Hon Chairperson, hon Speaker and hon members, I would like to start off by quoting the words of the former President of India Prasibha Patil when she said:
Parliament of the country is the repository of the sovereign will of the people, and its successful functioning is a joint responsibility of both the government and the opposition.
These words must set our pace and ring true throughout this Sixth Parliament as we strive to be more responsive to the ever changing demands of this great nation.
Chairperson, the people of South Africa must look up to Parliament as an apex institution and gain respect for it, through the quality of work that passes through it and its ability to fulfil its mandate. Parliament as an institution must be seen as a singular arm of the state that must encompass the plethora of views whilst working together with other arms of state.
Therefore, the current budget of Parliament must be directed in a manner that seeks to achieve responsiveness, information and accountability for both government and Members of Parliament, MPs.
In order to achieve this, Parliament must be fully capacitated in all aspects. This requires a larger budget that is more focused in achieving the goals of accountability, oversight and enacting legislation.
Firstly, we must look at the security of Parliament as a public institution, during committees or plenaries sittings. Last week we saw an incident where the Budget Vote on Public Enterprises descended into chaos. The chaos ensued when hon members tried to intimidate another member of this House. A Minister of this country. Hon Speaker, I do not wish to debate the merits of the action at this point, but rather highlight the issue that the Chairperson had to sound numerous calls for security before they entered. Security must be available when they are required.
IsiZulu: