Hon House Chairperson, hon members of this august House, we must always bear in mind that from the outset, our strategic objective was to achieve the right to decide our political, social and economic future. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 afforded us ample opportunity to decide our political future and to build the democratic institutions necessary to guarantee our civil and political rights.
This was the first phase of our transition to a national democratic society, which is united, nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous, and in which the value of every citizen is measured by our common humanity, ubuntu botho. The democratic institutions we have built are adequate for this purpose.
The 53rd National Conference of the ANC characterised the present as the second phase of our transition to a national democratic society. This means that the time has come for us to decide our own social and economic future. The moral decay or degeneration rooted in our dark and unjust past has become the greatest threat to our second phase of the transition.
Those who blame the democratic government and President Jacob Zuma, in particular, for the moral decay have chosen to forget that moral decay is not the product of our democratic dispensation. It is rooted in our dark and unjust past, and thrives because of degrading and dehumanising socioeconomic conditions resulting from the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. These challenges are rooted in the apartheid legacy.
Since the formation of the supremacist, racist union of South Africa, no government has done as much as this ANC government to combat moral decay. A little bit of historical background will aid our recollection of the glorious achievements of this government. Gang rape, corruption, Satanism, upsurges in violence, sexual assaults of women and children, drug and alcohol abuse have united the country in its outrage and in the condemnation of such acts against the defenceless and the vulnerable in our communities.
Let us repeat that violations of human rights are rooted in our dark and unjust past. The promotion and protection of human rights and, in particular, the fight against moral decay, is not the duty of government alone, but also that of all South Africans, both black and white.
Our icon Nelson Mandela put this in more definite and emphatic terms, and I quote:
In striving for our goals we must dispel the idea that change can come from government alone, while our people wait passively for delivery. As we were our own liberators, so too must we change our own lives for the better. However good our new laws may be on paper, they must be implemented and enforced before they bring benefits to workers and others. However good the policies of the government are, nothing will come of them without the active participation of each and every one of us.
Emphasising this point recently, President Jacob Zuma, in his address at the official opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders in Parliament, commented on the recent violent and shocking incidents which reverberated across the country and stated that this:
... should shock us into positive action, by making us focus on what can bind us as the South African nation. We must identify how we can support families and households in distress, strengthen our communities and take forward the mission of building a caring, united and prosperous society.
Sexual violence and the abuse of women and children, drug and alcohol abuse and other inhuman activities perpetrated against the vulnerable in our society threaten to derail the second phase of our transition. Our Constitution embodies the values of a just and caring society which we must promote. What we have witnessed in recent weeks points to the fact that the process of social cohesion, nation-building and reconciliation remains under threat from the very real disparities between the rich and poor, black and white, women and men, rural and urban. These widening gaps between the haves and the have-nots continue to undermine our reconciliation efforts and pose a great threat to nation-building. These factors result from the legacy of apartheid that this government is doing its outmost to overcome.
The National Development Plan concurs that the moral decay could be linked to the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. In its 2009 election manifesto, the ANC undertook to work with the National Interfaith Movement, amongst others, to build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities. It undertook to work with the nine provincial interfaith forums for that purpose.
In the 8 January 2010 Statement, the ANC proclaimed that human development has spiritual and material aspects. In pursuit of this, both Houses of Parliament passed a resolution that created a Parliamentary Interfaith Council to facilitate partnerships between Parliament and interfaith organisations in the quest to create a new nation, united in its diversity. We wish to dedicate this debate to the role of the religious sector in the creation of socially cohesive, caring and sustainable communities.
Madiba anticipated the challenges of moral decay and its negative effect on the second phase of our transition. In this regard, Madiba taught us that spiritual transformation is a prerequisite for social and economic transformation. He defines spiritual transformation as the reconstruction and development programme - the RDP - of the soul.
For Madiba freedom also included the opportunity for the mind, soul and body to fulfil themselves. In other words, spiritual transformation includes the decolonisation of the mind. The moral decay or degeneration that we inherited from our dark and unjust past also resulted from adulterated religions which give rise to claims of Satanism. There is no unanimity on the definition of Satanism and where it comes from. Unless this matter is addressed properly, it could lead to the polarisation of the religious sector and lead to interreligious conflicts.
All in all, this moral decay deprives our people of self-knowledge, self- esteem, self-worth, a culture of self-help and self-reliance and the will for development and progress.
These values are required for social and economic transformation. No wonder that the Ethiopian movement, in which the seeds of the ANC were sown, emphasised self-esteem, self-help and self-reliance from its inception in the 1870s. Taking his cue from Ethiopianism and its Pan-African ideal, Madiba made moral regeneration an integral part of social and economic transformation. Madiba also took active steps to make spiritual transformation a prerequisite for social and economic transformation.
In 1997 Madiba convened a national religious summit which culminated in the formation of the National Religious Leaders' Forum, the NRLF. This forum produced a code of conduct for people in positions of authority and the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
In 1999 President Mandela convened the Morals Summit which resulted in the launch of the Moral Regeneration Movement, the MRM, by then Deputy President Jacob Zuma in 2002. The MRM produced the Charter of Positive Values, which has been widely distributed. No other organisation has done more than the ANC-led government to combat moral decay.
At his inauguration as the fourth President of the Republic, hon President Zuma called for partnership between government and all sectors for reconstruction, development and progress. In response, progressive religious leaders founded the National Interfaith Leaders Council, Nilc, which adopted a spiritual or moral and secular approach to development.
The Nilc adopted the social gospel, which was advocated by, inter alia, the late Sister Bernard Ncube, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, Beyers Naud and others during the 1980s. This social gospel informed the programme to combat racism adopted by the World Council of Churches in the 1980s. The NRLF and Nilc merged on 2 September 2011, to form the National Interfaith Council of SA, Nicsa. Nicsa and Lead SA partnered with the Department of Basic Education to roll out the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in all nine provinces, as part of the national effort to combat moral degeneration and inculcate ubuntu values and principles in the youth and children. Nicsa has also endorsed the presidential campaign against rape and abuse of learners in schools.
President Zuma told this august House that the recovery of the common humanity of all South Africans has been the cornerstone of ANC policy from its inception. The President directly linked the recovery of our common humanity with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
The President's summit on social cohesion and nation-building confirmed this direct link between the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. In his opening address, the President said, and I quote:
The challenges of poverty, unemployment, homelessness, landlessness and the division of race, class and gender make it difficult to arrive at a socially cohesive and united society as fast as we would want to. Our responsibility as government is to lead the South African people towards a national democratic society. This is a society that is united, nonsexist, nonracial, democratic and prosperous ...
Hon member, your time has expired.
It is a society with a value system that is based on human solidarity and ubuntu, which promotes a society which prioritises caring for ...
[Interjections.]
Hon member, your time has expired.
... and respecting others.
[Interjections.]
Hon House Chairperson ... [Interjections.]
Order! Order, hon members! Hon Chief Whip, your time has expired.
Hon House Chairperson, thank you for your indulgence. [Applause.]
Chairperson, human rights imply human freedom - the freedom of every individual irrespective of their circumstances at birth to become everything that they are capable of being. This requires freedom to make choices; to choose what they will do on their journey through life; to choose where they will live, what they will learn, how they will contribute to society, who they will be associated with, who they will love and how they will participate in the economy. To exercise human rights, human beings need more than the political freedom to choose who governs. Political freedom is a milestone on the road to socioeconomic freedom for all, and we have a very long way to travel. Political freedom enables the people to choose a government that will offer them the opportunity to rise above past economic circumstances; that will offer an enabling environment within which they can thrive and pursue their dreams. They can choose a government that empowers them and adds value to their lives, a government that doesn't loot the people's money entrusted to its care. Crucially, they can change the government when it fails them.
Our country's history is deeply troubled and scarred by the trauma inflicted by colonialism and the apartheid crime against humanity that led to the Sharpeville Massacre and deep divisions in our society, artificial spatial divides and glaring inequality in access to resources. Under conditions of grinding poverty and without the freedom to choose that comes with access to resources, a dignified life is not possible.
It is the role of government to facilitate the access to resources that will pave a pathway out of poverty. This objective has been achieved elsewhere in the world, and we can do it here too. Government can design economic policy to ensure that our economy grows big enough for everyone to participate in it and to enable our economy to accelerate at a faster and sustainable growth rate. The DA's plan for growth and jobs reveals this possibility.
Post-apartheid economic history has already recorded several stalled economic policies, such as the Reconstruction and Development Programme and the plan for growth, employment and redistribution that began as great ideas and then stalled on implementation and eventually fell over. We've heard very noisy calls for nationalisation and expropriation without compensation and have received very mixed signals from the New Growth Path and the National Development Plan.
The DA believes that the significant time and effort devoted by the National Planning Commission to craft the National Development Plan was well spent and it should be implemented. Such is the irony of our beloved country that the DA provincial government in the Western Cape will implement the National Development Plan, yet the governing party in national government doesn't have the political will to implement the plan, championed by the person who could have been the President if his party had selected the best qualified person to do the job, rather than a lowest common denominator able to keep all the squabbling factions within the national governing party coalesced around a common objective that isn't clear to anyone.
The ANC is no longer the universally admired liberation movement that held the moral high ground against the illegitimate apartheid regime. We're not sure what it is now, but the voters will soon tell us what they think about the R30 billion per annum that haemorrhages from the public financial system every year. They will tell us what they think about being left behind while some politically connected cadres feast on the people's money.
There is no doubt that past legacies have left very deep structural defects in our economy that will take a long time to be resolved, even under a coherent economic policy and improvements in global economic conditions. Management of the public finances, the scarce financial resources that can make an immediate difference to the people's lives, can be improved right now to advance the socioeconomic freedom of our people.
Our public financial system is in deep distress. Basic disciplines are not in place and there is no accountability. Financial procedures need to be in place and properly managed. The internal audit function needs to test and report on financial controls and procedures to the audit committee that should then take appropriate steps to resolve any problems. This will ensure that the Auditor-General receives correct and coherent financial statements that can be subjected to their audit.
Without these basic principles in place, recorded in deteriorating audit outcomes, our people do not receive the standard of education that will help to break the cycle of poverty. Entrepreneurs do not get the support that they should to grow their business. Our public enterprises do not deliver as they should. The Department of Public Works becomes a conduit for politically connected cadres to steal the people's money, and SABC boards keep collapsing.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts' visit to Limpopo offered a glimpse of what happens when government loots the people's money. It's pleasing to see that some action is finally being taken, but this has nothing to do with good governance; it is about punishing those who have fallen out of political favour in the ANC - an internal faction fight that has left the people far behind and out of pocket. What about the human rights of the schoolchildren who never got their textbooks, or the patients in the hospitals who didn't get the care their country could afford to offer them if their money wasn't siphoned off by bloated, politically connected cronies?
Time isn't needed to solve this problem. Action is needed, and that action could happen tomorrow if there was political will. It is clear that there isn't any and that government will not act unless its arm is twisted. It will loot the people's money and then hide behind one turnaround strategy after another, behind the revolving doors of cadre deployment, or behind apartheid legislation, as it is attempting to do with the Nkandla misappropriation.
Government only acted against Julius Malema when he became an international embarrassment and a threat to the President's re-election. It never acted in Limpopo until the executive supported another candidate for President. Government's belated action has nothing to do with ensuring the human rights of our people to access the financial resources our taxation system was designed to redistribute, and nothing to do with holding to account those cadres who stole the people's money. It had nothing to do with opening opportunities for those who would otherwise be left behind, and everything to do with the enrichment of a few at the expense of everyone else.
Fortunately, individuals do have the freedom to choose who governs them and they will be exercising that freedom next year. The people will decide whether they want more and more looting that crowds out more and more opportunities and erodes their human rights and prevents the advancement of socioeconomic freedom for all; or they will choose the better option: a DA offer of an open-opportunity society for all. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, fellow members of the House, in the wake of the depression years of 1929 to 1933, one of the communities that found itself extremely disadvantaged was the Jewish community of the United States. Not only was it discriminated against, but also persecuted everywhere in Europe, as well as in the United States.
Confronted with this dilemma, like the majority of the people of our country, it also did not have opportunities for education and skills in abundance. The Jewish community then met and took a very practical, yet very well-thought-out decision. It resolved that every Jewish family must send at least one child into the teaching profession, nursing, or something of that nature. This is because they understoon that transformation of the human resource was the answer for them to come out of their poverty and backwardness.
After a few generations, the Jewish community came to occupy a leading position in American society. Indeed, to this day, its influence, its strength and its capacity continue to persist.
I recalled, as we were reflecting on this debate, that some time after I was released from Robben Island in the early 1980s, we had a discussion with some of the leading thinkers in the movement in KwaZulu-Natal. In the course of that discussion, some of the leading thinkers in the Indian community drew our attention to the fact that most Indian doctors, lawyers and advocates were children of educators, nurses and so on. That community had adopted a more or less similar strategy in that transformation of the human resource was the answer to taking the community out of backwardness, poverty, etc.
But there is an even more instructive example, even though it has some negatives here and there. A very instructive example, similar to these two, is what the leadership of the Afrikaner community did when it came to power. What they did was to identify the fact that they needed to transform the human resource - train the young people, send them to schools, give them the necessary skills. The poorest of families that had also come through the depression years - the late 1920s and the early 1930s - were able, in almost one generation, to do away with poverty and backwardness, because these young people were transformed into pilots of trains, engineers, etc.
If we look across the face of our country today and see advancement in infrastructure development, it has to do with how that was done. The tragedy of that exercise is that the minority that was governing did not have the foresight to think that it must not just train white children, but train and expose to education all the children of our nation. Had that been done, we would not be sitting where we are today where education and training are available to one section and lacking elsewhere.
But then, of course, it is critical that today we stand as a people and say to ourselves that that much has been the nature of the problem. How can we take control of the conditions of our country today?
We can do this by learning from these three different experiments and by transforming our society - the human resource element - so that we collectively, as a united nation, tackle the future and, in a few generations' time, transform ourselves into a united force of transformation and development and raise our nation to where it really belongs.
There may be some doubts about what I am saying, but two days ago I was in Johannesburg and thought that if Julius Malema owed the SA Revenue Service R16 million in tax, how much money did he steal? [Time expired.] [Interjections.] [Applause.]
House Chair, hon members, the law of nature has bequeathed to us a sound and rich inheritance in the knowledge of the fundamental rights that mankind must recognise, respect and, ultimately, live in conformity with their philosophy. It is true that, as citizens of South Africa, we have been able to articulate human rights with the utmost brilliance and intelligence. We have successfully put in place human institutions as support systems.
But, at the same time, we have sadly lacked the national consciousness and conviction necessary to translate fully human rights and the fundamental freedoms into our day-to-day existence, neither in our relationships with one another, nor in the governance of the state.
As we continue to deliberate these big questions of our time in this House, we must acknowledge that what has been popularly referred to as the South African miracle has become, to a few of our citizens, a source of affluent living, obscene wealth, selfishness and corrupt tendencies. On the other hand, the same South African miracle, for the majority of our citizens, is perennial nightmares of unfreedoms of grinding poverty, unemployment, landlessness, homelessness, poor education, institutional brutality, racism and exploitation, violent rapes and murders.
The great exponents of the rights of man see these - meaning, human rights - as the manifestation of justice, the supreme value that must be written in the hearts of men and women, to make them an imperative guide of the moral order of our universe. By the same token, human rights must be the guides of the South African statehood.
On the contrary, the signs are now clear to all of us that almost 20 years into liberation from oppressive systems and long after South Africa was accepted into the human rights commonwealth, we are still presiding over a constitutional state that is struggling to fulfil some of its national and international obligations to the majority of its citizens. It is yet to fulfil to the satisfaction and for the freedom of the majority, the following obligations: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and we have just seen what the police did to somebody; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. We have seen how we handled the question of xenophobia.
Lastly, for this reason, the IFP feels that it is urgent for civil society, with all its components, and the government, as represented by Parliament, the executive and the judiciary, notwithstanding their independence, to recentre their efforts on human rights in a quest for moral accountability and personal responsibility as the basis for a stable social contract. I must hasten to say that failure to realise this unity can only put the constitutional state on a collision course with the civil state. I thank you.
House Chairperson ...
Vir meer as 'n dekade lank het ons land Suid-Afrika 'n nuwe demokrasie ervaar. Die vraag ontstaan dus of hierdie regering suksesvol is sodat sy mense aanspraak kan maak op daardie konstitusionele regte wat hulle toekom, veral omdat Menseregtedag korrespondeer met Nasionale Waterweek.
Ons tema is Water is lewe - Bewaar dit, Respekteer dit, Geniet dit, maar vir die mense in die Noordwes, waar my kiesafdeling is, en veral in Wolmaranstad, Sannieshof, Lichtenburg en Tlokwe, is dit net 'n droom. Dit is doodeenvoudig 'n droom waar die ANC besig is om op te mors waar hy regeer. Die Ouditeur-Generaal het bevind dat R25 biljoen verloor is weens onrelmatighede en vrugtelose spandering deur die nasionale en provinsiale regerings. Die hoofrede hiervoor was as gevolg van swak politieke leierskap. Dit is interessant, wanneer jy goeie politieke leierskap wil sien, kyk gerus na Midvaal en na die munisipaliteite waar die DA in die Wes- Kaap regeer. [Tussenwerpsels.] Dan moet ons ook nie munisipaliteite soos Nama Khoi, Hantam, Karoo Hoogland en Thembelihle in die Noord-Kaap, waar Cope en die DA saam regeer, vergeet nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Die Noordwesprovinsie is die grootste sondebok. Van hierdie R25 biljoen, is R4,1 biljoen die drein af. Die Ngaka Modiri Molema-distriksmunisipaliteit het ons mense gefaal ten opsigte van basiese menseregte. Sannieshof is konstant sonder water, agt keer minder as die gewone verbruik. Twee en sewentig persent van ons water gaan verlore vanwe lekkasies.
In Delareyville is daar 'n totale ondervoorsiening van water. Twee weke gelede was Delareyville vir meer as 'n week sonder 'n druppel water. Verlede week het 'n brandkraan op die hooftoevoerlyn gebreek. Water het uit die reservoir gestroom. Daar was geen bystand van die Tswaing- munisipaliteit nie. 'n Stuk houtstomp is in 'n stukkende kraan gedruk om hierdie water te stop.
In Atamelang was daar geen water vir agt maande nie, nieteenstaande die feit dat Atamelang 20 jaar vooruit genoegsame watervoorsiening op die Integrated Development Plan, IDP, [Gentegreerde Ontwikkelingsplan] het nie. Kom besoek gerus plekke soos Deelpan en Kopela, wat in my kiesafdeling is, waar daar gereeld pompe buite werking is. In Lichtenburg is daar 21 boorgate waarvan slegs nege toegerus is. Die distrik het ons gefaal. Tlokwe, waar die ANC nie twee dae regeer het nie, het sonder water gesit.
As en wanneer ons onself tot daardie waardes en norme verbind, dit terug kan bring, en ons mense se menswaardigheig en daardie basiese regte respekteer, dan alleenlik kan ons s dat ons met trots Menseregtedag sal waardeer en vier. Gee vir ons water in Ngaka Modiri Molema-distrik in die Noordwesprovinsie sodat ons met vreugde Menseregtedag kan vier. Baie dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[For more than a decade our country, South Africa, has been experiencing a new democracy. The question is thus whether this government is successful so that its people can lay claim to those constitutional rights which belong to them, especially because Human Rights Day corresponds with National Water Week.
Our theme is Water is life - Preserve it, Respect it, Enjoy it, but to the people in North West, where my constituency is, and especially in Wolmaranstad, Sannieshof, Lichtenburg and Tlokwe, this is only a dream. Where the ANC is governing and mismanaging things it simply remains a dream. The Auditor-General has found that R25 billion was lost due to irregular and fruitless expenditure by the national and provincial governments. The main reason for this was due to weak political leadership. It is interesting that if you want to see good political leadership, please look at Midvaal and at municipalities where the DA is governing in the Western Cape. [Interjections.] Then we also must not forget about municipalities like Nama Khoi, Hantam, Karoo Hoogland and Thembelihle in the Northern Cape, where Cope and the DA are governing together. [Interjections.]
The North West province is the biggest culprit in this regard. Of this R25 billion, it wasted R4,1 billion. The Ngaka Modiri District Municipality failed our people regarding their basic human rights. Sannieshof is constantly without water, eight times less than the normal consumption. About 72% of our water is lost due to leakages.
In Delareyville there is a total undersupply of water. Two weeks ago Delareyville was without a drop of water for more than a week. Last week a hydrant on the main supply line broke. Water streamed from the reservoir. No support was given by the Tswaing municipality. A piece of a wooden stump was forced into a broken tap in order to stop the water.
Despite the fact that Atamelang had sufficient water provision for 20 years in advance in terms of the Integrated Development Plan, IDP, it had no water for eight months. Please visit places like Deelpan and Kopela, which are in my constituency, where pumps are regularly out of order. In Lichtenburg there are 21 waterholes, of which only nine are equipped. The district has failed us. Tlokwe, where the ANC did not even govern for two days, was without water.
If and when we commit ourselves to those values and norms, and if we can bring them back and respect our people's human dignity and basic rights, only then can we say that we can appreciate and celebrate Human Rights Day with pride. Give us water in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district in the North West province so that we can celebrate Human Rights Day with joy. Thank you very much. [Applause.]]
Hon House Chairperson and hon members, Human Rights Day is a reminder of the tragic 1960 Sharpeville massacre, in which the police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws.
Today, South Africans, from all walks of life, use this day to celebrate our unique Constitution, which gives equal rights to all, and to take stock of the progress we are making to promote, develop and protect human rights in South Africa.
Impressive strides have been made since the advent of democracy in 1994. A larger number of people have access to basic services. However, these achievements are not enough, considering that millions of rural communities have no access to water and sanitation, while others are persistently marginalised in the provision of their basic human rights in areas such as health care, basic education, economic opportunities and social services.
In addition, our nation is characterised by high levels of poverty, reflected in its racial and regional dimensions. We all know that poverty is the greatest human rights violation. Coexisting with these high levels of poverty are extreme levels of inequality of income. It is common knowledge that the gap between the rich and the poor in South Africa is very high.
Over the past few weeks, we have heard numerous debates relating to the topic of gender equality. In these debates, we picked up certain common threads. We live in a society that has taken great strides towards gender equality since the inception of democracy, but we also have a long way to go. The scourge of misogyny and discrimination based on gender continues, and it is our mothers, our sisters and our daughters who are suffering. We have also seen the horrific crimes that have been committed against the women of South Africa. All of this put together undermines our efforts to promote, develop and protect human rights in South Africa.
We wake up daily to stories and incidents of police brutality, where those who are entrusted with protecting our people's human rights violate the same rights that they are supposed to protect. The situation has degenerated to the extent that police officers drag people behind police vans and fire at protesters.
To achieve socioeconomic freedom for all, our socioeconomic values must change towards those of mutual prosperity and interdependence. We should work towards a society whose interaction is based on the fundamental values of ubuntu. Drawing from these values would enable us to build an economic system that is based on the principles of love, mutual respect for human rights and mutual empowerment. Thank you, hon Chairperson.
Chairperson, it can probably be said that there is unity amongst parties in this House with regard to the overarching idea of socioeconomic freedom. It would be rare to find anyone that is not committed to eradicating poverty and social injustice. However, when it comes to the exact type of outcome and the methodology concerned, then we all start to disagree substantially across the spectrum, as informed by economic notions from libertarianism to communism.
Die ANC se konsep van 'n ontwikkelingstaat verteenwoordig een van die vele ekonomiese sienings, maar dit is belangrik om dit te analiseer omdat dit tans die dominante paradigma verteenwoordig. Die ontwikkelingstaat veronderstel 'n ekonomie waarin die staat 'n sterk en besliste rol speel in die rigting wat die ekonomie inslaan. Dit behels inmenging in die mark deur allerlei staatsgeleide programme, soos regstellende aksie en swart ekonomiese bemagtiging, asook deelname aan die mark self deur, byvoorbeeld, die beoogde staatsmynhuis. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[The concept of a developmental state held by the ANC represents one of many economic visions, but it is important that one analyses it because at present it represents the dominant paradigm. The developmental state presupposes an economy in which the state plays a strong and defining role with regard to the direction in which the economy is heading. It entails intervention by means of various government-controlled programmes, like affirmative action and black economic empowerment, as well as participation in the market itself through, for example, the envisaged government mining house.]
The developmental state is thus one that prefers a planned economy and is distributive in nature. The question, however, against the backdrop of human rights, is whether it creates a just economy. In other words, does it eradicate poverty? Does it cherish freedom? Does it ensure that no new victims are created in its wake?
The proof, of course, is in the pudding. If we have regard for the consequences of this policy, we can glean the following, amongst other things. Firstly, policies like affirmative action and black economic empowerment have led to the enrichment of but a few and the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands of white families; secondly, strong economic growth is evading us due to a market that is not free enough to allow for budding entrepreneurs and that is permeated by systemic corruption; and, lastly, instead of fostering growth through a truly free market, government is merely distributing wealth, thus thinning the tax base that is financing a bloated state service and millions on grants. This is also known as a Ponzi scheme.
Dit sal die regering dus baat om nie die land se Grondwet bloot te interpreteer soos dit hom pas nie, maar ook om ag te slaan op sekere fundamentele menseregte daarin vervat. Die sosio-ekonomiese regte in die Grondwet is in beginsel opeisbaar vir almal, maar is in werklikheid net realiseerbaar vir swartes weens rasse-diskriminasie. In werklikheid het ons hier te doen met strukturele ekonomiese geweld wat deur die ANC toegepas word.
Uiteindelik sal sosio-ekonomiese vryheid net gerealiseer word wanneer ons die regte ekonomiese beleid begin toepas wat groei toelaat. Deur voort te gaan met rasse-diskriminasie 18 jaar nadat die ANC begin regeer het, is om te begroot vir 'n toekoms waar die internasionale gemeenskap nie 'n probleem sal h indien minderhede, en spesifiek die Afrikaner, eensydig afskei van die ANC-regime nie. Sonder ekonomiese vryheid sal daar uiteindelik gesoek word na politieke vryheid. Daardie dag is naby. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Therefore, the government will benefit from not simply interpreting the Constitution of the country as it suits itself, but also taking note of certain fundamental human rights contained therein. The socioeconomic rights in the Constitution are in principle claimable by everyone, but can in actual fact only be realised by blacks due to racial discrimination. In effect, what we have here is structural economic violence which the ANC is practising.
Eventually, socioeconomic freedom will only be realised when we start practising the correct economic policy which allows for growth. To continue with racial discrimination 18 years after the ANC started to govern is to budget for a future in which the international community won't have a problem if minorities, and especially the Afrikaner, unilaterally secede from the ANC regime. Without economic freedom the search for political freedom will be the ultimate result. That day is near.]
Thank you, Chairperson.
Hon Chairperson and hon members of the House, the 1994 Reconstruction and Development Programme document stated that, and I quote:
No political democracy can survive and flourish if the mass of our people remain in poverty, without land, without tangible prospects for a better life. Attacking poverty and deprivation must therefore be the first priority of our democratic government.
We are now celebrating 19 years of democracy. We have been celebrating Human Rights Day for 19 years. This means that we celebrate our freedom, our democracy, our right to vote and our right to education. We celebrate gender equality and our right to practise our religion. While we do this, we must also look around us and tell ourselves that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done in South Africa.
In spite of being able to celebrate Human Rights Day and having all our rights, there are still underlying issues of racism, gender inequality, disabled people experiencing being refused the right or access to education, people experiencing being refused access to water on farms, and people experiencing being refused access to safety and security in our country. This is still happening around us, especially in this province.
Knowing this, we still need to educate South Africa. [Applause.] We need to educate our women, our youth, people with disabilities and children about their rights and how to access their rights. Some of us know about our rights and we demand our rights, but forget that these rights come with responsibilities.
Knowing our rights and also simply being unique as South Africans, we also need to look around and outside our borders to see how the violation of rights is happening in other parts of the world and in Africa.
Not so long ago we read about a young girl who was shot because she dared to speak about the right to education for the girl-child. We hear about ethnic cleansing, and we read about women being beaten to death for flimsy, silly reasons. As we celebrate Human Rights Day, we are constantly reminded of the need to tell our stories of our achievements with regard to human rights.
Well, in spite of our achievements and the stories that we tell, we still have the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. At the bottom of South Africa's economic challenges is a structural economic challenge that, if left unaddressed, will exacerbate the growing income inequality. These challenges relate to a skewed pattern of ownership and production characterised by inequality, dualism and marginalisation.
Our economic policy, so far, has focused on derationalising the economy and empowering black people. The powerful role of capital over the economy, as owners and controllers, has always been downplayed in so far as it was discriminatory. Over time there have been many proposals for a partnership between state and capital, but the economy has stalled, inequality has increased and massive social problems still remain.
Inequality in South Africa is higher now than it was in 1994. The rich are richer than they were back then and the poor are not that much richer than they were before. Are we serious when we talk about changing the structure of the economy? Will businesses assist government to change the structure of the economy so that we can get rid of the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment? Economic priorities should address the changes that the economic system needs to undergo over the next five years.
Our President, in his state of the nation address, also spoke about the work and the achievements of government - work to improve the economy and provide jobs for our people. He made mention of the R860 billion that has been spent on infrastructure since 2009, the shift in the transportation of coal from road to rail in Mpumalanga, the construction of the Majuba rail- coal line, the improvement in the movement of goods and economic integration through the Durban-Free State-Gauteng logistics and industrial corridor, and construction to develop a new trans-shipment hub. These are but a few of the projects in terms of which we can see job creation taking place.
The focus areas for economic development will be seen in the National Development Plan, the New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan and the youth, small businesses and the co-operatives sector.
The ANC confirmed that National Development Plan 2030 is to be South Africa's vision for socioeconomic development. This plan aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. According to this plan, South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its own people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership and partnership throughout society.
The NDP also supports the stance that public employment should be expanded to provide work for the unemployed, with a specific focus on youth and women. The transformation of the economy should involve the active participation and empowerment of women.
The New Growth Path seizes on the potential of the new economies, such as the green economy, investment in social capital and public services, as well as spatial development.
The NDP and its NGP are complementary in their effort to lower costs in the economy, especially as high costs contribute towards limited employment growth and increase hardship for poor households. The Industrial Policy Action Plan involves phased support for manufacturing to support and encourage activities that generate employment on a large scale and meet the basic needs at a lower cost in the short to medium term.
With regard to the youth, small businesses and the co-operatives sector, the ANC will campaign for both massive opportunities for young people and improve their full employability. The pillars that ground the support for the youth employment drive are the following: that economic considerations be defined by an unambiguous commitment to providing jobs for all young people of the land, the need to reduce inequalities through the provision of jobs, and the need for all South Africans to act collectively in the fight against massive unemployment.
All of us in this House and every South African in our country have the responsibility to report crime. We cannot expect government to act alone against corruption, domestic violence and the abuse of women. Each of us in this House has a collective responsibility. [Applause.] Many of us have that responsibility. So, all of us in South Africa should stay united in the advancement of the economic freedom of all our people. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I was wondering if I was going to have to stand on that little box, but I will continue. The ACDP believes that it is an admirable aspiration to be united in advancing socioeconomic freedom. But we need first to fully understand what we mean by this. Is it the progressive realisation of socioeconomic rights, as contained in the Bill of Rights, which we fully support? Is it addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality in society? Again, we fully support that. However, what it cannot be is a free ticket for unscrupulous officials, businessmen and deployed cadres to make as much money as possible from corrupt and fraudulent state tenders. Regrettably, many people seem to hold this view.
As we prepare to commemorate Human Rights Day, it is instructive to consider second-generation rights, as interpreted by the Constitutional Court. The Grootboom case, of which we are all aware, dealt with housing, and highlighted the context within which socioeconomic rights need to be interpreted. It stated:
Millions of people are living in deplorable conditions and in great poverty. There is a high level of unemployment, inadequate social security, and many do not have access to clean water or to adequate health services.
As we are aware, the state is obliged to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these socioeconomic rights. In the light of our history, this is extraordinarily difficult, as there are severe budgetary constraints, with many pressing demands on the public purse. Nonetheless, it is an obligation imposed on the state by the Constitution.
The question can then justifiably be asked whether, 17 years after the adoption of the Constitution, the state has made sufficient progress to fulfil these second-generation socioeconomic rights. Whilst a lot of progress has been made, we believe from our side that it is not a sufficient amount of progress, given the high levels of fraud and corruption in government that are not sufficiently addressed. Many speakers have referred to this. One must just think that if those funds had been made available for service delivery - one speaks of R30 billion per year - this would have resulted in a speedier realisation of these rights in terms of our Constitution.
Additionally, if one has regard for the high levels of crime and violence, particularly against women and children, it can justifiably be argued that the state is even failing to fulfil first-generation rights - those to life and human dignity, and to be free from all forms of violence from either public or private sources. Clearly, far more needs to be done in this regard.
The Bill of Rights also has horizontal application and it binds the private sector. If members of the Twelve Apostles Church in Christ cannot rely on a private bus company to bring them safely home from a prayer meeting, then, again, these constitutional rights are meaningless. They provide cold comfort to those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones. Let us be mindful of this as we prepare to celebrate Human Rights Day. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon members, may I just ask you to take your seats, please? There are too many members who are standing around. As they enter the House, they don't take their seats. They have long conversations, show no interest in this important debate, and then they simply walk out again. It is unacceptable.
Hear, hear!
Chair, when we step out of our comfortable existence and pay a visit to where the majority of South Africans live - the townships and rural South Africa - we then begin to doubt that there is even such a concept as human rights in South Africa. If it does exist on paper, is it worth celebrating?
Of course, the Constitution lays out the rights beautifully and is internationally acclaimed, but many of these rights are enjoyed only by those who can afford them. The institutions tasked as overseers, so to speak, of the Constitution continue to falter, leaving citizens vulnerable. Almost all of the rights are insignificant when socioeconomic rights are wilfully neglected.
Human dignity is seriously impaired by degrading levels of poverty and persistent unemployment. For the 40% of South Africans that are without jobs, what freedoms and rights do they enjoy in their circumstances? For the 76% of South African households living in informal dwellings, what meaning do human rights have for them? As for those that are forced to accept poorly constructed RDP houses, what recourse do they have? If they don't have or can't access any recourse, what can you then say to them about rights?
I am of the opinion that as long as the majority of our people live in abject poverty, then none of these freedoms and rights carry any meaning at all. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, we are undoubtedly internationally acclaimed for the kind of fight we fought and, indeed, we need to be proud of the kind of Constitution we produced. However, we need to address all the negative impediments that cause stagnation in our economy.
Police brutality constitutes complete abuse of power and shows disrespect for any procedures. They perpetuate being a law unto themselves and conduct their own trials, and this is definitely a glaring culture of ignorance. It is very clear that they have not been educated about human rights and the right to a fair trial. The fact that they are prone to using violence as their first resort instead of their last, calls for an absolute need to set a system in place that will select good police officers.
We need to develop a code of ethics, and those that are in violation need to be completely removed. We commend the Minister's attempts. Whilst the arrests that have been made are a positive stride, we cannot relax for a moment. We have to instil the correct culture.
With regard to socioeconomic rights, indeed, we can't realise them all in one go, but there are too many people that are poor and hungry. Their rights are violated because of instability. In order to give hope to the people, the MF recognises, beyond a shadow of a doubt, fraud and corruption to be the biggest threats to our human rights culture. We must address the issue of those that are denied social grants and those that qualify for housing, yet are denied. For those that are completely unemployed, it would be totally reasonable for them not to have houses, but for those that are better off to have houses. This nullifies our Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights. We need to go beyond race. Poverty is not a race issue. It cuts across all sectors of our communities, and the allocation of houses is very sectional, racial and biased in nature.
The South African Schools Act implies all children under the age of 16 must be in school and educated; if not, the parents will be arrested. But quite to the contrary, a number of children are seen begging on street corners. Their denial of education is a denial of their fundamental right. We need to clean up the streets and send these children back to school. There must be awareness and strategy enforcement. This is a suicidal problem and not a parental problem. The mere fact that this is mentioned in the South African Schools Act makes it incumbent upon all of us to act responsibly. All departments must come on board, together with politicians and government. As we profoundly uphold and protect the supreme law of our country, we must, indeed, ultimately ensure the protection of all our people's rights. I thank you. [Applause.]
House Chair, my colleague the hon Dion George focused on the ways in which people are faulted by the system to overcome their respective circumstances and enter an open-opportunity society for all, in which anyone can become what she or he aspires to be. My focus will be on the devastating effect that the lack of socioeconomic freedom or simply the lack of any freedom has on women in South Africa.
We have a Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution that is supposed to ensure equality amongst men and women, to protect their freedom of speech, association and safety, amongst other things. In 2004, the National Council of Provinces unanimously accepted the motion against President Thabo Mbeki for his refusal to deal with the serious crime of rape in our country. Fast forward to 2012 and you have President Zuma saying that things should be done in an African way, according to an African culture. We say: Let us look at the way things stand in South Africa from a South African way and view the harsh realities women face, head-on and without blinkers.
If you look at it from this angle, you will see that South African women find themselves in a society in which criminal abuses against them are embedded in a culture of impunity. Open any newspaper on any given day and you will read about the gruesome rape of a grandmother, a baby, or the horrific gang rape, mutilation and murder of a teenager.
A Medical Council study shows that every eight hours a woman is killed by her intimate partner. According to the World Health Organisation, 60 000 South African women and children a month are victims of domestic violence, which amounts to the highest rate in the world. This is a scandal. The Medical Research Council estimates that South Africa's femicide rate is five times higher than the global average. South African sex crimes statistics are 65 000 a year, which is a mere fraction of the real figure of around 650 000. All specialist nongovernmental organisations agree that just 10% of rapes are reported, of which only a fraction of cases lead to successful prosecution.
My colleague the hon Dianne Kohler-Barnard has since 2006 raised the issue of compensation for the victims of violent crime and has searched for and found a way in which the state could assist victims of violent crime and also their families. The ANC rejected this. The SA Law Reform Commission approved an extensive report on this subject which was simply ignored.
In essence, before we start to debate the socioeconomic factors which keep women enslaved in a patriarchal and chauvinist society, the real issue of us being equal to men should be addressed. According to Claire Hawkridge, the situation for traditional women is even worse. In many traditional courts, women are not allowed to represent themselves or even speak during proceedings. This in itself is a terrible state of affairs.
The time has come for like-minded South Africans, women, men and children, to stand up and demand the freedom that is rightfully theirs, the freedom for which 69 people sacrificed their lives in Sharpeville on 21 March 1960. Wathint' abafazi wathint' imbokodo. If you strike women, you strike a rock. [Applause.]
House Chairperson, the theme for Human Rights Day this year is United in Advancing Socioeconomic Freedom for All. This theme underscores the progressive and transformative content of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights that so many sacrificed so much for, including the men and women who were gunned down at Sharpeville and KwaLanga on 21 March 1960.
It's worrying, then, that some are making a concerted attempt to distort and to water down the progressive content of socioeconomic rights in the Constitution whilst, at the same time, trying to cast doubt on government and the ANC's commitment to the Constitution, political rights and the rule of law. We saw that here today in the early campaign speeches by the hon George, Lekota, and McGluwa. [Interjections.]
South Africa has received accolades from across the world for its progressive and transformative Constitution and the manner in which its vision is being implemented. A recent report by the World Justice Project put South Africa in the top half of middle-income countries in its 2012 Rule of Law Index. The report highlighted areas of concern, such as crime and corruption, that government itself has elevated to national priorities, along with education, health care, economic development and job creation, rural development and land reform.
We know this report to be true because we ourselves can see and experience a Constitutional Court that functions independently. Every day of every year it hears matters in which the constitutionality of laws and of executive action is being tested, and in each and every one of those cases, without fail, government or Parliament has honoured the judgments of our Constitutional Court. We know that to be true, because every day our Constitutional Court further develops a progressive jurisprudence around the socioeconomic rights contained in our Constitution.
We know that report to be true, because every day we experience the work of our Chapter 9 institutions, the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission and the Gender Commission. We know that when matters are referred to the Public Protector, they are investigated without fear or favour, and that the reports of the Public Protector are dealt with seriously and acted upon. That never happened in the history of this country until the democracy we fought so long for. [Applause.]
We know that to be true, because we have an Auditor-General, established in terms of our Constitution, that does his or her work without fear or favour. We know that those reports are published and that they are taken seriously. That degree of oversight never existed before we became a democracy. [Applause.]
Last year, South Africa was also commended by states participating in the UN Human Rights Commission's Universal Periodic Review mechanism for its commitment to human rights and improving the lives of its citizens; the delivery of basic services, such as housing, health care and education; as well as our leading role in the UN Human Rights Commission regarding the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex, LGBTI, persons. Indeed, South Africa has made impressive strides, both in establishing and consolidating a culture of constitutional democracy, as well as in realising the socioeconomic rights contained in our Constitution.
Access to electricity now stands at 12,1 million, which translates into 85%. Access to education has improved dramatically, with 96% of children below the age of 15 in school. [Interjections.] [Applause.] With near universal access to education, the challenge of improving the quality of that education is now a priority, especially in maths, science and technology.
More than 10 million people have been provided with shelter through 2,6 million subsidised houses. Health care has been expanded through the construction of more than 700 clinics and the strengthening of primary health care, and will be further expanded with the imminent introduction of the National Health Insurance Fund. All of this is the result of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, that we are told has stalled. Of course some policies have never stalled because they have never started moving.
Few societies have been able to do so much in such a short space of time against such obstacles to make life better for so many, as the democratic South Africa has. [Interjections.] It's concerning, then, that some continue to propagate the untruth that government and the ANC are inimical to the Constitution, its institutions and the rule of law generally.
Of course, tremendous obstacles remain, in particular dealing with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It is exactly for this reason that we've adopted and are implementing the National Development Plan, NDP, and the New Growth Path. It's more worrying because this attempt seems to coincide with the adoption of policy positions by the ANC and government that seek to accelerate the pace and depth of socioeconomic transformation. It's at exactly this juncture, when we talk about a second phase of our transition, that these attempts are being made.
A case in point is the article written by the hon Lindiwe Mazibuko, parliamentary Leader of the DA, after this year's state of the nation address in which President Zuma outlined government's programmes to accelerate socioeconomic transformation, including measures to address the land question. So, what does the hon Mazibuko write? She says:
Instead of condemning the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle, he should have focused on the proposals of the NDP which the DA supports. The President played a game of smoke and mirrors. He said his government would be guided by the constitutional principles underpining land reform, but the same Constitution prescribes the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle.
I've been in Parliament since 1994 and ... [Interjections.] ... the Constitution that I was part of writing ...
Order, hon members!
... says nothing of the sort. [Interjections.] Of course, this is a blatant untruth, as even the most cursory glance at section 25 of the Constitution, the so- called property clause, will show. South Africa has one of the most progressive and transformative property clauses of any constitution in the world. It provides explicitly for appropriation at fair and just compensation and goes so far as to put a positive obligation upon the state to take reasonable steps to ensure citizens have access to land. [Interjections.]
The Constitution also makes it clear that no provision may impede the state from taking legislative and other measures to achieve land, water and related reform in order to redress the result of past racial discrimination ...
Yes!
... provided that such measures are in keeping with the limitations clause. [Applause.] The question is: Why would the Leader of the Opposition tell such a demonstrably blatant untruth? Perhaps it was not the President playing a game of smoke and mirrors, but rather the hon Mazibuko trying to create the smokescreen referred to by President Nelson Mandela in his statement to the ANC's Bill of Rights Conference in 1991. He said:
A simple vote, without food, shelter and health care is to use first- generation rights as a smokescreen to obscure the deep underlying forces which dehumanise people. It is to create an appearance of equality and justice, while, by implication, socioeconomic inequality is entrenched.
[Applause.]
Of course, President Mandela understood first-, second- and third- generation rights not as opposites, but as complementary, mutually interdependent and reinforcing. [Interjections.]
Order! Order, hon members! Deputy Minister, will you please take your seat? Hon members, interjections are allowed, but may I request that you please do not attempt to drown out the speaker with your interjections. You may continue, sir.
Thank you very much. Nonetheless, the truth is a painful affair. [Interjections.]
We owe it to the memory of the women and men who died at Sharpeville and KwaLanga to celebrate and defend our Constitution, including against the distortion of its progressive and transformative content.
We also know that for as long as there are 64 000 cases of rape reported to the police, as there were last year, for as long as women and children live in fear, and for as long as hate crimes are perpetrated against members of the LGBTI community, the promise of our Constitution will not have been realised. South Africa has some of the best and most advanced legislation and policies against sexual and gender-based violence. Legislation, such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act and the Children's Act, is being used against perpetrators of violence against women and children. They are already receiving heavy sentences. The police have reintroduced Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units. [Interjections.]
Order, hon members! I can't even hear the speaker!
The Thuthuzela Care Centres operated by the National Prosecuting Authority are aimed at improving the care and treatment of rape victims at all points in our criminal justice system. In the Budget tabled recently by the Minister of Finance, provision was made for increasing these Thuthuzela Care Centres from 35, currently, to 55 by 2015/16.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has also announced the reintroduction of Sexual Offences Courts. It's envisaged that 58 of these courts will be fully functional during the first six months of the new financial year. The criminal justice system, no matter how effective we make it, can only be a part of the solution. Eliminating sexual and gender- based violence is inextricably linked to the fundamental transformation of our society from one characterised by patriarchal attitudes and power relations to a truly nonsexist society envisaged by our Constitution. This will require a collective effort by all of us, including in the home, where many of those attitudes originate.
In this regard, the way in which the hon Terblanche has portrayed this matter as an issue of government and government alone, I think is a distortion and it does a grave and serious disservice to a very serious matter. [Interjections.]
In conclusion, I wish to raise the question of the role of national days in the promotion of social cohesion and national unity. I came across the following piece about Human Rights Day in an online magazine focusing on Cape Town:
Officially declared a public holiday in 1994, Human Rights Day, 21 March, serves both as a reminder of the happenings of the Sharpeville massacre as well as a celebration of Mzansi's unique foundation, which gives all citizens equal rights.
So far so good. However, it continues and says:
This year, the national day off falls on a Thursday - all the more reason to put in a day's leave on Friday - and what better way to celebrate this coveted long-weekend interlude than with a range of activities and things to do in Cape Town. Thus, eat, drink, be merry and celebrate Human Rights Day in Cape Town and surrounds with a handful of off-the-hook and downright delicious events in the Mother City. There's a heap of highlights on offer, from live music shows to free parties, decadent dinners to thought-provoking plays, and so much more.
It then gives a list of top 10 suggestions for things to do on Human Rights Day, one of which is:
Celebrate Human Rights Day in Cape Town on the seaside terrace of the [XXX] Hotel at the [XXX] Waterfront. The ocean-front eatery is serving up a range of cocktails available at a 30% discount and live entertainment to commemorate this historic day. Chill out on the outdoor terrace and soak up the sun on the day.
Chair, on a point of order: I would like to know if the hon Deputy Minister is talking about tourism or Human Rights.
That is not a point of order, hon member. [Interjections.] Order, hon members!
I hope, then, that hon members will be attending Human Rights Day in Paarl or participating in other activities in their constituencies that give real meaning and content to Human Rights Day - content that will make us more united ... [Applause.] ... in pursuing the goal of advancing socioeconomic freedom for all, thereby celebrating, defending and realising the transformative vision of our Constitution. I thank you. [Applause.]
Order, hon members!
The best part of that speech was the end!
Hon member, I've called the House to order!
Debate concluded.