Madam Chair, I will be speaking solely in Afrikaans.
``Ich bin ein Berliner'', het die voormalige Amerikaanse president John F Kennedy ges toe hy voor die Berlynse Muur staan. In die aangesig van mens- en natuurgemaakte rampe is ons almal soos een.
So s ek dan ook vandag ek is 'n Afrikaan, en alhoewel dit vir my as Vrystater byna onmoontlik is om te s ek is 'n Mpumalanger, weet ek dat my gevoel van samehorigheid met die provinsies wat deur die oorstromings geteister is deur al die agb lede gedeel word. So is die DP ook oor partygrense heen heelhartig verbind tot hulpverlening aan hierdie gebiede, en vol bewondering vir die optrede van die Weermag en ander onbekende helde wat hulle lewe in gevaar gestel het om mede-Suid-Afrikaners te help.
Ten spyte daarvan dat dit 'n nasionale spel geword het om te wys op die verdeeldheid van Suid-Afrikaners, hetsy in die media of op die sportveld of in skole, illustreer die werklikheid van die samewerking in die Weermag op die diep menslike verband wat bestaan sodra ons die regte knoppie druk om dit bloot te l. Terwyl ons nou, verenig deur die onmiddellike en dramatiese oomblik, alles wil doen om ons meegevoel te betuig, moet ons nie toelaat dat die rampslagoffers, soos di van die tornado vroer verlede jaar in Manenberg en van veldbrande in die Vrystaat en die Oos-Kaap, slagoffers word van ons kortstondige geheue nie.
Uit vandag se samehorigheid moet 'n plan gestalte gegee word wat daadwerklik in werking kan tree sodra 'n ramp ons tref, en wat nie op die slagoffers die verantwoordelikheid van die pleidooi plaas nie. Dit moet duidelik proaktiewe stappe as staatsverantwoordelikheid uitspel. Die ramp is maar die begin van die tragedie vir die slagoffers. Lank n dit van die televisieskerms verdwyn het, leef hulle met die nagevolge. Dit is ook 'n area waarop streeks- en internasionale samewerking deur ons leiers vooropgestel behoort te word.
Ten laaste, as daar enige twyfel was, het vandag se debat die rol van die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies duidelik gevestig. [Applous.](Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[``Ich bin ein Berliner'', said the former American president John F Kennedy when he stood before the Berlin Wall. In the face of man-made and natural disasters, we are all as one.
In the same way I am saying today that I am also an African, and although it is almost impossible for me as a Free Stater to say that I am an Mpumalangana, I know that my sense of solidarity with the provinces which have been ravaged by floods is shared by all the hon members. So, too, the DP is wholeheartedly committed, across party lines, to providing aid to these areas, and full of admiration for the actions of the Defence Force and other anonymous heroes who jeopardised their lives in order to rescue fellow South Africans. While it has become a national game to point out the division among South Africans, whether in the media, on the sportsfield or in schools, the reality of the co-operation in the Defence Force illustrates the deeply human bond existing the moment we push the right button in order to reveal it. While, united by this immediate and dramatic moment, we now want to do everything possible to express our sympathy, we should not allow the disaster victims, such as those of the tornado earlier last year in Manenberg and of the veld fires in the Free State and Eastern Cape, to become victims of our short memories.
Arising from the solidarity existing today, a plan should be worked out which could be implemented actively the moment we are hit by a disaster, and which does not place the responsibility for the appeal on the victims. It should clearly spell out proactive steps as the state's responsibility. The disaster is only the beginning of the tragedy for the victims. Long after it has disappeared from our television screens, they have to live with the after-effects. This is also an area where regional and international co-operation among our leaders should be placed first.
Finally, if there had been any doubt, today's debate clearly established the role of the National Council of Provinces. [Applause.]]