Hansard: NA + NCOP - Unrevised Hansard
House: Joint (NA + NCOP)
Date of Meeting: 17 Feb 2016
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Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
JOINT SITTING
Wednesday, 17 February 2016 Take: 26
WEDNESDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 2016
PROCEEDINGS AT JOINT SITTING
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Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces assembled in the Chamber of the National Assembly at 14:00.
The Speaker of the National Assembly took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENT
START OF DAY
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EXPUNGING THE HON J S MALEMA’S SPEECH FROM HANSARD
(Announcement)
The SPEAKER: Hon members, yesterday, after the speech by the hon Malema, I made the following remarks:
Hon Malema, as you leave, I want you to know ... what you did was wrong.
You know ...
... you should have done it in the form of a substantive motion. You did it, knowingly. It was wrong, and it shall be expunged from the Hansard.
Subsequent to this, a point of order was raised by the hon Carter, enquiring about the authority upon which I made the statement regarding the remarks of the hon Malema. In dealing with this issue, I wish to say the following.
Hon members have consistently been reminded that the Constitution determines that members have freedom of speech, subject to the Rules and orders. Hon members are also aware that with every right comes a responsibility. Freedom of speech should be exercised in a manner that does not infringe upon the privileges of other members. The President and other members of Cabinet enjoy the same protection.
It has been stated before, in this Parliament, that the presiding officers are the guardians of the rights and privileges of members. When these are violated, it is within our duty as presiding officers to address the abuse. The presiding officers do this when a point of order or a question is raised and, where appropriate, without a point of order or a question of privilege being raised.
Hon members, it was ruled in the Fourth Parliament that:
It is the responsibility of members to avoid using offensive and unbecoming language. Democracy and freedom of speech are not about aggressive confrontation but about tolerance, respect for different points of view and opinions, and the willingness to agree to disagree without overstepping the bounds of decency. Remarks of a racist, sexist, personal and hurtful nature are out of order – completely out of order.
During the debate, completely unparliamentary remarks were made. Names of certain premiers were mentioned and aspersions cast on their characters. They were said to be the most corrupt people and others were accused of participating in the disappearance of opponents. This, as members know, is unparliamentary.
In 2009, when a member, during a Joint Sitting, referred to the Premier of the Western Cape in a derogatory manner, the former Chairperson of the NCOP ruled the member out of order, on the basis that a premier of a province was potentially a member of the Joint Sitting of the Houses, as a special delegate. The premier was not in attendance at the time.
Further, remarks of an extremely private and personal nature were also made about the President. As you know, remarks of a personal nature, as indicated before, are out of order. It is held in some jurisdictions that the Speaker should exercise the greatest care to see that there is no scandalous or improper matter that appears on the printed paper and that all matters that are printed comply with the Rules and practice of Parliament. This, hon members, is, for instance, the case in the parliament of India.
It is my view, hon members, that if the Speaker was not able to do this, we could seriously undermine the image and effectiveness of Parliament itself to function as the Constitution intended. This is in light of the fact that there are procedures for members to follow if they wish to bring to the attention of Parliament alleged improper conduct on the part of another member.
Hon members, I view this as a matter that requires serious consideration. Having regard to the seriousness of balancing the privilege of freedom of speech and the protection of the rights and privileges of other members, individually and collectively, I will, in consultation with the Chairperson of the NCOP, refer the principle of this issue to the Rules Committee for processing.
This morning, I also received a letter from the EFF, in which they request that the Speaker withdraw “the communication to expunge the speech and address of the hon Malema from the Hansard”. Hon members, this statement also addresses that issue.
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, may I address you please, with respect.
The SPEAKER: Yes, hon Carter.
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, could you perhaps also give us an explanation just on four points? Is it the whole speech? Is it a part of a speech? Which part of the speech? In terms of which written Rule, and which point of order did you sustain? Thank you.
The SPEAKER: I think, hon member, you didn’t listen carefully to my statement. However, you can approach the Speaker through my office and we can take those issues forward.
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, with respect, yesterday, when the Deputy Minister stood up on four points of order, you said that we needed to learn to be more patient. Now, it is not ... you cannot only be patient when it is the ANC ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: On a point of order, Speaker ...
Ms D CARTER: You have got to be patient, whoever it is in the House. You are the Speaker of this Parliament.
The SPEAKER: Hon Carter, can you take your seat? The hon Chief Whip of the Majority Party?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, Madam Carter knows that when a ruling is made, one does not challenge it. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Hon Carter!
Ms D CARTER: I’m not a Madam! [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Yes, you are! You are!
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Mrs Carter ... [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Please proceed, hon Chief Whip.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, the hon Carter knows that when a presiding officer makes a ruling, one does not challenge it unless one goes through the structures of this House. She does that, knowingly, and therefore she is out of order. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Hon members, can we ...
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker ...
The SPEAKER: Hon Carter, I am not ...
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, can I please request the hon Chief Whip to withdraw saying that I am a “madame”. I am not. I do not run a brothel, and if he does, he can call his family that, but not me. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Hon Chief Whip, did you call her a “madame”? [Interjections.] I thought “madame” is a very honourable word. [Laughter.] However ... [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: No.
Ms D CARTER: She’s actually the person who runs a brothel. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Oh! [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Then I will ... then, in that case, I won’t withdraw. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Oh!
An HON MEMBER: How sexist!
The SPEAKER: Hon members ... [Interjections.] ... hon members, order! The Secretary will read the Order of the Day. [Interjections.]
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, are you taking sides again? [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: I didn’t hear you, hon Carter.
Ms D CARTER: If it was any person from the opposition, you would have had the security forces remove them. So, can the Chief Whip please withdraw that, or ask security to remove him! [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Hon Chief Whip, clearly, the hon member took offence. Could you please withdraw? [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I did, Ma’am. I did withdraw ... [Interjections.] ... and I will do it again. I withdraw.
The SPEAKER: Thank you. The Secretary will read the Order of the Day.
Mr M E NCHABELENG: Hon Speaker, on a point of order: Does this mean that all Members of Parliament should not address you as “Madame Speaker”? I ask because I have heard, more than once, the hon Carter referring to you as “Madam Speaker”. Does it mean that you own a brothel? [Laughter.]
The SPEAKER: No, hon member. I am very happy to be called “Madame Speaker”. [Interjections.] Can we allow the Secretary to read the Order of the Day? [Laughter.]
RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON THE PRESIDENT’S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS - The MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT / Robyn/
The SPEAKER
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RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON THE PRESIDENT’S STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
The MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: As instructed: “Madame Speaker”, hon President, Deputy President and members and fellow South Africans who are following the proceedings, the state of the nation address and yesterday’s debate rightly focused on the state of the economy – at least for members and speakers from the ANC, unlike, regrettably, some in the opposition who resorted to schoolboy-debating tactics, making puns on words, inventing imaginary planets, ignoring inconvenient facts.
The new global economic context impacts deeply on South Africa. Fact. It requires that we step up efforts with the private sector and with organised labour to create jobs, to reduce fractious conflict-ridden relationships and to build a deeper partnership. We need to do this with greater urgency, because we are confronted with big headwinds that can slow our progress: the deepest and most devastating drought in many generations, a global economy that is volatile with lower growth, countries in recession and less demand for our platinum, our iron ore and our gold.
Fellow South Africans, even with these headwinds and the real challenges with face, the past year has seen real concrete progress. The economy created 712 000 new jobs in 12 months in tough and difficult conditions. We should not and will not succumb to a narrative of anger, despair, hopelessness and blame.
There was a lot of that yesterday from sections of the opposition. They make good prophets of doom and gloom at a time when we need collective leadership and the closing of ranks as South Africans. [Interjections.] It is the ANC that is seeking to unite South Africans ... [Interjections.] ... talking to business leaders and trade unionists in stepping up action to deal with these challenges.
We are not a people who curse against the darkness; instead, we light a lamp, roll up our sleeves and get to work in order to create hope and optimism. Instead of the blame and anger of some, South Africans want a steady navigation through stormy times - a nation acting as one.
I want to use this opportunity to give some facts so that we can see what more we can do together, how to address the structural problems in the economy and how best to weather the global and local storms. We need to create more jobs through infrastructure, industrialisation, innovation, investment, inclusion and integration, and we must work more effectively through institution-building and solid implementation. This is how we implement the National Development Plan, NDP, and the nine-point plan announced last year.
To create jobs through infrastructure, we invested R290 billion as a nation in the past calendar year - more than R1 billion every working day. The money helped us to build 160 new schools; to provide new higher education housing accommodation for an additional 3 100 students; to start construction on three technical colleges and two new universities; to build about 100 000 new houses; and to connect 265 000 homes to electricity - that is more than 1 000 homes connected every day to the grid, Monday to Friday, 52 weeks a year. That is delivery. [Applause.]
The R1 billion a day enabled us to erect more than 300 kilometres of transmission lines to bring power closer to the people; to connect 1 700 megawatts of energy to the grid, new energy, almost equal to a new Koeberg power station; and to complete 10 renewable energy plants last year, generating clean green energy.
We switched on one unit of the Medupi power station that brought more energy to the grid than the electricity use of residents of two big cities combined - Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung.
The R1 billion a day helped us to improve or repair more than 24 000 kilometres of road and start to develop a modern, urban, public transport system; to install solar water heaters, bringing the total to date to more than half a million units; to build 100 kilometres of water pipelines that can convey billions of litres of water to communities and businesses; to expand and modernise the port capacity across the country’s coastlines; to build 29 new medical clinics and open one new hospital; and to support new fibre-optic cables and free Wi-Fi hotspots. [Applause.] Behind these numbers are South Africans whose lives were improved.
The R1 billion a day supported more than 200 000 workers now employed in the public infrastructure programme, as engineers, metal workers, plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, road-builders and construction workers. The investment helped millions of citizens in townships and suburbs to experience change in their lives.
Thobekile Maziwa is a young learner from Lusikisiki who moved last year from a mud school to a new school with a computer lab, a library and a laboratory and whose life can be better through the power of education. [Applause.] This is not a headline in a newspaper, but it transforms lives.
Matlakala Monageng from Soweto and Hickson Thulare from Burgersfort had no electricity and used paraffin for many years previously, but they have been connected to the electricity grid in the past 10 weeks. They join four million South Africans living in more than a million homes that, over the past five years, have been connected to electricity for the first time, bringing power, light and heat to our people. This is a remarkable achievement.
The new Technical and Vocational Education and Training campuses, or TVET campuses, being built in the Waterberg, Umfolozi and the Bhambanana areas will help with our focus on technical education. They will provide access to the many more students matriculating from high school. A further nine campuses will be built, and we are now in the procurement stage with these.
The past year saw a further roll-out of new public transport in key cities, through the Bus Rapid Transit System. More urban areas are providing free Wi-Fi hotspots where South Africans can connect to the Internet for work, for study and for recreation.
Ntsetselelo Mbhalati is a 22-year-old University of South Africa, Unisa, student in Tshwane who is studying security management. She uses the free Wi-Fi of the city’s A Re Yeng transport system. Tshwane is now leading our efforts with 717 active Wi-Fi hotspots that are free to residents. [Applause.]
We want to scale up infrastructure further so that more of our people benefit. We are not happy with the pace of new project approvals, because our times require that we move with greater speed - that we speed up the action in the state.
So I want to highlight three steps we will take. First, we will fast-track 20 infrastructure projects identified by Cabinet two weeks ago and work hard to bring a number of these to construction including the Clanwilliam and Mzimvubu dams; the new N2 Wild Coast highway from East London to eThekwini that will cut travel time by up to three hours; a large water pipeline to the Lephalale-Waterberg area in Limpopo; the N3 De Beers pass for traffic on South Africa’s busiest road from Durban to Johannesburg; and 28 additional renewable energy plants.
We have done work on the design of these projects, on the technical specifications, on the engineering requirements, on securing funding, on getting environmental approvals and on inviting contractors to bid for these projects.
We now want to get them construction-ready within the next six to 15 months, so that shovels can hit the ground and workers can go on site. Some of these projects will be catalytic. The Mzimvubu Dam can change the economic development of the Eastern Cape. The water pipeline to Lephalale can create the conditions for our first postapartheid city to develop in the north. Minister Joemat-Pettersson and Mokonyane will provide further details on our strategy in this debate.
Second, we will identify other opportunities for private- sector and multilateral funding and partnerships. These include announcements of new solar plants, wind farms and a new coal-fired power station. The private sector has proposed that we issue an infrastructure bond.
We have submitted and will now monitor progress with our first application for $250 million of funding to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa group, or Brics, for the Brics New Development Bank, mainly for cheaper finance for transmission lines to connect future solar and wind energy to the national grid.
We will crack down on cable and metal theft from trains, electricity substations and communities. I am pleased to say that Parliament late last year passed the Criminal Matters Amendment Act in record time, both Houses of Parliament. Thank you very much, and that was with the support of all political parties. [Applause.]
We will now implement this law, which creates a special category of offence for those who steal from public infrastructure, with tougher bail conditions, minimum jail sentences when you are found guilty, sentences of up to 30 years for theft from essential facilities, fines of up to R100 million for companies who collude with thieves and with a greater onus on those who are found with copper cable and scrap metal to say, “Where did you get it?”
To create jobs, we have focused on industrialisation, investment and innovation to strengthen the economy. Instead of a number, let me start with a person: Patience Majola is a 25-year-old engineer who works in the paint shop at Toyota in Durban. She is part of a team that produces minibus taxis - taxis we used to import from other parts of the world.
In the past 12 months, Patience and her team assembled 10 200 new minibus taxis locally, creating jobs for more than 700 workers. [Applause.] That is how we respond to the need of unemployed citizens for jobs in hundreds of industrial, agricultural, infrastructural and tourism projects, rolling up our sleeves getting to work.
As a result of localisation policies, more than 200 additional buses were made for the urban transport system last year. One large bus manufacturer, Busmark, is now almost wholly owned by a black industrialist, Pat Nodada. I think it is worth noting that bus factories contracted with a township enterprise owned by group of young, previously unemployed persons in Mohlakeng. They were asked to refurbish bus seats and windows. So not only do we do the bus, but it is the supply chain - bringing young people in and creating opportunities for small businesses. That is what development is. That is what we need more of.
Now, none of this is by accident. It is the result of strong partnerships between government and investors - us listening to the needs of industrialists. Yesterday Minister Rob Davies talked about the auto sector. He has done quite an extraordinary amount of work to attract investment, to bring production to South Africa to help to create jobs in that sector.
So too has the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, which committed R14 billion of its own capital in 2015 to South African and continental projects, and through also bringing in private-sector investors in footwear factories, food processing, wire and cable manufacturing, film-making and many, many others.
Even as we dip into our own savings, we need to attract more capital to South Africa. Eleven weeks ago, we signed a few multibillion-rand agreements for potential new investment and funding during the state visit by the Chinese President.
They included a project to build a new auto assembly plant that can produce more than 50 000 cars, trucks and sports vehicles a year. If we can get this project approved through the feasibility study, we can create thousands of jobs for unemployed South Africans.
Let me give an example of innovation of government co-investing with private-sector investors to create jobs. I will take just one example: South African technology that combines X-rays and ultrasounds in one machine to detect breast cancer among women, a world first which, if it passes the next testing stage, will bring down medical costs, give more access to rural women to have a test for breast cancer, and potentially tap into a big global market in which we can export and create jobs. That is how we create jobs: addressing the challenges of the unemployed. [Applause.]
But, hon members, there are new headwinds and storms that we face. That means we need to do more. So what are some of our interventions? To support industries in distress we are working with the steel industry to stabilise production and reduce job losses through tariff measures, new investment commitments and improved competitiveness, but we want something from them too: commitment to invest to modernise their plants.
We are setting up a new R5 billion fund supported by the Unemployment Insurance Fund, UIF, and Minister Oliphant is working closely with us on that to assist companies affected by the global and local slowdown.
To attract new investment, we are implementing a one-stop shop for investors, as was announced in the state of the nation address, supporting greater localisation of the auto supply chain - and we will work now with the Chinese to see if we can bring this auto plant to South Africa.
To improve competitiveness, job-creation and transformation, we are finalising proposals to impose substantial penalties for price-fixing in the steel industry, so that we build dynamic companies.
We will support labour-intensive sectors of the economy more strongly, and agroprocessing, clothing and textiles and tourism so that we create more jobs. We will implement now more urgently what we announced last year: a R23-billion black industrialist programme so that we widen the base of manufacturing and drive transformation.
To support jobs through integration, we are working on opportunities on the rest of the African continent. Last year for the first time, other African countries became our single biggest regional market, overtaking Asia.
We exported R303 billion worth of goods to other African countries, supporting roughly a quarter of a million South African jobs. For example, half of the trucks we make in South Africa and that we export elsewhere in the world go to other African countries, and 60% of all the fruit juice that we export goes to other African countries. So we are now going to work on deeper regional integration through public- and private-sector co-investment in infrastructure and industrialisation.
Through job creation, we seek to address social and economic inclusion. The most significant pressure we face is to increase the number of South Africans who have jobs and to address income inequalities.
Last year in the state of the nation debate, I advised hon members that there were 15,3 million people employed in South Africa. There are now 15,8 million people employed. If we take the figures for a full 12 months, they show that the economy created 712 000 more jobs. Most of those jobs came from agriculture, construction and business services.
The province with the strongest employment creation over the 12 months was Gauteng with 191 000 more jobs, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. [Applause.] Employment for the year as a whole grew by 4,7%, significantly outperforming GDP growth.
But there are challenges. Too many of our people remain unemployed and, last year, while the economy created almost three quarters of a million new jobs, the number of workseekers grew by almost one million, increasing the ranks of unemployed South Africans who are ready to work but who are unemployed. That is our challenge. That is what we need to address as we upscale our efforts in economic growth and in making it more inclusive.
Yes, we made real progress on jobs and, yes, we maintained growth last year when others have gone into recession. But we need to do even better in tough circumstances. So to promote greater levels of inclusion,
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we are completing measures to increase support for small and medium enterprises.
We will promote youth entrepreneurship and youth jobs, including through a regulation to require national infrastructure projects to employ up to 60% of new staff from young professionals and young workers. We will act against corruption and collusion in the economy. [Interjections.] Last year we announced that we were considering criminal sanctions for collusion and price-fixing. We commissioned legal and technical work to ensure this could be implemented properly. We will introduce measures shortly to make it a criminal offence in any industry to collude and to fix prices. It will send a message to everyone that we mean business in stamping out corruption and collusion. [Applause.] We must build competitive strengths through innovation, not through sitting in rooms somewhere fixing tenders, prices and contracts. To support rural and agricultural inclusion, we have prepared a first package just short of one billion rand to support farmers affected by the drought.
Our work on the six “I’s” of infrastructure, industrialisation, investment, inclusion, innovation and integration is dependent on effective institutions and effective implementation. We are looking forward to building strong partnerships with the two engines of our economy, the private sector entrepreneurs and workers.
For business, for trade unions, for government and for shareholders, we must get to the uncomfortable issues. If we all simply see the solutions coming from what others must do, we will not weather the economic storms very well. It is clear we need a broader social compact that addresses issues of wages, job security, investment, industrial stability and dealing with inequalities in society.
Some in the debate yesterday referred to an economic indaba. We are now engaging in that indaba with business leaders - we met with them last week - and with trade unionists talking about the challenges that they face with retaining jobs and investment in the industry.
The challenge to business and labour is to achieve growth through action in the workplace that addresses the real issues, the real challenges, we face. They involve some tough issues that we must talk about frankly: how to combine rising wages with better economic performance; trade-offs between wage levels and job security for companies and industries in distress so we can save jobs; real action on skills development so that we prepare workers for a more competitive environment; unlocking private sector investment so that money moves from bank accounts to real-economy activities; and partnerships to build dynamic companies that produce quality goods and services at competitive prices and that ensure equitable sharing of the wealth created. This includes reopening the conversation on executive pay in the private and public sectors, and reducing workplace conflict and the need to resort to strikes or lockouts through a more co-operative environment in which we have create wealth, create jobs and share that wealth equitably.
Government too will need to act decisively against corruption that diverts resources and also skews decision-making. For state-owned companies, we need to strengthen governance, restore their balance sheets and enhance operational management. We will act against public entities that do not pay small suppliers on time and we will deepen our partnerships with the private sector and labour.
State capacity will need to be sharpened with trained, qualified staff in key positions. Cabinet has agreed that the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission, the PICC, develop a dashboard of projects to be speeded up, with reports to Cabinet every six weeks.
To address perceptions of waste in the public sector, we need to introduce new measures, reprioritise spending, direct resources to growth- and jobenhancing actions and ensure that the costs of adjustment do not fall on the poor or through cutting infrastructure investment.
In conclusion, hon members and fellow South Africans, these are difficult times, yet much has been achieved. With partnerships, we can do more. Indeed, we must do more if we are to turn the economy around. We have many centres of excellence in the private sector, examples of strategic thinking by labour and business leaders, a caring government and a resilient people.
We need to be bold, rebuild social cohesion and address issues of public confidence. We need to focus relentlessly on our key areas: infrastructure, industrialisation, innovation, investment, inclusion and integration.
We are ready with fresh ideas based on our experience - the strong, positive lessons from successes as well as from where we made mistakes. We have concrete plans and, above all, in order to stimulate growth, job creation and reduction in inequalities we are ready to act. We call on South Africans to join us to partner with your government, to create jobs, to strengthen the economy and to improve lives. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr D J MAYNIER / AMON
The MINISTER OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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Mr D J MAYNIER: Speaker, on 9 December 2015, President Jacob Zuma pressed the red button and dropped what amounted to a nuclear bomb on the economy of South Africa. The decision to fire the Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene, turned an economic downturn into an economic crisis and unleashed a firestorm which destroyed investor confidence in South Africa. We are now in deep economic trouble. We are on the brink of a recession. We have spiralling inflation. We are staring at a fiscal cliff. We are facing a debt mountain and we risk a ratings downgrade.
We have 8,3 million people who do not have jobs or who have given up looking for jobs, and who live without dignity, without independence and without freedom in South Africa. And so, the state of the nation address was an opportunity for the President to inspire the nation, to give hope to the nation and to lead the nation. It was an opportunity to set out a decisive response to the economic crisis in South Africa. It was an opportunity to set out a decisive response to avoid a ratings downgrade in South Africa. It was an opportunity to give hope to the 8,3 million people who do not have jobs or who have given up looking for jobs in South Africa - and it was an opportunity to do so with passion, with conviction and with urgency.
We got off to a good start: a frank assessment, a turnaround plan, doing things differently. I thought: this is it. This is the moment, but then nothing. No inspiration, no passion, no conviction, no urgency, no hope and, most important of all, no decisive response to the economic crisis in South Africa. And no decisive response to avoid a ratings downgrade in South Africa.
Yes, there was a turnaround plan, but the turnaround plan did not contain any new economic policy. What the turnaround plan did contain was economic policy that had never been implemented. The Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities was completed three years ago. Its findings have never been implemented and it’s hard to believe that its findings will ever be implemented. What the turnaround plan did contain was economic policy that had been implemented, but that had failed. The cost-containment measures are important, but are largely symbolic, targeting R25 billion worth of expenditure and saving a mere R2 billion or 0,2% of total government expenditure in 2015-16. What the turnaround plan also contained was a one-step forward, one-step backward economic policy contradiction.
We want to encourage investment, but then we want to prohibit foreign land ownership, which will discourage foreign investment. We want to phase out state-owned enterprises, but then we want a state-owned pharmaceutical company which will crowd out private-sector investment. In the end, the turnaround plan only served to illustrate that the Minister of Finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan, has very little policy space in which to manoeuvre ahead of the Budget; that business leaders were listened to, but were not heard; and that this government’s economic policy is tied up in an economic knot which will never be undone because of the political knot inside the ANC-SA Communist Party-Cosatu alliance. [Applause.]
The fact is a ratings downgrade is now more likely this week than it was last week. But it’s not too late, Mr President, it can, as you said, be done. But then we actually have to do things differently. And if we are going do things differently, Mr President, I would suggest that you consider announcing the following in your reply tomorrow to the state of the nation debate, and I quote:
Hon members, I have listened carefully to this debate and understand that we need decisive action to deal with the economic crisis in South Africa. I have therefore decided to amend the turnaround plan based on your inputs as follows: First, to ensure there is no policy uncertainty on the economy, I have decided to appoint the Minister of Finance to head the economic cluster in Cabinet to take full responsibility for the development of economic policy, to conduct impact assessments of all executive legislation relating to the economy and to take full responsibility for the implementation of the economic policy outlined in the National Development Plan.
Second, to boost economic growth and jobs, I have instructed the Minister of Labour to immediately table amendments to labour legislation to ensure that collective bargaining agreements reached between big business and big unions are not imposed on small businesses, to enforce secret balloting before calling a strike and to exempt small businesses from complying with onerous labour legislation in order to encourage them to employ more workers.
And I have instructed the Finance Minister to implement a real youth wage subsidy to help young people find jobs and gain work experience.
[Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Order, hon members! Allow the hon Maynier ...
Mr D J MAYNIER:
Third, to raise revenue I have instructed the Finance Minister to dispose of nonstrategic state assets including government’s stake in Telkom, which would raise an estimated R11 billion.
[Applause.]
And I have instructed the Minister of Public Works to begin disposing of nonstrategic state assets, including land and buildings which have the potential to raise billions of rand in revenue.
Fourth, to cut expenditure I have instructed the Minister in the Presidency to begin reducing the size of the Cabinet to 15 Ministries, which will save an estimated R4,7 billion.
[Applause.]
And I have instructed the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans to immediately terminate the acquisition of my VIP jet which I know will save nearly R4 billion.
I have instructed the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation to immediately begin closing all nonstrategic foreign embassies, high commissions and consulates, saving a significant portion of R3,5 billion. I’ve also instructed the Minister to table a detailed quarterly report on spending for each department on noncore goods and services, including spending on travel, catering, entertainment and consultants in this Parliament because, at the end, we know transparency is the most cost-effective method of preventing wasteful expenditure.
And, finally, to improve the performance of state-owned enterprises, I’ve instructed the Minister of Public Enterprises to immediately begin implementing a programme to privatise or part privatise state-owned enterprises, beginning with the privatisation of SA Airways.
[Applause.]
In closing, given his poor performance in this debate, I would like to congratulate the Minister of Economic Development on his appointment as ambassador to China. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] The Department of Economic Development is consequently redundant and will be shut down immediately, saving an estimated R1,4 billion over the next two financial years.
Mr President, it can be done, but only if we actually do things differently. We must do things differently to give hope to the 8,3 million people who do not have jobs or who have given up looking for jobs, and who live without freedom, without independence and without dignity in South Africa. Because, in the end, South Africa will never belong to all who live in it as long as millions of people without jobs simply live to die in South Africa. It can be done, but only if we actually do things differently. It’s up to you, Mr President, and so over to you. I thank you. [Applause.]
The SPEAKER: Hon members, before I call upon the Minister of Energy, I wish to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the delegation from the Welsh Parliament led by my colleague, Speaker Dame Rosemary Butler. Hon members, you are welcome to our Parliament and to South Africa. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF ENERGY / EU/GC
Mr D J MAYNIER
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The MINISTER OF ENERGY: Madam Speaker, His Excellency President Zuma, hon Deputy President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, fellow South Africans, South Africa is in a better position today than it was in the past; tomorrow will indeed be better than yesterday. All of this depends on the quality of our investment today. The challenge we face is to respond adequately to create a South Africa that is on a sustainable growth path for the benefit of all our citizens, and not just a few.
The National Development Plan, which is part of your legacy, hon President, which is your legacy, envisages that by 2030 South Africa will have an energy sector that promotes economic growth and development through adequate investment in energy infrastructure. Energy security is at the core of current and future industrial and technological advancement.
We have to be honest and acknowledge that we have had challenges with electricity supply. However, today it has been over six months since we last had load shedding. This is as a result of the interventions we have made as well as the positive response of South Africans to use electricity sparingly. But we cannot be complacent. The situation remains very tight and we must continue using electricity carefully.
Our communities are also demanding adequate access to service, including the continuous supply of electricity. We see protests in our communities almost daily. But we have been listening to their concerns and demands. We have invested time and effort and we are now getting results.
Constrained electricity supply has had a significant effect on the economy and the potential for new investment. We know that investors do not like uncertainty. We have been able to provide this certainty with our Independent Power Producer Programme. The Independent Power Producer Programme, hon President, is your legacy. It was started by you, hon President. The very same dishonourable Mmusi Maimane has complimented you on your legacy project – the Independent Power Producer Programme. Say thank you for the compliment.
Hon members, since 2011, our turnaround plan, our new sense of urgency, our country has been offering an attractive market for both local and foreign private sector investment in renewable energy. This has resulted in South Africa being ranked consistently as one of the global leaders in renewable energy. This is a turnaround plan. [Applause.] We are a sought after for investments in renewable energy.
The day before yesterday, hon Deputy President, the Japanese investors were lining up, not to see your beautiful smile or smell your cologne [Laughter], sorry for that, but to invest in renewable energy. [Applause.] Sorry to burst your bubble, they were running after me and not after you. [Applause.] They want to invest.
The economic policy, which you have developed, hon President, is succeeding in the renewable energy space. This programme, hon member, attracted in your province, more than R100 billion in foreign direct investments. [Applause.] Your Western Cape Province has to thank our President for your investment in your province. South Africa belongs to all who live in it; even the Western Cape will remain part of South Africa. [Applause.]
Hon members, policy certainty will bring a further R53 billion in only three projects in the foreseeable three months. The annual competitive bidding process, policy certainty, effective leveraged rapid global technologically sound process which is the Independent Power Producer, IPP, office - why are you so in love with this office? Because it is an ANC government-led office. The only office you happen to be in love with. It is generating investment and you simply cannot imagine that a historically disadvantaged government can be successful in renewable energy. [Applause.]
By end of 2015 we had achieved several major milestones through this project. Let me take you through these milestones. We increased renewable energy capacity to more than 2000 megawatts and now have 40 operational renewable energy plants in some of the poorest areas of our country. Areas which historically you have neglected and unfortunately you cannot wipe away the past; not even God can erase your past. [Applause.]
Those solar plants in the Northern Cape have you to thank, hon President. It is your legacy. The Square Kilometre Array has you to thank, hon President. It is your legacy. The new university in the Northern Cape, the Sol Plaatjie University, one of the first of two new universities in our democracy, is your legacy, hon President. [Applause.] The people of the Northern Cape, I am one of them, are eternally grateful for your legacy. [Interjections.]
We are from the Northern Cape and we know that on 10 March, the largest solar farm in the Southern Hemisphere, Middle East and Africa, will be launched in De Aar. It is a success story and you are invited. It will not be opened by some fictitious dream catcher. [Laughter] Over the next two weeks, the solar farm will generate 175 megawatts of electricity. This will be on 10 March and less than a week later on 14 March R5 billion investment has gone into a thermal and storage solar plant and it will also be launched in the Northern Cape at Bokpoort.
Afrikaans:
Ek werk huis toe. [I am working my way home.]
English:
Hon members, you are invited to these events.
Over the next three years all of the 102 renewable energy projects ...
Ms D CARTER: Hon Speaker, is the Minister prepared to take a question? [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Are you prepared to take a question, Minister?
The MINISTER OF ENERGY: No.
Ms D CARTER: I just want to make sure that we don’t have to pay for the invitations!
The SPEAKER: She is not prepared to take a question. Proceed, hon Minister.
The MINISTER OF ENERGY: Thank you, hon Speaker. We will offer electricity capacity of 6 gigawatts of renewable energy, which will be solar and wind to our grid. This will contribute around 12% of the installed base load capacity for South Africa. All of this will be done in eight years. Why? Because the renewable energy programme has been on time, within budget and attracted even South African banks. The very investors that you are saying are running away, we have attracted local investors. Your friends, your partners are our partners. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Madam Speaker, this is achievement is an achievement we can all be proud. Until now, we were offsetting up to 20% of our emissions through this programme. Through small programmes, we will increase investments to R255 billion in bid window 4.
In the next quarter, we will announce the preferred bidders for the first tranche of the allocated 2 500 megawatts of the coal component of the Independent Power Producer Programme. These first coal projects will be coal-fire power plants built by the private sector in partnership with the state. So, why are you crying about the lack of involvement from the private sector? Now, which planet are you living on? [Laughter.] These first coal projects are likely to be located in Limpopo and Mpumalanga and are expected to be connected to the grid by 2021-22 on time in budget because private sector will make sure that it is on time and budgeted for. Who told you that private sector does not want to invest? It is anticipated that this investment, only in coal, hon Deputy President, and we are certainly not thumb sucking, will conservatively get a R45 billion kind of investment in a new coal-fired power plant, and two will be built.
As we continue with your awaited gas power plants, we have already issued a request for information and the request for proposals will be issued on time. The gas-to-power programme will be R64 billion over the next four to five years and will be on time. The Department of Energy will launch this gas-to-power to generate this as an opportunity for the private sector. Please don’t call me; I will call you on the gas. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Due to the size and complexity of the investment and the value of the programme, we have decided to be very careful and have a two-phased approach. We are planning to prequalify a consortium of bidders. This will be honest, open and transparent - everything you like, all those words, including cost-effective and affordable. Don’t worry, electricity planning will emphasise the importance of an appropriate and efficient energy mix.
You have all come to listen to what I have to say about nuclear. We have to go the nuclear route because we do not have sufficient fresh water. There is a brilliant young man, James Brent-Styan, who wrote a book. Read it. I don’t agree with everything he says, but he absolutely correctly quotes that Koeberg uses 22 billion litres of seawater. Koeberg does not use fresh water and it recycles water - 22 billion litres of seawater. Nuclear energy also contributes to desalination. We are going to need it.
Medupi power station will use 17 billion litres of fresh water a year, which we will all be looking for, because this drought is not going to stop tomorrow. We are going to need fresh water. Our future generations will be without water. We will threaten food security. Unfortunately, renewable energy will never give us the base load that we require for industrialisation and to grow jobs. If we want the jobs, jobs, jobs, which you say we are not growing, watch this space; we are going to need base load. [Applause.]
The best nuclear energy plant running in the world happens to be in the Western Cape. If we close down Koeberg power station, more than 80% of Cape Town will be dark. I will consider doing it for just one day; Cape Town will be very dark. [Laughter.] [Applause.] We will continue building on the success story of Koeberg because it has of the best nuclear physicists and scientists. Thank you to the hon member, the Minister of Science and Technology.
Your legacy, hon President, is Ministers, women in the economic sector and in significant portfolios. For the first time, you know, we do not have women as Ministers of this little planet and that little planet. [Laughter.] Women are running the energy sector. Women are in your Cabinet. [Applause.] This is your legacy. It might surprise you even further that in the Western Cape, there is a huge difference between the Western Cape and the Northern Cape. In the Northern Cape, the so-called coloureds, we talk about you from head to toe and when we get to your middle, we hit below the belt. So, you want to get me. [Laughter.] [Applause.] But the good thing about the so-called coloured people in the Northern Cape is that they know, they are not “bruin mense” [brown people].
Hon Maimane, how many people from Mitchells Plain are in your advisory council or in your shadow cabinet? [Interjections.] How many people from Khayelitsha are in your shadow cabinet? We will increase our concentration on growing ... no, I am asking about your honourable Cabinet. We will not descend into gutter politics. [Interjections.] In the 80s we called this gutter politics, but where were you? [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Afrikaans:
Waar was jy? [Gelag.] [Applous.] [Where were you? [Laughter.] [Applause.]
English:
Now, gutter politics - we were told – you know, I went to what you call the “bush college”, I come from Coloured Affairs. It is not racist, it’s the past and not even God can remove that past. If I cannot go and pretend that I come from Gauteng. I come from Vosburg. I attended a bush college, but we were told that just because you come from an impoverished background, it doesn’t mean and it didn’t mean that your thoughts had to be impoverished. That’s what we were taught. [Applause.]
I brought school learners, and I bring them regularly to this esteemed House. Hon Malema, I wish he were here now, and I hope you tell him, he is a very popular person. All these learners want to know where he sits, they want to take pictures with him, and they love him. I try to understand why whenever this group of school children come here - even six-year-olds - they take pictures and shout “Julius”! I thought they liked his overall, no. This one six-year-old learner told me that this is a hooligan who manages to be called honourable. [Laughter.] This is a six-year-old learner, please, hon members, these are not my words but those of a six-year-old learner. [Laughter.] This learner says if you behave like that, you will be taken to the school principal and he beats you well. If you dare tell your parents, the school principal will beat your parents too. [Laughter.] If you behave like that at home, even your mother will beat you. We will never be allowed to behave like that. This six-year-old tells me that this they call him a juvenile delinquent. [Laughter.] He is very popular. We all went to school and had teachers. At school, a naughty boy attracts others and we call them a “wannabe”, hey? In the Northern Cape, do you know what we call a juvenile delinquent? Someone who moved from ignorance to decadence, without passing through civilisation. [Laughter.] You have missed a phase in your life without passing through civilisation. Other copycats, those who will be drawn in by a juvenile delinquent. Don’t compete with a juvenile delinquent, please, we will call you copycats. When you are a copycat, leave the juvenile delinquent, the copycat becomes like that drunk uncle who attends family gatherings. [Laughter.] In the Northern Cape we say this drunk uncle, drank his cheap wine — nap-shushu, sallie haalie, Namaqua Daisy — and when he gets to your party he tells you that your wine is not good enough. Now how do you have the temerity to tell this hon President that his wine is not good enough? You are drunk, like that uncle at family gatherings who has already had his sallie haalie. [Laughter.]
In conclusion, hon President, I don’t know where those cows are that I gave you, because they said I paid R400 million for your cows. I am still waiting to see where they are. When a cow gives birth to a fire, that cow will lick that fire. You know why? When a mother gives birth to a fire, she will lick that fire because she gave birth to that fire. When a fire burns, it rains and the earth gets wet. Fire burns, but when it rains the earth gets wet. Hon Malema, you gave birth to a fire yesterday and you will not be able to stop this fire. Hon Malema, do not teach your mother how to bear children. You can never be a mother, so you will never stop the fire. You will never be a mother and you will never be able to give birth to anything. [Interjections.]
Hon Maimane, do not join a young man who will be angry for the rest of his life because of a mother body. The mother body will continue long after Julius Malema. [Applause.]
Dr P W A MULDER / Mohau/NM(ed)
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The MINISTER OF ENERGY
Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Speaker, in Northern Ireland the saying goes that a bridge and a traitor have one thing in common - they both go over to the other side. We saw something of those emotions yesterday in this debate. In Northern Ireland they killed each other over religious differences. In Belgium language differences led to conflict. In Eritrea ethnic differences led to a 30-year civil war. In the French Revolution it was the rich against the poor. America frequently has race riots. Malaysia and Singapore have special measures to prevent racial tensions between Malaysians, Chinese and Indians.
In the above-mentioned countries, one difference between groups was enough for conflict. South Africa has all these differences in one country - religious differences, language, ethnic, wealth, racial differences and many more.
History teaches that one spark can set off a huge fire in dry grass. In our history a lot of blood flowed in clashes between white and black, white and white and between black and black. Currently, the sparks of racism are being thrown onto dry grass everywhere. The problem is that the majority of these comments generalise. Let me give you an example: All white people are racists; or, all black people are criminals or corrupt. A generalisation is always wrong, because all people are not the same.
When the ANC lekgotla says in a recent statement, “the black majority ... believes that their attempts at nation-building are rejected by the white minority,” it is a dangerous generalisation that incites and divides people into camps. When the President says all the problems of this country started with Van Riebeeck, it is a racist oversimplification of our complicated history and a generalisation. [Interjections.] The same goes for saying all land was stolen. History is just not that simple. Go and read that.
What does the FF Plus say? Racism is a very serious issue that must be condemned unconditionally. Racism from the side of white people or black people carries the germ that could destroy South Africa and all human relations. Similarly, generalising is always a mistake. But leaders must set the example - leaders from all sides. Leaders determine the tone of such debates. Therefore I want to repeat it in Afrikaans.
Afrikaans:
Rassisme is ’n baie ernstige saak wat veroordeel moet word. Rassisme van swart kant of van wit kant dra die kiem om Suid-Afrika en alle verhoudinge te vernietig. Net so gevaarlik is veralgemening altyd ’n fout. [Racism is a very serious matter that should be condemned. Racism on the side of blacks or on the side of white carries the germ of destroying Souh Africa and all relationships. Just as dangerously – generalisation is always a mistake.]
English:
What does this lead to? In Stellenbosch there was a student party with the theme “Space and Stars”. Two female students decided to depict aliens. They painted their faces purple with glitter dusted over their bodies. This led to a racial outburst on social media. The students were suspended and bullied for a week by the authorities. Racism was the charge. How absurd!
I brought with me a photo of a man in a dining hall of the University of Cape Town. On his T-shirt is written “Kill all Whites”.
Hon MEMBERS: Yes!
Dr P W A MULDER: It is apparently not racism; it’s just freedom of speech. We’ve totally lost the plot. Purple faces are racism and “Kill all Whites” is debating. This man wants to kill Derek Hanekom, just because he is white. [Laughter.]
Gabonthone Rampa is a 21-year-old student from Madidi in North West. He obtained 10 distinctions in his first year. He cannot get any bursaries to continue with his studies. When Chris Johnson, a businessman from Vereeniging heard of this, he donated R150 000 to allow Rampa and two other students to continue with their studies. Johnson is white and he does not know Rampa at all.
Sir, this is South Africa. Now “Kill all Whites” means that this businessman must also be killed. How crazy and how dangerous to be playing these games! We see extremists in this House also – although I don’t see them now.
President Kennedy said, and I quote, “What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant.” Race relations in South Africa are worse now than at any time since 1994.
In a speech in this House, President Mandela said that the success of the 1994 negotiations had been that there were good men and women to be found in all groups and if they could jointly come together, we could realise the common good. Is it still possible?
In South Africa, I believe, it is time that political leaders from all groups, but also business leaders in South Africa, must come together in a government of national unity to get South Africa through this crisis. Remember, when the South African ship sinks as a result of racism or economic implosion, we all sink together. I thank you.
Afrikaans:
Dr P J GROENEWALD: Agb Speaker, op ’n punt van orde. [Hon Speaker, on a point of order.]
English:
The SPEAKER: What’s the point of order, hon Groenewald?
Afrikaans:
Dr P J GROENEWALD: Agb Speaker, toe the agb dr Mulder verwys het na die slagspreuk van “Kill all Whites” was hier ’n aantal ANC parlementslede aan my linkerkant wat bevestigend gesê het “Ja”. [Hon Speaker, when the hon Dr Mulder referred to the slogan “Kill all Whites” there were several ANC members of Parliament here on my left who said “Yes” by way of confirmation.]
English:
If they have the guts, they should stand up and withdraw, because it’s unacceptable that I sit in this Parliament and must hear that all whites must be killed. I ask your ruling ...
The SPEAKER: Who was the hon member?
Dr P J GROENEWALD: No, I can’t name them, but if they have the guts, let them stand up and say “I said it,” and let them withdraw that. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Thank you, hon Groenewald. Can I see if there is anyone who will own up to that issue? [Interjections.] Thank you, hon Groenewald, for pointing it out to us. We can only follow it up later, because nobody is owning up to it. [Interjections.]
Dr P J GROENEWALD: Thank you, hon Speaker. That just goes to show that the people saying that are cowards. That’s what they are.
Mr S ZIKALALA / NM
Dr P J GROENEWALD
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Mr S ZIKALALA: Hon Speaker, His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Africa President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, fellow South Africans who are following the proceedings, on behalf of the majority of the people of KwaZulu-Natal we rise to convey their message of hope and confidence that, notwithstanding turbulent economic challenges facing our country, the government under your leadership, Mr President, remains the only government with capacity, experience and determination to better their lives. [Applause.]
The state of the nation address delivered by His Excellency President Jacob Zuma was not only frank about the objective challenges that we face, but also gave solutions to guarantee a brighter future. The people of KwaZulu-Natal have mandated us to communicate a clear message that they will refuse to allow our beautiful province of KwaZulu-Natal to be a nest of racism, as advocated by the DA racists in the form of Ms Penny Sparrow and Ms Dianne Kohler Barnard who, by an unfortunate accident of history
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Point of order ...
Mr S ZIKALALA: ... both come from our province.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Point of order ...
Mr S ZIKALALA: The people of KwaZulu-Natal are committed ... [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Order! Order, hon Zikalala! Could you take your seat. What is the point of order, hon Steenhuisen?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, I am surprised that I will have to tell you: but you know, Madam Speaker, that it is improper to impute that a member of this House is a racist. I will ask that Mr Zikalala withdraw that statement. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Did he name a specific member? Hon Zikalala?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: He named a specific Member of Parliament.
The SPEAKER: Hon Zikalala, indeed you will have to withdraw referring to an hon member as a racist.
Mr S ZIKALALA: Thank you, that is done. Withdrawn.
The SPEAKER: Thank you very much.
Mr S ZIKALALA: The people of KwaZulu-Natal are committed to standing side by side to defeat the demon of racism and all its proponents. Hon President, the people of KwaZulu-Natal have sent us to convey that they are not and they will never be confused by the DA’s tired strategy of renting black faces to mask its racist character. They are clear in their minds that the DA is nothing but an epicentre and a fertile ground of racism. [Applause.] They say the DA, as a true dissident of the apartheid colonial system, has continually proved itself as the shield of white monopoly capital determined to reverse the gains of democracy. [Interjections.]
Our people have also noted with greater shock continued disruptions that are becoming a permanent feature of this Parliament. We are confident that those who voted the red ant anarchists into Parliament are taking full responsibility for their action and are committing themselves to correcting this in the next election.
These anarchists masquerade as revolutionaries, yet they are nothing but lumpenproletariats who pretend to be representing the interests of the poor while, in essence, they serve their selfish and narrow agendas. [Applause.] These lumpens that have degraded our hard-won democracy should not defocus us from delivering on the mandate overwhelmingly bestowed on us by the people. As they personalise the debate and thrive on insults, all self-respecting and thinking people should rise above and cast their attention and energies into bettering the lives of our people. [Applause.] The simple message to malume [uncle] Terror Lekota: “The less is said about him the better for they believe it is immoral and inhumane to disturb the dead.” No amount of grandstanding will ever save Cope from an inevitable, natural demise.
We fully agree with the President that many of our state-owned enterprises are performing well, and all those with clear judgment can bear testimony to this. The SA National Roads Agency Limited, Sanral, in KwaZulu-Natal continues to build state-of-the-art roads which are an anchor of our economy. Consistently modernising and well-maintained transport infrastructure is critical to driving the socioeconomic development of our province. It reduces the cost of doing business, while enabling the seamless movement of goods and services. We pride ourselves on Sanral’s infrastructure projects, such as the N2 corridor upgrade involving the Umgeni and KwaMashu Interchange. The Mount Edgecombe Interchange addresses the traffic backlog on the N2-M41 and is helpful in addressing the traffic especially during peak hours.
We must reject the call for privatisation of the SOEs as advanced by the DA leader, the hon Maimane. Today we pride ourselves on areas like the Dannhauser Municipality where the electricity coverage has reached 100%. Surely, many people who have access to electricity today would not have enjoyed such benefits if Eskom was in private hands? [Applause.] The call to privatise is informed by nothing else but a desire to give space for monopoly capital to maximise profit at the expense of workers. We all know that the state provides more protection to workers than private capital, which always resorts to retrenchment wherever profit margins are threatened.
Education remains an anchor of any prosperous society. This assertion was articulated by Comrade Walter Sisulu when he said:
Proper education is a mirror in which man sees the world around him and learns to understand it - the right kind of education enables man to see what the world has been, what it is, and how it can change to suit him or his way of living.
We remain concerned about the decline in the matric results in our province. However, we have no reason to despair. The narrative advanced by the opposition parties only serves their narrow interests as opposed to the national interest. Our government in the province has identified factors that led to the decline and has committed itself to addressing those factors without delay. The first step towards this has been the education indaba, which was convened to distil ways and means to address both objective and subjective challenges within our education system.
Notwithstanding the decline in the matric pass rate, in 2015 KwaZulu-Natal had the largest number of learners sitting for the matric exams at 162 000. Of that number, 98 761 passed, and 34 761 obtained bachelor passes – the highest compared to all provinces. [Applause.] The number of learners who are at school in KwaZulu-Natal has increased drastically whilst, at the same time, we have ensured that there are no dropouts. KwaZulu-Natal has over 2,8 million learners in school today. To us, the call for opening the doors of learning and culture is not just a visionary dream on the horizon but the goal we are attaining.
In the 2015 state of the nation address delivered by the President, he announced the revitalisation of agriculture and an agroprocessing value chain. The province of KwaZulu-Natal has moved with speed in putting this call into practice. Our province is, by and large, a rural province with great potential to prosper in agriculture. Ten out of 11 districts have established task teams charged with the responsibility of rolling out the programme of agri-village. These teams consist of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, as well as municipalities.
These teams, working with farmers and other community stakeholders, are hard at work in identifying sites for agri-parks in each district. They have also developed strategies to ensure the development of agro-parks. Key among the pillars of those strategies is the promotion of skills and the support of small farmers, enabling producer ownership of the majority of agri-parks with an equity of 70% owned by the state and 30% owned by commercial farmers. Lastly, there is the revitalisation of underutilised land, especially of communal areas and land reform farms, into full production and expanded irrigated agricultural land. To further this, each district has identified its potential commodities to be prioritised in agroproduction.
The value of growing the oceans economy was underscored during the Rio+20, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012. The renewed focus on this industry by our government, led by the hon President, should be welcomed. We need to spare no effort in realising its potential. The province of KwaZulu-Natal is well endowed with maritime and marine resources. It has two of the busiest ports in Africa and Southern Africa. The maritime industry in KwaZulu-Natal includes sectors such as freight and logistics, auxiliary maritime support services, tourism and leisure, marine energy, fishing and aquaculture.
To this end and as part of exploiting this potential, the province has converted the Sharks Board into a maritime institute, and the KwaZulu-Natal integrated maritime strategy is now in place to leverage the oceans economy for growth and development. The Ugu and uThungulu Districts, which are coastal districts, have developed their strategies to use the full potential of the seas adjacent to them. Our provincial government is exploring modalities of deliberately skilling young people to venture into this sector and this includes partnering with other countries that offer maritime training. Our belief that ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Point of order ...
Mr S ZIKALALA: ... in spite of all the challenges, South Africa has a good story to tell is supported by hard fact. We have no doubt that the majority of the people can bare testimony to this and will continue to work with the ANC government to move South Africa forward. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): On what point were you rising, hon Steenhuisen?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I am rising on Rule 14(f) of the Joint Rules. I would like to understand: this is the response to the President’s state of the nation address, so I’m unsure why the speaker is delivering the state of the province address, especially since he is not the premier of KwaZulu-Natal. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Order, hon members! That is not a point of order and I am not going to sustain it, because the state of the nation would obviously reflect on what is happening in the provinces in whatever way.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE NCOP: Chairperson, the NCOP represents provinces.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: I am not taking that as a point of order. [Interjections.] Hon Lekota, can you continue with the debate?
Mr M G P LEKOTA / MS/
Mr S ZIKALALA
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Mr M G P LEKOTA: Thank you, Chairperson. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Order! Order, hon members! Order, hon members! Can we allow the member to participate in the debate?
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Chairperson, our country finds itself in a deep constitutional and economic crisis. The constitutional crisis arises from the fact that the Office of the President of our country is occupied by someone who broke his oath of office almost two years ago already. [Interjections.] Therefore, that oath lapsed two years ago.
Secondly, our executive authority has been coerced ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, let’s not drown out the speaker.
Mr M G P LEKOTA: ... has been coerced and led into ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Order! Order, hon members! Hon Lekota, can you just pause? Order, hon members! He is a member who has the right to participate in the debate. May we allow him ... [Interjections.] ... to continue with the debate? Order, hon members! Order! Hon member, continue with the debate.
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Our executive authority has been coerced and led into supporting the occupant of the Office of the President to support him in his refusal to comply with section 182(1)(c).
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Point of order! Point of order!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): There’s a point of order. Hon Lekota, could you take your seat?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Sorry to interrupt you, hon Lekota. You have made a ruling about not drowning out the speaker. I find it ironic that yesterday the ANC put out a statement bemoaning juvenile behaviour in the House. Yet this booing is the most juvenile behaviour I’ve seen in the House to date. Please, Chair, get control of the House.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, I’m not going to sustain that as a point of order. I just want to reiterate again: Could we allow the speaker to participate in the debate? Hon Lekota, could you continue with the debate please?
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Chair, it’s very difficult to speak because your House is not allowing me to speak. [Interjections.] No, the time can’t be run when I’m not allowed to speak.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Lekota, I’ve made a ruling on the matter. Could you continue with the debate. Hon members, may I just make the point that it becomes very difficult, even for presiding officers, to listen to what the speaker is saying. For instance, if I were to make a ruling on any matter that the member could have said, it would be difficult for me to have heard what he said. So, can we just allow the member? You will have an opportunity to respond to what he is saying. Could you continue with the debate, hon member?
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Our executive authority has been coerced and led into supporting the occupant of the Office of the President to support him in his refusal to comply with section 182(1)(c) of the Constitution, which is to implement the remedial action of the Public Protector. That is with regard to the executive.
However, the legislature of this House, contrary to the anticipation of the authors of our Constitution, has been divided into two parts or factions – one faction consisting of two or three parties collaborating with the presiding officers and another smaller faction strenuously trying to hold the executive to account. In these circumstances ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Order! Can I take the point of order? Hon Lekota, could you take your seat?
Mr G S RADEBE: Hon Deputy Chair, I’m trying to check whether it is parliamentary for the hon Mosiuoa Lekota to call us factions in Parliament. I think we are Members of Parliament; we are not factions here.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Thank you very much. Can I take the point that we don’t have factions in Parliament. Therefore, hon member, could you refrain from using words that are divisive in the House? [Interjections.] Hon members! Hon members!
Mr M G P LEKOTA: No.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): What would be the point?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Chair, the point of order is that you are suppressing the hon Lekota’s right to freedom of speech. There’s nothing unparliamentary about the word faction, and if you are ruling that it is unparliamentary ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Steenhuisen ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: No, this happens every time you are in the House. Every time you are in the Chair this House degenerates. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I’ve heard what you are saying.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: You’ve got no control of this House! None whatsoever!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Steenhuisen, I’ve heard what you are saying and I’m taking the insinuations that you are making very seriously because ... [Interjections.] Upon conclusion, hon members, I said: may the member refrain from using any words that may cause confusion and uncertainty in whatever way. [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: You are talking complete rubbish now and you are making this House a joke. [Interjections.] You are turning this House into a joke! [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member!
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: You’re not fit to sit in that Chair. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member! [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: How dare you ... how dare you infringe on his right? [Interjections.] How dare you infringe on his right to freedom of speech? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member, can I address that issue? I will address it in the following way. Hon member Steenhuisen, could you withdraw using that word towards me? Can you withdraw it? [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: What must I withdraw?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: That I’m talking rubbish.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Are you saying rubbish is unparliamentary now as well?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Are you ruling that the word rubbish is unparliamentary?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member Steenhuisen ... [Interjections.] Do you want to intervene, hon Maimane?
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I think it’s important that I do that ... [Interjections.] ... because we sat here earlier today and allowed members from the other side to call a whole political party racist. You didn’t intervene. [Interjections.] Now there’s a whole section ... [Interjections.] uTata Lekota is correct at calling a member a faction. It’s well within his rights. You cannot invent rulings. You can’t invent rulings!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member! Hon member!
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I ask you to allow uTata Lekota to proceed please. We simply are not going to sit here and take biased rulings. Please ask uTata Lekota to proceed. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member, I will insist on hon ... and I would really request the hon Steenhuisen to withdraw the word ... saying that I’m talking rubbish. [Interjections.] Hon Steenhuisen, can you withdraw the word ... that I’m talking rubbish?
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: On what rule ... on the basis of what? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member, I find it quite insulting ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): ... for me to be told that I’m talking rubbish.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: It’s not true!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can you withdraw that, hon Steenhuisen?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I won’t withdraw it because you are talking rubbish. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Steenhuisen, I’m asking you again: can you withdraw the word rubbish?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: House Chair, I will not withdraw the word rubbish because you are talking rubbish. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Then you leave me with no option but to ask you to leave the House. [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I’m happy to leave the House. It will save me having to listen to your rubbish. [Interjections.]
The member thereupon withdrew from the Chamber.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): May you please leave the House? [Interjections.] [Applause.] Hon Lekota, can you continue with the debate? [Interjections.] Can you allow the hon Lekota to continue with the debate? [Applause.] [Interjections.] Hon members!
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Chairperson ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members! Hon members from the DA, can you allow the hon Lekota to continue with the debate?
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No, no, no, can I take a point of order please?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): What is the point of order, hon Maimane?
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: I want to understand from henceforth on what basis you allowed the hon Steenhuisen to come out. Many comments have been made in this House; there’s been no such ruling. [Interjections.] Can I ask that you be recused from the chair? Please, can we request that? [Interjections.] Can you be recused from the Chair? [Interjections.] Please can we request that. You can be recused from the Chair. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members! Hon members!
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: We can’t operate on this basis. You cannot have biased rulings. You can’t! [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Maimane ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No, you can’t! [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): May we allow ... [Interjections.] Hon members!
HON MEMBERS: Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, you won’t allow me now. [Interjections.] Can I make a ruling on this behaviour, hon members?
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Hon Chair, chuck out these lumpens, man.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I ask ... If you are not going to allow the hon Lekota to continue with the debate ... [Interjections.] ... I will have no option, hon members, than to request ...
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Chuck them out, Chair, please.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): ... the DA to leave the House. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: Get out!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, I’m now ordering you to leave the House. May you please leave the House. [Interjections.] You’re disruptive! [Interjections.] Hon members, can I ask ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: On what basis?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Can I ask your hon members of the DA, because of disorderly behaviour ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: On what basis?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): ... to leave the House. [Interjections.]
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: On what basis? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): If you so refuse ... [Interjections.]
Ms D CARTER: Chairperson ... [Interjections.]
Mr M S MABIKA: Point of order, Chair.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): ... I therefore request ... [Interjections.]
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson ...
Mr M S MABIKA: Point of order, Chairperson.
Ms D CARTER: Chairperson, I’m rising on a point of order.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: No, no, no, no, no!
Mr M S MABIKA: On a point of order, Chair. [Interjections.]
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Can I raise a way forward?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Can I engage you please? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING: [Inaudible.] ... here’s no way forward here, man. No way forward here.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members! Hon members! [Interjections.]
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Can I request ... [Interjections.]
Mr M S MABIKA: On a point of order.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Chairperson, can I request that we have an engagement?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I am advised to request the whips to convene to try to resolve this matter.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Yes, can I request that we do that ... [Inaudible.] That’s a fair suggestion.
Ms D CARTER: Chairperson, on a point of order please ...
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Can I ask you to do that? Can we adjourn for a few ... [Inaudible.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING: No, no, we are not adjourning ... [Inaudible.] [Interjections.]
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: We will sit here. No, we are not going. We are not going. [Interjections.]
Mr M S MABIKA: On a point of order, Chair.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING: We are not going to be told by you when ... [Inaudible.] ... must withdraw here, man. We are not going to be told by you here, man! Hey, voetsek man!
An HON MEMBER: Hey! Hey!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I therefore ...
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Chief Whip of the Majority Party?
Mr M S MABIKA: Hon Deputy House Chair ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I’ve recognised the Chief Whip of the Majority Party.
Mr M S MABIKA: But I’ve been standing since before him. [Interjections.] I’ve been looking for recognition before him.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I recognise him and I’ll come back to you.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Chair, before the whips convene an urgent meeting to discuss the behaviour of the DA, the real ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I listen to the Chief Whip?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: ... the real culprit behind the behaviour of the DA is the Chair ... [Interjections.] ... is the leader of the DA ... [Interjections.] ... is the leader, the hon Maimane, who questioned your ruling, fully aware that there are procedures in this House that guide us. Everybody prejudiced by the ruling of the House must go through that process, and he didn’t do that. He agitated all of them to behave like they did. Therefore, he is the first who must be asked to leave the House. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I recognise you, hon member?
Mr M S MABIKA: Chairperson, you are being inconsistent with your rulings. Last week the hon President Jacob Zuma said the DA “iyabheda” and you did not say anything. [Interjections.] Now uMduduzi Manana is saying voetsek to the members and you are saying nothing. [Interjections.] Why don’t you remove them as well?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I didn’t hear that. [Interjections.] Hon members, you see that’s exactly what I raised earlier on when saying that the extent to which you are being disruptive makes the life of a presiding officer difficult in so far as listening to what other people are saying. There is a proposal on the table, and I’ve also been advised that the whips of political parties should meet and have a discussion on this particular issue. Do you agree with that proposal? [Interjections.]
Ms D CARTER: No. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Let me recognise you first, hon member.
Ms D CARTER / TH /
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP
|
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson, I really have a bit of a problem with your rulings as well. Earlier today in the House we heard Minister Joemat-Petterson saying that the members of the EFF are delinquent juveniles. No one said a word. [Interjections.] When the hon Zikalala carried on about lumpens, nothing was said. We talk about a faction. We are not attacking any individual. It is not a point of order.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, there is a proposal on the table. Do we agree with the proposal that the Whippery meet and sort out these kinds of issues? [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: House Chair ... [Interjections.] Deputy House Chair ... [Interjections.]
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chairperson, that is our member on the floor, okay! There is no problem with meeting with the Whippery, but then the House must be adjourned for 10 minutes or whatever the case may be ... [Interjections.] ... because my member’s time must be reset.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): No, maybe you might be able to assist me, hon member, then I will recognise you.
Mr N L S KWANKWA: Hon ... mhlekazi ... let me rather put it this way: I don’t understand why you must be involved in this. The first thing is that it was a political statement that was made by Ntate Lekota. There was nothing unparliamentary about it in the first place. [Interjections.] We make such statements in the House all the time. Even the hon Minister that spoke before Ntate Lekota did exactly the same thing and she wasn’t asked to withdraw anything. She was not reflecting on the behaviour of an individual member. Why wasn’t she asked to withdraw?
The second issue ... [Interjections.]
No, no, tata. Ndilinde mhlekazi. [Wait for me, Sir.]
The second issue is that there were a few members of the DA that were chanting. You could not identify them. Now you are asking the entire caucus to move out. This is wrong. Now you are saying that because you have told the entire caucus to leave the House, we must go out and talk about it. Talk about what?
In the past, when a ruling was made where you told members of the House to leave the House, members of the House would leave the House. You would not be involved. We would be applying double standards. Remember, when we tell the EFF to leave the House, there are no meetings.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Okay, hon members, may I assist this process?
Prof N M KHUBISA: Chairperson?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Let me take you as the last, and then I ... [Inaudible.]
Prof N M KHUBISA: Yes, Chairperson, but there is an error in your ruling to which you must admit. You can’t say to all members en masse that they must leave the House. You need to point to one member.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): The point has been made. Hon members, let me remind the House again. Let me just remind the House again: There is an issue with a statement that was made by the hon Lekota. In my ruling I therefore encouraged all members not to engage in words that might find ourselves interpreting ... [Interjections.] No, no, no! Then the hon Steenhuisen rose on a point of order, and referred to me as speaking rubbish. [Interjections.] And I requested ... [Interjections.]
No, I just want for us to remind each other once more. I requested the hon Steenhuisen to withdraw the word “rubbish”. He refused to do that. I requested the hon Steenhuisen to therefore leave the House. There was an en masse response by the DA on that particular matter where even a serious insinuation was then made to the fact that I am not consistent. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Yes!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): On the basis of that, I then put the question to the DA of whether this was a collective response. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: No!
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I put the question. [Interjections.] No, no, no. I put the question, to which there was a collective response of members of the DA standing up. It is on that basis that I said I would be left with no option but to request the DA to then leave the House. [Interjections.]
Dr W G JAMES: House Chair?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): May I take you as the last and then we proceed with the business of the House?
Dr W G JAMES: House Chair, may I address you, Sir?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Yes.
Dr W G JAMES: The hon Lekota was entirely within his rights to use the word “faction”. It is not unparliamentary. The hon Steenhuisen was within his rights to use the word “rubbish”. Any ruling other than that is a violation of freedom of speech, which is enshrined in our Constitution. I would therefore ask you to withdraw that ruling. You have to withdraw the ruling that the word “faction” is unparliamentary, and you have to withdraw the ruling that the word “rubbish” is unparliamentary. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, I will once more remind ourselves and assert our ability and our right to freedom of speech. I would once more encourage ourselves as members to be careful of the kind of words we use in the House. [Interjections.]
I still maintain that I take strong exception to the fact that I was told that I was talking rubbish! [Interjections.] I take strong exception to that. Therefore, as a ruling on the matter, I will not withdraw, and I wish to allow the hon Lekota to continue with the debate. Hon Lekota, please continue with the debate.
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Hon Chairperson, am I to ...
Mr M S MABIKA: Chairperson ...
Mr M G P LEKOTA: ... understand that I am ...
Mr M S MABIKA: Chairperson ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I thought I made a ruling on the matter.
Mr M S MABIKA: But I brought it to your attention that Deputy Minister Mduduzi insulted members. So you need to make a ruling on that. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, my ruling on the kinds of words that we use in the House... [Interjection.]
Mr M S MABIKA: Thula wena! [You, keep quiet!]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): ... stands, to say ... because it is very difficult ... I didn’t hear that. He shouted. I told you!
An HON MEMBER: Mduduzi Manana.
An HON MEMBER: Chairperson ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Deputy Minister, are you ... [Interjections.] Is it true that you used the word that you are accused of having used? [Interjections.] If so, would you please just withdraw that word.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION: I couldn’t have, Chair. I couldn’t have said such. But you can check the Hansard.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Okay, fine.
Ms D CARTER: Hon Chair, please check the Hansard because I saw him and the microphone was on! [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon ... [Interjections.] No, no, no. [Interjections.] It’s okay. We’ll check Hansard and then we will come back on the usage of that word. Hon Lekota, can you continue?
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Our executive authority has been coerced and led into supporting the occupant of the Office of the President in his refusal to comply with section 182 of the Constitution — that is to say, to implement the remedial action of the Public Protector.
We, the legislature, have been divided into two parts or factions: one faction consisting of two or three parties collaborating with the presiding officers; and another smaller faction strenuously trying to hold the executive to account. [Interjections.]
What’s wrong with the word “faction” there? [Interjections.] In these circumstances, this legislature, through force of the majority faction, voted to support the individual in the Office of the President, to undermine the Constitution in not complying with the powers of the Public Protector.
We, the legislature, are now held to ransom by presiding officers who believe that their function is to shield the executive from our efforts to hold it to account.
Now this issue of holding the executive to account is an original power of the legislature. It is in the Constitution that, once we are in the legislature and not in the Cabinet, our duty is to hold the executive to account. [Interjections.] The presiding officers are there to protect our right to hold the executive to account. [Applause.] That ... and I must say this: Once the executive has been identified, all members of the legislature, members of the ruling party and the opposition are expected to compose the legislature. All of us collectively are expected to hold the executive to account, not to protect it. [Interjections.] It must explain itself. It must explain its actions. It must account to the people by answering the questions we raise.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Lekota, your time has expired.
Mr M G P LEKOTA: So we ask for no favour.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Your time has expired.
Mr M G P LEKOTA: No! Honestly! No, it can’t be. It can’t be. [Interjections.] It cannot be! It cannot ... [Inaudible.] It never can be. I still have two minutes. I have been sitting here with two minutes, 17 seconds left! [Interjections.] And you tell me I am finished? [Interjections.] I have to say this: If there are people who are keeping time, then they are acting like criminals. I was left here with two minutes. Nobody can say I have been talking for two minutes. This thing suddenly jumped from two minutes, 17 seconds to no time.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Lekota, your time has expired. [Interjections.]
Mr M G P LEKOTA: No, I am not doing this. [Interjections.] There is ... two minutes and 17 seconds were here. They were here.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Your time has expired, sir. [Interjections.] Hon Julius?
Mr J W W JULIUS: Hon Deputy Chairperson ... [Interjections.]
Mr M HLENGWA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, I rise on a point of order.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Yes, can I take the point of order.
Mr M HLENGWA: Hon Chair, the fracas we have just had arose out of a ruling that you made about the hon Radebe speaking about the word “faction”. After you made the ruling, the hon Lekota in his speech continued using the word. I put it to you, Chair, you need to clarify this. What is the status of your ruling? Because, as it stands now, on the one hand it is unparliamentary, but on the other hand you have allowed it to continue. You have put us in a difficulty because we don’t know who’s who and what’s what in the zoo. What is the status of your ruling?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, the first ruling stands. [Interjections.] If by any chance ... [Interjections.] If by any chance I have to consult Hansard, I will then advise from there. Could you continue, hon member.
Mr N L S KWANKWA: Mhlekazi, I rise on a point of order. I will be very quick, Sir. You see, my other concern is that you made a ruling around the issue that has to do with the DA - whether or not they should leave the House, right? Then, after that, you did not clarify what the final position on the matter was. The reason I am raising this is because there are South Africans out there watching. We don’t want our people to think that we have Rules for the EFF and Rules for the DA. I am not saying here that the DA should be chucked out of the House, but you need to tell us what final decision you have taken. It is important.
An HON MEMBER: The whips are still discussing ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members would remember that the final decision, in fact, did not say the DA must leave the House. [Interjections.] I had said ... [Interjections.] No, no, no! [Interjections.] I had said ... I had said the behaviour of the DA would leave me with no option but to request them to leave the House. I therefore requested them to refrain from that kind of behaviour, upon which they sat down under the leadership of their own leader, the hon Maimane. That is why I did not make that ruling. [Interjections.] Continue with the debate, hon Julius.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, may I address you? On that matter of saying the DA must leave the Chamber, can you please look at the Hansard and come back with a ruling? Thank you. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Okay.
Mr J W W JULIUS / nvs
Mr M G P LEKOTA
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Mr J W W JULIUS: Deputy Chairperson, I need to remind you that sometimes biased behaviour can put you in a corner. [Applause.] Mr President, Deputy President, hon members and fellow South Africans ...
Afrikaans:
... in die boek Kringe in ’n Bos, geskryf deur Dalene Matthee, het ek ’n interessante lesing gekry. In die storie het mense vir jare geglo dat ’n bloubokkie anders is as gewone bokkies. Hulle het geglo dat die bloubokkie se gal in sy kop sit. Die hoofkarakter, Saul, het toe eendag ’n bloubokkie geslag en gevind dat die bloubokkie se gal glad nie in sy kop sit nie, maar op die gewone plek, net soos ander bokkies.
Dit was die oomblik toe Saul agtergekom het dat of die grootmense het opsetlik vir hom gelieg of hulle het die leuen geglo. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I read an interesting piece in the book, Kringe in ’n Bos, written by Dalene Matthee. In the story, people believed for years that a blue buck is different than other bucks. They believed that the blue buck’s bile is located in its head. One day, the main character, Saul, slaughtered a blue buck and discovered that the blue buck’s bile is not located in its head, but in the usual place, just like other bucks.
This was the moment when Saul realised that either the adults lied to him deliberately, or they believed the lie themselves.]
English:
This reminded me of the ANC and the insidious corruption and patronage that has crept into the organisation.
Afrikaans:
Ek wil dus Dalene Matthee se hoofkarakter parafraseer, of die ANC lieg opsetlik of hulle glo self die leuen. [I therefore want to paraphrase Dalene Matthee’s main character, either the ANC is lying, or they believe the lie themselves.]
English:
Either you deliberately lied or you believe the lies yourself. The President failed to inspire in his speech. You know, the President missed an opportunity to challenge provincial and local government to also introduce cost-cutting measures during their state of the province or town addresses. In the Free State provincial address, Premier Ace Magashule didn’t even mention cost-cutting measures once. I challenge you, provinces, town councils and municipalities, to introduce these measures. Mr President, the Gauteng province has the highest GDP in the country. How are you planning to turn the economy around when you and the Premier of Gauteng have a dysfunctional relationship in the ANC? Talk about factions. You don’t have factions; in fact, you have fractions, small fractions. [Interjections.]
Afrikaans:
Hon Olive Popeye, Tina Joemat-Peterson, ons weet nou wat jy weekends [naweke] drink. Daardie cheap [goedkoop] wyn. Ek wil vir jou sê dat jy nie weer Noord-Kaap se stemme sal haal nie. Jy kom ons mense te na hier; jy kry nie weer daardie stemme nie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Hon Olive Popeye, Tina Joemat-Peterson, we now know what you drink on weekends. That cheap wine. I want to say to you that you will not attain the Northern Cape’s votes again. You offend our people here; you will not get those votes again. [Applause.]]
English:
Mr President, while we welcome the cost-cutting measures that you announced last week – though few - we want to urge you to please be brave.
Afrikaans:
Wees dapper! [Be brave!]
English:
Usually the Presidency includes messages to our youth around the country in the state of the nation address, but the President was not brave enough this year, because he didn’t have any more empty promises for the youth. That is why you did not include all these Facebook messages in your promises.
In the DA-governed Western Cape province, we say no to politicians conducting business with government. [Interjections.] Listen! We say no to expensive and unnecessary vehicles, and we say no to sponsored government cars. [Interjections.]
My colleague Mr Solly Msimanga has promised the Tshwane Metro that a DA government will ensure access to basic services, a smart metering system that will allow residents to control their water consumption, and the use of green technology like solar lighting.
My other colleague, Mr Herman Mashaba, black like me ... [Interjections.] ... has promised the Johannesburg Metro that a DA government will tear up the bylaws that restrict small business growth in our first 100 days in government and assist homeowners with receiving title deeds. [Applause.] Another colleague of mine, the DA Mayor of Midvaal, Mr Bongani Baloyi, has already proven the strength of a DA government. Not only is Midvaal ranked as having the best provision of water and sanitation in Gauteng, with no backlogs, according to Statistics SA, but it also has the lowest unemployment rate in Gauteng. [Applause.] Midvaal was the top-performing municipality in Gauteng in the 2014 annual Municipal Financial Sustainability Index and it received a clean audit for the 2013-14 financial year.
Afrikaans:
Agb President, ek borrel oor van die idee van ’n DA Gauteng ...
[Hon President, I am elated about the idea of a DA Gauteng,...]
English:
... especially, for the people of Westrand where I come from, hon Nawa.
Afrikaans:
Hierdie mense is dapper. Die burgers van Suid-Afrika ken die ANC se leuens en elke dag leer kiesers die waarheid. [These people are brave. The citizens of South Africa know the ANC’s lies and voters learn the truth every day.]
English:
The lies range from the Nkandla costs, the Gupta family dealings to so-called plans for job creation in South Africa. We know the lies. [Interjections.] You are either lying or you believe the lies yourself. Get out of your comfort zone and do something about this man who is actually not doing anything for our country. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Minister Sisulu, you know, the ANC has failed to address the huge gap between the rich and the poor. Instead, the Cabinet has enriched themselves heavily.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Is that a point of order, hon member?
Mr J W W JULIUS: You are loaded with cash, mostly through corruption and money that was meant to build our economy.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, could you take your seat. Let me take a point of order.
Ms T WANA: Chairperson, can the speaker take my question?
HON MEMBERS: No.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, are you prepared to take a question?
Mr J W W JULIUS: No, Deputy Chair, I am not prepared to take a question now. I am talking local government. If it was the President’s bestseller: How to ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius ... Hon Julius ... The hon member is not prepared to take a question. Is that a point of order, hon member?
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Yes, it is. The hon member here says: Minister Sisulu, you are loaded with money. [Interjections.] This is not true. [Interjections.] I want to ... [Interjections.] You are talking ... [Inaudible.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, order! Order, hon members!
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: This is absolute rubbish and I want him to take it back. [Interjections.] I want him to take it back. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members ... [Interjections.] Hon members ... [Interjections.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: Can you call the bouncers for the rubbish.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members ... Order! Order! May I just request that the last part of rubbish be withdrawn? I will then make a ruling on the other part.
The MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Hon Chair, I will withdraw but I have been insulted here. [Interjections.] I want you to ensure that he withdraws unconditionally. It is your responsibility to protect me. You cannot allow a blatant lie to continue. Thank you.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, on what Rule is the hon member standing on? I am here. Firstly, on what Rule is the hon member standing on? Secondly, the hon Minister withdrew the word rubbish conditionally, not unconditionally. When you withdraw in this House, it is unconditionally. Could you please ask the hon Minister to withdraw the word “rubbish” unconditionally? Thank you.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member, the way I understood the Minister ... [Interjections.] The Minister withdrew the word rubbish. That is what I requested the Minister to do. [Interjections.] Therefore, on the second part of the insinuation that has been made or the statement that it is not factual, could I consult Hansard and come back to you? Please. Could you conclude, hon member?
Mr M WATERS: Sorry, Chairperson, before you start: You say that you are going to consult Hansard to find out if the Minister is loaded with money. Can we get a definition of what loaded with money actually is, please? Thank you.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon member, that is not a point of order. Hon Julius, can you conclude?
Prince M G BUTHELEZI: Deputy Chairperson, I just wanted to know from the hon member, when he said the ANC must do something about “this man”, was he referring to the President?
An HON MEMBER: Yes.
Prince M G BUTHELEZI: Pardon ... [Interjections.] This is because even we ourselves are referred to as hon members. But is it correct to refer to the President as “this man”? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, did you make reference to the President as “this man”? [Interjections.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: Hon Deputy Chair, I thought you were in the House. You hear some things and you don’t hear some things. I thought you were in the House. You didn’t hear the rubbish comment, but you hear other things now. Can you please take charge of the House and rule? Can you please rule.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, if ...
Mr J W W JULIUS: You can check Hansard. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, if then that is the case ... because you are not disputing that. [Interjections.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: You can check Hansard. You can check Hansard.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, you are not disputing that. If that is what you said, can you please withdraw the part referring to the President as “this man”?
Mr J W W JULIUS: I prefer that we check Hansard, and I will ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, I am giving an order on the matter that you have raised. [Interjections.]
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, may I address you?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): No, I am addressing the hon Julius.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, can you not consult Hansard and make a ruling, like you have done with the hon Minister, or ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): No, I am addressing ...
Mr M WATERS: ... or are you being biased once more?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): I am addressing the hon Julius. Hon Julius, if you referred to the President as “this man”, could you withdraw that? [Interjections.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: I can’t remember, Chairperson. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): So, you did not say that? [Interjections.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: Could you please check Hansard if you cannot remember?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, I have requested you to do something, if you said that. [Interjections.] Could you withdraw any reference to the President as “this man”?
Mr J W W JULIUS: It was at an emotional time, Chairperson. It was so long ago that I cannot remember, honestly. [Interjections.] I might have and I might not have. Please check Hansard.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, I am putting the question to you.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, may I address you?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): As the Deputy Chief Whip of the DA?
Mr M WATERS: Yes. Chairperson, there seems to be some confusion here. The simple way to go forward and to get the process on the road would be to consult Hansard and come back with a ruling. It’s as simple as that.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): No. There are two ways of dealing with this matter or any statement. [Interjections.] No, no, no. There are two ways of dealing with a statement that was made in the House: one, is to confirm with the member who is alleged to have said it ... [Interjections.] ... and if the member then denies having said that and there is still a belief that the member did say that, I am prepared to consult Hansard on that. [Interjections.] Hon Julius, did you make that statement?
Mr J W W JULIUS: Chairperson, I cannot remember. It was emotional inside. It was long ago. Please check Hansard. I will gladly assist you and withdraw afterwards.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Okay. Thank you very much. Can you conclude your speech? [Applause.]
Mr J W W JULIUS: Thank you, Chairperson. On the question of the hon Nawa, I cannot ... It is about local government. I cannot answer you now. I think you should pose the question to the President’s new bestseller: How to grow a political dwarf in just under one weekend - David van Rooyen. [Interjections.] Mr President, the people of South Africa have slaughtered their own blue buck. They know the true state of the nation. They don’t believe the ANC lies anymore.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, as you leave the podium, could you please withdraw the use of the word “dwarf” of another member? [Interjections.] I heard you.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Political dwarf.
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson ...
Mr J W W JULIUS: It’s an expression.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I order you to withdraw that, hon member? [Interjections.]
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, may I assist you?. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius ...
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, may I address you please?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Can I address the hon Julius?
Mr M WATERS: No, but this may assist you, Chair. The fact is the hon Julius referred to a political dwarf. It’s a metaphor. He wasn’t saying the individual is a dwarf. It’s a political dwarf. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members ... Hon members ... [Interjections.]
Mr M WATERS: I mean, come on - where is the freedom of speech in this House?
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, we are in the House and we are hon members. [Interjections.] Whatever metaphors we use, we should not use them in a derogatory way. Hon Julius, can you withdraw the usage of that word?
Mr J W W JULIUS: Hon political dwarf - I withdraw the previous part, Chairperson. Hon political dwarf is a metaphor.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, what are you withdrawing?
Mr J W W JULIUS: You can’t take away my freedom of speech in the House, Chairperson.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Julius, what are you withdrawing?
Mr J W W JULIUS: I withdraw the part that you want me to withdraw and I add that it is an hon political dwarf.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon members, I will have to come back to this kind of a thing. [Applause.]
Rev K R J MESHOE / Src
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Mr J W W JULIUS
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr R J Tau): Hon Meshoe?
As I allow the hon Meshoe to take the podium, may I make the point, hon members - and I appeal to political parties in particular the Whips of political parties - that an engagement take place, beyond this sitting, on how we conduct ourselves in the House. [Interjections.] Could you continue, hon Meshoe.
Rev K R J MESHOE: Hon Chairperson, the ACDP welcomes news of the President’s recent discussions with some of the leading CEOs of our business community to find solutions to the slow economic growth. This must be seen, however, against the backdrop of poor decision-making by the President, such as the irrational firing of our well-respected former Finance Minister, Mr Nene, in December. This caused huge damage to investor confidence, the rand to tumble, and significant losses on the stock exchange and bond markets.
In a similar fashion, the President’s dramatic about-turn on the Nkandla debacle is an embarrassment for all ANC MPs and Cabinet Ministers who served on the ad hoc committees. For example, the Minister of Police, in trying to defend the Nkandla expenditure, undermined the Public Protector’s report and tried, at every turn, to protect the
President from having to repay anything.
The ACDP argued consistently that the findings of the Public Protector are legally binding unless reviewed by a court and that the President should repay a fair and reasonable amount. Both these serious matters have deeply tarnished the President’s credibility. They raise questions about the advice he is receiving and his ability to hold the highest office in the land. How can he expect to be trusted, even by his own Cabinet, as a result? How will he restore the confidence of this House, his supporters and potential investors?
The ACDP agrees with those who believe that President Zuma has become a liability for the country. He should therefore do the honourable thing and step down.
In his speech, the President raised the need to empower small, medium and micro enterprises, SMMEs, to accelerate their growth. While the ACDP agrees, we want to know how the government plans to do this, particularly when township entrepreneurs are losing their businesses to foreign traders, many of whom are known to be heavily subsidised, thereby giving them an unfair advantage over locals.
I would like to take a little time to respond to the President’s call to “confront the demon of racism”. As he said that the commemoration of Human Rights Day on March 21st would be used to lay the foundation for a long-term programme of building a nonracial society, I would like to submit the following for contribution by all South Africans.
Firstly, we should all be honest with ourselves and admit that there are racists in all race groups. Racism is hurtful and its effects are devastating. It violates the dignity of all who have been created in God’s image. It is a sin before God that we must all confront and repent. Secondly, the government should revive the late President Nelson Mandela’s commitment to reconciliation and nation-building and take the lead in this. To talk about reconciliation and revolution simultaneously is counterproductive, as these two things are mutually exclusive. The ANC must desist from using the race card whenever they want to shift blame for their failures.
Thirdly, I want to encourage all South Africans to become agents of peace. Distance yourselves from those who incite trouble and racial hatred. They only seek to keep South Africans divided and angry. We must choose, rather, to become nation-builders - those who are able to diffuse volatile situations and bring life and hope.
We must remember, brothers, sisters, ladies and gentlemen, that reconciliation is not a onceoff event. It is a work in progress, and we dare not become complacent in pursuing it. Let us resolve to learn from the past and move beyond what was once a divided and painful past. It is time to do things differently.
To this end, the ACDP wants to work with all sectors of society that share our vision to see this beautiful country united as one nation under God, whose future is bright and prosperous. This is also an opportunity for the true church to be heard more than ever before in promoting forgiveness and spreading the ministry of peace, reconciliation and national unity for all sectors of society.
Finally, let us move South Africa forward. If we choose to, we can become a nation of which the world will one day say: “They have overcome the injustices and pain of apartheid and have moved forward to become a great nation – one that is worthy to be emulated.” Thank you and God bless. [Applause.]
Mr M KHAWULA
Rev K R J MESHOE
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Mr M KHAWULA: Hon Deputy Chairperson, His Excellency the President, I and many others have been fortunate to have been raised in the political school of Prince M Buthelezi, which, amongst other things, taught us that as political opponents we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable.
Prince Buthelezi once stated in this House that the failures of a sitting President reflect on all elected public representatives of the time. When the President does right, South Africa prospers in success, including its Parliament. When we, in the IFP, point out shortcomings in the Presidency, it is not intended to ridicule the office but to move the office to a level of integrity and good governance. Therefore, this input is intended to assist the President to transform the country from being a successful failure to being prosperous.
The hon President laboured hard last week to try to mop up the floor, but the roof is still leaking. This suggests that the problem is at the top. Whilst acknowledging the honest approach of the President in his address on the economic downturn, the President’s appeal for cost reduction remains unconvincing and lacks honesty as long as the South African Cabinet remains as bloated as it is at the present moment.
A serious decision to reduce Cabinet to reasonable and manageable proportions is not a costly exercise - and it pays immediate dividends in cost reduction. On the other hand, a decision to relocate Parliament to the administrative capital is costly long term with long-term dividends. First things first, Mr President.
Cabinet Minister, premiers and Deputy Ministers have a performance contract with the President. A performance contract means that you perform to expectations and above expectations and you get rewarded. If you perform below expectations, you get penalised. Penalties mean that you can even lose your job. What we have seen so far with the hon President is the opposite. A performing Minister gets booted out of the Cabinet, while some nonperforming Ministers are retained.
IsiZulu:
Ake ubagijimise manje Mhlonishwa Mongameli bake bakusabe. Bangakusabeli nje isiqu sakho oNgqongqoshe kanye noNdunankulu beziFundazwe kodwa basabe ukuthi hheyi uMsholozi, uyawufuna umsebenzi. Yilokho esikudingayo. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Keep them on their toes now, Hon President, so that they can be fearful of you. The Ministers and the Premiers should not be fearful of just your title but also of the fact that Msholozi (Clan name.), wants results. That’s what we need.]
English:
Mr President, you cannot continue as if it is still business as usual. When the country’s economy goes down and the government behaves like this is normal and acceptable just because it is happening elsewhere in the world, when students fail matric and the government behaves like that is normal and acceptable, when people lose jobs and the government behaves like this is due to happen because of this and that, then we all begin to question the integrity, seriousness and commitment of the President. Unfortunately, Mr President, this is where the buck stops. In order for your generals to protect you, they must perform and not create misleading stories. When they mislead South Africa, they are destroying your integrity.
The introduction of cost-cutting measures in South Africa is not new. The then - and now current - Minister of Finance in 2013 introduced stern costcutting measures. The President and government must begin to walk the talk. By coincidence, Mr President, South Africa’s poor economic growth has intensified during the period 2009 to date. Corruption in government circles has intensified during the period 2009 to date. Job losses have intensified during the period 2009 to date. The number of scandalous incidents has increased during the period 2009 to date. One question needs to be asked: What is it that happened in South Africa in 2009? I thank you.
Mr K J MILEHAM
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Mr M KHAWULA
Mr K J MILEHAM: Chairperson, Mr President, water is life. Our country is in the throes of what could become the worst drought in recorded history, with the SA Weather Service having already declared 2015 as the driest year since 1904. It cannot be said, however, that this was unforeseen, as the onset of the current dry season has been coming for a number of years, and entities such as the Water Research Commission have been predicting the current El Niño since at least 2013. And, as such, government should have had contingency plans in place at local, provincial and national levels.
These contingency plans should include monitoring, early warning and prediction systems, risk impact and assessment, mitigation and response programmes, including proactive actions to reduce risks, and response mechanisms to reduce the impact. What cannot be forgiven is the lack of planning and the inadequate and immediate response by our government to a crisis that threatens agriculture, food security, industry and the residents of our country. The Minister of Water and Sanitation has been distinctly absent in this regard and has shown little interest in the drought and its impacts.
The continued denialist attitude of this government is in stark contrast to the situation on the ground where we see communities facing extreme water shortages and farmers across our country in a battle for survival. The actions of civil society, expressed through groups like Operation Hydrate and Gift of the Givers and many others, are commendable, but it is absolutely untenable, Mr President, that civil society once again had to step in and do what our government could not, or would not, do.
Mr President, to put this crisis into perspective without even taking the effects of the drought into consideration: 15 million people in South Africa are already unable to feed themselves on a daily basis, and 5,9% of all households are on the verge of what can only be described as starvation, according to Statistics SA. The massive increase in food prices and the effects of job losses in rural areas are not being taken seriously by your government. The impact on our health and sanitation could also have further, far-reaching consequences.
The DA therefore renews its call for President Zuma to declare this drought a national disaster in order for all departments to assess the impact in their areas of responsibility. [Applause.] To leave this disaster in the hands of local and provincial structures without proper funding and capacity is irresponsible and short-sighted. Both Lesotho, which is one of our primary water sources, and Zimbabwe have declared the drought a national disaster, and Botswana has indicated it will budget an additional $123 million for drought relief and water crisis efforts. Yet our own government is found wanting!
We have recently seen the taps of a number of communities run dry. Here, much of the blame needs to be placed on municipalities. Areas such as Koster and Swartruggens have issued a declaration of local disaster and haven’t had water since December. And, while the drought conditions have exacerbated the situation, it is equally true that a lack of maintenance of water infrastructure and a lack of management of water resources have resulted in average water losses at municipal level in excess of 40%. Despite the progress in expanding access to water, reliability of supply is a growing problem.
And what has the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation been doing? They have been playing hide and seek with the Blue and Green Drop reports. We had to resort to making a Paia application, that is a Promotion of Access to Information Act application, and it is only through continued pressure from the DA over the past weeks that the department finally uploaded the reports to their website.
Their actions show an appalling lack of transparency. They are trying to hide the truth about South Africa’s water supply and the quality of our water resources and sewage disposal systems from the South African public. These Blue and Green Drop reports contain crucial information that the public needs to know, since these reports often contain warnings to members of a specific community not to consume their tap water without treating it first. So the question is, Mr President: What are you hiding; what are you not telling us?
And then in the past few months, we have seen Eskom threaten to cut off electricity to at least 20 municipalities because of nonpayment of arrear debt to the electricity supplier. This punishes residents and businesses for the failure of the municipalities to properly manage their finances.
Both the SA Local Government Association, Salga, and individual municipalities have raised the concern about the nonalignment of Eskom’s billing processes in terms of the Municipal Finance Management Act, or the MFMA, which requires that municipalities settle their accounts within 30 days of invoice, but Eskom starts charging interest from Day 15. They have also pointed out that Eskom charges interest at prime plus 5%.
Despite an interministerial committee having considered this matter – yes, another interministerial committee - for over two years, there appears to be little headway in resolving this issue. Mr President, section 139(5) of the Constitution requires the provincial executive, or your Cabinet where the provincial executive cannot or does not act, to impose a financial recovery plan on a municipality and dissolve the municipal council; or, where it does not dissolve the municipal council, to assume the responsibility for the implementation of that recovery plan.
I have personally written to the former Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, on numerous occasions and to your new Minister of this and that, Des van Rooyen, requesting them to take this firm action. Sadly, I have to report that they have both defied the Constitution, much as you yourself did, and not taken the steps required of them.
Minister Gordhan’s much-vaunted Back-to-Basics plan has resulted in some slight improvements at municipalities. But, at the same time, almost an equal number of municipalities have regressed and fallen into the dysfunctional category. It remains to be seen whether Minister Van Rooyen, the 5th Cogta Minister in seven years, will introduce yet another turnaround plan and once again put municipalities in turmoil.
It is no surprise that the DA-run municipalities and provinces shine in comparison, because we put the needs of South Africans first. [Applause.] This is because the DA invests in infrastructure, ensures clean, efficient government and delivers basic services to residents where it governs. Oh, and by the way, none of our municipalities is under threat of having its electricity cut off. The bottom line, Mr President, is that the majority of South Africa’s municipalities and provinces are failing because of poor ANC governance. The ANC of 2016 couldn’t run a bath, especially given the current water crisis, let alone this country. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY / GG
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Mr K J MILEHAM
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Hon House Chairperson, President, Deputy President and hon members, it is not – unfortunately, hon Lekota - the time that was going quickly here, but the seats of Cope which were reduced from 60 to a split of three seats in a period of five years. So don’t complain about time; complain about the seats. Go and campaign so that you sit much longer. In fact, I think this is the longest you have ever sat in this chair since this Parliament started.
It was also clear from the hon Julius that all Juliuses are created equal. [Applause.] [Laughter.] I hope, hon members, that some members who came here to speak on behalf of the opposition will lick their lips after speaking so that they taste the Ses’khona product that comes out of their mouths after they have spoken, because those are the things which we do not want to hear that we have been subjected to.
My great-grandfather allegedly had a one-trick pony, or what you would call a one-hit wonder. He bought the pony after selling his World War I-acquired bicycle. The pony, which was named Aloysius - with a “u”, I must say - after the German brunette that Grandpa had a crush on in some bar, was of no use to the old man other than performing just one trick every Christmas.
Last week and yesterday in our Christmas here in Parliament through the state of the nation address and this debate, ages after we buried both my old man and Aloysius, the annual trick recurred; the ceremonial tendencies of members of this side of the House repeated the same trick - the one trick. What did we hear? Nkandla. What else? The Guptas. And then with some stroke of genius, a rework of the old trick: Planet Zuma was unveiled followed by the unpolished “Zuma must resign” slogan. This has been the case for the past few years - one-trick ponies and one-hit wonders.
I am not in denial and neither is the ANC, because these are the issues that are on the lips of many South Africans, including within the ANC and the electorate. But the electorate doesn’t only want to hear a broken record. They are faced with a global economic crisis and are expecting leaders in Parliament to also demonstrate a stroke of scarce genius and say to the President: What you said in the state of the nation address will not work; these are the alternative solutions to create jobs, to move millions of South Africans out of poverty and to reduce the wage gap. But we had nothing of that from this side of the House. [Applause.]
The rants and the chants of our opposing side illustrated nothing but their lack of solutions: dreaming up nonexistent planets, or even suggesting that if we could revolutionise teaspoon manufacturing South Africa would be a better country. National leadership, hon President, is the art of identifying the urgent and pressing challenges that face our society, and then engaging that society on what the best solutions are and calling for unison in the national psyche to confront those challenges.
Your state of the nation address was the elixir required to deal with exactly those challenges: unemployment, poverty and inequality. This was indicated in the days leading up to your state of the nation address in that the ANC under your leadership is more capable of creating unison in our national psyche to deal with these challenges. This message was echoed by the CEOs that you met. It was also echoed by the workers and the streets vendors that you engaged with in Marabastad: that the ANC is the only capable political party to pull us out of the global economic crisis. [Applause.]
This was also said through most of the local government elections last year. By the way, in the by-elections we had last year, the ANC was retained in almost all of the 47 wards that the ANC contested except in two where we lost to the opposition. But we took two of their wards here in the Western Cape to show that gradually we are going to govern the Western Cape. [Applause.]
The hon Leader of the Opposition thought he spoke at length about how the President lived on Planet Zuma, but what he actually did was explain the planet which he himself was living on - his Wonderland. You, my mate, and fellow hon member are nothing but Alice in Wonderland: someone who chooses to see only the bad that this government has done and desperately wants to sweep the good that we have done over the years under the carpet, hoping that the majority of our people will not see that.
Let me illustrate how, like Alice in Wonderland, you have reduced the whole country to being a dismal failure except in your Republic of the Western Cape. You claimed yesterday that you wanted to make South Africa a better country, just as you did the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town in particular, but you forgot to mention the fact that Cape Town has been the land of milk and honey, Canaan, since 1994.
In fact, Statistics SA and census statistics show that 85% of the Western Cape population in 1996 had access to electricity for lighting, but that number went up, of course, to 93% in 2011. Good work, but significantly that was under the ANC government here in the Western Cape. [Applause.] Compare that with Limpopo, which started at 39,2% in 1996, but where, as we speak today, 87,3% of the Limpopo population has access to electricity. [Applause.] Now, who has changed the lives of the people for the better? For the ANC, black lives always matter. For the DA, only black votes count.
In 1996, 89% of the Western Cape had access to piped water, whilst only 70,4% had the same access in the Free State. In 2011, only 88,4% of the Western Cape population had access to piped water, whereas the Free State moved from 70,4% to 89,1%. [Applause.] Now, for the ANC black lives have always mattered, but for the DA only black votes have counted.
In 1996, the unemployment rate in the Western Cape was 17,9% - the lowest throughout the whole country. But today, as we speak, unemployment stands at 21,6%. In all the other provinces, led by the ANC, we have seen a significant increase, particularly in the North West where unemployment in 1996 was at 37%, but today is at 31,5%. For the ANC, black lives have always mattered, but for the DA only black votes have counted. We do not want to enter into this competition, but if you come here and say that the DA’s Western Cape budget goes significantly towards black communities, whereas the numbers in terms of schools are showing a completely different picture, we have to expose this to the nation.
Look at Langa Secondary School: Last year, 151 pupils wrote, 54 achieved, which is 41,9%, and only 16 attained bachelors degrees. The same goes for Khayalethu and Masihambisane which only performed just above 50%. However, if you go to where the hon Leader of the Opposition goes, he is sometimes asked whether he really belongs here or not. In the white suburbs at Bloemhof High School, 140 wrote, 140 passed - everything at 100%. You can go to Rustenburg Girls High. You can go to Westerford High School. There is no way that you can have these disparities if the Western Cape government was investing resources equally in all the communities in the Western Cape. [Applause.] For the ANC, black lives have always mattered, but for the DA only black votes have counted.
Yes, there are challenges and there have been setbacks, but there are pockets of excellence throughout the country which illustrate that, while you are preoccupied with changing the ruling party, we are more focused on changing the lives of the majority of our people. Neo Phayane is a member of the Ramatlabama Piggery Co-operative in a village in the North West, just outside Mafikeng. Together with his 11 peers, young men and women, they started operating a pig production business from one of the member’s back yards. The co-op was assisted by the provincial government and the National Youth Development Agency, the NYDA, to the value of R1,4 million. These are young people who live far away from Wonderland, where Alice only depends on newspaper stories and tweets generated to create the idea that South Africa is on a precipice and a cliffhanger. They know these young people - that their genuine efforts could never have paid off if the government and the NYDA did not give them that hand-up.
Allow me to enlighten you, hon Van Damme, or should we call you the dormouse of Alice in Wonderland. Since the launch of the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship by the President in 2014, more than 500 young people have received scholarships. One of them who is here is Anele Pike. Where is she? There she is. [Applause.] She is studying towards a Bachelor of Laws degree, or LLB degree, at the University of the Western Cape, having matriculated from Outeniqua High School in George. [Applause.] The other scholarship recipient is Nkosinathi Kaziwa - who is also here - is studying something that some of you may not know ... [Applause.] He is studying mechatronics at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, CPUT. He matriculated from Doctor Nelson Mandela High School. As we have seen, they are both here.
For you, these young people, hon Van Damme, may not be deserving of these scholarships, just like the millions of others who received National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS, loans and bursaries and went on to graduate and find employment. For you, they may just be some politically connected individuals because, in your Wonderland, the ANC is incapable of doing such good without breaking a few rules or appeasing a few individuals. [Applause.]
Such is the psyche of the opposition parties that their role and objective is to undermine the efforts and progress made by the ANC government. They do this by vulgarising the ANC government as corrupt, rent-seeking, lazy, undeserving and connected individuals who are part of the broader get-rich-quick scheme. But these are not just numbers, these are South Africans who look at you, hon Van Damme, with awe and ask themselves: Where did she come from? [Laughter.]
Some of these young men and women include the 3 242 who received grants from the NYDA of between R10 000 and R100 000. Over the past three years, the NYDA board has facilitated jobs of close to 11 000 through investments made in a variety of projects - no red tape, no favouritism, no political connections, just young people who do not exist in the tabloids, who do not exist on talk shows and in newspaper opinion pages filtered through Wonderland to make Alice believe that this government of the ANC is capable of nothing.
When the Mail & Guardian is not busy reporting on Alice’s meetings with Frederick Willem de Klerk, the newspaper annually publishes a list of 200 young South Africans who have made it in the new South Africa. They have access to opportunities because of this democratic dispensation. The list includes some of the politicians on both sides of the House whose potential could not have been realised had FW de Klerk not succumbed to local and international pressure and to the ANC struggle against apartheid. Many of these young people are our global ambassadors, like Trevor Noah, Brian Habana, Lerato Molapo, popularly known as Lira, and our very own Lindiwe Mazibuko. We hope that they will come back and make a difference to the country in the different fields that they find themselves in. [Applause.]
This is a sign of hope, hon President, that millions of South Africans will continue to prosper and exemplify that we are a capable nation even though progress has been made since 1994 when Nelson Mandela was elected President. It is hoped this good news will reach Alice in her Wonderland.
Madam Speaker, one of the major challenges that we face as a country ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, look around first. Order! [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Deputy Speaker, one of the major challenges that we face as a country is the unacceptably high level of serious and violent crime, also referred to as contact crime. The debilitating effect of this crime is felt most severely because it involves the inflicting of physical harm on a person. The foregoing accounts for the decision of the ANC government to identify crime as one of the top five apex priorities during the current mandate period.
The crime statistics released by the SA Police Service last September enable us to assert boldly that we have made good progress in bringing down the overall levels of serious crime. In the past 10 years, we have been able to reduce reported contact crime by about 18% from 750 000 to 616 000 in 2014-15. In the same period, murders and attempted murders declined by 3% and 18% respectively. This progress is borne out of the fact that according to the Victims of Crime Survey of 2013-14, 86,5% of households felt safe walking alone during the day compared to 87,5% in 2012. Of course, it would be remiss of me not to highlight that in recent years we have seen some setbacks in respect of certain categories of crime.
In the past two years, murder and attempted murder have shown a slight increase. The number of robberies at residential and business premises has remained stubbornly high. We are, accordingly, determined to intensify our fight against the scourge of crime through a multipronged approach that includes enhancing our capacity to ensure visible policing, and implementing crime-prevention and crime-combating strategies such as the National Crime Prevention Strategy, school safety programmes, the Rural Safety Strategy, the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, and so on.
The National Development Plan, the NDP, calls for the promotion and encouragement of an active citizenry. In this regard, we have prioritised the establishment of community safety forums, CSFs, to serve as platforms for the co-ordination, integration and monitoring of the implementation of multisectoral crime prevention and community safety initiatives. Over 120 CSFs have been established throughout the length and breadth of the country. The challenge, though, is to make certain that these become operational. All of us gathered in this Assembly are duty-bound to play an active role in ensuring that the CSFs and community police forums in our respective communities are effective.
Criminal conduct, such as the destruction of private and public property, cannot be tolerated. We want to say to young people out there: If you want a school, why burn a hospital? If you want a road, why stop other schoolchildren from going to school? Those are the things that we hope, collectively, we will ensure that we fight against. [Applause.] In order to ensure that all of this happens, last September Cabinet approved that the Border Management Agency Bill and the comments thereon compiled during public consultations be introduced to Parliament. We hope that this Bill will be finalised before the end of 2016.
Mr President, in the state of the nation address you emphasised the need to engage with the scourge of racism and declared that this year’s Human Rights Day shall be the national day against racism. It is important that we mobilise all South Africans in this important fight. Racism in our country has taken the form of economic exploitation and social exclusion and continues to divide millions of South Africans. We have seen how racists have become emboldened lately and make statements on social media about how lovely it was under apartheid and how they are missing Botha, “instead” – in their own words, some of them - “of these monkeys which are now in charge”.
But at the heart of the problem is the preservation of resources, power and privilege, which are predominantly in the hands of white and monopolistic capital. Many of them, especially localised monopolies, have amassed their capital ...
Mr I M OLLIS: Deputy Speaker, would the hon Deputy Minister take a question? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Manamela?
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: No.
Mr I M OLLIS: He is a bit afraid, I see.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Proceed, hon member.
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: We have heard here, in this House, how the problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality are manifested by corruption in government. But we have never heard any of the opposition political parties exposing the fact that some white and monopolistic capital are hoarding billions of rand and are actively on an investment strike, for they are like Alice in Wonderland. We have never heard the Official Opposition speak of the racism experienced by young graduates in the private sector who represent new talent, because, in their Wonderland, racism is supposedly a tactic for the ANC to stay in power.
They will never talk about the fact that we have fewer blacks as owners of the economy and as controllers and executives on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, because the role of the Official Opposition is to represent white privilege and, in their Wonderland, racism is a thing of the past. They protect and shield and reinstate their parliamentary representatives who repeat racist sentiments posted on social media, such as that of the hon Dianne Kohler-Barnard.
This reality of the Wonderland - that our Alice lives in - bears no reflection on the racial transformation that exists everywhere in the country. If you stroll along its beautiful beaches, go to its exquisite restaurants or into its posh suburbs of Camps Bay and Constantia, or view its benches here in Parliament, you will realise that it is they who hold the belief that black lives do not matter and that only black votes count.
Hon President and hon members, there’s an old saying that goes like this: There are those who cause happiness wherever they go, like the ANC; and there are those who cause unhappiness wherever they go, like the red brigade.
As they left, none of us felt a pinch of unhappiness because we were happy to see them go, but we know that they are participating in this debate on Facebook and Twitter because that is where they are highly rated as brave and bold Members of Parliament. In fact, the hon Ndlozi actually said on News24 that the hon leader of the red brigade is the bravest member that has ever laid foot in this House. But I doubt that, and I will tell you why. I doubt if that is the case, because, with all the challenges that we are faced with in this country, bravery without brains can only be catastrophic. [Applause.] And as Frantz Fanon said: “Fever should only be reserved for those who want to set a country on fire.” We need solutions. We need thinkers. We need engagers. Those who were meant to fight, fought the battles and brought this freedom. Ours is to invest in taking it forward.
The less said about the long list of apologists and gossips that the hon leader of the red brigade dished out here yesterday, the better; they are not the stuff of brave men. In Limpopo, where I come from, any man who repeats a conversation between two men has not a touch of bravery. In fact, it’s a coward who thrives on noise and gossip. Brave men also do not blame their misdemeanours and faults on others when it is convenient: So-and-so made us do it. We can only refer to you as an impimpi and never as a great man. [Applause.]
All that the hon leader of the red brigade did is to show that he is a party leader who is a gossiper without plans, without strategies and without a vision. His only intent is to disrupt parliamentary democracy and - wait for it; do not laugh - disrupt parliamentary democracy in the name of democracy. I don’t know where that has ever happened.
We went to see the hon Mbalula on the mountain - me and the leader of the red brigade - in 2008, I think. When we went there, the hon leader of the red brigade didn’t want to go in to see the hon Mbalula. I don’t know if the hon Mbalula remembers that or if he has forgotten. He didn’t want to go in because he was not prepared to compromise his boyhood then. He didn’t know what could happen to him at that point in time. [Applause.] [Laughter.] Now, where is the bravery?
But it will help to know whether the EFF will go to the Constitutional Court and ensure that their leader is also forced to comply with the findings of the Public Protector. If you remember, the Public Protector’s report “On the Point of Tenders”, pronounced their leader as a thief who redirected the resources of the people of Limpopo into his own pocket. It is hypocrisy to speak out against corruption committed by others, whilst turning a blind eye when it is committed by your own leader.
When all these issues of the red brigade and the Official Opposition have been settled by a judge, our nation will expect us to pull them out of the global economic crisis. But the nation will expect them to pull yet another trick, make another scene or drama so that the nation is kept glued to the television. People don’t watch television because they want to vote for you. Don’t be misled. People watch television because you entertain them. You are entertainers par excellence. [Applause.] We do not have a production script. We are not in the theatre. We are not here to act. We are here to deliver. Siyaqhuba [We are moving forward.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, order! Hon members, business will now be suspended for 15 minutes for a comfort break. Bells will be rung to alert members to the resumption of business.
BUSINESS SUSPENDED AT 16:58 AND RESUMED AT 17:20.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER / NN/A N N(ed)
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY
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ANNOUNCEMENT
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, before we proceed with the list of speakers, I wish to bring to the attention of this Joint Sitting that the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces have received a letter from the hon Steenhuisen in which he expresses regret for the nature of the exchange with the presiding officer in the House earlier this afternoon. This is in terms of Joint Rule 14(i) which provides that a member, who has been ordered to withdraw from the Chamber, may submit to the Speaker or the Chairperson of the NCOP a written expression of regret. The presiding officers have considered the expression of regret and accepted it. Mr Steenhuisen may therefore attend and participate in the proceedings today. Other matters which arose during that part of the sitting are receiving consideration and attention. Thank you.
Letter of Mr J H Steenhuisen appended to the Minutes.
Mr M L W FILTANE: Hon Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am rising to express a feeling of disappointment over the fact that the last speaker went into too much detail on matters of circumcision. I am appealing to members of this House ... [Interjections.] ... to say that the level of detail into which he went, given the different cultures in South Africa, made some of us men and Xhosa women freeze.
This is a humble appeal. People may find a lot of comfort for political reasons to howl me down; it is fine. They may do so but, I am telling you – and I spoke to a number of people during the short break - people just felt extremely uncomfortable. Thank you. [Interjections.]
The DEUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Order, hon members! The member has made an appeal, and I hope you take it on board.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES
The DEPUTY SPEAKER
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IsiZulu:
IPHINI LIKANGQONGQOSHE WEZOLIMO, AMAHLATHI KANYE NEZEZINHLANZI:
Ngizocela amanzi ukuthi ngilokhu ngishaya. [May I please have water so that I can keep on drinking.]
English:
Hon Deputy Speaker, hon President, hon members of this House, during his state of the nation address, the President emphasised the importance of agriculture, forestry and fisheries as he gave feedback on the nine-point plan, with specific emphasis on the revitalisation of agriculture and agroprocessing value chains and the blue economy or oceans economy.
Collectively, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector contributes over R70 billion to South Africa’s economy. Furthermore, this sector is notable as an employer, as an earner of foreign exchange, and as a supplier of raw materials to the manufacturing sector. This sector has the best multiplier effect for every rand invested in employment, exports, fiscal revenue and economic output.
However, this sector is currently facing the worst drought ever recorded in the history of South Africa. This drought is threatening the national priorities relating to food security, job security and economic growth. This drought is affecting what could have been the best year to come in the Republic of South Africa, making producers even poorer.
In the state of the nation address the President stated that five provinces had been seriously affected by drought and that government had provided relief to affected communities. All provinces are under constant assessment and further declarations have been and will continue to be made as the assessments are concluded.
It is important to note that other mitigating and risk-reducing programmes of government are continuing. A total package of just under R1 billion has been approved, in addition to the R124 million allocated by provinces to assist their affected farmers with livestock feed and livestock water.
We are engaging with the Industrial Development Corporation, the IDC, and the Land Bank which have already made available over R100 million to assist farmers with credit facilities relating to the drought.
Regarding maize, the latest Crop Estimates Committee, CEC, which is a body consisting of government and the private sector, has revised the estimated maize imports to 3,8 million tons, not 6 million. Logistical arrangements to ensure smooth imports of this maize have been made with industry role-players.
The latest showers experienced in parts of the country are welcomed, because they will alleviate the current conditions to a certain extent. Government will continue to engage with sector stakeholders, including farmer organisations, to explore further options to alleviate the impact of the drought.
Apart from drought, the current global economic climate is not encouraging, and will also impact on the national priorities relating to food security, job creation and the economic growth of the sector. South Africa is part of the global economy, and until we accept that we are exposed to the vagaries and turmoil of that global economy, we are living in a fool’s paradise.
Globally, approximately 795 million people are undernourished. This is down 167 million over the past decade and is 216 million less than in the 1990 to 1992 period. The decline is more pronounced in developing regions, despite significant population growth. Regionally, hunger in the region declined by 30% between the 1990 to 1992 period and 2015. This is in accordance with the State of Food Insecurity in the World Report, Sofi, a subsidiary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Fao, which happens to be a subsidiary organisation of the UN. This 30% decline translates into approximately one person out of four in sub-Saharan Africa being undernourished today, compared to a ratio of one person out of three in the 1990 to 1992 period.
In South Africa nationally, about 14,1 million people — which is 26% of the population — are still predisposed to hunger and malnutrition and, therefore, do not have enough food to eat. This increases levels of absolute poverty every year. This figure steadily increased from 12 million people in 2011, to 13,6 million people in 2012, and to 13,8 million people in 2013.
The top four provinces affected by food insecurity using absolute figures are KwaZulu-Natal with 3,5 million, the Eastern Cape with 2,2 million, Gauteng with 2 million and the Western Cape with 1,8 million. [Interjections.] Yes, the Western Cape.
The current situation ... [Interjections.] ... please lend me your ears. The current situation calls for co-ordinated food security interventions. This is not by accident and not because God is angry with us, but because of the systematic, orchestrated and legislative exclusion of the majority. That is why we are here. [Applause.] That is why I said, “Lend me your ears.” [Interjections.] We should ... [Interjections.] Lend me your ears and take it easy. [Interjections.]
We should not shy away from the observation made by Henry Bernstein in his paper entitled The Agrarian Question in South Africa, which can be found in the Journal of Peasant Studies, Volume 23 of 1996, and I quote:
The cumulative impact of the 1913 Land Act served to intensify pressure on subsistence and reproduction in the African ‘reserves’. Beginning in the 1930s, a series of government commissions warned of acute landlessness, overcrowding, severe soil erosion, the creation of “desert conditions” and the “spectre of mass starvation” in the reserves.
That is where we started. Not yesterday; not in 1994. In 1913 and continuously, in a systematic way.
Unfortunately, today, those who were busy with their grandparents then are sitting here and perpetuating the same thing. [Interjections.] No. One big problem you have is that you do not want to listen.
An HON MEMBER: It’s you who is perpetuating. It’s you.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: We come here and listen to fairy tales of this paradise called the Western Cape. The Western Cape is counted in here with the hungry South Africans. I can assure you, they are not from Constantia. Definitely, they are not from Constantia. They’re from Khayelitsha, Dunoon, Philippi, KwaLanga ... [Interjections.] They are definitely not from Constantia. That is why they will come here and sing about the paradise that they do not know. There is no paradise here. [Interjections.]
Mr President, last Saturday, we visited a place called Malmesbury with some of your members here. [Interjections.] Whatever you call it. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] It is on the West Coast. We met some women there. [Interjections.] Yes ... Nonetheless, they were Western Cape citizens, and it happens ... [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: They are South African citizens!
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: They are Western Cape. Ja. [Yes.]
It happens that they were black. [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: They are South African citizens!
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES:
Maybe that is why, before you hear of their plight and their story, you howl at me because you know it could not have been your like that I met there. [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: That’s racist. That’s racism!
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Racist? Fine. That is why I went to prison because I was fighting racism. You were not there. [Applause.] So for the vote that brought you here, some of us had to die, or be arrested or exiled for you to vote, mister ... honourable member. [Applause.]
These aunties argued and said they wanted to follow the programme announced by the African Union of “One Woman, One Hectare of Land”. But, here, they are not helped by the government of the Western Cape. Not only that, there are also smallhold farmers who have been trying on their own, but they do not get assistance from the government. They were once 157 in number, but their activities were killed and now there are only 14 left. They say the provincial and local government does not see them, because maybe they have the wrong skin colour. They have approached their local government, but it does not see them.
The national government gives grants to provincial governments, including to this province, to take care of those smallhold farmers. In 2013, this province was given R183 million for drought and flood projects, but this province only used 5,5% of that R183 million. [Interjections.] This province. Listen to this ... [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: In 2103?
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Yes, 2013, sir.
An HON MEMBER: [Inaudible.] ... was there a drought then?
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Floods, that’s what I said. [Interjections.] Listen to this. Some young Africans and young white patriots of South Africa went together to the Department of Agriculture to seek assistance to start a poultry industry. Indeed, they got assistance. That is beautiful. Thank you. A certain big company that runs poultry here went to the Department of Agriculture to have them closed because they were competing with them and, indeed, they were shut down. [Interjections.] Those young people, black and white, who had come together to work their way forward were shut down because big business approached this government to shut them down because they were competing with them. [Interjections.]
Hon Mr Maimane, please help them and tell your government that ...
IsiZulu:
... ngabantu nabo. Bangabantu nabo. [...they are human as well. They are also human.]
English:
I will give you the information of those who were shut down and the information of those who were not helped. Please help them. [Interjections.] We will talk. [Interjections.]
Mr President, in all of this, part of our turnaround is the revitalisation of agriculture and agroprocessing value chains, which focuses on our critical objectives, namely speeding up land reform, improving market access and producer support and increasing production. The President gave a glimpse of the progress made within this important area of the nine-point plan. I will briefly unpack the progress made within the revitalisation of agriculture.
The President reported about the 27 proposals which were submitted by commercial farmers to pilot the 50/50 policy. Of the 27 proposals, four were approved and three were implemented. Those implemented were Briarbury, Ostland and Diamond – two in the Free State and one in the Eastern Cape.
The Agriparks are continuing. The international markets are opening up to South Africa. That includes what was explained here by hon Minister Davies about the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Agoa, and we are opening markets with the United States. We have also opened new markets with Japan, Thailand and some European countries. We have markets with the European Union where we make €1 billion a year on our citrus fruit.
We are here to salute those who are trying their best under these circumstances like Mr Kholofe Maponya and Kenneth Twala who are making it in the poultry industry. Maponya paid about R2 billion when he took over the operations of one of the biggest poultry companies in the Republic of South Africa. The owners of that company, who happened to be a big white business, cut off all his supply places, so he has no supply places because those that owned them, like the shops that have been supplied with outlets, are now part of ... because the owner of that place was black.
So, it is not just racism that the hon members talk about here, but there is an economic racism taking place down on the ground. And they come here and complain about unemployment when they are busy manufacturing unemployment. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Cele, the Minister seems to be raising his hand there. What is that about, hon member?
The MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION: Her hand. I was just saying that the hon Deputy Minister is correct, but his name is “Kholofelo” Maponya.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you for the correction, hon Minister. Hon Cele, proceed.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: The department has introduced compulsory service. Mr President, the Department of Agriculture has sponsored 123 veterinarians and unleashed them in the rural areas. They will be working with small farmers to help them with their beef and poultry stock, especially in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. We have also sent animal ambulances for use in these provinces.
We would like to make a call that South Africans must just accept one another as South Africans. We should remind ourselves that we are here because some of us really suffered. We were exiled; we died. I remember that there are too many graves that are still unidentified today. Could people just accept that and not take us back by bringing back the Bothas and the Hertzogs? We are scared of those guys. [Interjections.] Don’t bring them back here now. No matter how much you wish to, do not wish that Botha come back. One thing is certain: I am not a monkey and I don’t see monkeys in front of me; I see human beings. If somebody calls people monkeys, all of us must jump up like monkeys and say, “We are not monkeys.” Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.] [Applause.] [Time expired.]
Dr W G JAMES / Nomtha (Eng)//nvs//GG(IsiZulu)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES
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Dr W G JAMES: Deputy Speaker, I just want to point out to the previous hon speaker that those who were involved in the struggle do not only sit on the right-hand side of the House. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The real value of health politics is when, as a famous playwright once put it, the nation’s long sickness of health and living begins to mend. President Zuma mentioned in his government’s plan mending our long sickness of health with the National Health Insurance, NHI, scheme, which is an elaborate, overcomplicated, convoluted and monumentally costly path to universal health care.
Constitutionally and morally, there is no question that we must have universal health care, but why go to all this trouble and expense when all we need to do is fix what we’ve got? The NHI is nothing more than a Rolls-Royce that does not, in fact, address our basic health problems.
Let’s look at the issue of maternal mortality. The Medical Research Council, MRC, confirms that about 1 500 pregnant mothers and mothers-to-be die every year. Limpopo has the highest maternal death rate and the Western Cape has the lowest.
Hear this Eastern Cape story, and I quote:
My uncle advised me ...
- a young pregnant mom living with HIV told Human Rights Watch —
... to call an ambulance when labour started but I did not want to go to hospital. I was scared of how I would be treated. I hear the nurses are very rude and they are rough.
Even if she had called the ambulance, an ambulance would have arrived too late or not at all.
Tumeka, a young East London woman, very ill with TB, told the SA Human Rights Commission that when she asked her brother to call an ambulance, he was advised that it was “unlikely to arrive; they told us they did not come for bedridden patients”.
Our total ambulance fleet, colleagues, is 2 690 — both public and private — but only half of them are in working order. Do we need the NHI to fix this problem? No, we don’t. What we need are the following: an easy-to-remember emergency number like 911 able to be called from any device; and a national critical care fund to underwrite all parts of the health system offering emergency services. The fund would ensure that all residents enjoy equal access to the nearest treating facility regardless of whether they are on medical aid or not. We also need to have national and provincial emergency service war rooms that track performance of ambulance response times.
Hon members, you know a public hospital is well run the minute you enter the premises: It is clean, is visibly well organised and has no long lines of patients waiting for assistance. Most of our public hospitals are not well run and are terrible places, in part, in which to work. The African Health Placement had one doctor speak for many when he said that:
Very poor management is one of the reasons I left. The management does its own thing, and they do not care for doctors or patients.
Do we need the NHI to fix this? No, we don’t. The secret to good management is to appoint clinically qualified CEOs to borrow from the private hospital system and have robust protection against outside interference, political and commercial.
Medical waste removal is a critical back-hospital function. In surprise visits to five hospitals, I found that the Kimberley Hospital and the West End hospitals in the Northern Cape and Sabie in Mpumalanga to be in very good shape, but seven were breaking the strict regulations that govern medical waste segregation, storage, removal and disposal. At Livingston, Port Elizabeth Provincial and Uitenhage District hospitals, the infrastructure was so inadequate that I laid a charge with the SA Police Service against the MEC for Health, Dr Pumza Dyantyi, for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the regulations issued under the National Health Act.
At Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg, boxes of infectious and needle-stick waste were illegally stacked in an unsecured area to which children had access. The medical waste removal company Buhle had failed to collect the waste. Buhle’s name also appeared on improperly stored waste at Mpumalanga’s Rob Ferreira Hospital.
Buhle has recently been awarded — can you believe this? — the contract for the Free State. Notorious for tender corruption and financial mismanagement, I have requested the Auditor-General to launch an investigation into this sector. Do we need the NHI to fix this? No, we do not. Good and accountable management will do the job.
The DA offers a much simpler route to universal health care that makes no additional fiscal demands. Let’s drop the means test. Let’s create a health subsidy for every citizen and legal resident. Let’s keep the provinces as delivery agents but allow them to buy from both the public sector and the private sector. And let’s use the NHI conditional grant of R1 billion a year to underwrite the building and staffing of clinics nationwide.
The Department of Health and National Treasury have already agreed that the grant should be used to support the Ideal Clinic roll-out, and we concur. I thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr L M NTSHAYISA
Dr W G JAMES
|
Mr L M NTSHAYISA: Deputy Speaker, this is the first time that the AIC has been allocated four minutes to speak in Parliament, which is great. [Interjections.]
Just before I get into the state of the nation address, let me just say these two things. Sometimes you have to be careful not open a can of worms when you speak here. [Interjections.] Secondly, people living in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. [Interjections.]
Before I get into the state of the nation address I would like now to talk to my President here. My dear hon President, I would like to remind you about the meeting that we had on 10 October 2014 regarding the complaints about the imposed incorporation of Matatiele into KwaZulu-Natal. [Interjections.] The views of the people of Matatiele were not considered, even after the people had spoken through the referendum that was initiated by the late Minister Sicelo Shiceka. Mr President, you promised to come back to us and you never did. Please, keep your promise.
There is another crisis that is happening here. The Maluti Education District has been dismantled and divided into three. Some schools have been taken to Bizana, others to Mount Fletcher and some to Umzimvubu. This means that that district has been dismantled and no longer exists. So, for the second time the people of Matatiele have been undermined under this democracy. Teachers and learners are no longer attending school. They are protesting because they are against this. Please, Mr President, intervene.
The economy of the country is in danger. The political state of affairs is at risk. South Africans are expecting proper service delivery and a report on the achievements that have been made by this very government.
Mr President, you didn’t talk much about declared plans to fight corruption. I was very shocked when I heard about the mayor of Beaufort West who was fined just R10 000 after it was found that he had been involved in corrupt tender activities. Corruption eats a lot into taxpayers’ money. Mr President, you should have reported clearly in your state of the nation address on the plans that you have to fight or to combat corruption.
We have had a lot of commissions here, costing the taxpayer a lot of money. Their recommendations are not considered and sometimes their reports are not released. What a waste of money! The President should explain the reasons these reports are not released.
The President was also expected to announce an immediate turnaround strategy to deal with the decline in our economy.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Ntshayisa, we regret your four minutes have expired, sir. Selibomvu iwashi baba [Sir, the watch is now red]. [Interjections.]
Mr L M NTSHAYISA: I am aware, Mr President, that there is a ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, it’s over. When it is red it means that your time has expired.
Cllr M NAWA /TSHEGO//nvs
Mr L M NTSHAYISA
|
Cllr M NAWA: Hon Deputy Speaker, His Excellency the President of the Republic President Jacob Zuma, Deputy President hon Cyril Ramaphosa, hon members of the House, it would be remiss of us not to correct what the hon Julius said. It is important. Firstly, let’s clarify that it’s very disrespectful for the hon Julius to refer to the President as “this man”, and the people of West Rand might be very disappointed with how the hon Julius referred to the President.
On behalf of local government, Mr President, the leadership of the SA Local Government Association, Salga, and generally the leadership of local government in our country, we were very happy to hear that the President paid particular attention to the tensions in our country, in particular racism. The President has been bringing back calmness to the country.
In fulfilling the mandate of the Freedom Charter of building a nonracial, democratic South Africa, we continue to do that at local government level, President, and in serving our people we don’t choose colour, race or tribe. We serve our people fully. I’m sure you have intervened and brought support to local government, as part of your programme is not to look at the party but to give support to all our municipalities.
While, indeed, we are very happy that in your speech you did make reference to the development of the Back-to-Basics approach, we do want to confirm that there are a lot of changes that are happening in local government. So the system is beginning to mature and pay back what you have said we need to refer to: deal with corruption to ensure that the financial systems of municipalities are working and provide basic services.
That is beginning to happen. We have seen a lot of municipalities move away from the red zone to a better zone, because of your intervention and that intervention was made a year ago. Today, as we speak, Mr President, there is a sign of change in municipalities. On 5 December 2015 we celebrated the 15-year evolution of local government in the country, and the journey has been characterised by huge opportunities and also by challenges. We should indicate that we have seen municipalities moving from paper-pushing to responding in service of our people. In this case, President, we have seen municipalities move from 1 000 to 283 local authorities, and the functionality is beginning to be shown as interventions.
So the provision of basic services has improved tremendously in local government. Significant progress and milestones have been achieved during the 15-year term. As we speak today, we are seeing municipalities responding to the challenge of service delivery.
But that can only be because of the support we received from both national and provincial government, and we acknowledge that support. Last year, President, you mentioned that you were going to provide support to 43 distressed districts. I must indicate that one of them is where I am mayor. We have seen change in a very short period of time. We have gone on to train 1 000 youths in the community to respond to that challenge, and that is the work of leadership that we want to appreciate. [Applause.]
We have also continued to deepen democracy and accountability in our communities. We are consistent and accurate in ensuring that we move municipalities from the red zone to the green zone and to ensure that our system of local government does mature. We are able to respond with the capabilities we are meant to have.
Mr President, it is important to indicate that there are innovations in municipalities. A municipality in Ballito, KwaDukuza, a small municipality that was historically known to be a holiday town, has become an anchor for the economy of the rural hinterlands today with a large commercial centre and a full service industry. That for us has been how municipalities can evolve to become positive in our country.
The City of Cape Town has continued to invest and become a smarter and liveable city. I think we should appreciate that our cities are beginning to respond. The City of Tshwane, through Project Isizwe, has become huge in changing the lives of those young people who go to university in that city. It has ignited ... it has ignited the President ... President, it has ignited excellence in that community. [Laughter.] So we have seen young people change their lives. [Applause.] It is important to make this point, because the intervention of municipalities is huge in our communities. Therefore this matter of going Back to Basis is very critical and has actually changed the lives of our people. The City of Johannesburg is widening its Wi-Fi system, and I’m sure the communities and the people of Johannesburg will be extremely happy to see how local government can intervene in their lives.
I must indicate, President, that we are also part of Africa’s local government systems. Comparatively, local government in South Africa is by far better. It’s incomparable. It’s incomparable. [Applause.] Therefore it is key that we appreciate the role that local government plays in our country. We will not overlook, by some chance, the fact that there are still challenges. Some of them are extremely stubborn and resilient. We are on a path of how to resolve those challenges. We still have situations in which there are inefficiencies and a sense of corruption, but we are not saying that we can drop the ball because these situations exist.
President, I come to the last thing I must say. Recently you invited us to be part of the Cabinet lekgotla. In the Cabinet lekgotla you explained the constraints of the country in relation to the economy. You’ve requested municipalities to also shave and to ensure that we respond to the challenges that we have today. I must indicate that mayors are keen to be part of and contribute to your cause – in that municipalities will reduce nonissues and focus on detailed issues. [Applause.]
Mayors also, Mr President, have committed to joining you to go door to door to industries, to the firms that exist, in our communities, to ensure that they succeed, that they become fruitful and that they are able to employ communities so that we can all deal with the problems. So we are happy that you lead, and then we will come at the local level to ensure that we work together to change the problems.
Included in the invitation to Salga and local government were premiers. So it wouldn’t be correct to say some premiers have a problem, because all premiers have gone back to ask how they can shave and ensure that they respond to the challenges of the country. In this case, President, allow me to defend the Premier of Gauteng, David Makhura. It is a lie that there is a problem.
There are those who sit and plant the seeds of division, but when they have their own divisions nobody planted those divisions. [Applause.] So we want to say, President, we have heard you, in terms of where we can, as local government, ensure that we contribute to the betterment of this country. We are committed to working towards that and surely we will do that. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. [Applause.]
Ms B S MASANGO
Cllr M NAWA
|
Ms B S MASANGO: Madam Speaker, hon members, we have a social crisis on our hands. The ANC has broken its promise to deliver a better life for all. [Interjections.] For most South Africans life is bleak.
As my colleagues have said, 8,3 million South Africans are without work in this country, many of whom are young people and breadwinners who are feeling discouraged and hopeless. Without hope, many are forced to turn to crime to support their loved ones and also get caught up in substance abuse. The burden of support is increasingly falling on the elderly who are forced to use their grants to support entire families.
Add to all this the dire state of the economy, the rising food prices and the drought, and we really face serious social challenges.
IsiZulu:
Ukwentuleka kwemisebenzi esikhuluma ngako namhlanje, Mongameli engimuhloniphayo, kuholela ebumpofini obungachazeki. Lobubumpofu kunomthelela ezimpilweni zabantu emikhakheni yonke yezimpilo zabo. Kuyacaca ukuthi esikhuluma ngayo nangendlela engizwa kungazwakali kuthintekani ngokuthi zizokwenzani ngale nkinga esinayo. Kufuneka sizimisele ukuthi sizoba nabantu abazobulawa yinkengane kuleli lakithi ngenxa yalokhu kuntuleka kwemisebenzi. Le ngqinamba esibhekene nayo bakithi ithinta ezemfundo, ithinta ezempilo futhi (and) ithinta nezenhlalakahle okuyiwona mgogodla wenqubekela phambili yemiphakathi ikakhulukazi kubantu abahlala ezindaweni zasemaphandleni. Bese nokuvalwa kwama-NGOs okwenza isimo esibhekene naso sibe manzonzo Mongameli engimhloniphayo.
(Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The scarcity of job opportunities that we are talking about today, hon President, leads to extreme poverty. This poverty has an effect on all spheres of people’s lives. It is obvious in the way we speak and the way I hear nothing about what we are going to do about this problem we are faced with. We must prepare ourselves that we are going to have people who are going to die because of hunger in our country because of lack of employment. The problem we are faced with affects education, health and welfare which are the backbones of social development especially to the people in the rural areas. Moreover, the closing of the NGOs makes the situation we are faced with to be destabilized hon President.]
English:
Madam Speaker, we risk being overcome by hopelessness, driven by ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am definitely not Madam. [Laughter.]
Ms B S MASANGO: Sorry, Deputy Speaker. We risk being overcome by hopelessness, driven by an uncaring government that has forgotten the poor and the most vulnerable in our society. In a context like this, our country needs more than ever a battalion of caring, patriotic and skilled social services professionals that are trained to give practical help and guidance to those who need it most.
The National Development Plan, NDP - remember that document? - states that a total of 60 000 welfare service practitioners will be needed by 2030 to meet South Africa’s need for social welfare. Yet, in October 2014, the Minister of Social Development advised that there were only 17 441 operational social workers in the country, and that is less than a third of what we need. As a result of the failure of government to fill these posts, South Africans suffering from the effects of crime, drug abuse and domestic violence are being left to fend for themselves. This, while more than 2 500 unemployed graduate social workers sit without jobs and those jobs were promised by the department along with their bursaries. Their stories are heart-wrenching. I would like to share two of the many stories I have received from these young people.
I am an unemployed social worker on a Social Development bursary. I’m from a disadvantaged family where nobody is working. I worked very hard at university to take my family out of poverty only to be disappointed that the Department of Social Development promised us employment, but while we were interns we were told via an SMS one Friday not to report for work on Monday. I feel like I need a social worker.
I have another story, Deputy Chairperson. [Interjections.]
Going to university ...
Please listen to this. Please listen. [Interjections.]
... was not easy since I have no one. I worked as a domestic worker to raise my registration fees. I got the DSD bursary, and sometimes I slept on an empty stomach. But I knew one day I’d change my background and that of my community, but I’m still waiting.
These are real-life stories, in this country. These graduates, one of whom said to me in a letter: “I have been dumped like a used condom,” want nothing more than to take their place in putting their hard-earned skills to use. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION / VW// (Eng) (Zul)
Ms B S MASANGO
|
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Deputy Speaker, I just want to remind fellow South Africans of the journey we have travelled until gathering here as the different political parties representing you, South Africans. This year we are celebrating the sacrifices and sufferings of our own brothers and sisters who joined and swelled the ranks of the glorious army of the people, uMkhonto weSizwe.
Today, we celebrate 55 years of the founding of uMkhonto weSizwe. People died, went to prison, others are still unemployed and are not actually making much noise because they understand that freedom or death, victory is certain. [Applause.] You are here thanks to those who were founders of uMkhonto weSizwe. We are here today, hon Maimane and your ilk, as a result of the struggles of women who, this year, are celebrating their glorious determination to march to the Union Buildings against Strijdom 60 years ago. We are saying that you must, indeed, be grateful because it is through the ANC and those gallant warriors - those women, flowers of our revolution - that you are sitting here today and have the audacity to challenge the commitment of those who are on this side. This is because those who were in the liberation struggle, who are on this side, are not known as sellouts, traitors who have sold the revolution. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
We are gathered here today, hon members and fellow South Africans, because of the determination of the African child in Soweto in 1976 who said, “Enough with Bantu Education” a system that we are still trying to uproot even today, a system that has really messed up this country. [Interjections.] Unravelling that system, of course, will not be something we can do within a period of 20 years. We celebrate 40 years of the selflessness of the students of Soweto. Bravo to those young lions of 1976. [Applause.]
In his state of the nation address, His Excellency President Jacob Zuma alluded to the realities of climate change that have created an unprecedentedly bad drought in South Africa and the world. Notwithstanding the realities of climate change, he has also conceded the fact that the issues of water are just as important as the issues of inequality in terms of land ownership and the ownership of mineral resources in our country. [Applause.]
Water has also been used as means of continuing to undermine our people. But it can be used to make emerging farmers prosperous, such as as an old lady in Umkhanyakude, in Pitse-di-Sule Jang in Zeerust. All of us know that in the past 20 years there has been a good story, indeed, to tell about water. When we came in, 36% of South Africans had access to clean water. [Interjections.]
Mr I M OLLIS: Deputy Speaker?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please take your seat.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I am very busy. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please take your seat. Let the member speak first. Hon member, what are you rising on?
Mr I M OLLIS: Hon Deputy Speaker, would the hon member take a question? [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Sibhizi njani [We are very busy]. [Laughter.] What we are dealing with now is not only the drought, but also the realities of the mess we inherited. But we have also been able to make a big difference, because in 1994 only 36% of South Africans had access to clean water. [Applause.] Bravo to the ANC, as today more than 86% of South Africans have access to water. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister ... Let’s hear a point ... what are you rising on, hon member?
Mr I M OLLIS: I will wait for the Minister to sit down.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please take your seat.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I will take it from you, but not from him.
Mr I M OLLIS: Deputy Speaker, is there any reason why the Minister is shouting?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please proceed. Hon member, please.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I am doing that so that you don’t drown out my voice. I want South Africans to hear me; not you, noise-makers. [Applause.]
In response to the challenges that our country has inherited - as we celebrate our little contribution to dealing with inequalities in terms of the provision of water - we have done the following: As we speak today we have been able to protect, through water restrictions, the little that we have and the country now stands at 53%, which, had we not put our plans together, could have been 28%. [Applause.]
In the past, we were extracting 9% of ground water, but today, with our mitigating interventions, we have doubled this to 18% of the current water mix. One hundred and twenty-three boreholes have been refurbished and brought back into operation; while 219 new boreholes at this time of the drought are now operational with the support of the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Department of Water and Sanitation and in partnership with our provincial governments.
Setswana:
Sedikwa ke ntšapedi ga se thata. [Legofi.] [Working together we can do more. [Applause.]]
English:
One thousand five hundred and seventy-five boreholes are still required to supplement existing surface water to deal with those who are not in the northern suburbs using more than 46% of our water to irrigate, water gardens and fill Jacuzzis. We are talking about uMaDlamini and Mme Mamolefe in Zeerust who have yet to receive drinkable water. Ours is not about looking at those who have; our business is to attend to the have-nots. [Applause.]
The President also alluded to some of the augmentation schemes or infrastructure that is now under development. The Clanwilliam Dam is being built here in the Western Cape, because South Africa belongs to all who live in it. The Western Cape is in South Africa. We will improve the infrastructure because we care. We are dealing with interventions. In Mzimvubu there will be site occupation by the end of March finally, and we have the Hazelmere Dam. We also have the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which during the time of Pik Botha was meant only to supply Gauteng. Now, the pipeline will stop in the Free State, go to Joe Gqabi and go into KwaZulu-Natal, because all shall be equal before the law. [Applause.] That is what we are trying to do. Tell no lies; claim no easy victories. [Interjections.]
Let’s talk about facts. Let’s talk about reality. Of course, we know that additional transfers will be required, so we are breaking new ground in the exploration of desalination, in the distribution of water tankers and in rain-harvesting solutions, as well as educating our people on how to manage and conserve water. Our people understand us better because politics doesn’t take water to a community, development brings water. Those who are involved in the dirty-politics game will buck against a moving vehicle. Siyaqhuba. [Applause.]
We also want to thank fellow South Africans again, because some of you might not know because you were not there. We have earned this freedom out of the selflessness of our people, with the ANC as the leader of this liberation movement. What does that mean with the issue of water? Our people have risen and hence #OperationHydrate, because ...
Setswana:
... Mosotho o rile, sedikwe ke ntša pedi ga se thata. [... there’s a Sotho idiom that says: Working together we can do more.]
English:
We want to thank you, fellow South Africans, who made interventions in this regard. We want to thank these South Africans, black and white, young and old, who have taken it upon themselves to say, “If another South African somewhere in this country does not have access to water, let me make my own contribution,” ...
IsiZulu:
... izandla ziyagezana. [Ihlombe.] [... by helping each other. [Applause.]]
English:
When Dr Pali Lehohla handed over the results of the 2015 KwaZulu-Natal Citizen Satisfaction Survey to the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Lehohla said that high-quality statistics were an invaluable conduit of trust among citizens and between nations. Not cheap politics.
Let me tell you a good story. On health and social development in this country, the life expectancy of South Africans for both males and females has significantly improved and is currently 62 years across all genders, but in the past it was far below the age of 62 - around the age of 55. Our HIV and Aids programmes in the period 2009 until date led to a massive roll-out of HIV testing. Our social grants have made a mitigating intervention amidst the realities of the global economic recession and joblessness, things the private sector has not actually come to the party to deal with.
IsiZulu:
Okungenani abazali bayakwazi ukuthi izingane zilale zidlile, isinkwa siba khona emakhaya. [Parents know that at least children go to bed with full stomachs, for there is food at home.]
English:
On education: Tell no lies; claim no easy victories. I want to show you the misery of the Western Cape and the capacity of this government in the Western Cape. You say you are a top performer. Top performer “se voet”. Let me tell you. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, withdraw that. There is no debate.
IsiZulu:
UNGQONGQOSHE WEZAMANZI NOKUTHUTHWA KWENDLE: Oho, inyawo? [Oh, must I withdraw foot?]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no. Withdraw it, hon Minister.
IsiZulu:
UNGQONGQOSHE WEZAMANZI NOKUTHUTHWA KWENDLE: Inyawo? Inyawo lakho? [A foot? Your foot?]
English:
Okay, I do. I do. [Interjections.] Well top performer ...
IsiZulu:
... inkomo ingazala umuntu. Asikhulumeni lokho. [... when pigs have wings. Let us speak about that.]
English:
One just needs to look at the Ana results, or the Annual National Assessments results, of 2014. In Gauteng the average mark was 73,9%, whilst in the Western Cape it was 71,9%. In terms of percentage of learners, Gauteng had 87,4%, while the Western Cape had 85,1% in Grade 1 because ...
IsiZulu:
... ligotshwa lisemanzi. [... a stick is straightened while still young.]
English:
We have done that. Again, the Western Cape can’t claim the issues of this place being a paradise. For three successive years, the Western Cape has not been the top performer in education. Instead, it has been Gauteng and the Free State, and it is now the North West. [Interjections.] Se voet. [Interjections.] I think it can’t be correct.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, you can’t say that again. You are out of order. Withdraw it, please.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Okay, sorry. I really apologise. I am saying that nothing can ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, I didn’t hear you withdraw. Please do so.
IsiZulu:
UNGQONGQOSHE WEZAMANZI NOKUTHUTHWA KWENDLE: Ngiyaxolisa. Ngiyaxolisa. [I apologise. I apologise.]
English:
I do.
Let us talk about improving the quality of life of our people. In the history of this country, there has never been this kind of a whopping development in terms of sustainable human settlements. As we speak today, more than 16 million South Africans have access to homes. When you were running the City of Johannesburg, under separate development, you made Alexandra a little corner, a dumping site, a refuse site; but the ANC, within a period of 20 years under a democratic local government, has changed Alexandra and is still battling to change Alexandra further. [Applause.] Tomorrow will be better than when you were in charge of Johannesburg.
Mr I M OLLIS: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, take your seat, hon Minister.
Mr I M OLLIS: The Minister is misleading the House. I did not create Alexandra. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, that is not a point of order.
Mr I M OLLIS: She is misleading the House. That is a point of order.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. Take your seat.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: In the Western Cape, as recently as October last year, we conducted a handover of housing units together with President Jacob Zuma here in KwaLanga. Your own premier was too shy to come because she had not even put in a farthing - because a black life does not count only a vote counts. [Applause.] She never pitched up. [Interjections.] In that particular project, the ANC-led government ... Again, because South Africa belongs to all those who live in it including those who continue to suffer, the remnants and the bitter taste of separate development here in the Western Cape will never be left unattended by us. We have now been able to deliver a whopping 14 000 homes without a farthing from you, without a rand from you, because your money is about protecting Constantia and many other places. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
Today, the people of Khayelitsha were given buckets that they were supposed to use like pillows in their homes. [Interjections.] Shame on you. [Interjections.] So what we had to do was undertake a pilot project in Site C and Site B, because the life of an African is important ... [Interjections.] ... and equality also belongs to our people. You can say bullshit. I am not going to ask you to withdraw. A dog barks at a moving vehicle. Continue to bark. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The other thing that I want to raise is that, as we deal with these issues ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, I was asked to withdraw the word rubbish earlier. I would wonder if you would rule whether the word bullshit is parliamentary.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: That’s him who said bullshit.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Name him. Who said that?
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Let me tell you. Yes, I can explain. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I don’t know the old man there who looks like an ou verkrampte. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no, no, no. [Laughter.] [Interjections.] Hon member ... Hon Minister, don’t spoil it. Let’s do it quickly, please. [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF WATER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I withdraw but he looks very ... [Inaudible.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Steenhuisen, can I deal with this matter? [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I would like to make ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If you keep talking I can’t deal with the Minister and the person who is alleged to have said it. [Interjections.] I will deal with the question here. Give me space. Allow me to do this. Please, let me finish. Is that okay? I will talk to two members who said that. Which hon member said bullshit there? [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: The one in front.
The MINISTER OF WATER OF WATER AND SANITATION: The man who said bullshit is the one ... [Interjections.] You can hear he is reacting. You keep quiet. You keep quiet. I am talking to the hon member there at the back. [Interjections.]
Mr I M OLLIS: Actually, you are talking to the Speaker.
The MINISTER OF WATER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Yes, you.
Mr I M OLLIS: You are not talking to any hon member. [Interjections.] You are talking to the Speaker. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members ... Hon members ... Hon members ... [Interjections.] Order! Order! Order! Hon members, please! Hon Minister?
The MINISTER OF WATER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Yes, Sir.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I heard how you said you may say that. But I am saying it is also wrong to say it. Hon member, who said it: You are out of order and you shouldn’t be throwing around insults in the House. [Interjections.]
Mr H B GROENEWALD: I said bushes. [Interjections.] Bushes. [Interjections.] I said they used bushes for toilets. That’s what I said. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, could you stop using filthy language in the House.
Mr C MACKENZIE: She must withdraw.
The MINISTER OF WATER OF WATER AND SANITATION: What must I withdraw?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, the Minister said you may say that. Now, listen to how the hon member explains what he said. Is it ridiculous to suppose that they heard each other differently? [Interjections.] Hon members, please do not do that. Do not. Hon members, I have said both the Minister and the member who spoke ... [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Speaker, please.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Let me finish, hon Chief Whip.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Please help us. Please help us.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, but you don’t need me if you speak when I am speaking, hon member. [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: No, but the DA is disrupting the speaker deliberately. [Interjections.] They are doing it to disrupt. Why are you allowing them? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: There will be order in this House. There will be order in this House. Hon members, you will be orderly. I am going to come back to this tomorrow. Hon members, when you throw stones at each other, you expect us to be fair in how we approach these things. So, whatever is said here that is out of order will be ruled on promptly and so on. I heard what the Minister said exactly. She said: You may say that. Okay. Alright. She is repeating what she assumes she heard there, and the member stands up and explains what he said. [Interjections.] No, you are fortunately saying it in here. It must be recorded. We will deal with it properly. It is incorrect for you to throw insults at each other. It is just simply nonsense. [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: Rubbish. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is incorrect. It is incorrect. Hon Singh, why are you rising?
Mr N SINGH: Hon Deputy Speaker, we do realise that the speaker at the podium is the hon Minister of Water and Sanitation. [Laughter.] But we do not expect unsanitary words to be used in this House. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Exactly. Yes.
Mr N SINGH: We have to maintain the dignity of this House. Thank you. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Singh, you are not helpful at all. [Laughter.]
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: He is helpful. [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, there have been rulings in this House before that in the course of a debate we don’t make comments about the personal appearances of members or what they are wearing. I would ask when you are looking at Hansard, that you look at what the hon member said about the hon Groenewald looking like an ou verkrampte - whether that is parliamentary because that is a comment about somebody’s personal appearance. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Alright. I will do that. Yes, hon Van der Walt?
Mrs D VAN DER WALT: Hon Deputy Speaker, it is also not parliamentary to stand up at the podium and stick out your tongue at the members on this side of the House. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please proceed. Please help us - none of the flowery language must be used in the House. Please!
THE MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Yes, yes.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please, help us do that. We are going to come back, as requested by members, to look at that Hansard to clearly issue appropriate rulings on those matters. We do not accept foul language in the House. It is incorrect. Go ahead, hon Minister.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon members!
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Deputy Speaker, I want to address the investment that this national government of the people of South Africa continues to make in the very municipalities here in the Western Cape under the Western Cape provincial government. At the Citrusdal Wastewater Treatment Works, in the West Coast District Municipality, it is us who are making interventions, because this provincial government finds it not befitting to assist in improving wastewater treatment, because who is it serving? The farm workers; they are not important; the rural communities are not important. Where does their municipal infrastructure grant money go? To Constantia.
In the Cape Winelands it is this national department, acting in the best interests of our own people, that is now dealing with and rehabilitating the Paarl ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Minister, please take your seat. Yes, hon member.
Mr M WATERS: I do not know which fraction or faction of the ANC this Minister is representing, but she has just told a blatant lie to Parliament and she should withdraw that. [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Which lie?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, what you are saying is unparliamentary. You know that. You can’t say a member is lying. You know that. Deputy Chief Whip, you know that. Hon member, withdraw that.
Mr M WATERS: The Minister, from whatever faction, is telling ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no, no. Hon Waters, you know it is wrong to say a member is lying, and you do so without any substantiation of what you are saying.
Mr M WATERS: I wish this had the same ruling as the Minister’s, but I do withdraw that and I would like to say that she is misleading this House. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay. Go ahead, hon Minister.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: There is only one Minister from the ANC who will know the facts about these matters, not you. One of the projects that we are dealing with at the Cape Winelands District Municipality, is the Paarl bulk sewer system which will support nearly 60 000 beneficiaries, demonstrating once more that this ANC-led government works in all provinces because South Africa belongs to all who live in it. The people of the Western Cape, who are not attended to, deserve a better life, and that is why we are intervening.
Hon members, much as the main opposition party pretends to be so holy, attempting even to rival Pope Francis, the reality reveals the opposite. For example, when Patricia de Lille was the leader of the Independent Democrats she illegally instructed the Swellendam Council to invest R6 million in Quadrix, a company that ran the finances for the Independent Democrats. Until today she has never explained her role in this matter, nor has the DA ever called her to account for it. Tell no lies; claim no victories. [Applause.] As we speak, she is busy selling prime public open spaces in Clifton to friends of hers, bypassing legal council processes. Again, the DA shows no signs of action. The very same mayor of this metro is forcing the building of houses on land zoned for agriculture in Philippi.
Regarding extensions to the Cape Town International Convention Centre, this metropolitan government continues to apply irregular interventions by appointing the wrong architects, people who are continuing to do the wrong things. Fraud continues here where we are told that it is Canaan, but actually it is Sodom and Gomorrah. [Applause.]
To the hon Mmusi Maimane, the latest poll conducted by New World Wealth indicates that the DA is losing its traditional support base under your leadership. Of the 650 ordinary South Africans who were interviewed and asked who they would vote for in 2019, 8% said that they would vote for the DA, contrary to the 22% the DA got in 2014. It is because the DA of Helen Suzman is gone. Now it is the DA of racists who are coming from KwaZulu-Natal. It is the DA of racists who are even keeping information from our own state security agencies, and they say that they have deleted the information. Tell no lies; claim no easy victories. You are obstructing the course of justice through your actions.
Again, development in Soweto within the DA also indicates that Soweto DA members have come to realise that indeed what matters to the DA are black votes and the numbers that will form part of a march when Mmusi leads a black DA march on behalf of the remnants of white supremacy and minority rule. [Interjections.]
Mrs A STEYN: Hon Deputy Speaker ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, hon member. Why are you rising?
Mrs A STEYN: I am rising on a point of order. It is not Mmusi; it is the hon Maimane. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry?
Mrs A STEYN: It is the hon Maimane.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes. Hon Minister, please go ahead.
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: I forgot: “hon Maimane”. In her own words, a patriot, a former leader of the opposition, says: The DA needs to address internal race issues. Two: The DA should also reflect on hurtful and inaccurate internal party narratives that presume white competency, whilst labelling black leaders as products of the generosity of white counterparts and white supremacy. That’s Lindiwe Mazibuko for you. You are following; they will deal with you also, Mmusi Maimane. [Interjections.]
On the EFF: for the record, wherever he is he will get feedback. When the ANC national executive committee deliberated on recalling former President Thabo Mbeki, Julius Malema himself will recall that he spoke longer than anybody there, huffing and puffing, moving up and down like a headless chicken. And, for the record, it was President Zuma, Comrade Pallo Jordan and secretary-general Gwede Mantashe who were vehemently opposed to the motivation and decision of the entire collective that included Trevor Manuel and everybody that you think is better. Only those three. But because they were persuaded by the view of the majority, that decision prevailed. Blame no individual. You can ask for forgiveness, it is important, but ...
IsiZulu:
... awuyindoda yamampela, awuyindoda ethembekayo. Awuyena umholi wakusasa. Awuyena umholi oqotho, indoda ekhahlelwe esifubeni akuyona indoda. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... you are not a real man, you are not an honest man. You are not a future leader. You are not a reliable leader, a man who spills the beans on others is not a man.] [Applause.]]
English:
Hon member Terror Lekota, wherever you are you will find it in Hansard. All those who have watched a movie called Dead Man Walking would surely agree that there is no basis for us to waste more time talking about him? You can find it on YouTube, President, in your spare time. You will understand what I am talking about. You can find it with your electronic gadgets. You will realise the kind of a man ... because as he walked out on the state of the nation address, those who heard him walking through these corridors overhead him say, “I will never forgive President Zuma. That man was sent to the Free State to go and recall me and put in Ace Magashule as the premier.” [Laughter.]
IsiZulu:
Sifela lokho. [We are being punished for that.]
English:
President Zuma was assigned by President Thabo Mbeki, on behalf of the ANC national leadership, to go and deal with that - a man who is not at peace with himself, who steals even an initiative of poor Mbhazima Shilowa and makes it his, that is what will happen to him: dead man walking. [Laughter.]
Hon members, fellow South Africans, as we have all been informed by the Independent Electoral Commission, IEC, voter registration will take place on 5 March and 6 March in preparation for the local government elections. Let us all encourage our countrymen and countrywomen, young and old, to register to vote because local government is in your hands. To the youth of South Africa, those who are unemployed, those who need access to education, do not listen to those who have not provided alternatives and who are forever challenging what the ANC wants to do, because to them, you do not matter. You only do as long as you are with them on their march. They will bring Herman Mashaba and not allow the Johannesburg and the Soweto structures of the DA to decide who will be a ward candidate. They want to impose. Ours is a government and an ANC that is humble. Sometimes we concede our own mistakes, but it is only those in action who commit mistakes.
Sesotho:
Ha o phuthile matsoho, o tla etsa jwang diphoso? Ho lona batho ba naha ya bo rona, mabapi le seo le se utlwileng ka Mopresidente Jacob Zuma: Ke morero wa rona ho tswellisa pele Lenane la Ntshetsopele la Naha [National Development Plan], le hlahisang maikemisetso a rona a ho fetola naha ya bo rona hore ebe naha eo re ikgantshang ka yona. Ka bomadimabe, maemo a moruo le maemo a lehodimo ke ona a re emeng kapele. Empa, hanyane hanyane, re a tseba hore eo a neng a se na ntlo maobane, kajeno o na le yona. [Mahofi.] Re a tseba hore ho bao ba neng ba nwa metsi le diphoofolo, o teng ya sa fumanang thuso. Re ho wena hosasa!
Tlohelang bao ba ntseng ba etsa lerata hobane ya rona, ke ntwa ya tokoloho, eo re hananang le hore re ka be re e qetile ka dilemo tse mashome a mabedi hobane re lokisa manyofonyofo a entsweng ka dilemo tse fetang makgolo a mararo. [Mahofi.]
(Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[If you are just folding your hands, how will you make mistakes? To you, our fellow South Africans, with regard to what you heard from President Jacob Zuma, it is our plan to continue with the National Development Plan, which shows our intentions to change our country into a country which we will pride ourselves on. Unfortunately, our economic status and weather conditions are standing in our way. But, step by step, we know that the one who was homeless yesterday, has a house today. [Applause.] We know that amongst those who were sharing drinking water with animals, there is still one who has not been helped yet. We will be with you tomorrow!
Just ignore those who are busy making noise, because ours is a battle for democracy, which we refuse to agree that we should have won in twenty years, because we are still fixing the mess that was created over three hundred years ago. [Applause.]]
IsiZulu:
Inkinga esibhekene nayo akuyona enkinga esiyiqalile kodwa yinkinga esiyithole ikhona. Kepha siziqhenya ngokuthi esikwenzile azange kwenziwe omunye umbuso la eNingizimu Afrika ngaphandle kukaKhongolose. Izandla ziyagezana bantu bakithi, sebenzisanani noKhongolose. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The challenge that we are facing was not created by us but it is a challenge that we found there. But we are proud because what we have done was never done by any other government except the ANC led government here in South Africa. We need to help each other good people, cooperate with the ANC.]
English:
There is no human being who is perfect, but we must appreciate the efforts made by this collective. Those who were there with us before but who are on that side are actually traitors. Dankie, ngiyabonga. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Order, hon members! The hon Plouamma is ready to address you. Please give him a chance.
Mr M A PLOUAMMA //JN (Eng)//C.I (Sotho)//Tshego (Setswana)//Mosa (Checking Sesotho)//
The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION
|
Mr M A PLOUAMMA: Hon President, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and hon members, it is unfortunate that the EFF is not here, but, hon President, on behalf of Agang we must apologise for what actually happened during the state of the nation address. [Applause.] Hon President, when we criticise you, we do so with love and not with hate.
I just want to emphasise, hon President, that tomorrow you must tell us that the hon Julius is a spoilt brat, and you must tell why he is a spoilt brat. Because my children are not spoilt brats. I just want to say to the EFF: We cannot become victims of their sheer arrogance, childish stunts and tantrums forever. Their stunts are more similar to nyaope side effects. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Hon President, when you took office I was very happy because your history is a history that has the experiences of a warrior. I thought that when you took office you would help us to achieve total emancipation as black people. Hon President, I also thought that at this point in time we would have achieved at least economic emancipation. We agree with you that racism stinks; racism is bad breath.
I want to warn those racists that they have killed us in the past, but we forgave them; they raped us, but we forgave them; they destroyed our culture and imposed their way of living on us, but we forgave them. I just want to say that they must also desist from their sheer arrogance and help us to repair the colossal damage done to our country. [Applause.]
Hon President, I want to emphasise that we finalise the minimum wage, because it will also help our poor communities lift themselves out of a state of misery. We also want to say that the issue of willing-buyer, willing-seller is not working at all. I am emphasising, hon President, that we need to have a timeframe. We cannot allow ourselves to perpetuate the status quo in terms of which our people are still living landless.
The other thing I want to say is that we need to protect this democracy irrespective of the political parties that we come from. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM: Deputy Speaker, is it not in order today to give the hon Plouamma more time? [Laughter.]
Mr J P MTHEMBU: We are in full support of that.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Deputy Minister, parcel out your generosity outside the House, not here. Thank you very much.
Mr L B GAELHER
Mr M A PLOUAMMA
|
Mr L B GAELHER: Hon Deputy Speaker, hon President, the drought that has been visited upon our land has affected the big, small, formal and informal farming sectors depending on their proximity to scarce sources of water. In this regard, the UDM suggests that the drought relief intervention, whether at planning or implementation stage, should target the small and informal farmers too as their contribution to providing food security and fighting poverty is relevant.
The infrastructure needs of the country present themselves as opportunities and threats. While we want to position our country as an investment destination, the dire need for infrastructure remains a deterrent. We are happy that transport infrastructure has been identified as a catalyst for economic growth, but the sad reality is that this has just become an academic exercise because if you go to the Eastern Cape, for instance, and ask for a transport infrastructure masterplan, you will never find one.
In addition, the socioeconomic infrastructure of the rural areas does not keep up to standard in order to be able to respond to the ever-increasing demands. The current interventions are insufficient as they tend to benefit urban areas only. In this way, a better rural livelihood will be difficult to realise. In this regard, the UDM suggests that a realistic, reasonable and requisite rural infrastructure development grant be created. Such a grant will help to address rural infrastructure backlogs and unlock the great potential located in rural areas.
As campaigning for the local government elections has started, we call for an end to the blandishing of basic services to sway voters in favour of the ruling party. Already, we have witnessed government activities being turned into party rallies at the expense of other citizens. In these government activities, party members and officials, in the full regalia of their party, intimidate other members of the public and openly campaign on a government platform. Food parcels and Expanded Public Works Programme jobs like the War on Leaks and on potholes are already campaign instruments. Such abuse of public office is a breach of oath and undermines the constitutional rights of citizens.
IsiXhosa:
Okokugqibela Mongameli, kwintetho engobume besizwe yonyaka ophelileyo yama-2015 ... [Lastly hon President, in 2015 in your previous year’s state of nation address ...]
English:
... you said that all tenders were going to be centralised; that there would be a state tender board that would be situated in the Treasury. We would like you to report to the nation, tomorrow, on how far you are with that. It is very important.
IsiXhosa:
Bantu bakuthi ezilalini le nto yembalela iyalichaphazela neli lethu iphondo, iMpuma Kapa. Sithi ke Sekela Mphathiswa ngokuya ubukhe walapha kuza kufuneka ukuba ubajonge naba bantu bahluphekayo. Aba bantu balahlekelwe, nokuba balahlekelwe yinkomo enye okanye ezimbini, balahlekelwe yimali yabo yonke nabo. Kuyafuneka ukuba ubajonge kule nto yembalela. Akusayi kulunga ukuba ujonge aba bakhulu kuphela. Niyakwazi ukuzenza izinto nibe ningabajongi abantu abangenanto kodwa nithi xa nithetha nithi nilungiselela abantu. Ukuba ngaba uya ngaphaya eMpuma Kapa, Nkosi uZwelivelile, akukho zindlela. Iindlela ziphelile kwezaa lali zaseMpuma Kapa. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Compatriots, draught affects our province as well, Eastern Cape. Hon Minister we say, you need to look for those who are poor. Those people have lost, to them even if they loose one or two cows, they have lost and they have also lost all their money. They need to be considered in the draught disaster. It is not right to look only to those who are wealthy. You do things but you do not recognise those who are poor but when you talk you say you are doing well for the people. If you go to the Eastern Cape, Nkosi Zwelivelile, there are no roads. They are all destroyed in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape.]
English:
That is why we are saying that there must be an infrastructure grant to address issues in the rural areas because ...
IsiXhosa:
... ezi mali Mongameli ziya ezidolophini. Aba masipala basezantsi abajongwanga. Bakhona abantu baseMpuma Kapa apha, ntonje bayonqena ukuthetha kuba kaloku bafuna ukuzenza i-ANC engcono. Konakele ngaphaya kwaye thina sithi bavoti bakuthi ukuba urhulumente akanincedi, votelani elinye iqela. Votelani i-UDM ngowama-2016, enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... these moneys are given to people in urban areas. The small municipalities are not taken into consideration. Here there are people from the Eastern Cape, but they do not want to talk because they want to make them a better ANC. Things are bad at that side and we tell our voters to vote for other parties. Vote for UDM in 2016, thank you. [Applause.]]
Mr L R MBINDA
Mr L B GAELHER
|
Mr L R MBINDA: Hon Deputy Speaker, let me take this opportunity to invite the citizens of this country to celebrate the life and the contribution that was made by Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, the first president of the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania. He is the only prisoner throughout the world for whom a special law was made after he completed his sentence. There is none other.
As the PAC, our minds and hearts are with the trapped miners in Barberton. Without going further, I hope that once those miners are rescued there will be a commission to investigate, because I hope that there is a geological report. I also hope that this is not the same public corruption that we are normally faced with.
In order to deal with the issues of the economy in this country, we have been saying, Mr Nkwinti and the rest, that we need to deal with the land question. We are saying that as long as you do not repeal section 25 of the Constitution, our people will remain landless, they will remain in poverty, they will remain unemployed and so forth. So, we need to deal with that issue. At least by now you understand - we have taught you as the PAC - that when we talk land, we mean the wealth of the country.
On the issue of cutting costs, Mr President, I think you should take lessons from Tanzania, because the issue here is your bloated Cabinet structure, and not the cosmetic issues you mentioned the other day. I understand that your Ministers have been here. They have tried their best to cloud the issues, but they were not responding to the issues that are affecting our people. Whatever was being said here, including the projects that were being spoken about, does not translate for the poor people of this country, as you know.
They tried to cloud the issues, of course, and I understand that at the end of the day they need to keep their positions. The projects that your Ministers were referring to normally benefit only those who are close to the government. Thank you very much. [Time expired.] [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Before I call the next speaker, hon members, keep it down. I am not saying you should not speak to the person next to you, but keep it down. The noise levels drown out the speaker’s voice at the podium.
Ms T MOTARA / LN Eng&Xho//A N N/Eng(ed)
Mr L R MBINDA
|
Ms T MOTARA: His Excellency President Jacob Zuma, Madam Chairperson of the NCOP, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, leaders of all political parties represented in Parliament, hon members of the National Assembly and the NCOP, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen, the hon James is correct when he reminds us that those who participated in the struggle do not only sit on the right side of the House. He is correct: those who actively participated in the struggle also sit on the left. They perpetuated divisions and enabled the struggle of the majority to continue by funding it and by actively participating in the oppression. So, yes, those who participated in the struggle are in this House; all over South Africa in fact. The question is: Which side of the struggle were you on? [Interjections.]
At its annual celebration held in Rustenburg this year, the ANC celebrated 104 years since its formation. We declared there - as we have done decades before and will continue to do for generations to come - that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. We reaffirmed then - as we have done decades before and will continue to do for generations to come - that the strategic objective of the ANC remains the creation of a country which is united, democratic, nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous. We enjoined all South Africans, united in our diversity, to create this country we dream of. We declared this the year of advancing people’s power, placing active citizenry at the centre of our society’s development.
It is a fact that historic injustices meted out on the majority of South Africans based on race and gender have continued to present deep divides in our society. Decades ago, the ANC included in its Constitution - in its aims and objectives - the realisation that in order to turn back the tide of poverty and inequality, we will have to actively address racism and sexism.
Both these ills are a societal construct and are as a result of long-term psychological indoctrination, which all of us collectively must seek to destroy and replace with a foundation that is unshakable and formidable in strength and character, and which will ultimately give birth to the South Africa we wish to create. This is but just some of the ideological and founding principles of the ANC.
I really have to question what authority the Leader of the Opposition has to explain or even lecture us on what the ANC is or should be. What do you know about the ANC? [Interjections.] I mean, it was only last week; 21 years after democracy; 19 years after the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic, that your federal executive and federal council took a final decision on members of the DA voluntarily taking a pledge against racism, whereas, when joining the ANC, we declare that we will abide by the aims and objectives of the ANC. [Applause.]
Perhaps in the creation of this new South Africa we have, unfortunately, taken for granted that every citizen bought into the idea of a country belonging to all who live in it, regardless of one’s gender or race. It has become clear, however, beyond mere name-calling, that some amongst us are stuck in the past and refuse to embrace everyone as part of the human race.
Whatever you eat, whether it’s malamogodu [offal], skopo [sheep’s head], maotwana [chicken feet], umnqusho [samp and beans], umleqwa [free-range chicken], amasonja [mopani worms] or, enjoy as I do, a good plate of curry should not matter. What should matter is not the colour of our skins but whether we are able to unite and build this nation we claim to call home. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Racism in all its forms and manifestations must be rooted out, and those who continue to harbour hatred and venom in their hearts and minds for those of a warmer skin tone must feel the discomfort and displeasure of their communal backwardness. [Interjections.]
It comes as no surprise that the hon Van Damme likened the ANC to an old age home. The practice of sending your older loved ones to an old age home is both un-African and, in my humble view, disrespectful. [Interjections.] It is clear that there is just no coherence in the DA. On the one hand they want to embrace the values of ubuntu and African identity, but on the other they easily and without hesitation identify with the Eurocentric practice of old age homes. [Interjections.]
There is value in history and experience and one can learn from those who came before us. Without a doubt, as young members and leaders of the ANC, we become extremely impatient with our elders, even annoyed at times ...
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Motara, please take your seat. Is that a point of order?
Mr G G HILL-LEWIS: Will the hon member take a question on old age homes? [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Motara, will you take a question?
Ms T MOTARA: No.
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: No, sir. Please, continue. [Interjections.]
Ms T MOTARA: We become extremely impatient with them, even annoyed at times, but without their guidance and political tutelage, we run the risk of not having a value-set entrenched in our actions and ideological perspective. As young South Africans, young members and leaders of the ANC, we say ...
Setswana:
... re kgalemela lenyatso. [Tsenoganong.] [... we lead by example. [Interjections.]
English:
We know our leaders and predecessors. You even claim them as icons and leaders of honour. But as well as we know our own, we equally know yours. You may have relegated them to some old age home somewhere, but some refused to go.
Young South Africans remain an asset of this country. For any asset to yield the best results, there are a few basic principles or practices that we should engage in. Firstly, we must define our investment goals and, equally, define our risk. Our goal remains the creation of a national democratic society but our risks are many. Some are easily identifiable, others more difficult - even camouflaging themselves as better revolutionaries, but with enough time and pressure emerging to show their true character. Then, one must invest as early as possible and remain invested for as long as possible.
Young people must be educated both in revolutionary theory and practice, as well as in those streams that will deliver patriotic citizens who will be active agents of change. Thirdly, one must develop the right expectations and take a long-term view. Our long-term view or strategic objective is the creation of a nonsexist, nonracial, united, prosperous and democratic country. [Interjections.] The ANC must continue to invest vigorously in these national assets of young minds and young leaders. Our expectation is that, ultimately, this is what we will achieve.
Lastly, but probably the most difficult to do, is to manage emotions. In economic terms, people make the mistake of believing that money is rational. So too do we make the mistake of believing that human beings are rational, but sadly we have been proven wrong and there are some seriously irrational South Africans. We still hope that they too will come around.
I have just shared four basic principles of economics on how to correctly invest in assets. Of course, the negative result of cashing in on a so-called investment too early can be seen in the negative return on investment demonstrated in the red corner of the House - impatient, unwilling to learn, they can be better characterised as a scheme gone wrong, leaving us bankrupt and penniless. [Interjections.]
Hon Mileham, I am absolutely convinced that you have no idea and no clue as to what the role of civil society and NGOs are. Did the City of Cape Town stop the two NGOs that assisted those 68 people after a fire in Khayelitsha and the Bo-Kaap left them destitute? Did the City of Cape Town stop and say, “Wait, hold on. Disaster management is our role and our responsibility, and we will address the issue”? When we call on citizens to become active participants in bettering the lives of South Africans, NGOs and civil society are part of that call and we thank them for playing their role. [Interjections.]
Let me take this opportunity to commend the President and his team for meeting with business leaders. [Interjections.] As the ANC, we have been calling on the private sector to join hands with government to play their part and contribute towards stimulating the economy. Drastic situations call for drastic measures.
We know that we have serious challenges owing to the economic decline, and it is going to take all of us, individually and collectively, to get the economy going. This is the only way that poverty, unemployment and inequality will be reversed.
As a proud resident of Gauteng, I must congratulate the ANC-led City of Johannesburg on receiving a notch upgrade from Fitch Ratings. If the economic hub is on the incline, demonstrating good governance ... [Interjections.] [Applause.] ... and sound debt management, it will continue to inspire investor confidence in South Africa. As the economic hub inclines, so will the rest of the country. Congratulations go to honourable Mayor Parks Tau, a proud product of the ANC. [Applause.] Hon Maimane, a child of Soweto, you should be proud of your mayor. We certainly are.
As I conclude, allow me to quote a famous paragraph from a book by the eminent revolutionary Karl Marx, which is titled, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte in which he says, and I quote:
Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living. And just as they seem to be occupied with revolutionising themselves and things, creating something that did not exist before, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis, they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service.
As they engaged in protracted struggle to make their own history, the masses of our people, who sacrificed everything for the victory of the first strategic objective of the national democratic revolution, achieved this objective under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.
As the ANC, we want to reassure the people of South Africa that we remain committed to walking with them side by side, along the long and hard road to freedom, always conscious of our obligation to serve them and pursue the goals of revolutionary transformation.
IsiXhosa:
Siyaqhuba! Ndiyabulela. [Uwelewele.] [We are continuing. Thank you. [Interjections.]]
Mr Z N MBHELE / kn
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Ms T MOTARA
Mr Z N MBHELE: Chairperson, those of you who are familiar with the fictional comic and cartoon world of Superman ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order!
Mr Z MBHELE: ... would remember that Clark Kent worked at a newspaper called the Daily Planet. And judging by what we have heard from the ANC speakers today, they clearly fancy themselves as reporters of good stories to tell for the Daily Planet Zuma. [Interjections.] The first Daily Planet Zuma reporter at the podium was the hon Patel, who came here and essentially gave us a long list of empty promises, delivered with the cherry on top being that they would undertake to act against corruption in infrastructure projects. What a joke. The fact is: This entire side of the House spent last year defending the misuse of public funds on Nkandla. [Applause.] How on earth can we take you seriously? [Applause.] You have zero credibility when it comes to fighting corruption.
Speaking of Nkandla: Isn’t it interesting that only Ministers and Deputy Ministers spoke in the debate yesterday and today; not a single normal National Assembly ANC MP? [Interjections.] Could this be the aftereffects of the ANC caucus having been thrown under the bus? [Interjections.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Point of order ...
Mr Z N MBHELE: So, only those who ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Mbhele, please take your seat. Hon Chief Whip of the Majority Party?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I think the hon Mbhele needs to be corrected. It is not true that only Deputy Ministers and Ministers have spoken as even Motara in front of him is not a “normal” in his view. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Point taken. You are so corrected, sir.
Mr Z N MBHELE: Chairperson, I said National Assembly MPs. The NCOP is a different House. I stand correct. So, could this be the aftereffects of the National Assembly caucus being thrown under the bus in that only those who owe their positions directly to President Zuma were willing to defend his state of the nation address? [Interjections.]
I move on to our second reporter, the hon Joemat-Pettersson, who, quite frankly, appears to have it twisted. It is the Western Cape government that has created an enabling environment to attract and secure investments in this province. The DA provincial government has done the legwork, and the investment successes she pointed to are not because of you, but in spite of you. [Applause.] Chairperson, in addition, I would caution the Minister against boasting too much or too loudly about being chased by Japanese men or having them line up to see her. Otherwise, people just may start thinking that she is a geisha.
In fact, all her rumblings and theatrics earlier make one suspect that perhaps she may have been downing some sake before this sitting. It’s no wonder that her own home province of the Northern Cape did not put her on their candidate list in 2014. No, no, no. And she had to jackknife herself onto the ANC’s Western Cape list so that she could become an MP. What a shame and after she spent so much of her speech boasting about her Northern Cape pride.
The hon Manamela spent a lot of time on education outcomes, trying to rubbish the Western Cape. Well, let me put this to the hon Manamela: 22 zero-pass schools in the last year, none of them in the Western Cape, all of them in ANC provinces. [Applause.] So, there is no leg to stand on in that regard.
And let me give some more of the Western Cape’s education outcomes: 84,7% matric pass rate, highest in the country; 41,7% bachelor pass rate, highest in the country; above 70% average for schools in disadvantaged communities in Quintiles 1 to 3; 100% textbook delivery for every child in every subject and in every grade. [Applause.] That is education delivery of quality; that is education outcomes to be proud of.
But the one good thing about the hon Manamela’s speech was that it was the first time we actually heard the issue of crime being addressed at some length from the ANC, because crime in this country has long reached endemic levels and has been on the increase since 2011. We all know this and many of our fellow citizens feel this fear every day. Yet, in his state of the nation address, President Zuma basically showed the middle finger to the serious issue of crime in this country.
The state of the nation address made it clear that he and the ANC government are out of touch with what is going on in our country. Drug crime got nothing more than a brief mention, saying nothing new about how this would be tackled. While we have come to expect empty words from a man who is notorious for making hollow promises, this obvious disconnection from what is happening in the country can no longer be ignored.
Who has run the police exclusively for the past 21 years? The ANC national government. The failure of the ANC to address the historical, unequal Police Service provision and to appoint competent National Police Commissioners to lead the fight against crime effectively, given that the majority of crime victims are poor and black, amounts to hollow words from the ANC when they say they are tackling racial inequality. The one area you control exclusively, no progress. How can the ANC honestly say that black lives matter to them?
I now move on to the hon We-don’t-want-your-dirty-vote Mokonyane, who hammered on quite emphatically about water consumption in the suburbs. But where do you live, Minister? Can we talk about the ministerial residences in Newlands, which last time I checked was a leafy suburb? Can you talk about Senekal in the Free State, which has no water, but where you, Minister, organised the ANC’s anniversary celebrations and where you made sure that they had water in yet another demonstration that the ANC clearly comes first. Can we talk about the more than half a million rand that was spent fixing the swimming pool at your official residence, when you were the Gauteng premier? [Interjections.] All that money and it wasn’t even for drinking water.
Can you talk also about the towns that have no water on your watch? Let’s talk about Swartruggens: there is no water; Smithfield: there is no water; Aliwal North: there is no water; Lady Grey: there is no water; Senekal: there is no water; Vryburg: there is no water; Matatiele: there is no water; Hluhluwe: there is no water; Lichtenburg: there is no water; and, Winburg: there is no water.
Minister, if you were doing your job, I wouldn’t have to ask these questions. I would be able to say, “Akhona amanzi yonke endawo.” [There is water in all places]. [Applause.]
And one final correction for the hon Minister: It is not the ANC that is investing its money in the Western Cape. That is taxpayer’s money. [Applause.] It is money that comes from all the citizens of this country who are paying for that investment. In fact, it was DA local government that was putting that money to better use on water delivery and waste water management, not ANC local government - if you refer to the list I have just read out now.
So, the fact of the matter is: In this 2016 local government election year, more and more of our citizens are going to see ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order!
Mr Z N MBHELE: ... the bright lights and the beacon of DA delivery, and you shall see more wards, more towns and eventually more provinces and the entire country turn blue under a DA national government delivering for one nation with one future based on freedom, fairness and opportunity. I thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / MALUTA//AR
Mr Z N MBHELE
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The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Madam Chairperson, Mr President, Deputy President, hon members and guests, I can assure the hon Mbhele that black lives do matter to the ANC. [Interjections.] And that is why we were prepared to give up our lives in order that the majority in our country might be free. Black lives matter to us ... [Applause.] ... not just black votes. We giggled with amusement when the hon Maynier asked the President to inspire, give hope and lead. We giggled because he is a gentleman who is uninspiring, who is hopeless and who does not have a single leadership quality. [Laughter.]
In the past two days we have seen the hon members of the opposition clearly indicating, along with their leader, that they live on a planet of their own making, where their leader composes fairy tales full of monsters that are a figment of his imagination. In his fantasy world he is king of all he dreams, and he tries to use the fairy tale as his “Let’s pretend I will rule one day”. [Laughter.] Like the famous story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, in this debate he has huffed, he has puffed and he has blown nothing down. [Applause.] The ANC will not be blown down; it is made of sterner staff. [Interjections.]
The tragedy in all of this is that he fools no one including himself. His imagination knows no bounds. He sees the Western Cape as a sea of success and tranquillity for those in Khayelitsha as much as for those in Llandudno. Those who believe he is genuine must be astounded, as they know the Western Cape benefited hugely historically from influx control and the worst excesses of apartheid. [Applause.] The notion that all is so well in the Cape must be a tragic pain for the mothers of Hanover Park and Manenberg whose children are murdered daily in this imagined paradise of the Leader of the Opposition. [Interjections.]
Even worse than fairy tales was the rather pathetic attempt ... [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members, do not drown out the speaker.
The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: ... to make us the victims of racist insults by members of his party - the guilty ones to be accused by him of racism. Those who believe he is worth the position he holds would surely have wished he would leave Planet Hon Maimane and issue an apology on behalf of his members from this podium he claims to revere. Hon Maimane - who is no longer in the House to hear the debate - how do you live with your conscience? [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The hon member, of course, knows that the victims of oppression are often made blameworthy by those who despise them. So it is now with the hon leader. It was patently clear from his contribution that the DA and, in fact, all the speakers of that party, have nothing to offer South Africa. [Applause.]
The hon Van Damme and the hon Davis keenly wanted to know more on education. We would suggest they begin by honestly acknowledging it was President Jacob Zuma who signalled education as the main priority of this government. [Applause.]
The hon Maimane rather disingenuously claimed that not much had been achieved in education. I would like to continue where the hon Sisulu ended. Our government has steered the achievement of successes in education that are unparalleled in the education history of postcolonial Africa.
In fact, in much of the global community of nations, all hon members prepared to acknowledge the truth know that what has been achieved in education post apartheid, in our 21 years of democracy, is truly remarkable: that is, members who wish to acknowledge the truth. [Applause.] Of course, if you wish to be political you will not acknowledge the truth, but these are facts.
The ANC, led by President Mandela, bravely legislated 10 years of compulsory education at the inception of democracy in 1995. President Mandela laid the foundation for us to celebrate today, having achieved, after 21 years, universal access to basic education for all girls and boys. [Applause.] Yes, we admit we have not addressed fully the issue of quality – you’re not going to do it in 21 years - but we have made strides.
Beyond this, we record the following. The percentage of five-year-olds attending educational institutions at Grade R in South Africa has increased to 87,2%. [Applause.] Our country has a 100% intake for Grade 1 learners. The percentage of 14 to 18-year-olds attending educational institutions in South Africa today stands at 90,7%. [Applause.]
The percentage of five-year-old children with disabilities attending educational institutions stands at 83,9%. [Applause.] The percentage of seven to 15-year-old children with disabilities attending educational institutions stands at 93,4%. [Applause.]
The number of learners who benefit from the National School Nutrition Programme is - listen to this - 9,2 million out of a total of 12,6 million learners in public schools. [Applause.] The number of learners who benefit from the no-fee school policy is 9,4 million children out of 12,6 million learners in public schools. [Applause.] There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of learners writing and completing Grade 12, from 532 860 in 2014, to 644 306 in 2015. [Applause.] The 2015 numbers are the highest in the history of South Africa. [Applause.] One of the most encouraging outcomes of 2015 is the improvement in the quality of performance in quintiles 1 to 3 schools - the poorest in our country. This improvement contributed to a greater number of bachelor passes and distinctions.
Hon members, our colleagues in these benches know these facts, but their desperation to deliver election speeches causes them to wilfully neglect the facts. [Interjections.]
Of course, being a caring and transparent government, we always readily admit that our 21 years have not addressed all the challenges we face fully, and so we will continue to strenuously expand and entrench quality. We must all still attend to the President and the ANC’s directive that all teachers must be in school every day, teaching, on time and fully covering the curriculum. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
We acknowledge more must be done to expand technical education to achieve full access, and the provision of teaching and learning materials must be efficiently addressed. However, we welcome the steps taken by the Department of Basic Education to strengthen technical education and vocational options in the public school system. We have said that education has to become a societal issue. All of South Africa must recognise education as the priority focus area it should be.
The hon Van Damme expressed deep admiration for the #FeesMustFall campaign. This is not surprising, as the lack of policy and ideas compels her to grab any public issue that suits her as her own.
Let me outline what we admire in higher education. We admire the increase in student headcount enrolment from 837 779 in 2010, to 1 000 328 in 2015 ... [Applause.] ... again, hon members, remarkable in just 21 years. We admire the university participation rate of just under 20% in 2014 up from 15,4% in 2003 - again, remarkable. We admire a largely transformed student population by 2014 with 72% African, 6% coloured and 5% Indian student enrolment in the system, as compared to 2003 proportions of 62% African students, 25% white students, 6% coloured students and 7% Indian students. [Applause.]
We admire the building of three new universities: the Sol Plaatje University, the University of Mpumalanga and the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University by this ANC government. And we have a brand new medical school at the University of Limpopo. [Applause.]
We admire that progress has been made in technical and vocational education with technical and vocational education and training, or TVET, a national competence today. We have increased TVET enrolment from 345 566 students in 2010, to our current 800 000 plus in 2015. [Applause.] Nine community colleges have been established, linked to over 3 276 community learning centres and satellite learning centres throughout the length and breadth of South Africa. [Applause.]
Our government has also taken action to address the funding needs of the poorest, as shown by having invested over R50 billion in loans and bursaries via the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. This scheme benefits all needy students from all racial backgrounds in South Africa. [Applause.]
The political expediency that causes the opposition to suggest that nothing has been done is a failed political ploy that will not secure them votes. Young people know that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme bursary funding has increased at TVET colleges, from R318 million in 2010, to R2,2 billion in 2015. [Applause.] Furthermore, they know that student bursary funding at universities has increased from R2,2 billion in 2010 to R4,1 billion in 2015. [Applause.]
They also know that the President and the ANC government have listened to the plight of students who are poor and still not able to meet the cost of higher education. That is why this government, led by President Zuma, has agreed to provide funding in partnership with institutions of higher learning to compensate for not having a fee increase in 2016. [Applause.] Over R2,6 billion will be made available from the public purse to cover this particular decision.
It is not only in education that we see progress resulting from the leadership of the ANC in South Africa. Our scientists are working hard to build the MeerKAT as a precursor to the global Square Kilometre Array project. Our country, South Africa, is increasingly recognised as a science- and innovation-focused nation. This is shown by the award of the prestigious African Union Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award to Prof Abdool Karim in 2015 and to Prof Tebello Nyokong in 2016. Siyaqhuba. [We are moving forward.] [Applause.]
We are also thrilled that our own Kevin Govender is to join a prestigious list of awardees when he receives the 2016 Edinburgh Medal for his work in the Office of Astronomy for Development at the SA Astronomical Observatory. This is the first time a South African has received this award. [Applause.]
Of course, none of these achievements and signs of steady progress could distract us from the need to find solutions to the ongoing challenges we face of financial need in higher education, particularly the plight of families and students who cannot access NSFAS or other loan schemes.
We also must increase the attention given to the transformation challenges of gender equality, nonracism and inadequate accountability, as well as curriculum reform within higher education. I was astounded when the hon Mulder referred, yes, to that offensive T-shirt, but he did not refer to the students who are painting their faces black at the University of Stellenbosch. [Interjections.] Again, the guilty being made. [Interjections.] Absolutely unacceptable! [Interjections.] Attention. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order!
The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Nevertheless, we would like to urge all students to ensure that that this year they focus on learning and that all of us as parents, who can afford to pay fees, do pay fees in higher education. [Applause.] We also condemn wanton destruction and violence on campuses, and we support Minister Nzimande in his efforts to ensure a successful academic year. [Applause.]
We firmly believe that the record books speak to our progress in education, and we are certain that history will mark our first 20 years as a significant and fundamental departure from our awful past.
No amount of vilification of President Zuma and his government will erase these achievements, just as hatred of President Zuma will never propel Hon Planet Maimane to the leadership of South Africa. [Applause.]
We, of course, are absolutely stunned by hon members who went to the public promising them that they would ensure that they earn higher wages, that they own land and that nirvana falls into their laps. Those hon members are absent today. Not once have those members made a proposal in this House to achieve any aspect of the manifesto promises they so wildly made to the nation. It is clear from their lack of contribution to our democracy that they fundamentally misunderstood how our Parliament functions and what its role is.
As for the hon gentleman of Cope, we know, we know. He is suffering terribly from a disease you need to reject from your heart. Anger is a terrible disease. [Applause.] And he really needs to get over it.
We know that the hon Julius thought: “This is my moment of fame. I am on Idols and I must insult in order to be remembered.” It will not win you votes. [Applause.] And we also do know that the references to the hon Joemat-Pettersson - the insults to her - merely indicate what we all know: the last refuge of a scoundrel is always insults. [Applause.]
Mr President, Steve Biko is known to have said, and I quote, “It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.” [Applause.] He also said, Mr President, “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” The hon members, Mr President, want you to be an instrument of their wishes. They want your mind to be in their hands and you, Mr President, must never allow your mind to be in the hands of the oppressor. I thank you. [Applause.]
The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces adjourned the Joint Sitting at 19:41.
AZM MNGUNI///MS
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