Thank you, Chairperson. Members, today you will see that chairpersons get more minutes than Ministers, so let's start with first things first. The ANC members will remember that today, 26 June 2008, is the 53rd anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in Kliptown. It is at times like these that the revolutionary forces in our country need to ask the question: How many of the 10 clauses of the Freedom Charter have we fully implemented to date, and what still has to be done to achieve the full implementation of the decisions and mandate given by our forebears? Amongst us in this House we have hon Ben Turok who was amongst the outstanding leaders of the Congress of the People. He was the chairperson of the provincial action council in the Western Cape at the time. Comrade Ben Turok prides himself on having introduced and written the economic clause of the Freedom Charter: "The people shall share in the country's wealth." Congratulations, Madala, and happy birthday! [Applause.]
Professor Z K Mathews, grandfather of the Minister of Education, Comrade Naledi Pandor, will always be remembered as the initiator of the idea for the Freedom Charter and the Congress of the People over 50 years ago. Thank you very much, Prof.
Some of the ANC members will remember the very rendition of the time, particularly in the early 80s ...
...ke Oliver Tambo, yo o re dumeletseng go tsamaisa Freedom Charter. O ne a na le bomang? Le Mandela le Sisulu, le Mandela le Sisulu." (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[... it is Oliver Tambo, who allowed us to keep the Freedom Charter going. Who was there with him? It was Mandela and Sisulu, Mandela and Sisulu.]
Let me return to the Freedom Charter. Clause 10 of the Freedom Charter states: There Shall be Peace and Friendship!
South Africa shall be a fully independent state, which respects the rights and sovereignty of all nations;
South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiations - not war;
Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights, opportunities and status of all; ...
The right of all peoples of Africa to independence and self-government shall be recognised, and shall be the basis of close co-operation.
Key amongst the objectives of the South African National Space Agency Bill is the promotion of the peaceful use of space and the fostering of international co-operation in space-related matters. Space infrastructure and technologies are, by their nature, of dual use. These can be used for both civilian and military applications. Today's rockets were developed from yesterday's missiles.
Nations that use space effectively will enjoy added prosperity and security. We have fought against the colonisation of our continent over many years and decades. Now is the time to avoid the re-colonisation of developing nations through our effective use of outer space. Africa must be amongst the nations that hold a substantial geographic advantage.
According to the submission received from the University of the Western Cape, at least three fellow African countries have established their national space agencies years ago. They are Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt. It is overdue that South Africa follows their lead if we are to maintain our sincere and technological reputation.