Cope requests that your good office refers this question to our rocket scientist to pinpoint the location and name of this elusive No 1 who has caused you, personally, your department, your party and, of course, our country such great pain.
Publicly, according to the Guptagate report, we know of Tony Gupta, Ambassador Koloane, the Airports Company of South Africa's Bongani Maseko, Minister Martins, the political adviser to the Minister, Michael Ramagoma, the Chief of the SA Air Force and Lt Col S J van Zyl, but please, tell us who this mysterious No 1 is. [Interjections.]
As the Minister rightly pointed out, her office was the first department to be approached to perform this miraculous feat so that a private family could hold its wedding, and the request was, rightly so, turned down. However, it seems that the Minister personalised the request. She kept it to herself and never cascaded it down to her subordinates, because if that had happened, we wouldn't have had the situation where somebody was dropping names and saying that No 1 had said this or that.
Cope would like to ask the Minister ... [Interjections.] ... how this request was ascended to her office. If it came via the right protocols and channels, surely she was duty-bound to inform her "ladder" about the events and her decisions for their attention.
It is common knowledge that the Minister kept it to herself. What does that say about the nature of the Minister's relationship with the military high command of the SA National Defence Force ... [Interjections.] ... the nature of her communications and the importance which she as the Minister places on sensitive military matters?
As the Minister came into the ranks of this highly sensitive and specialised department as a civilian, attention to detail is imperative, and so is the execution of commands, lest our country ends up having made so many enemies that we can't control them.
The Minister should admit that this was reckless, that military protocols were broken and that personal emotions reigned over professional conduct. She should also admit that the mention of the infamous No 1 in this case is enough to make anyone shake in their pants, including her. [Interjections.]
The report on Guptagate should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. [Interjections.] This is not Social Development, but Defence. [Interjections.] The Guptagate report should be dismissed, because it is nothing but a fallacy aimed at exonerating the President and his Cabinet.
Reports are surfacing that, contrary to what the report is suggesting, more than one plane is believed to have landed at Waterkloof Air Force Base. The Minister's resignation will not be contested, together with that of other Ministers of the Cabinet. [Applause.] This is a national embarrassment, and it cannot be that the post-landing party was so clear-cut, and performed with such military precision, from the Department of Home Affairs to the police escorts. The Minister should take the blame and take the fall. Why did she decide to put the livelihood of unsuspecting civilians under so much duress?
When the world knows who No 1 is, where is the Minister going to hide? I am sure that by that time the Gupta family will afford you refugee status in their R18 million Saxonwold mansion, which has now been re-evaluated to R490 000, of course to avoid tax.
The government is spending a lot of time and energy trying to straighten out the department for the Minister, and yet it should not be so. Your predecessor, who now holds the Public Service portfolio, is undertaking the right kind of clean-up. She is performing. We are seriously worried about you. Remember, Minister you left the unresolved multibillion rand Bukasa scandal behind in Correctional Services. What are you going to do about this one? Can you act against this invisible No 1 without fear or favour? Unless you know differently, you can become another victim, like the Koloanes. We are not going to support this Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]