Thank you very much, Deputy Chairperson. I would request that, in future, the Table staff should alert the presiding officer if the Chief Whip's hand has been put up first when we deal with notices of motion.
Deputy Chairperson, I would like to put a notice of motion:
That the Council -
1) notes that - a) the ANC held its 52nd national conference at the University of Limpopo, in the great north of our country;
b) this occasion provided an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of this great movement as it has worked, together with the masses, first to defeat the apartheid system, and then to vanquish the legacy of racial oppression and gender inequality; and
c) for five days the country and nations across the globe observed the vibrant democratic debates about the future of our movement and the nation it leads;
2) takes this opportunity to congratulate the newly elected leadership of the ANC, which includes, among others, members of the NCOP, the hon Mr Sicelo Shiceka and the hon Ms Nosipho Ntwanambi, who are collectively fired up with passionate selflessness and steeped in the vintage traditions of our movement to bear the huge responsibility to catalyse our people's aspirations for a social order and commitment of continuing our work to liberate our people from the consequences of poverty and the entanglements of the legacy of apartheid;
3) also takes this opportunity to congratulate the ANC for successfully hosting such a watershed conference and the newly elected President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, for his election as the 12th President of the ANC, succeeding an illustrious list of names such as John Langalibalele Dube, Sefako Mapogo Makgatho, Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Oliver Reginald Tambo and many more;
4) however, notes the barrage of vicious personal attacks and public conflations by certain leaders of the opposition who designated themselves "spokespersons" of the ANC and featured quite prominently in the mass media, commenting on proceedings and decisions of the ANC in Polokwane with the sole intention of waging vicious attacks and smear campaigns against the character of the ANC and its leadership; and
(5) takes this opportunity to condemn such behaviour that was intended to undermine and distort the fundamental key and historical ideals within which the ANC elects its leaders.
Thank you. [Applause.]