hon Gibson, and the distinction with which he filled this post previously. [Applause.]

I want to talk today about the principles that both bind and inspire the decisions of this House and the actions of public representatives that give it life. Parliament’s annual report describes its vision as follows:

To build an effective people’s parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realisation of a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.

It describes its mission like this:

As the freely elected representatives of the people of South Africa our mission is to represent and to act as a voice of the people in fulfilling our constitutional functions of passing laws and overseeing executive action.

The word “people” appears seven times in those two sentences. The people are the reason we serve in this House. The good of the people is the ideal that should inform our choices and guide our decisions. There is a word for serving the people and that is “accountability”. That word is perhaps the cornerstone of the democratic parliament. Every five years we each directly are accountable to the electorate but on a day-to-day basis we have a duty to remain accountable to all South Africans for every decision we take.

Parliament has provided us with mechanisms through which we can both choose and, in the case of the Executive, be compelled to account for our decisions and our actions. Speeches, parliamentary Questions, motions and debates – all of these are designed to force us to explain and justify the decisions we make to the people of this country.

There are some things that cannot be regulated or explicitly provided for and which require a sense of duty and a commitment to transparency, if they are to work. They are the things that define the spirit of Parliament, which might not exist in black and white on paper, but are all important nonetheless. They determine whether the executive is proactive and forthcoming or defensive and belligerent. They determine whether Parliament is managed in an open and responsible way or if its presiding officers meet behind closed doors and its finances are shielded from public scrutiny. They determine whether the debate is a platform to exchange ideas and arrive at better solutions or just a chance to attack your critics and talk past legitimate concerns. They determine whether the mechanisms available to all members of this House are embraced and used to promote democracy or opposed and marginalised.

No one can dictate the nature of the spirit which defines how Parliament conducts itself. It is up to each member and each party to set the tone in this regard. The DA, for one, is fully committed to the idea of an open opportunity society and to an open opportunity parliament, both in practice and in spirit. Now what do I mean by an open opportunity parliament? Two phrases from Parliament’s vision and mission statement provide the answer: An accountable and transparent Parliament that oversees executive action and which is dedicated to realising a society in which anyone can fulfil his/her ambition. It is perhaps questionable whether the ruling party, the majority party in this House, is committed to those ideals. Too often it conducts its business in a manner which suggests it is not the people it is answerable to but rather the ANC national executive. The ruling party and the management of the Parliament has yet to embrace, I believe, the vision and mission of this Parliament wholeheartedly or to understand that every decision it makes, is actually being made on behalf of others, of all the people of South Africa.

Democracy does not exist on paper alone. Our Constitution and the laws and regulations of the country are a guide. They inform the way we live our lives but if our intentions run contrary to those principles, we will only ever undermine the ideals they express. Nowhere is that more true than inside Parliament. If the people outside of Parliament are going to get the best results from this institution, then the people inside Parliament need to embrace its ideals, not only in practice but in spirit too. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mrs S A SEATON: Deputy Speaker, Madam Speaker, hon members, once again we meet to discuss the Budget Vote of Parliament; a time to reflect on where we are and where we are going. A year ago we were here discussing what we all considered to be important matters affecting Parliament. Amongst the issues I raised last year, were: the necessity to empower Members of Parliament by providing all of them with private secretaries and the tools of the trade needed to carry out their responsibilities; the issue of the adequate pensions – the matter was at that stage already before the Moseneke Commission, but I specifically asked what pressure the Presiding Officers were putting on the commission to speed up its work and to deliver an early and comprehensive report. During last year’s debate I raised many issues that members were concerned about, such as the numerous outstanding matters relating to the LG 19, for example, overnight accommodation for members travelling in excess of 800 km; the unilateral decision of the officials to limit AA rates to the cost of an air ticket on the shortest route. The latter two issues have only just been finalised – many, many months later.

I raised the fact that members are living in dilapidated houses in the three villages, furnished with old, unsightly furniture and electrical appliances and the fact that many members are stuck in these villages for 16 hours a day, because they don’t have adequate transport facilities. At last, changes are taking place as we speak and for this we say: Thank you. But then one has also to comment and say that the workmanship in the construction taking place is not of the standard that one would have expected. [Applause.]

I raised the issue of administration, in some instances I would say the lack thereof, which at the time I believed left a great deal to be desired. I am unable today to say I feel any differently. I have, on numerous occasions, expressed concern that matters submitted to the Secretary to Parliament to deal with are left unattended to. To get a response to any correspondence sent to the Secretary’s office on important matters is almost impossible. I specifically raised the issue of Mrs Mars’s stolen laptop. Madam Speaker, I am sure you were expecting this one. Her laptop was stolen out of a locked office early last year. In June last year I raised this matter and it had already then been outstanding for nine months. Despite numerous written and verbal requests to you and the Secretary to Parliament, now, 20 months later, Mrs Mars still does not have her laptop; despite the fact that there are other members that have had them put in place within three months. I think it is not only unacceptable; it is deplorable.

Then there is the issue of accountability and transparency. A few days ago I requested my researcher to obtain the figures on underspending for this past year. He was informed by the finance department that they are not permitted to give members any information, unless the Secretary to Parliament has so authorised. And to date, he has not done so. One wonders where the accountability and the transparency of this institution is.

Much has changed – some things for the better, many for the worse and I fear a great deal more window dressing. Let us look at the governance structure that you talked about, Madam Speaker. We will talk now but another brick is coming your way with regard to the Parliamentary Oversight Authority, the body that was put into place some two years ago; a body that could be very powerful and very successful, were it to meet regularly and were it to ensure that the decisions taken at this level are immediately implemented. To the best of my knowledge, not only has the POA not met this year, it has not met since October 2006 and few, if any in fact, decisions have been implemented. If private companies were to run their business on this basis, they would be all out of business by now.

The Moseneke report eventually found its way to Parliament but was far from comprehensive and did not even begin to address the real issues of concern to members, specifically the pensions which members are so anxious to see finalised. In recent discussions with the commission, we were informed that the proposed grading had been run by Parliament and accepted, yet most of us who had served on the special task team that put together submissions had never seen these figures. I propose to the Minister of Finance that legislation should be passed by Parliament to deal with the issue of members’ pensions. Madam Speaker, I ask you in the interest of all members to personally pursue this matter with the Minister as a matter of urgency.

Last year and again this year we have seen gross underspending of Parliament’s budget. There is still a sad lack of consultation with members by management. Members are merely informed of decisions taken by Parliament unilaterally and usually at the eleventh hour, if at all. Communication is totally bad – worse than you can imagine.

The changing of Parliament’s emblem is just a typical example. We were all told about it at the last minute and yet members are still waiting for the stationery that we were going to be so happy to have at the time. Members are still waiting for that stationery and I hope the Secretary is seriously listening to what I am saying. [Interjections.]

One must ask: What has really changed? All that has happened is that time has passed, the long list of outstanding issues grows by the day and this term of office is nearing an end. I believe the time has come where we take stock of the issues, the serious outstanding issues, the lack of responsibility by management to implement the decisions taken by Parliament. The time has come for Members of Parliament to put management on terms to deliver the goods. Let us ensure that this time next year we can truly say: There have been great achievements, not merely pipe dreams.

Much has changed. Much is good and I agree that when it comes to the changes in structures of Parliament, we are seeing major changes put on paper. We have yet to see those changes coming to fruition. We see lots of things being decided on paper. We don’t see these decisions being implemented. We talk about issues that need to be refined. We put it on paper but we don’t deal with the detail. I have great admiration for you, Madam Speaker, and I think you are a wonderful person, but I really think that it is time that you put your little foot down and made sure that the Secretary to Parliament and his staff really, really do what they are supposed to be doing. [Interjections.]

To those very many staff members that really are assisting us and that go out of their way and give us a 120% and more, I say: Thank you very much. To the opposition parties, the way we work together … and when I say opposition, I include the majority party. We work well together - they are our opposition, after all. [Laughter.] I believe the Chief Whips’ Forum is one of the forums that actually achieves things in this Parliament, and I want to thank all involved.

Madam Speaker, we are there to assist you. We will do what we can but we really do need to make some dramatic changes to ensure that the administration of Parliament becomes something we can be proud of. I thank you. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you very much. Since 1994 this people’s Parliament has passed a total of 936 transformative Bills. Following the first democratic elections, significant transformation has occurred through the legislative process. The period of 1994 to 2004 saw a sustained focus on eradicating the discriminatory legislation on the Statute Book, and on laying the foundations for a democratic and open society. The first five years saw an increase in Bills introduced and subsequent Acts passed. Generally speaking, this tabled parliamentary budget demonstrates a commitment to providing the necessary funding for services required by Members of Parliament across all political parties in order to effectively and judiciously perform their constitutional obligations of passing laws, conducting oversight, facilitating public participation, appointing public officials and participating at an international level. Some of the modernisation programmes that we completed in the previous financial year included the refurbishing and upgrading of some of the committee rooms and the introduction of a digital sound system and digital recording systems – and we were informed this morning that the interim parliamentary website has gone live. I think we need to applaud the parliamentary service for a new website. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Wait until you see it.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): The completion of these institutional programmes has, once again, demonstrated our parliamentary commitment to responding with all the necessary seriousness and determination to all these challenges.

The focus group on committees is in the process of finalising the best practice guide that will become our institutional tool to enhance the joint planning, monitoring and oversight effectiveness of parliamentary committees.

In these periods of major organisational transformation and development, restructuring, building and improving a Parliament that is based on and in line with the information society and knowledge-based parliaments of the world, improvement in the capacity of members and officials of Parliament is becoming critical, and building the required oversight capacity will require an increase in the budget allocation.

I should mention in this regard that our Parliament is currently developing models, frameworks and strategies on oversight and accountability, governance, public participation and education, competence development and training and development to further improve the functioning and effectiveness of the vitally important parliamentary committee system.

In this year, some of the strategic projects envisaged will include the establishment of a training programme for members and staff in oversight- related areas; the establishment of a communication and co-ordination mechanism across committee clusters; the implementation of a video conferencing system, with the development of a parliamentary website, as already mentioned; and the improvement of the parliamentary intranet. This will also go as far as development of a public participation model and system, linked to parliamentary broadcasting, parliamentary constituency mechanisms and the integration of knowledge management systems.

The major outputs expected from these projects will include enhanced capacity for the monitoring of delegated legislation; the implementation of people-centred training; and the development and implementation of an institutional knowledge management strategy, policies, culture and capacity to acquire, create, share, modify, store, apply and manage the institution’s knowledge so that our democratic people’s Parliament can perform its constitutional obligations.

We all agree that in order for our people’s Parliament to effectively execute its oversight mandate, there is a need to increase the research and analytical capacity of committees. One of the strategic projects of our Parliament is designing and implementing the enhancement capacity project aimed at facilitating the rapid recruitment of 97 specialised support capacities to committees over a three-year period. It is envisaged that the recruitment drives under this project will attract support capacity of subject-expert researchers, content analysts, librarians and administrative assistants to provide members and committees with substantive knowledge and specialised information pertinent to their oversight work. The three-year recruitment cycle has already begun. Some of the strategic projects, as outlined, will be completed by 2008-09.

Committees take their law-making mandate very seriously, and I would like to use the example of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. This committee is faced with very complex and transformatory legislation, which legislation requires intense scrutiny, redrafting and amendments; and the committee is in consultation with stakeholders and civil society. The committee takes its work very seriously – so do others as well – and yet they are regularly criticised in the media for delaying the passing of crucial and significant pieces of legislation.

It would help the nation more if journalists took the time to understand the complexity of some of the pieces of legislation and the processes before being negative. I must hasten to say that some journalists have assisted in putting the issues out there for debate. This has certainly assisted Parliament. Parliament is not a rubber stamp; it takes its law- making very seriously.

Committee oversight over the department’s strategic plans, budgets and annual reports has improved tremendously from what it used to be. An analysis of oversight programmes submitted recently for the scrutiny of Budget Votes, revealed that some committees intended spending up to 84 hours doing oversight. This was followed by a second group averaging around 50 hours, and a third group around 30 hours.

I want to say to the presiding officers of the National Assembly that the committees are on track and we can be proud of the work that is going into oversight. Of course, that is not seen by the nation as our committee rooms are not all televised, and the sound feeds to the SABC are so poor that we are depriving the nation of this information. What we would encourage more is the presence of Ministers and not just that of officials in the budget briefings.

During the third term committees will be concentrating on the proposals of the Fiscal and Financial Commission and its recommendations to this House. We have identified 15 committees, which we will soon be assembling for a detailed briefing and presentation by the FFC, after which they will break away and individually consider these recommendations and report thereon.

Other oversight highlights of the third term will also be the interrogation of the departments’ annual reports in terms of which committees will be assessing the progress made by the departments and will be reporting to Parliament.

While we support the 2007 Parliament Budget Vote, what needs to be done at a political and administrative level is to hold individuals accountable for their actions and performance. This will imply reviewing performance contracts and developing implementation plans for all the strategic projects we have mentioned today, as contained in the 2004-08 parliamentary strategic plan, especially when it comes to the project of enhancing support capacity for committees doing oversight in respect of their subject- expert researchers, librarians, content analysts and administration assistants. This is what the committee of chairpersons will be embarking on and reporting to the presiding officers. Ours is not to do oversight, but to make recommendations where we identify shortcomings specifically in the resourcing of and support for committees. For those that do not know, this is in keeping with our mandate.

Lastly, let me come to the committee budget process. The committee of chairpersons is unanimous that the current budget and allocation process is totally flawed. It is unacceptable and the flat-rate allocations, whether interim or not, are to be rejected. [Applause.] The chairpersons have made it clear that their previous years’ business plans and budget requests have been ignored and the current allocations are a reflection of that.

I am more than willing to convene a task team of chairpersons, some of whom are experts in this field, which can work with the Secretary and senior management to find a permanent solution to this impasse. I have written to the Secretary as a follow-up to an earlier meeting on this issue, and we eagerly await his response.

Finally, let me thank my colleagues, the hon Obed Bapela and the hon Sandra Botha, in her capacity as a House Chairperson, for their collective support and co-operation. We worked well together. I would also like to thank my dedicated team of Nina Makubalo, Zingi Gcwabe and Moses Manele. I am sure that I am not the easiest person to work with. You have done well so far. Keep it up. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr M R BALOYI: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon Speaker, hon members of Parliament … Avusheni? [How are you?]

One of the instruments Parliament uses to realise its vision is constituency work. This is an arrangement in terms of which we as MPs are deployed to various geographical areas so that we provide services to the people in these areas, as we have been directly elected by those people as individuals to represent them in this House and in Parliament in general.

We have so far managed to use this instrument to represent the views of those people where our respective constituency offices are and also in addressing issues of national interest, and this reality cuts across the political divide.

We listened to members reflecting on issues in their constituency areas as they were participating in the 2007 state of the nation address, which gave opportunity to the President in his reply to commit the government and inform the nation that those issues stand to be addressed.

We listened to MPs giving Member’s Statements in this House and they reflected on those developments that are taking place in their respective areas or on those instances where service delivery needs some boosting.

This clearly demonstrates that MPs are hard at work in their constituency areas, because it would not have been possible to make case representations on the following issues, to mention a few, if it were not due to the fact that the members concerned had gone to those areas, either to facilitate such developments or make such observations.

Some of these are: the issue of defects in RDP houses at Maquasie Hills in North West; the issue of a lack of public participation in DA-controlled municipalities in the Western Cape due to their negative attitude towards the ward committee system; active community involvement in fighting crime at Kgalishiwe in the Northern Cape; the water supply crisis in the Sekhukhune region of Limpopo; the launch of agricultural hubs at Bronkhorstpruit in Gauteng; accelerated service delivery in the Tswelopele Municipality of the Free State; water delivery success stories in the Umzumbe Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal; a need to address the issue of grant money used for gambling and microlending activities identified in the Eastern Cape, but prevalent all over; and active participation in ward activities by the community of Ikageng in Mpumalanga. These statements not only generated Ministers’ responses, but such responses were recorded as commitments for action to follow on the issues so raised in the statements.

We saw MPs put constituency-based questions to the Ministers as an accountability mechanism to check on government performance in the various areas of performance, the most common of which are the following: water supply challenges; electricity supply backlogs; housing delivery-related questions; crime prevention challenges; facility provision, discipline and professional management at schools; health and related issues; and roads infrastructure provision.

In this regard as well, Ministers responded in a manner that either gave a reflection that all is well or that there is a programme of action to deal with those issues. I think that when we take stock of government performance as we analyse the annual reports later this year and in the future, and as we deal with the day–to-day assessment of the oversight performance of Parliament, we will have to revert to these replies to questions with a view to establishing the factual linkages between what is said in this House and what gets done subsequently.

Of course MPs themselves will be of assistance to evaluate the situation and make follow-ups on the issues raised. Even as we say that there is room for improvement in the use of constituency work as a tool for effectively achieving the vision of a peoples’ Parliament, we can say from this record, which is a small microcosm of a bigger picture, that there is active interaction between the public and public representatives who are MPs. But when we analyse the general understanding of what constitutes constituency work, when constituency work is supposed to be done, how constituency work manifests itself and how constituency work may be measured, we realise that there is a lot of deliberate distortions, fallacies, biased generalisations and party-politicised insinuations.

And often MPs are put on the defensive, largely unfairly so. On the 14th April 2007 for instance, the Cape Argus, and reportedly later, or earlier, the Pretoria News, carried an article that reflected on what they called absence without leave of some members of Parliament.

This came after they allegedly did a random survey by calling the constituency offices of some 40 MPs. The Cape Argus wrote:

Fifteen days into Parliament’s month-long period for MPs to visit their constituencies and serve communities, some of our elected representatives appear to be absent without leave.

They reportedly phone the offices once and yet concluded as such nevertheless. They reportedly left some messages in the voicemail boxes of members and they concluded when they did not get call–backs, most probably on the same date, that those members were just as bad.

They found some voicemail boxes full and then concluded that those people were not accessible. Out of a list of 40 members, they mentioned the so- called bad elements, the so-called absentees without leave, and that happened to be three members of the ANC, one member of the UIF, one member of the IFP, the only one member of the UPSA and one member of the ACDP.

Although there are other parties that have been left out as a point of convenience, the fact that the DA is not mentioned may explain the tone of the article. [Applause.] It is clear from this style of writing that the intention of the author was to find fault to justify a tone full of a deliberate desire to selectively discredit without verifying the facts.

We may want to give the authors and their friends the benefit of the doubt that they just didn’t understand the concept of constituency work.

In that regard, we want to provide the following basic information about constituency work, in addition to what hon member Mike Masutha already said when he was giving a statement one day.

One is that it takes place throughout the year on a daily basis, even during parliamentary sessions. It is performed simultaneously with other pressing responsibilities of MPs. It is not all about sitting in the office and working through computers and papers; it involves interaction within individual constituents, a small group of people, a large group of people, a community and the entire society.

It involves giving feedback to people, not always in offices and through telephones and cellphones, but where it is most accessible and convenient for the public. It involves attending to general problems of the people by giving advice on dealing with those issues. It involves networking. It involves oversight over government departments in the local areas. It involves a lot of driving around to meet the people when it is convenient for those people.

The list is long, but the reality is that people should not adopt a narrow understanding of constituency work such that they equate it to sitting in the office and answering of phones and that the absence of this can be construed as absence without leave. [Applause.]

As I draw to a conclusion, it is necessary that I should reflect on some of the challenges that Parliament needs to address so that the missing links in dealing with constituency work may be attended to.

One of the challenges is that MPs are on their own doing constituency work and in some quarters they are even bullied, also by some of the officials in the three spheres of our governance over which Parliament has an oversight role.

As a result of this, we find that the purpose that these constituency offices serve becomes somewhat invisible. We want to remind members and the entire community that our constituency offices are the extension of Parliament so that throughout the country people may have access to the interaction with their elected leaders.

We are taking Parliament to the people through the constituency offices and constituency work. The other challenge that we have is that, at the moment, constituency work is party-politically managed and there are no generic guidelines for all MPs in this regard.

It is for that reason that, even as we can say as the ANC that the doors of our constituency office are open to all citizens irrespective of political affiliation, the same cannot be said for some of the parties represented here. This state of affairs further complicates what constituency work is and it is time that we applied our minds on this matter. There is a thinking that we need … [Time expired.]

Mr L W GREYLING: Hon Deputy Speaker, it has been only a short time since I became the Chief Whip of my party, the ID.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Congratulations. [Laughter.]

Mr L W GREYLING: I have spent that time trying to understand the inner workings of this institution and some of its more bizarre practices. Allow me to share some of my observations.

My first observation was that the Chief Whip’s Forum is a bit like a soap opera in that you can miss ten episodes and still know what is going on. Sometimes the cast changes, but the dramas keep repeating themselves. It has, for instance, been almost two years since the last floor-crossing and yet we still have not managed to resolve the issue of seating in the House.

The larger parties simply refuse to budge on this issue and as usual it is the smaller parties who find themselves getting the short end of the bench. Unless you as the Speaker institute basic principles to guide seating in the House I can guarantee you that we are going to have the same mess after the next floor-crossing. As for security in the parliamentary villages, all I can say is thank goodness I don’t stay there, because this item has been on the agenda of the Chief Whips’ Forum ever since I started attending.

These are by all accounts petty issues though and what I want to concentrate on today is the theme for this year’s Parliament – Deepening the Debate. As a young parliamentarian who some might call idealistic, I have a vision where this Parliament becomes a place which can inspire the nation. Our country is demanding leadership on crucial issues and it is all of us seated here today who should be providing exactly that.

Unfortunately, though, I have been horrified to watch debates over important issues degenerate into personal slanging matches, where the only intention is to score cheap political points and to prove the other person wrong. While we might be amused by these antics, it does not inspire the nation at large and in many ways sets back nation-building in this country. Some might say that this is just politics, but it is the same kind of politics that the people out there have been turned off by; particularly the youth in this country, who have moved on from these old divisions that we continually reflect in this House.

One tangible change that we can make is to do away with proportional speaking times. How can a smaller party be expected to deepen the debate when they are only given a minute to speak on important issues? By contrast, the governing party is allowed to speak ad nauseam for forty minutes on the same debate. This does not translate into robust and insightful debate in the House and we urgently need to revisit this practice.

Finally, I would like to see two things happen in this Parliament to show true leadership to the nation. I would like you to convene an ad-hoc committee to discuss the long overdue issue of party funding as suggested by the President three weeks ago. I would also like to see you make Parliament carbon neutral by installing solar panels on the roof and encouraging all members of Parliament to plant trees. Who knows, maybe then I will even start to wear a tie. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Deputy Speaker, Speaker, hon Ministers and members, first of all, the ACDP identifies with hon Baloyi’s comments regarding erroneous reports in the Cape Argus. The one member of the ACDP that the press referred to was not even an ACDP member. That was just sloppy journalism at its best, and we got no apology or correction after we set the record straight.

Since the first democratic elections, Parliament’s focus was on legislation, and laws were passed feverishly with a view to eradicating discriminatory legislation for better or for worse. Since 2004, as Parliament’s strategic and policy focus moved to areas of oversight, public participation and international participation, a different Parliament emerged, at least in some respects.

While demands on MPs with regard to the law-making process have not exactly diminished, these processes appear to have stabilised. At the same time there is a greater emphasis on the oversight role of members of Parliament which I believe has begun to breathe life into processes which had become exceedingly predictable and frustrating. Today’s Parliament is a vastly different place to the one I found when I first arrived in 1999. Analysts also observe this change, and refer to a maturing of our democracy and that of the political thinking. I won’t argue with that. Certainly, the rubber-stamping disappeared and while this doesn’t mean MPs vote outside of party lines, they at least interrogate the issues and sometimes even challenge the thinking of the departments and their Ministers.

Whether or not the play-play politics was embarrassing for the Ministers I wouldn’t know, but fortunately for us we have been, at least to some degree, rescued. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your frank comments and commitment to helping majority party MPs out of their robotic state and indeed all of us out of our misery.

Right about now someone, I am sure, is regretting having generously offered the ACDP five minutes to debate on this budget. After all the time smaller parties have spent griping about time allocations, I must say that there is some evidence that the majority party has relented and decided to at least try to be reasonable. With one minute’s input from smaller parties, debates were little more than a farce.

Parliament’s 2007-08 budget increased from R782,1 million in 2006-07 to R835,7 million - an inflation-adjusted increase of just 1,7%. Although implementation of a number of strategies will require Parliament to increase its staff complement from 1 071 to 1 430 in this budget year, decreases in budgets for administration, legislation, oversight and public and international participation raise concerns as to how this will be possible.

Increases to allow for research support to committees and increased constituency allowances are long overdue as MPs have been severely restricted in their capacity to do oversight and to be available in their constituencies. For me, the importance of this budget shift cannot be stressed enough. In an effort to address the need for Members of Parliament to be more accountable to their constituencies, a change of electoral system was even proposed.

In reality this would not have addressed the problem. For members to be accountable, they must be available to their constituents and without the budget to do so, it is impossible. It is also impossible to achieve if Parliament occupies every waking minute of an MPs time. This people’s Assembly is taking shape by design and at times by force.

In August 2006 the ACDP welcomed the Constitutional Court decision to return the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act to Parliament, when it was challenged by Doctors for Life. While this was a costly experience for Parliament, the judgment highlighted the legislature’s priorities during the passage of Bills and placed an increased emphasis on the importance of genuine public participation. This has underscored Parliament’s commitment to public participation in legislative processes, bringing to an end the years where hearings were at the discretion of the majority party only and those out of line with the majority view were intimidated and in some instances excluded.

Has Parliament adequately budgeted for these sorts of court challenges? Parliament is gearing for another attempt at a Youth Parliament this month

• a potentially powerful project which can backfire if handled the way it was handled in 2006. Instead of MPs listening to the youth, they took the opportunity to lecture them. No prizes for guessing how the youth reacted. This was very unfortunate and left a bad impression, countering all good intentions. Members of Parliament have, to date, had no indication of what preparations are taking place with regard to this year’s Youth Parliament and certainly no input. This is of great concern.

Lastly, if time allows, due to failure by Parliament to pronounce on matters in respect of members involved in the Travelgate scandal the ACDP is forced to call on the Speaker to act decisively and in a manner which will help restore the tainted image of Parliament and its members. I must commend Parliament on the new travel system which is a vast improvement and help to members. Despite the many challenges facing Parliament, the ACDP will support this budget. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Chairperson, parliaments were created in the main to defend the weak and vulnerable against the strong and mighty in the evolving societies which were dominated by one class - the haves. Hence most of the parliaments pronounce themselves as people’s tribunes. Our Constitution in Chapter 4 states that the National Assembly is elected to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution.

There is also a debate in the public discourse that Parliament is weak. The question is: Is it true or just a perception? Others say parliaments are becoming elitist and far removed from the people they ought to be representing and that the executive holds sway and is dominant in our democratic society. The view is only that the executive and the judiciary are visible and robust in the three arms of government and that the legislative factor is not so much felt.

We need to take cognisance of these views and engage on issues raised as we continue with the exercise of strengthening the legislative sector. We hope the eminent group called the panel of experts, recently appointed to review the role of Parliament in relation to its constitutional mandate and its execution, will be able to provide the context in which to debate on this matter based on factual points. The panel was appointed as a result of the participation of Parliament in the African Peer Review Mechanism. We are looking forward to and are ready to engage on this interesting topic. The issues raised by the critics include the fact that Parliament for the past 13 years has failed to pass legislation amending the money Bills, was not robust in its oversight over the executive and holding it accountable and that it was very boring and had boring sessions. However, I would want to say here that I do not subscribe to the notion that Parliament is weak. I do not walk the streets of Johannesburg, where my home is, or those of Kempton Park and Tembisa where my constituency is, or those in Cape Town where I do my legislative work, or go around the world and the continent representing Parliament with a conscience that says: ``Obed, you are a weak parliamentarian”, or “You belong to a weak and boring parliament’’. Certainly not! I am not and I do not think that hon members in this House feel the very same way, that they are weak. They are not weak!

Often we are told that we must rock the boat, or take on the executive. What is not said is that the Constitution, while recognising the independence of the three arms of government – Parliament, the executive and judiciary – goes further to say that we are interrelated and it enjoins us to deliver on the constitutional mandate for a better life for our people.

Yes, there are challenges and to some extent the critics are correct that the legislative sector has to assert itself. Parliament and the legislatures must begin to fulfil their mandate of overseeing the executive in action and those of the organs of state. Parliament must enhance its internal mechanisms and strengthen them in order to become a champion of the views of the electorate and the citizens as a whole.

We, as Parliament, have been involved in the process of developing mechanism which include maximisation of the current mechanisms to effect accountability of the executive and exercising oversight on the executive; and we will be making a proposal to the Joint Rules Committee on 20 June and hope that there will be an adoption of the oversight model that is before the Joint Rules Committee.

Among some of the issues that are going to be presented is the long-awaited amendment procedure for the amendment of the money Bills. Also, we are proposing that the Extended Public Committees, which are currently utilised for the Budget Votes should be utilised for engagement and debates, because debates and engagement are meant to reach consensus on most of the complex topics that have been already been proposed here in the House; and the Speaker has given a list of those.

The Westminister system of public debates as practiced in the world and in our Parliament is confining but at the same time not so very much conducive to fair, open, honest and in-depth engagement. It’s mainly parties playing to the public gallery. We have a number of discussions on which the nation is awaiting to hear our voice as Parliament. And I’m not going to repeat those particular issues alluded to earlier by other speakers.

In addition, we are also proposing seminars which will include involvement and engagement with experts and opinion-makers. These seminars should be held regularly as we did recently with one of them – The Postcolonial Africa: A Reflection on the Challenges of Africa - and also on the great debate of the union of African states. We hope therefore that such seminars will be held by Parliament often, so that we can then engage seriously on those matters and reach a certain consensus.

Expenditure obviously around the issues of the oversight, accountability and public participation model will have to be looked at again so that we can then begin to increase that budget.

On the international situation and the role of parliaments, we have adopted as Parliament a policy which will guide us in our engagement in bodies we have affiliated to such as the SADC Parliamentary Forum, the Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, the EU, the CPA, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Pan-African Parliament and also the International Parliamentary Union.

As Parliament we have also agreed within that policy that we should then engage further in the parliamentary diplomacy, which work includes bilateral relations with Africa and the world, with various parliaments, some at strategic levels and others as friendship groups. We will be formalising the Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR, a sub- committee of the Joint Rules Committee on 13 June.

Among other things, to embark on the creation of the focus group that will involve parliamentarians to serve in these bodies, we have affiliated to the friendship groups on the development of the protocol for members when representing Parliament and in the international forums, in bilateral meetings. But at the same time we will also have to then look at the preparations, particularly around the issues of content of members.

We are proposing here that in August when we deal with capacity-building we should include a period or two days where we should train members to understand the policy on international relations and on South Africa’s foreign policy in the main to understand the global situation, the ideologies that inform that particular agenda of the global situation and on how we locate ourselves as South Africa and this Parliament as we participate in those bodies.

We need also to develop an agenda of how we want to go about the affiliation of ourselves to those bodies; how do we transform these bodies to be institutions relevant to engaging on the creation of a just and a better Africa? There is also a need to increase resources. Lastly, as we prepare for the hosting of one of the biggest International Parliamentary Union general assemblies next year in April, we need to begin to become involved in the preparation of political matters for consideration in the conference.

Again, we should as Parliament inform members of the forthcoming CPA Africa meeting which is going to be hosted by this Parliament at the end of July. In terms of the Constitution of the CPA, all of you are members of that body by a mere affiliation of your Parliament. What we have to do then is to, convene a branch meeting in which we are to elect a branch executive that would then begin to engage on the affairs of that particular body and prepare delegations as and when they go for conferences.

We also have responded to members and hope we will soon be able to present after processing the matter in the PGIR to the Joint Rules Committee on the restructuring and improvement of the services being rendered by Parliament in as far as the International Relations Section is concerned. We now have a section manager, Ms Lindiwe Mokate, and hope she will rise to the challenge.

In conclusion, I would like to express a view shared by many other members that a parliament is constituted by parliamentarians and therefore they need to be respected and that they deserve better. As one member once said: What is honourable about MPs if we are not being treated so well? I hope therefore that future programmes and policy matters that involve parliamentarians will indeed be with consultation with parliamentarians.

I would also want to take this opportunity to thank my House Chairpersons, hon Doidge and hon Sandra Botha, for inducting me into that office. I also want to thank my office staff, Mpho, George and Alida from the Speaker’s Office for the work that you do for International Relations, and, lastly, Cecilia and Eva for the drafting of the oversight model and the assistance there, and my colleagues, hon Doidge, hon Nene and hon Setona for the midnight sessions and the long meetings that we have held in trying to bring the matter together. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Dr C P MULDER: Chairperson, in the limited time available to me, I would like to deal with two issues. Firstly, sir, I would like to react to the speech by the hon Bapela just now, specifically with regard to what he said regarding dealing with the executive. I don’t think it’s a question of whether Parliament should be taking on the executive or not. I think what we need is for the executive to understand what Parliament is all about.

If you look at our Constitution, Parliament consists of its two Houses. This House represents the people and our other House represents the provinces. Therefore I think it is important that the executive recognises this, and when they deal with important issues that impact on the people and on the provinces, they come to this House and announce it here.

I also want to mention the example of what was done this week by the hon Minister Fraser-Moleketi, who used this platform when she dealt with the current strike situation. She came to Parliament and put this matter on the table, giving Parliament an opportunity to deal with that important issue. I think that is what needs to be done. [Applause.]

The second issue that I would like to deal with is the question of the name boards in and around Parliament. In 2002 we had a situation where the name boards around Parliament or the notice boards that indicated the direction to the different buildings and conference rooms reflected only one language, English. At that stage we did write to the Secretary to Parliament and to PanSALB and said that that was a problem and that it should be rectified, and it was rectified. We then had notice boards in and around Parliament that did reflect different languages in South Africa, as the Constitution indicates.

Unfortunately, with the unveiling of our new emblem we moved backwards in the sense that if you look around Parliament now, you will find that all the notice boards are again in one language, namely English.

Now I want to ask the Secretary to Parliament and Madam Speaker to look into this issue again. We, as Parliament, should set an example in terms of our constitutional provision that says that we must recognise all our languages.

The last point I would like to deal with, Madam Speaker, is that we all would like to see that the messages of Parliament are broadcast to the public and to the people so that they know what is happening in Parliament. I’ve heard that there’s a practical problem in terms of the cameras that we see around here. The technical people from the SABC say that these cameras are so outdated that they cannot use the feed in an effective manner and they need them to be replaced. But it’s not for the public broadcaster to replace them, it’s for Parliament to make that possible. I want to ask that we also put that on the agenda.

My colleagues have reflected on all the other issues that are quite important, but from the FF Plus’ point of view, we will support the budget. Thank you very much.

Mrs L MALONEY: Chairperson, hon members and distinguished guests, it is an honour for me to participate in the parliamentary Budget Vote. I am really humbled to address this august House, especially today being International Youth Day.

This Budget Vote debate takes place after a string of historic events, one of them being the Africa Day we celebrated in this Parliament, as well as the International Youth Day that we are celebrating today. I know for a fact that the international Youth Day Book was launched in Asia and is going to be launched in our Parliament soon.

Let me deal with the topic I have to cover, which is about Parliament’s role in international affairs. As we know, ladies and gentlemen, the 21st century has been declared the African Century. So as South Africans in South Africa we have an obligation, also as this Parliament, to promote this noble concept. In promoting this concept, the way to go is to promote the democratic Parliament, with parliamentarians elected by the people in elections that are free and fair.

Parliament is one part of the state machinery that can be used to promote unity, peace and stability by our passing legislation, moving motions and reading statements in Parliament that condemn the disturbance of stability on the continent and in the world around us.

Parliament, as a respected institution, remains a strategic state organ to promote awareness of government programmes and also to encourage public participation. The state of the nation address can be a useful tool for Parliament in carrying out both legislative and oversight functions.

Committees must ascertain whether these concerns are due in part or on the whole. The address also outlines the priorities of government departments. The address could also be used as a matrix for parliamentary oversight. This is the reason parliamentarians should be capacitated to meet the challenges and responsibilities they are faced with.

Chairperson, if you will allow me, I want to congratulate Members of Parliament who managed to pass their leadership skills course, especially the women who participated in the course. As you know: You teach a woman, you teach a nation.

Coming to global issues, globalisation is emerging to be a challenge to the world. It is a system of redistribution of opportunities and benefits, which may enhance the economy or lead to rising inequality and aggravate poverty. The challenge for South Africa is to ensure that women benefit equally with others in the society. Some of the challenges facing Parliament include coming up with legislation that is biased towards women and to make sure that it has a proper tool to monitor such legislation.

The work of Parliament is much broader than just monitoring and implementing the strategic imperatives of the departments. Parliament also has the responsibility to reaffirm issues of international relations, which amplifies government’s position on those issues that the country is engaged with, especially those that deal with the consolidation of the African agenda and influencing global governance.

Parliament is positioned to discharge a key role in terms of international policy imperatives. For example, how Parliament contextualises the debates and better articulates the country’s stance on issues such as the debate on Iran and the use of nuclear energy.

Parliament has a role in monitoring developments in SADC, especially the implementation of the indicative strategy development plan. Parliament’s commitment to promoting democracy was also witnessed when a multiparty delegation was sent to SADC and the DRC to monitor elections.

Nepad’s programmes are also monitored by Parliament. Parliament is also involved in strengthening the country’s evolving process of legislation against terrorism, especially on matters relating to specific rights of citizens.

Parliament, as an organ of state, with its responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution, has a duty to use its Treasury allocation in a transparent manner, reporting back to the nation on how it is going to spend its monies. This is a requirement and not just an option.

Even though Members of Parliament are overstretched, they still remain committed to their work and I think they deserve to be paid accordingly. Before I leave this podium, let me thank Madam Speaker and her deputy, and their team, for the sterling work they are doing to keep the decorum of this House.

Sithi malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi! [We say, let women’s name be praised.]

HON MEMBERS: Malibongwe [Let it be praised!]

Let us not forget the leadership they are providing internationally. I also want to thank the Table staff for the legal advice it is always giving in this Chamber.

I also want to thank our service officers who keep us awake by making sure that we drink water every time we are here, and for other domestic chores that they are doing.

Chairperson, more was said by the Minister of Foreign Affairs during her debate on international issues. I hope that hon members have read her speech. The ball is now in our court, as Parliament, to use effectively the resources that are allocated to us. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!]

HON MEMBERS: Igama lamakhosikazi! [The women’s name!] [Applause.]

Mr M T LIKOTSI: Chairperson, this Budget Vote comes at a time when Parliament is going through a major process of transformation called the “Strategic Plan for the Third Parliament 2004-09”, and by making a visible shift from the old order to a new democratic dispensation.

To prevent uncalled for contradictions amongst political parties coming from different orientations, we have crafted a vision and a mission for an orderly change. This resulted in the introduction of so many systems that made even those who came here years ago appear to be ordinary learners. All of us are indeed students of a new order. Our vision and mission are straightforward and read as follows –

… Parliament of South Africa is to build an effective people’s Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality life for all the people of South Africa …

… or Azania as we call it.

The administration of Parliament is gradually improving. The executive, management and staff are receiving support and professional corporate services and with time things may improve for the better. The PAC of Azania encourages the secretariat to improve on consultation. This will curb the unwarranted workers’ strike actions planned by Nehawu members recently. Cordial working relations and a good working environment may result in much needed excellence and good performance by staff members. This is what the PAC of Azania subscribes to and believes, Comrade Secretary.

We must at this stage, as a party, thank the administration for the introduction of new technological devices to the Parliament. To compete on par with other countries, for the transformation of Parliament we should include the use of modern technology.

The programmes on members’ facilities have become a backbone in the performance of members in fulfilling their legislative and constitutional obligations. We may only hope that with time it will improve to close some noticeable shortcomings in our daily operations.

We must thank the Office of the Speaker and other relevant offices for their political will to help the plight of members. The only areas that need improvement are the secretarial support of members, especially since we have to share secretaries. Another issue is that members have to work with in-house researchers and this must be revisited. The issue of only certain members being covered by the members’ facilities after the expiration of their term in office is a concern. Our proposal will be: Once a Member of Parliament, always a member.

It is a disgrace to this Parliament to meet a member who once served as an hon member in a very dire state of affairs. Pensions alone will not solve the problem; something else must be done.

In conclusion, let me borrow from the wise words of one of the pioneers of Pan-Africanism, Kwame Nkrumah when he said:

We have in Africa everything necessary to become a powerful and modern industrialised continent. Far from having inadequate resources, Africa is probably better equipped for industrialisation than almost any other region in the world.

This was said in 1964 when announcing the seven-year development plan for Ghana.

The PAC further wants to express its appreciation for Parliament’s programme of financial support to all political parties represented in it. We propose that the formula of allocation should be revisited as both the majority and the minority parties are not happy with it. But we recognise the big increase made especially in constituency allowances to parties for outreach to their constituencies. The PAC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you.

Ms L L MABE: Chairperson, I would like to start by indicating to you, Madam Speaker that you took me by surprise when you made an announcement that I am a member of the audit committee. You caught me off guard, but I would like to promise this House and you that I will remain vigilant in the audit committee so that you can get the information that you need to ensure that this Parliament becomes a success and moves from where it is, especially in terms of managing its finances, to a better space where we can be proud of it. I promise that I will be vigilant, and please, as presiding officer, give me that support. [Applause.]

I want to state, in context, the mission of this Parliament that as the freely elected representatives of the people of South Africa, our mission is to represent and act as the voice of the people of this country, in fulfilling our constitutional functions of passing laws and overseeing the executive function. It should be understood that Parliament is not of lower status to the executive or the judiciary. All of them are on par. They are all on par. It should be understood that whatever Parliament raises, in its oversight function or in its oversight role, should be taken with that regard that Parliament makes laws and it must see to it that those laws are implemented, and this should not be compromised.

I would also like to state that our oversight function is a constitutional obligation. The Constitution gives us that right and that power to have oversight. The question that I want to raise is that usually in our debates we raise issues about service delivery; we raise issues about what happens in the department; and we raise issues about what happens in the judiciary. Where do these issues end? Are we raising them and nobody takes care of them? That is why I say that the oversight function of Parliament is very important. It is a constitutional obligation.

We expect that departments should take this into consideration. It is not a matter of trying to ensure that there is some bad relationship between Parliament and the executive or Parliament and the judiciary, but it should be understood that Parliament must do its function, because they are elected representatives. If they don’t do their part as Members of Parliament, people on the ground will fight. They will revolt against Parliament and we don’t want that type of situation to happen.

I would also like to ask whether the questions that we raise, as Members of Parliament during question time, are taken care of. Do departments follow up in our constituencies? Are those things implemented or not? We don’t raise these things for the sake of raising them, but to ensure that all three arms of government work together as one engine for the success of our country. [Applause.]

I would also like to raise the matter of portfolio committees and their oversight functions. Portfolio committees are the engines of Parliament’s oversight, and if the issues that portfolio committees raise during budget debates or budget hearings, and when they make legislation, are not taken care of by departments, it means that Parliament is being undermined. But, I am not saying the executive undermines Parliament. I should be understood very clearly. I am saying that with regard to what Parliament raises during Budget hearings, and what communities raise, Parliament is expected to ensure that the executive implements those issues. They are the issues raised by the people who have elected us and that should be understood within that context. I want to say, are the issues that portfolio committees raise in their budget hearing reports taken care of or are they just looked at and put aside?

The observations I made as I was studying other reports of portfolio committees were that some departments do not take those things into consideration when they make their budgets, and this should be addressed.

I would also like to say that the portfolio committees look at strategic plans of departments, vis-à-vis the annual performance of the departments. It would be very nice when portfolio committees can check, when they call the Ministers to the portfolio committees, whether Ministers take up the issues especially when it comes to the performance of senior managers in the department. I say this because it is a crucial fact that when departments allocate performance bonuses, you know, sometimes it is a disgrace that those performance bonuses are allocated to people who do not deliver as per portfolio committees’ expectations.

Recently Scopa raised the problem of the CEO of the Land Bank getting a R1 million performance bonus when people on the ground complain about the Land Bank, especially that they do not have access to funds that the Land Bank must assist them with. These are some of the questions that we cannot keep quiet about, as Parliament.

I would also like to raise the issue of spending by Parliament. I would do this House an injustice if I don’t raise it. Why do I say that? Initially I said that portfolio committees are the engines of Parliament. They are the engine rooms, and portfolio committees cannot do their oversight function if they do not get a satisfactory budget. I am really disappointed that this year the budget of portfolio committees has been slashed by 50%. [Applause.]

I am really disappointed, but the power is in our hands. The power is in our hands! We must ensure that that budget must go to where it should be so that we can do our oversight function. We can’t be confined to Parliament because money is not allocated to us and not do the oversight function out of Parliament.

I would also like to say that we cannot keep quiet about qualified reports of Parliament. Yes, there has been an improvement and we would like to see Parliament’s audit reports not being qualified because we must do our oversight function over the budgets of the departments. There is a lot of improvement, but we are looking forward to a clean report with less emphasis on the matter.

Concerning what Madam Speaker has indicated about the role of Scopa, there is this question - and it’s a long debate which is very old and has been there for 13 years – of whether Scopa can have oversight over Parliament. The question is, if Scopa doesn’t do it, who will do it? If the Joint Budget Committee doesn’t look at the monthly spending of Parliament, who will do it? Who will inform presiding officers about what is happening with regard to the budget? In the meantime, for as long as there is no structure that assists the presiding officers to have a full understanding of what is happening about Parliament’s budget, these two committees must continue to do oversight functions over Parliament’s budget so that the presiding officers will know how to address problems that are within Parliament.

I would also like to raise this matter. You know, it is a simple issue. We get annual reports. We get books in our offices. What happens to those books? Why is it difficult to deliver those books that I am not using anymore to my constituency so that the libraries can use them? Why is it difficult? Rather than us wasting, there are schools that desperately need those books and we must make it easy to transport those books to the constituencies. Also - a simple thing - we have functions in Parliament and what happens to the leftovers? Somebody may ask what we should do with leftovers. They may think we are undermining other people, but there are destitute people who are taken care of by the NGOs. If we could have a programme of ensuring that communities around here get that food, we would have done a lot. That must be looked into. [Applause.]

I would also like to say that the Joint Budget Committee finds it difficult to operate. It is a joint committee of both Houses and it is difficult for it to fulfil its role, because members of the select committee are members of the joint budget committee. How is it possible that the Joint Budget Committee could apprise your office on a monthly basis of what is happening with regard to spending by different departments? I am requesting that this should be looked into as a matter of urgency so that there can be smooth functioning of that committee.

In addition, remember that the NCOP has provincial weeks and what happens during provincial weeks?

Finally, I want to indicate that I am happy to be part of this debate for the first time since I came to Parliament and that I could raise issues. But remember, I said I will remain vigilant in the audit committee and I hope that I will have easy access so that from time to time I can appraise you on the situation. Thank you. [Applause.]

Ms S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, Madam Speaker, Madam Deputy Speaker, in terms of the strategic plan of Parliament 2004-09, Parliament is guided by its new vision, which is to build an effective people’s Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all people in South Africa.

With Parliament’s duties arching over the oversight of the executive, monitoring and implementing of legislation as well as passing, amending and rejecting legislation, we require a good parliamentary administration. The MF is pleased with Parliament’s decision to increase its staff establishment from 1 071 in 2006 to 1 430 in 2007. We find that in comparison to last year’s budget much remains the same in priorities. The MF would like an explanation for the decrease in Programme 1, and how it will affect the administration of Parliament.

In view of Parliament’s commitment to legislate the oversight, the MF expresses its concern over the decrease in allocation to Programme 2 by R8,5 million. We would like an explanation for this decrease and its intended outcome. We, however, acknowledge that the decrease of 50,9% to Programme 3, public and international participation is as a result of the personnel restructuring process.

The MF hereby enquires as to the progress in increasing public participation and visibility. We are excited about the introduction of the parliamentary democratic officers and hereby also enquire into the progress made in this regard. Regular oversight and interaction with these officers need to be made by Parliament to ensure accountability. To allow members to travel entitlements, the MF supports the increase in Programme 4. In view of the much needed technical support and research support, the 36% increase in Programme 5 is supported.

Parliament plays a vital role in the transformation of discrimination in domestic South Africa. We do so with our foundation, the National Constitution of 1996, that paves the values, principles and fashion this democracy is built on. In light of the Bill of Rights and one of its crucial endeavours to instil the ensured gender equality the MF is extremely concerned about the absence of mention of Parliament’s endeavours for this year in terms of gender, youth and disability. We question why this is not being prioritised.

We thank all members, in both Houses, and our impeccable administrative staff for their effort in fulfilling Parliament’s portfolio. We applaud our committees under the auspicious leadership of our Chairs for their fantastic work. Honour must be given to our Speaker and Deputy Speaker for their dedication and commitment to delivery.

Lastly, I thank all South Africans for having faith in us. Today being Children’s Day, the MF wishes all our children a happy Children’s Day. God bless our children, and remember you are the leaders of tomorrow. The MF supports the Bill. Thank you very much.

Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Chairperson, over the past years Parliament has successfully produced a strategic plan which sets out a clear vision for the future business of this Parliament as a part of the transformation agenda and this is what Azapo would like to support, that the transformation agenda should continue up until we reach where we want to go.

The correct interpretation of the vision and the transformation agenda brings to the fore interesting ideas: firstly, an effective people’s Parliament; and secondly, a Parliament that is responsive to people’s needs and with a view to realising a better life for all South Africans.

The question to ask is whether this Parliament has acted in a manner that is consistent with this vision. At the same time we should respond to yet another important question, that is, people’s participation in the shaping of the laws that are enacted by Parliament.

Azapo believes, firstly, that the greatest challenge facing Parliament is the method it uses to consult people before laws are passed. Secondly, we should also look at the extent to which consultations are sufficient to make us believe in our rich conclusions that our people understand the intent and implications of the laws we normally approve.

Experience has shown that public hearings conducted by portfolio committees have often been largely platforms of the elite and the rich who are able to access resources and other means of communication to articulate their views and that the poor have no platform from which they can be considered. This state of affairs requires consideration of institutional changes as well as methods by which we consult with various communities.

Perhaps by assessing what it means to engage ordinary citizens, we can set the stage for addressing some of the daunting challenges that came to the fore recently in Khutsong, Matatiele and Mutse and other parts of the country where communities differ with the way in which we have consulted them.

In this context, therefore, our responsibility is to link the wellbeing of the poor and the marginalised to policies and laws that we passed. This linkage with the poor will make us better legislators and can actually result in happier citizens and a better Parliament.

When laws that we have passed become the subject of ridicule or people refuse to implement them, we as legislators should find a better way of interacting with our citizens. We support the budget. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mong M J G MZONDEKI: Ke a leboha Modulasetulo. Ke re ke utlwile hantle ha Mme Baleka are o lebelletse hore puong ena o tla betswa ka majwe. Ke tla ba mohau Mme, ka ha o se o na le maqeba, ke mpe ke foke feela ka letswai, hobane re dumela hore, hore leqeba le fole ka pele le tshelwa letswai. [Ditsheho.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)

[Mr M J G MZONDEKI: Thank you Chairperson. I clearly understood hon Baleka when she said that she was expecting to be stoned for this speech. I will have mercy, madam, since you are wounded already. I will just add salt because we believe that for a cut to heal quickly, salt should be rubbed into it.] [Laughter]

It gives me great pleasure to participate in this very important debate today. It is more so because I was one of those who were given the task by my party to be on the political committee that advised on the new emblem of Parliament. In my little notebook, this will be one of the highlights.

When we launched that new emblem we also agreed that the new emblem puts a challenge to all of us, and as public representatives we need to review whether our work indeed speaks to the mission and vision of Parliament. We all agree that in order to do this and to fulfil our mandate, it is important that we have a certain level of support.

Last week on Monday, I received a message from one of my colleagues in Parliament, the message was: “Hey Chief, I am all by myself here, can you help me?” This message came from the hon Maxwell Moss.

I also received another call from a member, who was saying: “Hey Chief, I happen to have a personal assistant, and I have recently bought a car, I now need another assistant because my personal assistant cannot drive.” This member is in a wheelchair.

I also received a call from another hon member, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Science and Technology. He was saying to me: “Chief, I have been complaining to the IT section about my computer and I have been sent from pillar to post until my computer completely died.”

Last year, around November, I had to leave my office, which I had been occupying since 1999. The reason was that I could not take the air conditioning anymore because I have no control over it, and I was beginning to have chronic sinus. I have since moved to another office. Another hon member was saying to me: “Chief, my office has not been cleaned for the past three months.” I said I needed to make an appointment with the manager of Household Services. And I still need to have that meeting.

This is just an indication of some of the issues that are facing us as Members of Parliament to be able to fulfil our mandate. While we understand and we appreciate that South Africa cannot have as many resources as some of our First World counterparts, a certain level of support is nonetheless required to enable members to fulfil their constitutional mandate.

Some of the resources that we need relate to training to enhance our capacity as Members of Parliament and includes committee staff, researchers, library services, secretarial support, administrative support, IT and others.

One could look at two problems, for instance, with regards to the staffing needs. One is the lack of adequate skills. Many of us have staff allocated to us, but they do not have adequate skills that would enable us to do the work that we do, and our observation as many members is that we think we really need a skills audit. With regard to the committee section, we need to ensure that we have skilled staff that will enable the chairpersons of committees to concentrate more on their political issues rather than on administrative and procedural issues. I think we also need to clarify the role of the committee staff in this regard.

With regard to research, I think we would all agree that we come from various backgrounds. Some of us have never seen a computer before; we have never heard about international research but we might have done some research in some other way. It becomes a necessity that when we are Members of Parliament we do need that kind of support. I doubt that we do have enough research capacity.

We do have library services but given the new system that we have in Parliament, we need to ask: Are the times appropriate for us? Are we able to access the library at the times that we need to access it? I doubt if we do have that kind of support.

I have already spoken about IT. We are given computers but I have heard one of my colleagues from the opposition party saying that he had a problem with his computer. You have a computer but when you need to get it serviced it becomes a serious problem and I think that needs attention.

Many members still do not have secretaries allocated to them and I think that is a matter that requires serious attention. Let me also talk about the diversity we have as Members of Parliament. We have women who have special needs because of the nature of their work. We cannot pretend that we do not live in Africa, where, other than being a Member of Parliament you also have other roles. You come to this Parliament as a mother and you have children: Do we have the necessary support for you to be able to look after the children and still do the work effectively as a Member of Parliament? [Applause.]

With regard to people with disabilities, we appreciate the fact that we do have a policy on disability in place. But I think we need to review that policy, because it seems to treat all of us as if we as disabled persons, are all the same but our needs differ a lot.

I have already quoted the situation of hon Maxwell Moss, the situation of hon Bengu and the situation of hon Ipeleng, who said to me: “When I am here in Parliament there is a bus that takes me from the village to Parliament, but do we have the bus when I am in my constituency; how am I expected to do my work while I am in my constituency?”

You might argue and say: Can’t these members afford to employ drivers; can’t they afford to employ people to look after their children? But do they have enough resources to do that? I think that is the question we need to look at.

Chairperson, I don’t want to go into the issue that has already been raised by the hon Seaton, namely that of the commission that talks to our remuneration as Members of Parliament, and this includes our salaries, pensions, medical support, telephones, travel expenses and so on. I don’t have to remind members that some of us have two homes to look after; some of us have two cars to maintain, and it is a serious problem. I think it is a matter that all of us need to give attention to and I hope that we need to give it serious attention, and very soon. [Applause.]

Other than the other support that I have talked about, I think we also need to look at our health as Members of Parliament. I have already mentioned the situation of my office where I had to be moved from one office to another which is also not convenient because it is too small for my needs. I don’t understand how those offices were designed. The housing conditions have already been mentioned by one of the colleagues from IFP.

In conclusion, I would like to remind all of us that our biggest task is to ensure that our work indeed does change the lives of our people for the better. We can succeed in doing this by once more committing ourselves to the transformation agenda of our country.

We also have a bigger challenge to lead the transformation agenda of the continent, because of the confidence that the rest of the country, if not the world, has in us. Our role as MPs is to go beyond our boarders and we can only do this if we have the necessary support. I thank you. [Time expired] [Applause.]

Mr S SIMMONS: Chairperson, Madam Speaker, Deputy Speaker and colleagues, allow me to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to all Parliament’s role-players, including the hon Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairpersons, Deputy Chairpersons, Secretary to Parliament and all Table and support staff for their relentless efforts to ensure that all concerned are served in the manner in which they are. It is truly appreciated.

The Constitution stipulates that Parliament’s primary function is to make legislation, but equally important is that Parliament is mandated to perform an oversight role; oversight over the activities of the executive. In order for this to happen, a number of variables need to be in place. We cannot hope for a Parliament that is efficient and effective if the basics are not in place. We only need to look at what is needed for represented political parties to make a meaningful contribution as part of Parliament’s oversight duty. In this regard I want to point to two issues - work ethics and party resources.

Firstly, the integrity of the institution is under serious threat if this House more often than not just about makes a quorum. Too many parties allow members to neglect their attendance in this House. It is not only members that need to step up their commitment in the House, the presiding officers also need to explain why it is that it seems that they, whose primary place of work is here in Parliament, are constantly abroad. I trust the hon Speaker would be able to give us an indication of the extent of presiding officers’ travelling abroad and the costs thereof.

Secondly, the issue of resources available to political parties is one that is not, I believe, adequately addressed, the good progress that has been made notwithstanding. We need to remember that as representative parties we are here to perform an oversight role requiring us to have our finger on the pulse of what is happening whenever and wherever. For this, Chair, we need staff, specifically quality research staff that will provide much needed empirically sound and analysed information. The debate time smaller parties enjoy in this House does not mean we should make inferior contributions. All parties have to perform the same job of oversight and therefore all parties need to have the quality of support staff and sufficient time when debating matters in this House.

The United Party of South Africa will support the Vote. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Chairman, my colleague the hon Mr Ian Davidson spoke about the need for the ANC to embrace a democratic spirit. This is a need which not only applies to the ruling party, but generally to the management of this institution as well. There are various examples of the way in which this institution is run which affects the very people who are expected to ensure democracy works in this country. I want to say that I believe Members of Parliament are becoming more and more sidelined in the way Parliament runs. And who really runs Parliament is not really clear at all.

The Secretary to Parliament has become something of a distant figure and, I believe, out of touch with MPs. His role in the running of Parliament becomes more and more obscure but one suspects that his authority has grown dramatically to the extent that it is he and not the presiding officers who run this institution. And if he is that distant a figure it means in turn that we do not know what he really does, what authority he really wields and to whom he really reports.

Even the Parliamentary Oversight Authority to which he reports meets less and less frequently. The Speaker made reference to that this morning. I’m not quite sure where Madam Speaker is; we don’t want to throw rocks at her particularly, but it certainly is an untenable situation which should not be allowed to continue.

Of course it may be that the oversight authority does not meet too often or hasn’t met this year, in fact, because members of this authority were assured that the liquidators involved in Travelgate would appear before them to inform them fully about the Travelgate issue. No doubt some very important secrets may have been revealed. So, maybe the easy way out is simply not to call the oversight authority.

But it is an untenable situation which cannot be allowed to continue, particularly when we look at things like unqualified audit reports. No matter how minor they are, why should we as Members of Parliament have to put up with the totally deficient Hansard, with the sound system that breaks down far too frequently, with the security systems that are a joke, with communication systems that are embarrassing. And no one seems accountable for all this or takes responsibility for them.

Now we heard from the hon Mulder that the TV cameras are old and inadequate as well. Do we wait for them to break down before we do anything about it? It’s an untenable situation which cannot be allowed to continue.

I want to say, Mr Chairman, the fact that the Travelgate spectre continues to hang over Parliament, and will do so until parties concerned indicate what action they will take with regard to their erring members, is simply one matter which cannot be allowed to continue. It certainly cannot be ignored; it will not go away until the parties concerned have dealt with it.

But while the huge bureaucracy under the Secretary’s control continues to grind along, we MPs are left to make the best of an indifferently run institution. And quite frankly, where we do have some say, we do little better than the bureaucracy itself.

I am sure that we as Members of Parliament, have our hands full to make Parliament a better institution, to demand more accountability, and to set standards which we believe are attainable. But quite frankly, often all we do is sit back and complain. Even that aspect of Parliament which we do have total control over – the programme of Parliament – is a poor reflection of our ability to do things right.

By the programme of Parliament, I do not mean just a structure of our daily programme - I think Madam Speaker made some important and relevant points with regard to this - but I refer to every aspect of the programme: how we run debates, question time, motions and statements.

I said in the debate last year that Parliament was more boring today than it was yesterday and tomorrow it will be more boring than it is today. This year, I believe we have to say that Parliament is more boring this year than it was last year and next year it will be even more boring than this year and if we are not careful, and don’t do something about it, very soon we will be talking in decades of boredom in this place.

The best example of this is question time which should be the most vibrant part of any parliamentary programme but which in our Parliament is unalterably boring and has been for the past seven years. But we make no effort to change it – probably because it suits the ruling party to have a boring question time that no one listens to even though the executive is being held to account. And as far as the executive is concerned, can they account for the fact that of the 600 written questions asked by the DA between 16 February and 11 May this year 323 remain unanswered? And quite frankly, we have to accept too that there are many Ministers who adopt a pretty flippant attitude to oral question time. Is it acceptable? But it continues to happen.

Quite often, we deserve what we get because we do not demand more. Of course, a problem that the ANC face and therefore that we all face is that most decisions affecting Parliament cannot be taken within Parliament itself but rather by the ANC National Executive Committee, hundreds of kilometres away.

This in itself is a sorry situation and adversely affects the running of this institution. And I refer of course to my colleague, the hon Andries Nel, Acting Chief Whip of the Majority Party for six months and still he does not know if he will be given the position because it has not yet appeared on the agenda of ANC National Executive Council. [Laughter.] You can’t hurry these things you know.

Parliament has set very few examples for the rest of the country to follow, in terms of how it runs. Perhaps this is the reason why Judge Moseneke decided to look so poorly upon MPs. But why he chose to pick on back- benchers and not the decision-makers in this institution is beyond most of us. But more seriously, the whole Moseneke Commission Report was a massive disappointment to MPs generally and I believe we have every reason to be massively disappointed.

There is a lot to do in this institution to make Parliament a far more vibrant place than it is. Parliament is not just about celebrations and rah- rah functions. It is more about hard work, taking tough decisions and helping to make South Africa work for all its people. And this is best done in an environment that is exciting, absorbing and dynamic, without the drabness that we face on a daily basis at present.

You made reference, Madam Speaker, to the budget of Parliament and how it has increased over the years. I believe that, regrettably, this simply shows that allocating more money to a problem is not the answer but in actual fact we have to make a deliberate effort to correct the problem areas. Spending money is simply not the answer; we need to take some constructive and good decisions in order to make Parliament a far more vibrant place.

But despite all these things, Mr Chairman, we acknowledge the fact that there are many people, including the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Table staff who really try to make an enormous difference to the running of Parliament. Consequently, the DA will be supporting the budget. Thank you. [Applause.]

The ACTING CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, Deputy Speaker, hon members, comrades and friends, and the future MPs of our nation who are seated in the gallery there … [Applause.] … this year marks the 40th anniversary of the death of ANC president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nkosi Albert Luthuli. This outstanding representative of our people was a beacon of hope during the dark days of apartheid tyranny. His visionary leadership of the ANC inspired many, including the volunteers who 52 years ago organised the Congress of the People at Kliptown.

It is in that tradition of the volunteers, those who gathered at Kliptown, that the ANC as an organisation continues to involve the masses of its members and the masses of the people of South Africa in discussion and formulation of policies. That’s what we are busy with now and what we will be doing in June and December.

That is the reason, when the ANC NEC gives direction to us in Parliament, it does so on the basis of the mandate of the masses of our people, and that simply can’t be wrong. I don’t know why the DA consistently chooses to raise a nonsense issue. [Applause.] [Interjections.]

I would be interested to know how your federal council relates to your caucus, but, in any case, that’s a matter we can discuss some other time. The same applies to the election of your leaders in caucus by having opinion polls.

We, in the ANC, are very happy to be deployed and will act happily until we are deployed in any other capacity. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Nel, I’m sorry, there seems to be a point of order. Would you take your seat, please?

Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Chair, I have to confess, it’s not a point of order. I just want to point out that we do make decisions in our party.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): I’m sorry!

The ACTING CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Today our people’s aspirations, hopes and desires are anchored on the firm foundation of the Constitution. This is itself a legal expression of the noble ideals contained in the Freedom Charter.

Our Constitution is supreme, has an entrenched Bill of Rights and contains the values that guide all the branches of government in their work. The inspiration we draw from the brave and heroic acts of Nkosi Luthuli, O R Tambo, the 1956 movement’s march, the 1976 Soweto youth uprising and the many unsung heroes of our struggle reminds us of the sacred duty we have as the democratically elected representatives of the people to remain loyal to the cause of our people.

The ANC supports Parliament’s budget in the firm conviction that the work we continue to do remains consistent with the ideal of realising the vision of a united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.

In its 13 years of existence the democratic Parliament has completely overshadowed its pre-1994 predecessor: a racist, unrepresentative and closed institution that passed repressive laws. Today’s Parliament is an open, transparent and participatory institution that is dedicated to the creation of a better life for all.

Much progress has been made and many notable achievements have been scored in the past years. We wish, at the outset, to express our appreciation to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, House Chairpersons and the Secretary to Parliament for their leadership and tireless efforts.

In March this year Parliament unveiled the new parliamentary emblem that projects the vision, mission and values of Parliament to our people and the world. Madam Speaker and many other speakers have outlined the significant progress that has been made and I shall not repeat these.

However, correct philosophy teaches us that the process of social transformation is a long and complex one, and that the solution of certain problems will give rise to new ones. We must, therefore, guard against the twin dangers of, on the one hand, suggesting, as some have done here, that nothing has changed or that there has been retrogression, and, on the other hand, pretending that there are no problems and that our forward march cannot be accelerated.

We wish to raise three related challenges. The first issue is often raised in these debates and elsewhere, and is about the alignment of resources. Is Parliament’s allocation of resources aligned with the vision and mission that we have adopted?

This is a matter that needs to be debated constructively in the budget forum and the Parliamentary Oversight Authority. We also wish to urge all members to participate actively in Parliament’s budget process.

Secondly, we wish to raise the notion that Parliament has an existence independent of Members of Parliament. In a representative democracy not a single one of Parliament’s functions is capable of being executed without the members that constitute Parliament.

Consider the absurdity of a parliament without members, passing legislation, overseeing executive action, facilitating public participation, promoting co-operative governance, overseeing international relations or debating matters of national concern. Without the Members of Parliament the buildings that house Parliament would be reduced to little more than a museum, an architectural landmark, a tourist attraction or a conference facility.

Yes, the wheels of parliamentary administration would continue turning, but would do so without any forward movement or delivery on the mandate that determines Parliament’s reason for existence. A parliament is a parliament through its members and the voters they represent. There can be no parliament without Members of Parliament or the citizens who elect them. [Applause.]

Unfortunately, this does not always seem readily apparent in the manner that certain administrative processes are conducted. At times one is left with the impression that some are of the view that parliamentary administration is something that exists for itself, rather than something that exists to support Members of Parliament in executing the mandate given to them by the Constitution and the people of South Africa. [Applause.]

The importance of a people-centred and member-centred approach to the administration of Parliament needs to be understood and internalised at all levels of parliamentary administration. The manner in which certain events and programmes are planned and executed suggests that Members of Parliament are an optional add-on or an exercise in logistic management.

Consider the example of the following statements that are contained in the strategic plan for the third Parliament. On page 29 the statement is made that, and I quote:

Parliament also embarked on training programmes for members, empowering them in their oversight roles.

Would a more correct statement not have been that, and I quote: “The administration of Parliament, at the request of Members of Parliament, facilitated training programmes for members on their oversight roles.” [Applause.]

On page 32 the statement is made that in relation to the establishment of parliamentary democracy offices, and I quote:

… an ongoing key activity in the parliamentary democracy office would be political discussion to obtain people’s views on matters of national importance and major policy or legislation before Parliament.

It is not made clear who will be party to these political discussions, but the absence of a clear reference to Members of Parliament must be a matter of concern.

On page 37 the assertion is made that, and I quote:

The creation of an internal culture and external reputation for Parliament supporting the delivery of effective and efficient services remains one of the key challenges of Parliament. This will include initiatives to educate members and staff on the desired behaviour aligned to Parliament’s values.

It is not clear who the Parliament is that will be educating members and staff, and about what.

Again on page 37, it is stated that, and I quote:

Locally the key focus is on the critical concepts of public involvement and the involvement of the people. Issues within this sphere relate to gearing Parliament and members, the institution’s systems and processes towards fulfilling the needs of all South Africans through public- participatory-democracy-based and sustained approaches targeting special categories within this broader parliamentary constituency for special affirmation and empowerment.

Implicit in the first part of the statement is, again, the notion that Parliament and Members are somehow separate entities, whilst the latter part of the statement implies that Members of Parliament, instead of being central, are an element of a broader parliamentary constituency.

Third, and related to the above, are questions concerning institutional governance of Parliament. Unfortunately, I’m not going to have time to cover that in detail, but basically I want to say that I think that we are all in agreement with the move from the old Rules-Committee-based system to the parliamentary-oversight-based system. The fact of the matter is that we are not elected as Members of Parliament to come and manage and run Parliament. That is not our job. It can’t be our job and we should never pretend to try and do that.

However, we must have the space, as Members of Parliament, to express what our needs are and to set the minimum levels of support that we need to carry out our constitutional mandate. [Applause.] And I think Madam Speaker already adequately covered this issue at the beginning of the debate – the fact that the oversight authority has not met for more than six months, which is a matter of concern.

We’d like to thank the Secretary to Parliament, Secretaries to the NA and the NCOP, members of the parliamentary service, the security personnel, catering staff, cleaners, service officers, Hansard staff, Table staff, legal advisers, researchers, finance staff and the Office of the Leader of Government Business and parliamentary liaison officers. We would like to thank the support staff of the different caucuses, the Whips of all parties, the presiding officers and the House Chairpersons. Let us intensify the struggle against poverty as we advance in unity towards the realisation of a better life for all. Let us build a people’s Parliament. Thank you. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Madam Chair, at times one doesn’t know where to start, because when one hears the words of the Acting Chief Whip, one actually gets worried about the institution and what is actually one’s role. The report he referred to I got as I was seated here yesterday afternoon and I showed it to the Deputy President and asked: “What am I supposed to do with this report on the eve of a debate?” I had already started working on my notes and I did not get into it, but I am happy that the Acting Chief Whip did mention it.

I have also listened very patiently and with concentration to what was said here this morning. I think our Members of Parliament are very right in saying that we don’t have and we don’t enjoy the status that we have been given by the people of this country. [Applause.] Maybe some of the things that I am saying will encourage you to applaud me, but I saw in my last speech that it takes time from my speech. So, when I stop you I am not being rude, I just want to finish what I am trying to say here. [Laughter.]

I am mentioning this report that I got yesterday. On that white envelope, Secretary, it was written “Deputy Speaker”. I think I deserve better than that. I deserve a typed envelope which indicates my status as was given to me by the people of this country – not a pen-written “Deputy Speaker”. [Applause.] I will deal with the detail of that because this is not the forum; it’s just that I had to respond to what the Acting Chief Whip mentioned.

Our Members of Parliament, as a collective, can assist in improving the working efficiency of Parliament, if we succeed in hearing their voices. We need to foster a culture that says to members: You are part of this institution. In fact, this Parliament is here because you, the parliamentarians, are here, and not the other way round. I am happy to hear that, at last, overnight, there is a website - which does not, however, have the list of members of the National Assembly. It has a number of links, and some of them are not working, if not all of them. As you know, I spend most of my time on the website.

I have the privilege of involvement with Members of Parliament in a number of projects such as the New Identity and Emblem of Parliament, the Interparliamentary Union and the Leadership Development Programme. In those projects, I work with MPs from all parties and at all levels of politics. It has, on every occasion, been a heartening and a humbling experience. Despite heavy workloads, MPs never hesitate to take on yet another responsibility and more work. The people of South Africa can rest assured that, in this Parliament and in this Assembly, they are well represented, which is as it should be.

The Members of this Parliament are the representatives of the people of South Africa, and no function or project of this Parliament can take place without being given political leadership and guidance by the MPs. Any attempt to exclude MPs from the leadership of Parliament is an attempt to undermine our hard-won democracy. [Applause.] That is something I am confident will never happen, as in this House and from all parties there is a shared commitment to assume those responsibilities that this leadership of our Parliament gives us.

When MPs are given responsibilities and opportunities to exercise their talents, they do so with enthusiasm and success. This year we have had our ups and downs, but despite it all, we have managed to pass a substantial body of good legislation. Mr Doidge has just mentioned that – and Mr Bapela is not listening.

We have deepened the gains of our democracy by demonstrating again that we will protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, as we are expected to do as public representatives.

When one of the artists and designers of the new emblem project made the following comment at the conclusion of piecing together elements of the emblem, it was summed up very well. He said:

This activity represents yet another step in a journey for freedom; it also reflects the convergence of different energies in the freedom stream. This innovative initiative symbolises a people’s wish.

He went on to say, in Setswana: “Tlhako ya kwa morago e gata mo ya kwa pele e gatileng teng.” [We follow in the footsteps of our predecessors.]

He meant that we are standing on the shoulders of our predecessors who fought for this freedom we are celebrating today. He said that the parliamentary emblem marks yet another era that celebrates the achievement of a people. We are leaving footprints for generations to come, which they will follow in in preserving this democracy.

It is our light that we are scared of and not the darkness. Nations of the world cannot be wrong in their judgment to trust us and rely on us so much. There is something about our parliamentarians which we need to encourage and support, as an institution.

Another such moment of pride was the celebration, after long and laborious months of hard work, of the graduation ceremony of our Leadership Development Programme. This programme, run under the guidance of Rhodes University, saw our members graduating on 10 May. Well done to all of you! [Applause.] I personally made sure that I sent you all DVDs of that graduation ceremony. I hope you have received them.

At the event, the real celebration was one of enhancing our capacity for leadership and democracy. It is a leadership that is engaged with hearts and minds. Our society needs such leaders. We are a diverse society, one that still carries the burden of the past. We need to shrug off this burden. It is within this context that transformational leadership becomes salient in leadership development for democracy.

The parliament of apartheid South Africa was for many years isolated and not admitted to membership of a number of international bodies, including the Interparliamentary Union. That was done in protest against the fact that millions of South Africans had no voice in this country. Through our democracy, we are now a leading member of the IPU, with full status and recognition.

Having recently returned from Bali, Indonesia, as leader of the delegation of the 116th Interparliamentary Union, one would have expected me to have a tan. However, I, together with 13 other Members of Parliament who travelled to the 116th IPU Assembly, can only profess to having seen the inside of the conference venue, the airport and our hotel rooms.

The involvement of the Parliament of South Africa at this year’s IPU conference was once again comprised of weeks of preparation, strategic engagements and participation at all levels of the IPU governance process. While I want to thank all members who actively participated in the IPU Assembly and standing committee meetings, I want to single out a few members such as Adv Madasa from the ANC, who not only developed a legal opinion for the SADC delegates while we were at the Assembly, but has also been elected to the bureau of one of the standing committees of the IPU. [Applause.]

Hon Madikiza from the UDM played a leading role in the drafting committee, negotiating amendments to resolutions and ensuring that topics proposed by South Africa for the next IPU Assembly were incorporated into the discussion. [Applause.]

Hon Mfundisi from the UCDP led one of several bilateral meetings with Germany, while hon Sulliman from the NCOP led bilateral meetings with Malaysia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. [Applause.]

Besides the individual contribution of our committed delegates, our participation also reflected a spirit of collaboration across party lines in the interest of advocating the country’s position.

Working closely with the DA’s representative, hon Kalyan, I led discussions on global warming during the plenary session. While she also developed inputs on this topic, she later contributed to the formulation of one of the topics for the next debate of IPU Committee 1.

Hon Njikelana, hon Khunou and hon Maloney had to deal with so many other bilaterals and they all did so without any complaint, working long hours and starting very early in the morning, and at times not having their dinner. [Applause.]

If you thought Mr Van der Merwe had left his humour in South Africa, wait until I tell you that when we met with the United Arab Emirates, he asked a question that was completely out of order and said: “Gentlemen, I am told that you have a lot of oil. Are you actually very rich?” [Laughter.] I had to remember that, as a presiding officer, I had to rule him out of order.

We benefited immensely from the experience of Mr Bapela in Kenya and from the wealth of knowledge that was built up by people such as Mr Van der Merwe, Mr Bapela, Mr Njikelana and the members that I have already mentioned above. Of course, we had support from the ambassador in Indonesia, Mr Memela. We were later joined by Deputy Minister Sue van der Merwe. Thank you very much for being the only executive members who was there with us. [Applause.]

In addition to our participation at the conference as well as bilateral meetings held during lunch or after hours, we also ensured that our steering committee members met with the IPU secretariat and Bali organising committee in order to prepare for our hosting of the 2008 IPU Assembly. As Madam Speaker noted this morning, South Africa will be hosting about 1 500 delegates from 148 countries in April next year. Since the IPU Assembly is to parliaments what the General Assembly of the United Nations is to governments, we have to ensure that we work together to make this assembly a success.

A steering committee of Members of Parliament is at the heart of this event and has been tasked by the presiding officers with providing guidance and political direction to our parliamentary officials. That steering committee is soon to be expanded to include more MPs. I therefore want to take this opportunity to thank our IPU steering committee members for the work they have done thus far and to wish them well over the next few months as they prepare to showcase South Africa to the world. It is, however, imperative that all our hon members take an active interest in the 2008 assembly, since it is only through your guidance and support that we will be able to make this the best IPU Assembly ever hosted.

As we celebrate International Children’s Day today, I would like to say: Happy children’s day! [Applause.] I was a little bit out of order there because children are not supposed to be part of the debate but, as a mother, I had to remind them that it is their day.

An HON MEMBER: Rightfully so!

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, sir. As we celebrate International Children’s Day today we must note that we will dedicate a day later this year to children when we will launch one of the books provided by the Interparliamentary Union, as we did with other publications such as the Cedaw Handbook for Parliamentarians which was launched by Speaker Mbete and the then Cedaw executive member, Mavivi Mayakayaka-Manzini. This new book is entitled Handbook for Parliamentarians, No 13 of 2007. To spearhead this campaign and the launch, is the hon Greg Schneemann from the ANC with hon Bhengu from the IFP and hon Mazibuko from the ANC in the NCOP. Give them a big hand, they have done a lot of work in this regard. [Applause.]

As part of this initiative, we are expected as parliamentarians to do the following: within Parliament, initiate a review of or debate on the extent to which child rights are built into training curricula and programmes of all those who work with or for children; initiate a parliamentary inquiry into the contribution of the media to raising awareness on the impact of violence against children; initiate a review on gender stereotyping; and in our constituencies, propose a survey in local schools concerning children’s knowledge about their rights. We will be expected at some stage to report back to the IPU on this issue and we are waiting for your guidance, Mr Schneemann. As the hosting country for 2008, we must lead by example.

Part of our programme of Taking Parliament to the People has seen us successfully hosting the Youth Parliament, Women’s Parliament and People’s Assemblies since 2004. When we did that in the past, MPs were spectators. Now we have put in place steering committees to make sure that MPs are there to give guidance at all times. [Applause.]

As we prepare for 2007, we will request the Whips to allow the House to reflect on what the aspirations of our people are, as articulated through declarations from these bodies. The best way to do this would be to initiate debates in the House on the reports of each of these events prior to our events for 2007. Additionally, a political steering committee of MPs has been established to give members a hands-on role in the content and organisation of these events. The steering committee has already met. As Madam Speaker said, we are adding more members to that steering committee.

As I conclude, allow me to thank, on behalf of the National Assembly, you, the members of the National Assembly, for your continued hard work despite many constraints. I would like you to give yourselves a big hand. [Applause.]

I do not see Dr Mulder here, but the issue of languages has been addressed and very soon there will be changes. We are just waiting to brief the Whips about some of the changes that we are going to make. If this House is not going to use those 11 languages – in fact those nine languages, because two languages are already benefiting, it’s going to be difficult for those languages to be promoted.

A proposal has been given to the Speaker. She has looked at it. Of course, we will start with Afrikaans because we will go in alphabetic order, not because of any preference but we felt that that is what we are going to do. So we will be conducting proceedings in the House in all those languages. I thought members are going to be happy. [Applause.] Can you imagine hon Sandra Botha conducting the business of the House in Tshivenda! How wonderful! [Interjections.]

I had hoped that all the improvements in the parliamentary villages and enhanced facilities in the parliamentary complex were going to be mentioned, because these are some of the positive things. I know that your houses look much better. [Interjections.] Not all, but some; so at least something positive is coming.

We really want to thank the secretariat of Parliament together with the Minister of Public Works. They will continue to bring changes to your offices. At least, I can say they have shown us what your new offices are going to look like. We have looked at your new furniture and we hope that soon that will put smiles on your faces again.

I must also note that, hon Greyling, we took your advice and the advice of this House on dealing with global warming. We committed our Parliament to help in the fight against greenhouse gases, over and above good legislation, by planting trees. We have a commitment that each one of you will have an allocation of 10 trees and you will choose where to plant them. [Applause.] When that programme starts, I will personally invite Wangari Mathai to be in South Africa to help us plant the first trees. [Applause.]

You have raised, during this session today, a number of issues, which I have documented because I don’t have the power to deal with those. That, coupled with copies of the Hansard, I will forward to Madam Speaker. I have requested her to make a statement in the House responding to all the issues that you have raised. While this will undoubtedly be attended to, let me thank you for always putting our Parliament and the nation first. It is this dedication that makes our South African parliamentarians unique in their leadership.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the staff of the Speakership. They are an incredible, hard-working team to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. Similarly, I would also like to extend my thanks to the entire staff of Parliament, in particular our Secretary to the National Assembly, Mr Mansura, and his team. We thank each one of you for the contribution you make to the running of the institution.

In closing, I did mention that you are unique and we need to help you because we don’t want to keep you in those boxes. You want to fly. As presiding officers, we need to create that environment for you to shine, on behalf of South Africa.

I would like to remind us of the words of the former President of South Africa, former President Mandela, who pointed out that our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that must frighten us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others. I thank you very much. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon members, I hope you will find it in order if I say: Thank you, our gorgeous, fabulous, talented Deputy Speaker! [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

        SCHOOLS REFUSING TO PLAY RUGBY AGAINST A CERTAIN TEAM

                        (Member’s Statement) Mr B M KOMPHELA (ANC): Chairperson, the ANC is alarmed at an allegation made by the White River Primary School in Mpumalanga that their school rugby is being disrupted in the Lowveld over the inclusion of five black players in the first rugby team.

According to the headmaster of the White River Primary School, other schools are refusing to play against their team because the five black players are physically too strong and look older than their age. All five black players in the first rugby team have earned provincial colours. Their headmaster says that two primary schools have already indicated that they are pulling out of rugby and preventing other teams from playing against the black players. Birth certificates of the five players qualify them to be included in the team – all of them having been born in 1994. The headmaster of one of the schools who refused to play against the school with black players in their team, Nelspruit Primary School, says it is the schools’ choice to decide whether they will participate in games.

The ANC calls on the Department of Education urgently to investigate this matter. We further express our disappointment that the provincial rugby union, the Pumas, have avoided the issue by urging the schools to resolve this matter amongst themselves. [Time expired.]

                 DIRECTORSHIPS HELD BY BOARD MEMBERS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Dr S M VAN DYK (DA): Chairperson, the Minister for Public Enterprises, Alec Erwin, should be taken to task for the disdain showed by his department for the necessity and importance of the oversight role played by Parliament.

On Thursday Minister Erwin finally submitted a report on the directorships held by board members of the state-owned enterprises under his authority. The report was submitted more than one and half months late and without any written explanation to Parliament and seemingly after having been released to the media first.

In addition, the suspicion created by the delay is unfortunate for a Minister already suffering from a credibility deficit. The report confirms that our ailing national carrier SAA is tended to by an overstretched board and a CEO with an average of more than 11 directorships for each board member.

Similarly, Eskom is also saddled with five board members, including the board chair and the finance director, who hold an astounding 105 board positions between them. It is incomprehensible how these board members can contribute to the effective management of SOEs if they hold so many directorships.

Does the Minister even care to investigate the number of board positions held by board members before they are appointed? By virtue of its contents, the report clearly indicates the need to investigate the institution of guidelines or restrictions on the number of directorships held by public entity board members to avoid mismanagement and conflicts of interest. Thank you, Chairperson.

                         VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr E J LUCAS (IFP): Chairperson, the IFP notes with shock the increasing number of deaths of learners caused by other learners. As a result the Department of Education and society at large are faced with the big problem of installing safety measures at schools and their surroundings.

The increasing number of deaths, however, is not only the department’s problem, but everyone’s, because a school is supposedly the safest place for a learner to be. Nowadays that is no longer the case.

These killings have happened in almost every province within a very short period of time. In KwaZulu-Natal a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death by another learner outside the school. Another stabbing incident took place at a school in the Western Cape. Another incident also happened in the Western Cape at a different school where a 17-year-old boy was accused of murdering a fellow learner with a pair of scissors. Two underaged boys are expected to appear in court for the murder of an eight-year-old boy who was axed to death.

This is not only the department’s problem, but that of the nation and a summit should be called to address this issue which is crippling our society.

        ASSISTANCE GIVEN TO THE ROBERTSON BEHAVE BOXING CLUB

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr B M SOLO (ANC): Chairperson, the ANC believes that sport and recreation are an integral part of developing a healthier society. Robertson is a town in the Breede River/Winelands Municipality in the Boland. It has a high unemployment rate, especially amongst the youth. Because of the youth involvement in drinking and drug abuse, a boxing club was established, called the Robertson Behave Boxing Club. This assisted in attracting to the club especially the youth who are not playing soccer.

All their equipment was wiped out in a fire, which destroyed some shacks in the area. We were then approached by some of the boxers and their manager, Mr Nkosi, for assistance. We then raised this matter with the Department of Sports and Recreation SA, and Mr Greg Fredericks in particular. The department responded very positively by giving them 10 punch bags, four speed balls, 16 gloves, six gum shields, vests, shirts, eight head guards, six protectors, 10 punch bag gloves, boxing pads and skipping ropes.

The new equipment attracted more youth to the club. Boxing SA has introduced the Baby Champions. These champions are operating in other areas in the Boland, and these clubs have participated in some of the tournaments. The community is very thankful for the assistance and support from the Department of Sport and Recreation SA. This is the realisation of the contract that the ANC entered into with the people. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

                        PUBLIC SERVICE STRIKE

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mrs C DUDLEY (ACDP): Chairperson, as South Africa faces mass action by public servants, the ACDP acknowledges the rights of workers to express their dissatisfaction through strike action which is peaceful and calls on protesters to conduct themselves in a manner which will not discredit their cause and professions.

We appeal to those in emergency services not to neglect their duties where the lives of people are at stake. We also call on government to stop burying their head in the sand and to put an offer on the table that does not further insult public servants.

The ACDP has called on all parties to continue to commit to a negotiated solution. However, government will have to show a greater appreciation of the seriousness of the workers’ predicament. We recognise that many public servants who would normally not consider such drastic action find themselves in a dilemma and many more are just plain angry at the state’s handling of their situation.

Those who are committed to service and professional excellence in their chosen professions are not only concerned for their situation but for the future of their professions. The ACDP has for some years been calling on relevant Ministers to attend to salaries and conditions of service which are causing skilled and experienced people to leave their professions. This is a major concern as pools of excellent, dedicated professionals have dried up and recruitment has been reduced to a mere trickle.

Arguments that an across-the-board increase cannot be given because of the nondelivery by many are not acceptable. Yes, we do have a serious problem as inflexible labour laws protect those who do not work or choose to disrupt services. But government’s insistence on retaining this protection cannot be used as an excuse. [Time Expired.] Thank you.

                      SECURITY LEVELS IN eNaTIS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Dr C P MULDER (VF PLUS): Voorsitter, die einde is nog nie in sig ten opsigte van die omstrede eNaTIS-stelsel nie. Die VF Plus wil graag hê dat ons ’n effektiewe, moderne en veilige voertuigregistrasie- en lisensiestelsel het. Dit is ook wat die Suid-Afrikaanse publiek verwag, maar tans is dit nie die geval nie.

Die nuutste onthullings is dat die eNaTIS-stelsel verskeie gebreke bevat soos, eerstens, dat daar te maklik by die stelsel ingebreek kan word; tweedens, dat geen wagwoord benodig word om as administrateur toegang tot die stelsel te verkry nie; derdens, dat dokumente op die stelsel nie beveilig word nie; en vierdens, dat lêers op die stelsel onbeskermd rondgestuur word.

Die ontstellendste is egter dat hierdie gebreke in die stelsel reeds op 21 Februarie vanjaar onder die aandag van die betrokke direkteur-generaal van die departement gebring is. Nie net is niks daaraan gedoen nie, maar daar is onverantwoordelik voortgegaan met die implementering van die stelsel.

Die VF Plus doen ’n beroep op die Minister om onmiddellik in te gryp en hierdie saak reg te stel. Die publiek verdien beter. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.) [Dr C P MULDER (FF PLUS): Chairperson, with regards to the controversial eNaTIS system, the end is not yet in sight. The FF Plus would very much like to have an effective, modern and safe vehicle registration and licensing system. It is also what the South African public expects, but currently this is not the case.

The latest revelations are that the eNaTIS system has many shortcomings. Firstly, it is too easy to hack into the system. Secondly, no password is required for administrators to gain entry to the system. Thirdly, documents on the system are unsecured and fourthly, files on the system are circulated without protection.

However, what is most disconcerting is that these shortcomings in the system were already brought to the attention of the relevant director- general of the department on 21 February this year. Not only was nothing done about it, but the irresponsible implementation of the system continued.

The FF Plus calls on the Minister to intervene immediately and to put this matter right. The public deserves better. I thank you.]

                    CROSS-BOUNDARY MUNICIPALITIES

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr M S MOATSHE (ANC): Chairperson, in 1994 Garankuwa, Mabopane, Winterveld and Hamanskraal - areas that were part of PWV region before the establishment of the nine provinces - were smoothly integrated into the North-West province, conversant with the transitional arrangement agreed to at Codesa. Local organisations and community structures were thoroughly engaged on that matter, hence no confusion was experienced.

After the 2000 local government democratic elections, these areas became Tshwane cross-boundaries and their local government services were provided by the Tshwane Metro Municipality; whilst provincial government provided major services such as education, health, social welfare and safety and security. Provincial roads were also serviced by North West province. The ANC has the pleasure of informing this House that the Constitutional Amendment Act NO 12 of 2006, that pronounces the demise of cross-boundaries was peacefully implemented on 1 April 2007, and the final handover of 39 schools in the former North West region was received by Gauteng MEC for Education, Comrade Angie Motshekga, on 19 May 2007.

The incorporation of this Gauteng’s 15th region was attended by officials from various Gauteng and North West governments, school managers and educators from the 39 schools, student representatives, Members of Parliament and members of the provincial legislature. This seminar was held in a peaceful atmosphere, with the knowledge that South Africa is one country, and demarcations are done for the purpose of administration and efficient service delivery. This entails that negotiations will always bear fruit. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

                PAYMENT FOR THE USE OF PUBLIC TOILETS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE (AZAPO): Chairperson, Azapo has noticed with regret that some local municipalities in Limpopo, particularly Polokwane, Makhuduthamaga, Lepelle-Nkumpi and Greater Tubatse Local Municipalities, have neglected their mandate to build and maintain public sanitation amenities in some areas that fall within their ambit.

In certain areas, unauthorised persons are now maintaining these public amenities at taxi and bus ranks, as well as in shopping malls. Members of the public are charged fees to use the toilets and the unemployed are not able to pay. Of importance to note, is that those who cannot afford these fees relieve themselves wherever they find it convenient - thus creating an unhygienic situation.

Persons who demand money do not issue receipts for the payments. In some instances, members of the public fight physically for their rights to use these amenities. Azapo calls on the Minister and the municipalities concerned to investigate these matters urgently, so that members of the public can access and use these public facilities without having to pay. I thank you. [Applause.]

                       GOVERNMENT’S WAGE OFFER

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr L B LABUSCHAGNE (DA): Chairperson, the DA is in favour of a fair wage increase for public servants. However, we cannot escape from the importance of awarding merit and encouraging skills retention in the public sector. We therefore support the relevant components of the government’s wage offer that seeks to address these issues. Going forward, restoring good faith to the wage negotiation process will be important, as we cannot allow interruptions to essential services to the people because of further or intensified labour action. Consequently, we call on the unions to do their utmost to clearly articulate the government’s offer to their members in its entirety and to recognise what positive components there might be in the offer.

Minister Geraldine Fraser Moleketi’s unfortunate statement that there had been a “breakthrough”, seeks to have encouraged bad faith, and has seemingly resulted in an escalation in the dispute. Does it perhaps not mean we accept that Minister Fraser-Moleketi is no longer the best person to lead the government’s charge and she be replaced as the government’s negotiator-in-chief? I thank you.

            ESTABLISHMENT OF INTEGRATED HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mrs Z A KOTA (ANC): Chairperson, the ANC continues to work hard in ensuring that our people are decently housed and bringing up their families in comfort and security. It is for that reason that the ANC welcomes the recent statement made by the Director-General of Housing, Mr Benny Gotswane, that compels all provinces to build houses of not less than 40 square metres, particularly, given the fact that the housing subsidy should only be used for the top structure. This will go a long way in addressing the concerns of developers, as well as that of beneficiaries.

It should be noted that this clarion call was supported by the Portfolio Committee on Housing. The challenge is to ensure that the provision of infrastructure goes hand in hand with the subsidy allocation. The centre of provision of service led by municipalities is critical. This demonstrates the caring attitude of the ANC government and its commitment in building better quality houses for the poor.

The Breaking New Ground strategy calls for moving away from the provision of houses to the provision of integrated human settlements. All houses built should have social and economic amenities such as clinics, schools, parks and trading areas. The ANC welcomes this positive development. I thank you.

                 CLOSURE OF TRAUMA UNITS ON WEEKENDS

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mrs S A SEATON (IFP): Chairperson, the IFP notes with sadness that Johannesburg’s two functioning public trauma units are battling with skills shortages, forcing them to shut their critical wards for hours at a time on most weekends. According to recent press reports, Johannesburg and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals take turns on busy weekends to close their trauma and ICU wards.

This is the situation, despite the fact that these are the only hospitals in the city with properly functioning trauma wards. Doctors reported that crisis situations often happen on weekends and at the end of the month when people have money in their pockets. Wards become full, often with inebriated patients with stab or gunshot wounds.

The IFP urges the Department of Health to respond to these queries about the closures. The majority of the health workers face many problems, such as severe understaffing, that make their lives unbearable. There needs to be a drastic movement on the part of government to address these bad working conditions and improve delivery of health services nationwide. I thank you.

              PROVISION OF DECENT SERVICES IN CAPE TOWN

                        (Member’s Statement)

Ms C C SEPTEMBER (ANC): Madam Chairperson, the ANC recently held a march of about 10 000 people from mainly poor African and Coloured areas in the Cape Metropolis to protest against the sharp increase in the costs of services and rates in the city of Cape Town, and the pink letters issued by the mayor of Cape Town to cut services to 455 000 households.

These increases amount to 15% for rates, 5,7% for electricity, 19% for water and 125% for sewerage. Furthermore, the re-evaluation of houses has increased rates massively. An RDP house previously valued at R50 000 is now valued at R150 000. [Interjections.]

The ANC calls on the DA-led multiparty city council to adopt a pro-poor policy on payment of services and to provide decent services to all, especially the poor in Cape Town. I thank you. [Applause.]

           LACK OF TRANSFORMATION AT UMLALAZI MUNICIPALITY


                        (Member’s Statement)

Mnu NC S N NXUMALO: Sihlalo, kuyadabukisa futhi kuyashaqisa ukuthi emuva kweminyaka eyi-13 leli zwe laphuma ebugqilini, likhishwa uKhongolose – inhlangano yabantu, kodwa kusekhona abantu bakithi abayizwa ngendaba le nkululeko. Umasipala waseMlalazi, Eshowe, uluzwa ngendaba uguquko. Selokhu lo masipala wathathwa yiqembu le-IFP ayaziwa le-transformation, konke ne- affirmative action ayaziwa.

Izikhundla zakhona eziphezulu zimi kanje: Imeya yindoda emhlophe. Imenenja kamasipala yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.] Oyinhloko yezobunjiniyela yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.] Oyinhloko ye-corporate services yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.] Oyinhloko yezokuvikeleka yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.] Oyinhloko yezezimali yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.] Oyinhloko yezezinsiza zomphakathi yindoda emhlophe. [Ubuwelewele.]

Umphakathi wakulo masipala waze wamasha ukhala ngalezi zinto kodwa imeya yaphendula ngokuthi: “That is garbage which needs to be disposed of in its proper place.” [Ihlombe.] [Ubuwele-wele.] Izinsiza azifiki emphakathini. Uma umphakathi uthi uyayibuza imeya ngalezi zinto, ivele ithi yethukiwe imeya, ibesabise ngamasamaniso abameli. Siyacela uMnyango Wezohulumeni Bezifundazwe Nabasekhaya ukuthi ubalamulele abantu bakithi. Izinsiza azifiki kubona. Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[Mr S N NXUMALO: Chairperson, it is sad and shocking that after 13 years since this country was freed from slavery by the people’s party, the ANC, there are still some of our people who have not tasted this freedom. The transformation to the uMlalazi Municipality at Eshowe is mere hearsay. Since this municipality was taken over by the IFP there has been no transformation or affirmative action whatsoever.

All the top positions are as follows: The mayor is a white man; the municipal manager is a white man. [Interjections.] The head of engineering is a white man. [Interjections.] The head of corporate services is a white man. [Interjections.] The head of security services is a white man. [Interjections.] The head of finance is a white man. [Interjections.] The head of community services is a white man. [Interjections.]

Even the community of this municipality marched against this and the mayor answered by saying: “That is garbage which needs to be disposed of in its proper place.” [Applause.] [Interjections.]

Services do not reach the community. If the community asks the mayor about these things, the mayor in turn says he has been insulted, and threatens the people with court summonses and lawyers. We ask the Department of Provincial and Local Government to help our fellow people. The services do not reach them. I thank you, Chairperson.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon members, on account of your enthusiasm, it’s regrettable that I could not hear half of that statement. [Interjections.]

                     DEBT OWED TO MUNICIPALITIES

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mnr W P DOMAN: Voorsitter, die totale skuld aan munisipaliteite het nou tot R40 miljard gestyg. Daarom wil die DA twee metro’s, Kaapstad en Ethekwini, gelukwens, wat so suksesvol is met die invordering van skuld dat hulle die enigste metro’s is wat verskeie maande meer as 100% van die bedrag van die totale rekening vir die spesifieke maand ingesamel het.

Dit wys vir ons dat waar daar goeie stelsels bestaan en die politieke wil daar is, die skuld aan munisipaliteite afgebring kan word. Indien dié wat kan betaal, nie betaal nie, kan dienste aan die gemeenskap nie behoorlik gelewer word nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]

Dit bly verontrustend dat die skuld deur nasionale en provinsiale departemente - onder beheer van die ANC, natuurlik! - steeds hoog bly, en die DA doen ’n beroep op die Minister vir Provinsiale en Plaaslike Regering om ’n aksie van stapel te stuur om te sorg dat departemente hulle skuld aan munisipaliteite vereffen.

Die DA veroordeel ten sterkste die optrede van die Premier van die Wes-Kaap en sy minister van plaaslike regering, wat verlede week ’n optog teen Kaapstad se skuldinvordering gelei het. Dit terwyl Kaapstad maar net sy plig suksesvol ingevolge die Wet op Plaaslike Regering: Munisipale Stelsels uitvoer en in die proses in die nuwe jaar gratis dienste aan hulpbehoewendes uitgebrei het. Vir dié twee openbare figure om deel te hê aan die skepping van die valse indruk dat Kaapstad mense uitsit, terwyl dit glad nie gebeur nie, is skokkend. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)

[Mr W P DOMAN: Chairperson, the total debt owed to municipalities has now increased to R40 billion. The DA therefore wants to congratulate the two metros, Cape Town and Ethekwini, which are so successful with debt recovery that they are the only metros that have, for several months, recovered more than 100% of the amount of the total account for the specific month.

That shows us that where there are good systems and the political will, the debt owed to municipalities can be reduced. If those who can pay do not pay, there cannot be proper service delivery to the community. [Interjections.]

It remains disturbing that the debt of the national and provincial departments – under leadership of the ANC, of course! – remains high, and the DA appeals to the Minister for Provincial and Local Government to take steps to ensure that departments pay their debts to municipalities.

The DA strongly condemns the action by the Premier of the Western Cape and his Minister for local government, who last week led a march in protest against Cape Town’s debt collection, and that while Cape Town was only performing its duty successfully in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, and in the process extended free services to the needy in the new year. It is shocking that these two public figures could play a part in creating the false impression that Cape Town evicts people, when it is not the case at all. [Time expired.]]

               THE CASE OF MR NQABISA AND MS MOKGOTSI

                        (Member’s Statement)

Mr S A MSHUDULU (ANC): Chairperson, as a member of the ANC and especially towards advancing the goals of the Freedom Charter under the theme, there shall be houses, security and comfort”, the MEC for housing in Gauteng, Comrade Nomvula Mokonyane, last year launched a housing project of 963 houses. Beneficiaries included Mr Nqabisa, who was in a wheelchair, and Ms Granny Mokgotsi, who lives with her adopted child.

In the process, during the handover by Women in Construction, we realised that there were other problems with these two people. Mr Nqabisa had swollen hands and feet because of a long illness, which is suspected to be arthritis. He is getting treatment at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, and he has to pay for transport as it is too far. He could not handle his wheelchair and the granny on the other side had the burden of the mother of the child drawing or misappropriating the grants intended for the abandoned child.

We intervened with the Livayi Mbatha Clinic as well as Social Development and the outcome was that Mr Nqabisa was treated very close to home at Livayi Mbatha Community Health Centre and his daughter completed the necessary documents as a caregiver under Social Development. The case of Ms Mokgotsi was taken over by Social Development and was also taken up with the school.

I, therefore, on behalf of Mr Nqabisa, who is in a wheelchair and can’t move it because of his swollen hands, call upon this Parliament, business and any other organisation to donate an automated wheelchair for him as he is at least now in a decent house. I thank you. [Applause.]

        SCHOOLS REFUSING TO PLAY RUGBY AGAINST A CERTAIN TEAM

                         VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
            ESTABLISHMENT OF INTEGRATED HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

                        (Minister’s Response)

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Chairperson, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment as Leader of the Opposition. I see some of our learners here. I am not going to ask why you are not in school. This is part of your education - understanding our democratic process. [Laughter.] I’ll probably ask about the teachers, but not the learners.

With regard to the issue raised by the hon Komphela, it’s quite sad that this matter is being raised on Children’s Day, where we speak about the rights of children. We are trying to create a society that is nonracial, nonsexist and democratic. The fact of the matter is that where principals in schools try to exclude participation of learners in sport, which is meant to provide social cohesion, tolerance and respect, it says something about the mentality and the disposition of those leaders in those schools.

The Department of Education will take the necessary steps to investigate immediately what is going on there. We cannot accept a situation where our learners are excluded from participation or excluded from institutions of learning on the basis of their race. [Applause.]

This year celebrates or commemorates certain important events amongst others the passing away of Chief Luthuli, our first Nobel Peace Laureate. We celebrate the birthday of O R Tambo. We also celebrate the passing away of Steve Biko. All these leaders were committed to the creation of a nonracial society. All these leaders fought for inclusion, for equity and equality.

The fact that 13 years after attaining our democracy we have institutions led by principals – as was conveyed – who tend to act or subvert this attempt to create such a society is a matter of great concern to us. Indeed, we want to assure the hon Komphela that we will do whatever is necessary in this regard.

We would then also say that this is totally inconsistent with the manifesto values that we have embedded in our curriculum.

I would also like to deal … [Interjections.] There are several issues that I would like to deal with. May I proceed to the next one, ma’am?

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): You may.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Thank you so much, Chairperson. Regarding the issue of safety and security, for those of you who heard the Minister, the first statement she made was to convey her condolences to the victim of the violence, the learner that was stabbed with the pair of scissors. It is certainly unacceptable. We cannot have our schools being environments that are not conducive to learning. They should be safe and caring environments.

We’ve identified 364 schools countrywide, which have an inclination towards violence, and have mitigated that through various steps. First, through infrastructure by providing fencing and better lighting, metal detectors and security officers; and this is occurring countrywide. We have already, hon member, held a colloquium on safety and security involving all the MECs, all stakeholders and nongovernmental organisations.

A decision was taken with regard to three things. One is that infrastructure is critical and the Department of Education, through its MECs in the different provinces, is dealing with that. Two is that we should emphasise the importance of tolerance and respect in terms of our values and manifesto. Three, as you correctly pointed out, was that the role and responsibility of communities was highlighted. Schools are a microcosm of what occurs in society. Indeed, parents have the responsibility to ensure that they embed and instil the right values in the learners. It is not only the responsibility of educators. It is a shared responsibility, and therefore, the social context of the learner in a particular environment is critical.

Therefore, we are also saying to parents that they should form committees of safety, liaise with community police forums so that we can ensure that there is this collaboration. Indeed, there is collaboration between the SA Police Service and the Department of Education.

With your permission, I will proceed to the next response then, Chairperson, because I have several responses to issues that have been raised.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Surty, may I just establish how many other Ministers wish to respond, before I say yes?

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION: You may.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): I have two. Is there another one? So I recognise the hon Botha and the hon Madlala-Routledge. Is that in order?

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION: May I just do the final one to give my colleagues an opportunity, Chairperson?

I would like to respond in particular to the hon Kota, who raised two important issues, both deal with housing. The approach in terms of establishing human settlements, which involves not only houses but places of recreation and education and health, is that when we look at our planning and our design, we are conscious of the fact that it is not only about providing housing, but providing human settlements that contribute to the dignity and upliftment of our communities.

The second issue is the Breaking New Ground initiative. What used to occur in the past is that you would get a subsidy without adequate planning in terms of infrastructure. What is happening in terms of this initiative here is that the infrastructure will have to be provided by municipalities through the municipal infrastructure grant. The subsidy would then be utilised for the top structure of the houses and, in this way, it would enable people to build houses that are more spacious and more affordable, and certainly more dignified.

We would like to commend the director-general for this wonderful announcement, and certainly associate with it fully. Thank you so much. [Applause.]

                 DIRECTORSHIPS HELD BY BOARD MEMBERS
                        PUBLIC SERVICE STRIKE
              PROVISION OF DECENT SERVICES IN CAPE TOWN
           LACK OF TRANSFORMATION AT UMLALAZI MUNICIPALITY

                        (Minister’s Response)

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: I take this opportunity, Deputy Chairperson, to congratulate you on being appointed as the parliamentary Leader of the DA. Viva the women!

I’d just like to respond to the issue that was raised around the number of directorships held by one person. The executive has taken a decision on the matter, and it would be appreciated if the hon member who raised the issue could furnish the Minister responsible with the information that the member has. We would appreciate that.

Regarding the issue of the strike raised by the ACDP, the Minister responsible – Minister Fraser-Moleketi – was here on Wednesday, addressed this House, and explained exactly what the position was. If any member of this House did not understand what the Minister was saying, or needs further explanation of the issues around the Public Service strike, I would suggest that that member contact the Minister again.

I am certain that the Minister for the Public Service and Administration will be only too happy to assist. And, we have full confidence in educating our members. I have full confidence – and we, as the executive, have full confidence – in the Minister for the Public Service and Administration in the way that she is handling the matter. Thank you.

With regard to the issues raised by hon member September, I just want to remind the House that all of us adopted the Reconstruction and Development Programme, which was crafted by the ANC. We all committed ourselves here – government and Members of Parliament – to people-driven and people-centred development. We would urge municipalities to consider that we should actually be looking at our own people and trying to assist our people. So, if we say we are a developmental state and we have committed ourselves to people-centred and people-driven development, we should actually do that and practise that.

The last thing, hon Deputy Chair …

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): You have 13 seconds.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Oh, really. Do I?

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Ten now.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: The last thing is the issue that was raised, I think by the hon Nxumalo. If that is the situation with regard to having “indoda emhlophe” [the white man] for all these positions – indoda emhlophe, indoda emhlope – let alone being the top management being lily-white, there are also no women.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Deputy Minister, I have to stop you there.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: How do we expect to carry out the …

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Thank you. I have to give the other Minister an opportunity. I’m very sorry.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: So, please, we would urge those municipalities … [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Ma’am, I’m sorry but your time has expired.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: … to have a change of heart and commit themselves to transformation. Thank you.

Mr W P DOMAN: Madam Chair, on that very issue I would just like to raise the point of order that the hon member who made the statement referred to race all the time and not to service delivery. I submit that that was a racist remark. [Interjections.] I want you to check the record, and please make a ruling. [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-B Botha): Thank you. [Interjections.] Hon members, that is exactly what I was saying in connection with the particular statement: that I was unable to hear what was being said, because there were so many interruptions. So, if there is a point of order to be had, I will have to refer to the Hansard. Thank you.

                 CLOSURE OF TRAUMA UNITS ON WEEKENDS
           LACK OF TRANSFORMATION AT UMLALAZI MUNICIPALITY

                        (Minister’s Response)

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH: Thank you, hon Chairperson. I want to firstly respond to the statement made by the hon member Seaton, and to thank her very much for raising this issue. Indeed, as the Department of Health, we are very concerned about the situation in many of our tertiary hospitals, as you have identified the trauma unit and the ICU wards in the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

Other similar institutions around the country are experiencing very similar problems. I am certain that when the Minister of Health addresses the House on her Budget Vote, she will mention what we are doing to try to assist the provinces in dealing with these matters.

As recently as last week, we had a meeting of the National Health Council. This is the structure with the MECs and the Minister. We dealt with the issue of the budget of the Department of Health. Fortunately, the Minister of Finance has indicated that he wants to assist us deal especially with the issue of the modernisation of our tertiary services. This includes both the issue of the skills, which you have indicated are in short supply, and the equipment. We think that through that programme we are going to begin to address the very serious problems that you have indicated. So, we agree with you; this does need to be addressed and to be addressed urgently. I am sure the Minister will address this in her Budget Vote speech.

I would also like to respond to the statement made by the hon Nxumalo. I had the opportunity myself to visit Eshowe last year, and I was shocked to see that there had been no transformation in that municipality. The shock I am expressing is based on the conditions I found in Eshowe: This is where you find a whole big community of people sharing two toilets. This is just not good for health; it’s not good for the dignity of our people.

I am therefore shocked that the mayor, when the people raised these issues, said that the issues they were raising were fit only for the garbage bin. I would really hope that the IFP will assist us in making sure that the promises that they made in the local government elections are indeed fulfilled to our people. We just cannot continue to have a situation in which the delivery of services to our people is hampered by the fact that they have a lily-white municipality. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Minister, thank you. I’m sorry, hon Padayachie, I did not see your hand to begin with, and the time for Ministers’ responses has expired.

That concludes the business for the day, but before you go, hon members, the Secretary to Parliament has asked me to remind you that you are invited to lunch in the Old Assembly dining hall.

The House adjourned at 12:40. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

1. Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159

(1) Constitution Thirteenth Amendment Bill, 2007, submitted by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development. Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development and the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs. National Assembly

1. Referral to Committees of papers tabled

(1)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Home Affairs for consideration:

    (a) Report of the Auditor-General on a  performance  audit  of  the
       immigration process at the Department of Home Affairs – February
       2007 [RP 29-2007].

(2)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Sport and Recreation for consideration:

    (a) Strategic Plan for the Department of Sport and  Recreation  for
       2007 to 2011.


(3)     The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Environmental Affairs and Tourism:

    (a) Government Notice No 355 published  in  Government  Gazette  No
       29814 dated 20 April 2007: Withdrawal  of  declaration  of  land
       under the authority of a resolution of  the  National  Assembly:
       Vaalbos National Park, in terms of  the  National  Environmental
       Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No 57 of 2003).


    (b) Government Notice No 394 published  in  Government  Gazette  No
       29862 dated 4 May: Amendment  to  the  list  of  Activities  and
       Competent Authorities Identified in terms of section  24(2)  and
       24D made in terms of the National Environmental Management  Act,
       1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).

    (c) Government Notice No 395 published  in  Government  Gazette  No
       29862 dated 4 May: Amendment  to  the  list  of  Activities  and
       Competent Authorities Identified in terms of section  24(2)  and
       24D made in terms of the National Environmental Management  Act,
       1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).

(4)     The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Environmental Affairs and Tourism for consideration:

    (a) Government Notice No 392 published  in  Government  Gazette  No
       29862 dated 4  May:  National  Environmental  Management  Second
       Amendment Bill, 2007: For further  regulation  of  environmental
       impact assessments, environmental authorizations and  incidental
       matters for comment.

    (b) Government Notice No 393 published  in  Government  Gazette  No
       29862 dated 4 May 2007: National Environmental Management Impact
       Assessment Regulations, 2006: For written comments.


(5)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Finance for consideration:


    (a) Strategic Plan  for  the  South  African  Revenue  Service  for
       2007/08 to 2009/10.

(6)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Trade and Industry for consideration and report:


    (a)  Report of the Strategic Industrial Projects for April 2002  to
       March 2006.

(7)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Public Service and Administration for consideration:


    (a)  Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on the State  of
       the Public Service for 2007 [RP 12-2007].


(8)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Safety and     Security for consideration:


    (a)  Strategic Plan  for  the  Independent  Complaints  Directorate
       (ICD) for 2007 to 2010.


(9)     The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Finance for consideration:

    (a) Submission of  the  Financial  and  Fiscal  Commission  on  the
       Division of Revenue Bill for 2008-2009, tabled on 16 May 2007 in
       terms of section 9(1) of the Intergovernmental Fiscal  Relations
       Act, 1997 (Act No 97 of 1997).

(10)   The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Provincial and Local Government for consideration and report. The
    Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements is
    referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for
    consideration:


    (a)      Report and Financial Statements of the South African Local
       Government Association  (SALGA)  for  2005-2006,  including  the
       Report of the Auditor-General on the  Financial  Statements  for
       2005-2006 [RP 24-2007].

(11)   The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
    Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Standing Committee on
    Public Accounts for consideration:


    (a)      Letter from the  Minister  of  Environmental  Affairs  and
       Tourism dated 15  May  2007  to  the  Speaker  of  the  National
       Assembly, in terms  of  section  51(2)  of  the  Public  Finance
       Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of 1999), explaining the delay in
       the tabling of the Annual Financial Statements  for  the  Marine
       Living Resources Fund for 2006-2007.

TABLINGS

National Assembly

The Speaker

1. Submission of Private Members’ Legislative Proposals

The following private member’s legislative proposal was submitted to the Speaker on 23 May 2007, in accordance with Rule 234: Legislative proposal to amend the Transnet Pension Fund Amendment Act (K J Minnie).

Referred to the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions for consideration and report.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Assembly

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the Films and Publications Amendment Bill [B27 – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 75), dated 31 May 2007:

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, having considered the subject
of the Films and Publications Amendment Bill [B27 – 2006] (National
Assembly – sec 75), referred to it, and classified by the Joint Tagging
Mechanism as section 75 Bill, presents a redraft of the Bill [B27B
-2006].