Deputy Chair, I want you to guide me. I have two notices of motion. So will you tell me whether I should give space to both. I will do the first one, but I also want to raise my hand for a second bite at the notices.
I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
1) notes with profound sadness the tragic death yesterday on 3 August 2011 of Ms Busisiwe Milanzi who was the daughter of the Chairperson of the NCOP, the hon Mr M J Mahlangu, MP;
2) further notes that Ms Milanzi was working at the Department of Social Development as the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Social Development, the hon Ms B M Ntuli, MP; and previously worked as her private secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry; and
3) takes this opportunity to convey its profound sadness to the Mahlangu family, her husband and two sons on the loss of a daughter and mother at such an early age.
I so move.
I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the Council -
1) notes the appeal by the Eastern Cape to the Minister of Basic Education to take charge of the intervention sanctioned on 15 March 2011 by this House;
2) notes that the Bergsig Special School in Uitenhage had five temporary teaching posts approved by the Eastern Cape Department of Education to teach technical subjects to the scholars, but because the Department did not pay the teachers from January until July, the school governing body paid the five teachers for these technical subjects;
3) further notes that the Bhisho High Court ruled last month in favour of the appointment of teachers to Bergsig Special School and two other schools; and
4) calls on the Minister to take responsibility for the intervention to ensure that the Eastern Cape Department of Education gets back on track, and appeals to the Minister to immediately assist the Bergsig Special School by paying the five temporary teachers and refunding the governing body the full amount paid to the teachers, thus enabling the governing body to fund their special technical operational budget.
Hon Deputy Chairperson, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the Council -
1) notes that next Tuesday, 9 August, is National Women's Day in South Africa;
2) also notes that the Deputy President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, has stated that changing patriarchal attitudes constituted one of the main gender-related problems in South Africa;
3) further notes that the Deputy President also stated that in trying to change these attitudes and practices, women and men need to work in partnership at all times. These partnerships should be based on support, respect, principles and theories that support gender equality; and
4) supports these statements which are at the centre of democracy and the South African Constitution.
I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the Council -
1) notes that the South African government has agreed to guarantee a loan of R2,4 billion to the Swaziland Central Bank;
2) also notes that on 28 June 2011 the DA gave notice of a motion calling for conditions to be attached to any finance made available to Swaziland and that certain conditions have indeed been put on the guarantee now made;
3) further notes that whilst the conditions on the guarantee include fiscal reforms required by the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, they are vague and wishy washy with respect to political changes that are required in order to bring democracy to Swaziland, the last absolute monarchy in the world, which is an embarrassment to Africa and South Africa in particular;
4) therefore calls upon the South African government to include the following conditions on the loan guarantee for Swaziland -
(a) the immediate scraping of the 38-year-old state of emergency;
(b) the immediate unbanning of political parties;
(c) the immediate release of all opposition party members and civil society activists held in detention without trial;
(d) that none of the loan funds be spent on the monarchy;
(e) the implementation of a multiparty transitional government within six months; and
(f) the immediate start of multiparty negotiations towards a new democratic constitution for Swaziland.
I give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move on behalf of Cope:
That the Council debates -
1) the unacceptable increase in the number of police deaths around the country;
2) the intolerable nature of these police killings and the cost this has on the safety, morale and work environment of the police force, and the visible lack of a conclusive way of sending a zero- tolerance message to all cop-killing criminals;
3) declaring the killing of any police by these criminals as treason; and
4) the introduction of a minimum sentence by government directed specifically to cop killers.
Deputy Chairperson, I rise to give notice on behalf of Cope that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council debates -
1) the crisis in our education system following the release of the Annual National Assessment's dismal results for Grades 3 and 6 learners;
2) the need to examine the results of the data analysed by the University of Stellenbosch in order to pave a way forward;
3) the important role of teachers and quality of teaching in our schools in addressing the challenges that face the South African education system; and
4) the important role that government has to play to provide leadership as well as to ensure and monitor that educators have the correct qualifications to provide quality education.
Hon members, I have only five minutes left for this, and the list is very long. Therefore some hon members should bear with me, as I have to pass over their names. I now give the hon O de Beer an opportunity if his notice of motion is no longer than two minutes.
Deputy Chairperson, I give notice on behalf of Cope that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council debates -
1) the cloud of controversy that hangs over the "closed door" policy of the Master's Office liquidation application of Aurora Empowerment Systems;
2) the protection afforded to politically connected individuals close to the ANC-led government at the expense of the poor; and
3) the need for an open and transparent process to ensure that justice will be served.
I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of the Council I shall move:
That the Council -
1) notes that the Employment Equity Commission has just released its 11th report on employment equity in South Africa, which indicates that racism continues to be one of the greatest influences on the slow pace of transformation in the workplace in South Africa; 2) also notes that the report reveals that very little has changed in the top four levels of management in the private sector, with whites taking 73% of top management positions last year and Africans holding only 12,7% of top management jobs, coloureds 4,6% and Indians 6,8%;
3) further notes the concerns raised by the report that although over the past four years the number of black top managers had risen by only 1,4 per cent, the indication is that at the current rate of transformation, it will take another 127 years for blacks to be in top management positions, proportional to the population, and another 32 years for transformation to happen in senior management; and
4) takes this opportunity to express its profound disappointment at the slow pace of transformation in the private sector and supports the call made by the Minister of Labour to ensure stringent measures to force private companies to transform and implement the Employment Equity Act, which already allows government to fine anyone who flouts it by up to R900 000.
Hon member, can you cut this short please? [Inaudible.]
Then I so move, Deputy Chairperson.