Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, hon members of this august House, including the MECs representing their premiers, ladies and gentlemen, and somebody from my previous life, representing Salga, Councillor Mxolose, I thank you.
I would like to thank members of this august House for their overwhelming support in having elected me as the Rotating Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP. It is indeed an honour for me to serve our constitutional democracy in this capacity. I would like to give you my assurance that I will execute the obligations of my office in accordance with the provisions of our Constitution and to the very best of my ability.
I am also sure that the hon members of this House will offer me their full support whenever the need arises, to expedite the respectable work of the NCOP in the most effective way possible. I know that I can count on your support. As we all may understand, the NCOP represents the interests of provinces, and has the responsibility to promote co-operative governance.
Together with the National Assembly, the NCOP constitutes Parliament. Both Houses participate in the legislative processes in the manner set out in the Constitution. This House and the work that is conducted herein is certainly not rubber-stamping by any means. While both Houses are obliged to provide a national forum for the public consideration of issues, the NCOP also represents the provinces, to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government.
Therefore, it is incumbent on the NCOP to foster and maintain a dynamic relationship with provinces, especially the provincial legislatures, as they constitute the central feature of the work of this House. To this end, all permanent delegates must serve as active agents for the ongoing promotion of a dynamic interaction with their provinces. The significance of this ongoing interaction cannot be overemphasised as this facilitates a useful link between both the provincial and national spheres of government.
In turn, provincial legislatures have the honour of maintaining ongoing interaction with the local government sphere for the purpose of ensuring quality service delivery. Moreover, both permanent delegates to the NCOP and the provincial legislatures must ensure that a meaningful relationship exists between them in order to advance the interests of their provinces in the NCOP.
With regard to the local sphere of government, there is a need for a closer working relationship, as municipalities are critical to achieving government's vision of a better quality life for all our citizens. Having worked in local government for many years, and having served Salga in the NCOP, I can personally attest to the fact that Salga's participation was both meaningful and rewarding.
Therefore, further strengthening of the relationship between Salga and the NCOP must be pursued with vigour. Together with you, I am looking forward to a productive year wherein the NCOP will fulfil all its obligations. I thank you. [Applause.]
Thank you, hon Premier. We will definitely work together with you as a team of the NCOP. We are used to that, because of our small numbers; we really complement each other and work together as a team to achieve our objectives.
I will now take this opportunity to give the delegation heads and the party Whips only one minute to say their congratulatory words to the newly elected second Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces. Mpumalanga, I give you one minute.
Malibongwe! [Praise!] We congratulate you and we are very proud that we have a woman to add to our numbers in the NCOP. We believe that we will support you all the way through, and hope that you will come to this House more often. We believe that, as mothers ...
... ba re mmagongwana o swara thipa ka bogaleng. Swara thipa ka bogaleng! Re a leboga. [Legoswi.] [... women are well known for their bravery. Be of courage! I thank you.] [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Chairperson, in this House today we welcome the newly elected hon premier and we hope that we will work together. As the previous speaker has already said, you are a woman and a mother. As women we always work towards achieving something, not becoming failures, but towards becoming achievers in life. Thank you.
Hon Chair, we want to congratulate the newly elected Rotating Deputy Chairperson. We know your commitment; we have seen you travelling this road in different spheres and we are delighted about your achievement. As a neighbouring province, we do not have any doubt in our minds that you will represent your province and South Africa very well. We wish you all success. Thank you. [Applause.]
As Gauteng, we would like to congratulate the newly elected Rotating Deputy Chairperson. We hope that you will work with us in championing the interests of our provinces. We welcome you. Thank you.
Chairperson, we also want to join the rest of the members in congratulating our recently elected colleague as the second Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP. We are very certain that she will be able to live up to the task that this job requires. So, congratulations! Thank you very much.
Chairperson, we want to join the rest of the country and the provinces in saying, Malibongwe! Wathinta abafazi, wathint'imbokodo. [Praise! You strike a woman, you strike a rock.]
And we also want to say that together we can do more.
Ba re mmagongwana o swara thipa ka bogaleng. [Women are well known for their bravery.]
And we believe that together we can achieve more. Thank you.
Re le Bokone Bophirima re na le tsholofelo ya gore jaaka o le mme, o tla re etelela pele e bile o tla tsaya dikgatlhegelo tsa go re isa kwa pele mo Khanseleng ya Boset?haba ya Diporofense. [We, the people of North West, have hope that you as a mother will lead us and take interest in taking us forward in the National Council of Provinces.]
Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the Western Cape, we would like to congratulate the Premier of the Northern Cape who has been elected to this very important position of Rotating Deputy Chair of the NCOP. It struck me that she spoke about service delivery as a concern and I think this is what it's all about, especially in the Northern Cape. We also wish that she could maintain the impartiality that we expect from the Chair of the NCOP towards all the political parties. Congratulations and welcome to the NCOP. Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, on behalf of the DA, we would like to congratulate the premier on her election and appointment today. I hope she has a wonderful term of office; she has a very hard act to follow to do exactly as and more than her predecessors. So, we wish her well. [Laughter.]
Let me take this opportunity, on behalf of Cope, to wish you well during this term. There is one request that I want to make from our side: Please talk to the people to give us more minutes. We will be very happy if you can achieve that. We only have four minutes. Please! [Laughter.]
Order!
Egameni leNkatha yenkululeko, ikufisela okuhle ukuthi usebenze ngokuzikhandla nokuzimisela emsebenzini onikezwe wona namhlanje. Ngiyabonga. [On behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party, we wish you all the best and hope that you work with dedication and commitment in the work that you have been entrusted with today. Thank you.]
Hon Chairperson, I just want to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the premier for her newly given responsibility. I know you, Madam Premier, as a very hardworking person and I know that you won't disappoint us. Congratulations! Thank you.