Chairperson, hon members, the time has come for us to say goodbye to dear friends, fellow comrades and compatriots. We cried together; we sang together; we laughed; we fought, but today is a sad moment when we have to say, "Let's kiss and say goodbye".
Let me share with you the words of wisdom that were said to me this morning by hon Johannes Malahlela, who, by the way, is one of the members we are bidding farewell to, because this House has recommended that he be given another responsibility. He said, and I quote:
I shall pass through this world but once. Anything, therefore, that I do or any help that I can offer to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for it shall not come this way again.
Let's all of us take these words and live by them.
On behalf of the ANC, I would like to thank all members of this House for the good work done this term. I would like to thank the Deputy President, who is our Leader of Government Business, for her guidance and leadership.
I'd also like to thank the following people: the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker for their good leadership; the leaders of the opposition parties represented in this House for their co-operation; the Table staff and the Secretary to the NA for the excellent work done in this House; the chairpersons of committees for the good work done in this term; members of the executive for their co-operation; chairpersons and Whips, members of the Chief Whips' Forum and all members for the good work. You really went beyond the call of duty to assist in the smooth running of this House.
I thank all service officers and all staff, Members of Parliament and the staff from parties for their assistance. We'd like to thank members of the media for covering our proceedings and debates. We do not always agree with them, but we thank them for their work.
We have come to the end of this historic, democratic Parliament, which has been an exciting place in many respects. It has been exciting because despite our different views on how we should handle certain issues or how to respond to certain developments, we have always remained loyal to the Rules we have set up to govern our conduct in Parliament. More importantly, we have remained loyal to the Constitution of the Republic, the supreme law of the country. To us, as the ANC, this is very important.
In the midst of heated exchanges, we have always found time to share jokes, enjoy lighter moments and laugh - especially hon Mike Ellis and hon Koos van der Merwe - amongst ourselves as Members of Parliament; as representatives of our people.
Over the past five years of the life of this Parliament we have worked well in various areas of deployment, be it at portfolio committee meetings, Chief Whips' Forum meetings or various other committees that were set up according to the niche. Working well does not necessarily mean that there were no differences; it means that we have come to understand that we will always differ and we will always need to persuade and convince each other of the correctness of our positions. However, there was one committee where all hon members sang from the same song sheet, namely, the task team on the Moseneke commission. [Laughter.]
Every member of that committee from every political party always agreed. I so wish that every committee in Parliament could function the way this task team did. There would be no need for late sittings!
Chairperson, I stand before you with a firm conviction that all of us seated here remain committed to one goal: to achieve a better life for all our people. In this Parliament we have embraced the unity of all South Africans, irrespective of their race, culture or religion. It is this unity that is a source of our strength.
Since 1994, our democratic elections have been about the aspirations and the collective desire for a better South Africa and a better life for all. It has been a journey to bring to an end the legacy of apartheid and to build a united, nonracial, nonsexist democratic and prosperous South Africa.
Much work still needs to be done to deepen our democracy and to deal with the scourge of poverty that afflicts our people. The coming Parliament will need to continue the work done by this Parliament and focus on the following: Continued democratisation of our society based on equality, nonracialism and nonsexism; national unity in diversity, which is a source of our strength; building on the achievements and experiences since 1994; an equitable, sustainable and inclusive growth path that brings decent work and sustainable livelihoods; education, health, safe and secure communities and rural development; targeted programmes for youth, women and workers, the rural masses and people living with disabilities; and working towards a better Africa and a better world.
We have entered our second decade of freedom, with the strengthening of democracy and the acceleration of the programme to improve the quality of life for all our people. This has been done through the processing of legislation, amongst other things.
In the past five years we have passed more than 230 pieces of legislation. This number might be seen as a drop in the ocean compared with the first and second democratic Parliaments. However, we must not forget that the third democratic Parliament focused more on oversight and the effect of the legislation that we have passed for our people.
The outgoing Parliament, as I have indicated, shifted its focus from passing legislation to issues of transformation of the institution itself, oversight and public participation, in line with the vision of Parliament to build an effective people's Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.
These achievements and many more were possible because all South Africans worked together to overcome the challenges facing our country. Together, we pressed forward to our shared vision of a united, nonracial, nonsexist democratic and prosperous South Africa.
It is our collective task to continue with the work started by this Parliament. We need to strengthen the oversight capacity of Parliament. The third democratic Parliament has seen its stature grow internationally through its active involvement in international activities and in partnership with other parliaments. More and more parliaments throughout the world are joining hands in an effort to create a just world for humanity.
In Africa we are part of the SADC Parliamentary Forum, which consists of representatives of all parliaments in the region. This body, amongst other things, is involved in observing elections in countries of the region.
On the continental front, we are part of and hosting the Pan-African Parliament, which is involved in continental discussions that range from peace and security to human rights.
Let me take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the hon members who will not be returning to the fourth democratic Parliament and those who will be assuming new assignments in various areas of our government and civil society.
We want to thank them for their loyal and sincere dedication to this institution. We wish them well in their new assignments.
We also extend our sincere appreciation to those hon members who are retiring from public life, and again we wish them well in their endeavours. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Madam Speaker, Mr Van der Merwe, you are quite right I wasn't called. But I am so eager to make my speech that I cannot wait any longer.
It is, in fact, just over three months ago that we said farewell to each other at the end of the 2008 parliamentary year. However, this farewell today is certainly far more important and far more significant. Last year we were saying goodbye to each other, knowing that we would all be back again in January. On this occasion we are saying a permanent goodbye to many of our colleagues who have been with us for many years.
A number of members have chosen the end of this Parliament to retire and others have their party hierarchies and the voters deciding for them that it is time for them to move on. This is, of course, the point made earlier by the hon Minister of Finance. [Interjections.] No, Mr Jeffery, I am afraid I will be back, sir.
It reminds me of the old adage that voters like to trot out at this time of a parliamentarian's life, "Make your MP work, don't re-elect him."
When those of us who are coming back do return after the election, Parliament will have many new faces. There will be, I am sure, far fewer parties than we have today. But in so saying, we also know that there will be one very important new addition. We wonder how the ANC will be able to cope with this! But time will tell. [Laughter.] Undoubtedly, the ANC ranks will be much reduced, and the opposition benches will be very much fuller. This will all be very exciting.
But this is for the future. Today we are saying farewell at the end of five years of working together. It has been five tumultuous years, both in and out of Parliament, especially for the ruling party. But quite frankly, this is not a time for point-scoring. So, let me concentrate on the task at hand.
The fact of the matter is that most of us have friends in this House across party lines. Most of us are, individually, pretty decent people who care about others regardless of the party they belong to. [Interjections.] You can tell the people who have been out of this House for some time this afternoon. I wonder where they have been. [Laughter.]
It is usually only collectively that we fight. This is, of course, the true nature of politics. Let me say that I can see some good in nearly all ANC members, even in people like the hon Dennis Bloem, Danny Oliphant and others at the back there. But at midnight on 21 April 2009, many people who are presently members of this very exclusive club, known as Parliament, will be leaving this club and will lose those two letters behind their names.
They will do so to start new careers or to enter retirement. It is important that we wish all these people every success regardless of which party they belong to and that we do this very sincerely.
Obviously, within the DA ranks we are saying farewell to a number of our colleagues, including the whole front bench. I want to take this opportunity to wish our retiring members well. I do hope that this House will not mind if I single out two individuals.
The first one is the hon Joe Seremane, with whom I have worked closely for more than 12 years now. He has taught me a great deal in terms of personal relationships, etc. But the truth is that Joe Seremane got married recently to a wonderful woman. [Applause.] I am sure he now has many more better things to do than simply warm the benches here in Parliament. He is a good man in every sense of the word, and I shall miss him.
I also want to pay a very special tribute to my friend, one-time leader and colleague, Tony Leon, who has been a massive inspiration to me since 1989 and especially since 1994. We have walked a long path together, hon Mr Leon - a very exciting one. It has been a great period in my life and in our party's life.
Thank you very much indeed. But I have no doubt that South Africans from across the whole range will hear a great deal more about the hon Mr Tony Leon over the decade to come. I want to say to him that he has played a major role in this country's political history. Certainly, sir, you can be proud of what you have achieved. [Applause.]
As this third democratic Parliament comes to an end, let me pay tribute to the Table staff in the NA. They have given this House an excellent service over the past five years, first under the leadership of Kasper Hahndiek, and for the past few years under Kamal Mansura. The DA certainly appreciates your help and professionalism over the years and at all times.
Let me also pay tribute to other officials in Parliament, including sound and vision, protocol, IT, finance and various other departments. You have all played an important role in the lives of MPs, and we appreciate what you do. [Interjections.] Certainly catering! Thank you very much indeed, Mr Singh. [Interjections.]
Well, how can we forget the bar service. You are quite right. Thank you very much indeed. To all the bars and the people who work in the bars, a very special thanks - especially on behalf of those people at the back there! [Laughter.]
To you, Madam Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the House Chairs, past and present, the DA has been a very well-behaved model party in terms of decorum. I am sure you appreciate our general behaviour, Madam Speaker - the fact that we called for very few Divisions, made very few interjections and took hardly any points of order. [Laughter.]
I'm sure you both appreciate this very much. But we do thank you sincerely on behalf of this institution for all you both do for this House and for Parliament in general. We don't always agree with what you do and what you say. But certainly that helps to make this institution much more exciting and to make it what it is.
To the Whips in the DA and to the Whips of all parties, we certainly enjoyed our interactions. I believe that our work in the Chief Whips' Forum has always been in the best interests of Parliament.
To everyone, farewell! Some of us, Mr Jeffery, will meet again after 22 April 2009. But the DA certainly does wish every member of this third democratic Parliament all the best for whatever their future holds. Thank you very much indeed. [Applause.]
Madam Speaker, the previous speakers have expressed words of appreciation and thanks to the staff and all the other people, and we associate ourselves with that.
We have these farewell speeches at the end of every year. But I don't think they should be farewell speeches every year; they must be goodbye speeches because we normally come back. This time, of course, it's a special occasion. We now say farewell to a number of people because it is the end of this Parliament.
To those who are leaving I would like to say to you that no matter which party you represented, you served as an honourable member. You all did your best and served your country with loyalty and dedication. May you continue to be of service in retirement. You have acquired many outstanding skills during your stay in Parliament. You should use those skills when serving your communities.
We are now preparing for elections. In this regard, the eyes of the world, especially Africa, will be upon us to see how we are going to conduct ourselves in the forthcoming elections. We had three elections so far - in 1994, 1999 and 2004. What have we learned? I say we learned much about democracy and tolerance. We learned to respect the will of the people. We learned to behave ourselves properly in conducting elections. There are, of course, exceptions which one can expect, so let us therefore not treat the Julius Malemas as the norm but as the exception. South Africa has become a democratic model for other African states. Let us keep it that way in this election.
At the end of an era, we as colleagues must try for a moment to also reflect on our successes - and there were many during the five years. Together we have finally proved that our Parliament functions in accordance with international parliamentary standards. We have a Parliament to be proud of. Our presiding officers are executing their duties with great objectivity and dignity.
If you would permit me, I wish to add that the IFP is very proud of the exemplary and dignified manner in which our member, Mr Ben Skosana, is fulfilling his duties. Jy doen goed, Ben! [You are doing well, Ben!] [Applause.]
During the five years there were failures too. But today is not the time to dwell on those. It is safe to briefly say that we in the opposition are very unhappy about a few matters such as the recall of Mr Mbeki, the death of the Scorpions, the dismissal of Adv Pikoli and others. But now is the time to say farewell to some and goodbye to others. We in the IFP greet you.
Mr Chauke said "IFP, phansi!" [down with the IFP!] I do not know where he sits. [Interjections.] He has left. I want to say to him that we have a very special message for him and his colleagues in the ANC. We in the IFP will see you on 22 April, and we are going to beat the living daylights out of you. We are going to teach you a lot of lessons. So, we say to you in the ANC: "Ayihlale phansi ibamb'umthetho! Ayihlale phansi ibamb'umthetho! Sengihleli! Sengihleli!" [Sit down, pay attention and obey the command! I am sitting! I am sitting!]
Madam Speaker and hon members, we have reached the end of another session and perhaps this is the last time that this House meets prior to the end of this term. Looking back upon the past five years, we have engaged in important work and achieved a number of milestones. For such achievements that we have attained, we must pay tribute to the parliamentary and party staff members who played a pivotal role, behind the scenes, to ensure that we performed our constitutional duties.
We have had the best of times and the worst of times in this august House. It is worse still, now that we have to bid each other farewell, some of us for good. In bidding members of this House farewell, I wish all members all the best in their campaigning for the next Parliament. This is the fourth election series. Political parties, therefore, must have matured by now. Nonetheless, it is still necessary to advocate strongly for political tolerance and, better still, political acceptance for and amongst all parties.
Those who will not be coming back for one reason or the other, we wish them the best of luck and Godspeed in their future endeavours. I would like to believe the old adage, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." In the process, we have become friends, and it is not nice to part ways with friends, but it is at times necessary. Farewell to you, one and all. I thank you.
Madam Speaker, today, at the end of a lengthy and eventful five-year term, we bid each other goodbye and in certain cases, farewell. We, from the ACDP, would like to share the sentiments of other speakers in thanking you, Madam Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, House Chairpersons, Mr Mansura and all the support, security and other staff.
Madam Speaker, a particular word of thanks to you for the gracious manner in which you have always treated us MPs. Thank you also for the wonderful dinner and gifts last night; it is highly appreciated. [Applause.]
Two of my favourite places are the bar, that is the coffee bar, and the library. We often forget about the library staff and their prompt and effective response to our queries. That is much appreciated. And I have returned my books!
Let us not forget the finance staff for ensuring that we are paid in time, sometimes with unexpected deductions as was the case last week. But we are a forgiving lot of MPs, aren't we?
The media has played a huge role in keeping the public informed about current events in Parliament. We need to thank them for their reporting on our work. I'm sure that the Deputy Minister of Finance, who was here, would join me in particularly thanking the SABC TV for replacing the chairs in their parliamentary studio. As has been indicated, many members will be retiring from active public life, and it has been a pleasure and honour to work with you all. To those I've worked closely with in various committees, I've grown very fond of you and will sincerely miss you. I trust that those who wish to return will be back in Parliament, as I will be too.
I've also had the privilege of studying economics with a number of members. Thank you for your encouragement and your support. We have come a long way together, and let's make sure that we complete our B Com honours. Remember our motto: Pass one; pass all! [Laughter.] To the governing party, thank you for treating us smaller and growing parties with respect, and allowing us the space to fulfil our role in Parliament. To the main opposition party, thanks for the many words of encouragement, both before and after we have spoken at this podium; it has meant a lot to me in particular.
As we go out to campaign, let us set the example, as true leaders, of tolerance and the maintenance of peace. Remember that whilst we can and may differ from one another politically, let us play the ball and not the man. Remember that we are called to love one another.
To conclude, we, from the ACDP, wish you well. I would like to bless you with the following:
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; and may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
I thank you. Phambili ACDP, phambili! [Forward, ACDP, forward!] [Applause.]
Mev die Speaker, ons het gekom aan die einde van die leeftyd van die derde Parlement. Die vierde Parlement, wanneer ons terugkom, gaan anders wees as die derde Parlement, onder andere, omdat ons nie meer oorloopwetgewing sal h wat dit moontlik sal maak wat ons in die derde Parlement gehad het nie. Die verskynsel wat ons tans het met omtrent 15 partye in die Parlement moet u aanvaar gaan anders wees na die verkiesing. Ons gaan met minder partye terugkom en dit gaan so bly. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Madam Speaker, we have come to the end of the lifespan of the third Parliament. Upon our return, the fourth Parliament will be different to that of the third Parliament because, amongst others, we shall no longer have legislation which had made floor crossing possible in the third Parliament. You will have to accept the fact that the present phenomenon of having about 15 parties in Parliament will be different after the election. We will return with fewer parties and it will remain that way.]
We also have a unique country in the sense that most likely, after the election, we will be electing our fourth President, unlike our neighbour Zimbabwe, who couldn't find the need for another President.
I would also like to extend a word of thanks to my colleagues in the third force. The third force has been playing a very important role in Parliament. For those who do not know who we are talking about, that is the number of members of Parliament, 37 of them, who are supposed to be members of the so-called smaller parties, who operate as a group together from time to time when things need to be done. And I would like to say thank you to them as they are doing their job.
We are now going into an interesting phase in our election period, where many of us have, so-called, run for nomination. Those of us who are successful will now stand for Parliament and those who will be elected will become sitting members, if everything goes according to plan.
Ek wil aansluit by my kollegas wat reeds 'n woord van dank uitgespreek het teenoor die verskillende afdelings van die Parlement. Ons onderskryf dit. Ek dink een afdeling wat nog nie genoem is nie, is die sekuriteit- en veiligheidsdienste wat ons almal hier veilig hou en kyk dat die Parlement in orde is en dat dinge reggaan - 'n woord van dank aan hulle. 'n Woord van dank aan die media en die pers - waarsonder Suid-Afrika nie sal kennis neem van wat in die Parlement gebeur of wat tersake is hier nie - ons waardeer dit. Laastens, 'n woord van dank aan elke kollega wat die afgelope vyf jaar die pad saam met ons geloop het. Aan di wat aftree, sterkte op die pad vorentoe. Aan di wat terugkom, die VF Plus sal terug wees en ons sal saam met julle die pad vir Suid-Afrika verder loop. Ek s baie dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I would like to join my colleagues who have already extended a word of thanks to the different divisions of Parliament. We endorse it. However, I think the one division that has not been mentioned, is that of the security and safety services who ensure the safety of all of us here and see to it that Parliament is secure and that everything is in order - a word of thanks to them.
A word of thanks to the media and the press - without which South Africa would not be aware of what is taking place in Parliament or what is relevant here - we appreciate it. Finally, we wish to extend a word of thanks to every colleague who has walked the road with us for the past five years. To those who are retiring, we wish you well on the road ahead. To those who are returning, we wish to say that the FF Plus will be back and together we shall walk the road for South Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Madam Speaker and colleagues, so we come to the end of another small chapter in our political history, the end of the third Parliament. For its part, Nadeco reflects back on the past three and a half interesting years in which it has established itself as a functioning party and as a participant in the activities of this National Assembly, to the extent that our modest numbers allowed.
Nadeco, like all other opposition parties, intends entering the fourth Parliament with greater numbers and to build on its immediate past experience. [Interjections.] There is something in that equation, with all opposition parties intending to come back with an enlarged size. Somebody is going to have to pay for it, and I suspect that it might be the party on my right.
For now, however, Nadeco looks back with gratitude for our involvement in this third Parliament, an involvement which has included many warm friendships and much co-operation across the party spectrum. It indeed included the much-appreciated support from the Secretary to Parliament and the various administrative departments. We thank you all.
For myself, after 15 years, I will be turning my attentions to another career through which I hope to make a significant contribution to government and its effectiveness. But, as enthusiastic as I am about this venture, I do experience more than a measure of sadness in saying farewell to this Parliament and to all of you.
Let me end by saying that Nadeco wishes all of those who do not return after the elections every success in their new lives. To those who do return, Nadeco looks forward to working with you towards advancing our democracy and our service to the country and all its people. Thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Speaker, this has indeed been a progressive and memorable five years in which we have had so much success. Despite our differences, we have been able to take South Africa forward. We need to remind our people of this success and intensify their confidence in the government, which had their best interests at heart and has delivered on that.
I'm praying that the election will be a peaceful and dignified process, and that people will be free to make their choice without being manipulated and taunted because of it.
I'm hoping that the faces I have seen over the past years in this House and in government will offer guidance to the people, so that this election may be peaceful.
I take this opportunity to thank the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and chairs of the NA and NCOP. I extend my gratitude to all committees, their chairs and administrators, and to all the people - staff, support staff and service providers - in Parliament. We thank and applaud you for making our task more endurable and possible. I cannot complete these thanks without honouring the NA table and its impeccable administrators, under the Secretary to Parliament and the Secretary to the NA. Thank you to all secretaries and officials.
I'm hoping that in the new term of Parliament, this House will be strong and more vibrant and committed to delivery. I know that there are a number of members retiring, and I take this opportunity to thank them and wish them the very best in their retirement. Madam Speaker, may I at this point let the House know that I have made a proposal to my leader, Mr A Rajbansi, that I would like to retire at the end of this term to allow a younger person to take my seat. [Applause.] This still has to be confirmed. I do not know what the leader will decide. So, this may be my last speech in this House. I need to thank you all for your attention and applause each time I came to this podium. But I feel that I will be failing in my duty if I do not say thank you to all my friends and colleagues in this august House.
Madam Speaker, may I firstly thank the former Speaker, Deputy Speaker - who is now the Speaker of the House - the present Deputy Speaker and all the chairs of the political parties for the love and respect bestowed on me. All of you have treated me with the highest dignity, for which I am extremely grateful. You respected me as a colleague, a friend, a sister and most of all, you respected me as a mother.
I leave you all with love and blessings. If I retire, I'll be an overseer for the MF, so you will sometimes find me sitting in the gallery to say hello to all of you. Remember, I love you all very much.
A very special thank you goes to my leader, Mr A Rajbansi, for standing beside me all the way. It also goes to my two staff members, Tasleema Allie, my researcher, and Moenieba Cupido, my secretary. I thank you. May the Lord bless you! My life with you has been based on a good experience, and I will leave with great memories. Finally, once again, I love you. [Applause.]
Madam Speaker, I do intend also to speak on behalf of my comrade and leader, Comrade Pheko, who is not here. I also, on behalf of the APC, join my colleagues who have come before me to express their gratitude and appreciation for the manner in which we have interacted, firstly as colleagues and, secondly, with the administration here, in reference to Parliament and the presiding officers.
The five years for me have been an occasion of excitement, growth and learning. It is only when one is in Parliament that one can appreciate the amount of hard work that MPs have to put up with, and not the perception of people that MPs have nothing to do and are earning fat salaries.
I think it would be amiss for me personally not to express my sincerest gratitude to the ANC for having afforded me the opportunity to chair one of the most important committees in Parliament. It has afforded me an opportunity for growth and to have perspective on issues that I might otherwise not have had, had I been an ordinary member.
In the same breath, I want to thank my colleagues in the committee, from all parties. We have been able to work as a unit. I think we also were a committee, Comrade Deputy Chief Whip, where you would not be able to tell whether one was from the ANC or from the UDM, or from any other party. I wish to thank them very much, including the staff of the committee, which has some of the hardest working people around.
I wish well those who are retiring; and those of us who are coming back, we will meet again after two months. I thank you. [Applause.]
Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers and members, we have come to the end of our parliamentary term of office. As we are all busy with election campaigns, the time ahead will not be one of rest, but of work; work to bring about a new Parliament with fresh faces and fresh ideas. We have all worked hard over the past five years to make Parliament a place in which robust democracy thrives. We have also responded as best we can to representing our people with integrity and honest labour. We now go back to our people to ask them for their votes.
The FD, a member of the CDA, Christian Democratic Alliance, wishes all our colleagues in this House every success in the efforts to win votes and return to this august Place to continue in building a winning society. We have made good friends over the past years; we have worked well with one another; we have also fought hard on matters where we differed; but we also did so in the spirit of democracy and in respect of our institutions of government.
We leave here today to go our separate ways. We pray for the peace of God over all of us as we work to bring about a society that will benefit all of our people. We express a special word of thanks to you, Madam Speaker and Madam Deputy Speaker, for a wonderful farewell dinner as well as the photo of the last Joint Sitting of the third Parliament.
A special word of thanks also goes to all the committee chairs, the Chief Whips and all staff members of Parliament, for their contribution to making the third Parliament a great success. A special word of thanks goes to Rhoda Southgate and Kevin Thompson, our researchers, for work well done.
We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. May God go with you throughout these elections; God bless you. I thank you. [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, this is one occasion on which it is very difficult to say farewell or goodbye, whatever we want to call it, because we have been a family. Someone said to me that it is like a play: People who can write would say that the world is a stage and that men and women are players or actors. There are times for entering and times for exiting; this is the time to exit the third Parliament.
What we need to do is to look back and ask ourselves questions: Did we do ... Let me take a sip. [Applause.] [Interjections.] I'm not going to sing a song, hon member, thank you. However, there are people you will always remember and there are those people you wish you could not remember any more, and that is life. In this House we had a mix of all that. We had those people whom you always wanted to give you a shoulder to cry on, and this cuts across the parties.
If you remember, Nelson Mandela would say that there are good and bad people everywhere. There are people who touched my heart, such as the hon Sandra Botha. I had breakfast with her two days ago. If you see tears, they are tears of joy because we have done a very good job. We have made our people proud. There were times when things were very difficult, but nonetheless, umsebenzi ngumsebenzi [a job is a job.] [Applause.]
I am strengthened, as I stand here looking very weak, by some of the people who are no longer with us - people with whom we started this third Parliament. I think of the hon Haasbroek. If I could have a tissue, please. I usually get it from the DA. [Applause.] [Interjections.] Not necessarily! The tears might be from my own weakness. The hon Diko; the hon Kati; the hon Mabuyakhulu; the hon Sigcau; the hon Vezi; the hon Zulu; the hon Ziphora Nawa, whose son is here with us; the hon Gomomo; the hon Kondlo; the hon Cassim Saloojee and hon Johannes Schippers.
I was going through their speeches, just to ask myself, if they had had an opportunity to address me now, what would have said? They would they have said, "Yours was a good race, go home and take some strength and then come back to the podium."
There are a number of people whom I would like to thank. I have a very long speech which I am not going to read, because I think what I have said summarised how I feel about all of you. [Applause.] Hon Oliphant, when I say I am going to shorten my speech, it does not mean that you should go to the coffee bar! [Laughter.] I was told that you were a regular there. [Laughter.] The Secretary is here and we need to start looking at the budget for the coffee. We should maybe make sure that members do not spend so much time there. But I really need to say that I would like to thank Madam Deputy Speaker; the House Chairpersons; all the Whips and Chairpersons of Committees; the Secretary to Parliament, Mr Dingani, and his Deputy, Mr Coetzee; the ever- hardworking Mr Mansura, who is always available to help; and all the members of the Table staff. I have mentioned Ms Sandra Botha because when I worked with her, I discovered that I was working with a leader. To all the members who would not be returning, I would like to wish you success in your new lives.
I am not going to sound as if I won't be coming back, because I think I will be. [Applause.] When we meet in May I will be addressing you again. Maybe at that time I will have the courage to complete my speech, which I won't be completing today.
Hon members, I would really like to thank you. We did a lot together and have put our Parliament where it should be. At times, we did so under difficult conditions and have made our country proud. We made sure that the South African flag flew higher and higher. At this stage, let me thank you. [Applause.]