... xa esithi akaluxhasi olu Hlahlo-lwabiwo -mali. Isizathu soko kukuba ufika emva kwethuba kwiintlanganiso zemicimbi yesebe. Xa efika uye ungazazi nokuba ukweliphi na iqela. Uyakufika ezinyakathisa apha phakathi kwethu. [Kwahlekwa.] Asothukanga ke yiloo nto kuba kaloku uyayazi ukuba, ukuba akaculi umculo kamongameli wakhe, lowo uhloniphekileyo, uMnu Lekota, ungaphandle kwezi ngcango. [Kwahlekwa.]
Ilishwa ke lelokuba, sikwinyanga yesithoba phambi kokuba sifike kulonyulo lwama-2014 apho aya phuma engena kwiinkundla zamatyala efuna isicelo sokuba aphinde abuyele ePalamente. [Kwahlekwa.]
I-ANC ayisokuze ifumane igunya kwi-Cope kuba kaloku i-Cope ayinalo igunya nobume. Ubume bakho njenge-Cope, Mnu Nhanha, bunye, kukuba ume kwe-Podium yasePalamente nokuma emkhumbini kwiinkundla zemithetho. kulapho bukhona ke ubume bakho. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Ms N R MABEDLA: ... that he does not support this budget. The reason he does not support it is because he is always late for the portfolio committee meetings. And when he arrives he usually does not even know which party he belongs to. You'll find him squeezing himself amongst us. [Laughter.] We are not surprised that he does not support this budget, because he knows that if he does not dance to the tune of his president, the hon Mr Lekota, he'll find himself outside the premises of Parliament. [Laughter.]
Unfortunately, we have nine months before the elections of 2014, after which he will be in and out of courts trying to get back to Parliament. [Laughter.] The ANC can never get a mandate from Cope, because Cope itself has no mandate and no character. Yours as a Cope member, Mr Nhanha, is to stand on the podium of the National Assembly and to appear in the courts of law. That is your character.]
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, we pledge ourselves to the tenets of that august organisation of the peoples of Africa to work towards the realisation of a united and prosperous Africa. We have contributed and shall continue to contribute to the democratisation of Africa and we shall never countenance any form of undemocratic change of government in our region and on our continent. South Africa will always heed the fact that the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of sovereign states and the commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict are enshrined in the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union that bind all member states.
The ANC congratulates the government of Zimbabwe on signing their constitution into law yesterday. [Applause.] We cannot leave this Department of Defence and Military Veterans out and say we cannot see what they are doing to restore peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries. The ANC congratulates the African Union on the election of a woman, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, from the ANC, as Chairperson of the AU Commission. [Applause.] Furthermore, it calls for the ANC-led government to provide the AU with all the necessary support. [Interjections.] You should ask me what my debate is about, because your member did not debate; he was just grandstanding here. [Interjections.]
The SA Air Force, as the major component of the joint air defence capability, is required to remain robust and relevant within the evolving nature of warfare and the spectrum of conflict. This is so in order to achieve a favourable air situation, thereby allowing freedom of movement for our own forces in the air, on land and at sea. This implies that the SA Air Force must be balanced and technologically advanced enough to meet the challenges of the air battle-space.
As I have indicated before in this speech, the posture and force design of the SA Defence Force, SADF, was that of a counter-insurgency military organisation. In other words, the SADF was organised to fight against freedom fighters. As a consequence, its footprint represented such a type of military organisation. In spite of having been bequeathed such an ill- suited organisation, the ANC has to an extent addressed the demographic representativeness of the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, especially at the top and bottom strata of its organogram through the integration of all statutory and nonstatutory forces. More needs to be done to transform the middle stratum of the SANDF.
The ANC government has, to a significant extent, transformed and continues to transform the SANDF substantively to exhibit a national footprint that accords with the constitutional mandate to secure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country and its people. The SANDF should, indeed, be strengthened even more to fulfil its constitutional mandate and protect its national interests and critical infrastructure.
Let me speak on transformation. As the ANC, we will support transformation in our debates and in the time that we are leading, because the reason the hon Groenewald and hon Maynier are afraid of this transformation is because ... [Interjections.] I am disappointed that the hon Maynier did not even make any mention of the Denel Aviation/AMG contract that was terminated in March this year, 2013. It was a 27-year-old, open-ended contract which operated from 1986 until 31 March 2013. During our oversight visit, he led the discussions. He told them he was going to change this. Unfortunately, during the committee meeting, we voted against him. [Interjections.] During this term of our democracy, we are led by the Public Finance Management Act, so we cannot allow our tax money ... The ANC supports the budget. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]