Chairperson and hon members, I want to start by thanking all hon members for their participation in the debate. I welcome the constructive criticism and constructive debate of matters relating to the Defence Force.
Let me start by acknowledging the presence of Major General Jiyane, who I wasn't aware was here. Maj-Gen Jiyane, welcome and thank you. [Applause.] Maj-Gen Jiyane is ... [Interjections.] ... please, now ...
... ungaphindi ngoku ... [... don't do that again ...]
... was the commander of the company that fought in Bangui. General, you know you led your soldiers very well. You commanded them with excellence. [Applause.] We owe you this: You are a true patriot.
Just a few comments, hon members, on some of the matters that had been raised, starting with the matter that was raised by Gen Holomisa of the UDM. It is a pity, that he is not here. I just wanted to set the record straight, because I think he has it wrong. Firstly, on the day of the attack on our soldiers, I, together with the generals behind me, was sitting in an operations room from evening to the early hours of the morning - just for the record. This is not for my personal glory or anybody else's glory, but just for you to know that what you have said here is incorrect; it is inaccurate. It is not true. It is far from the truth. On the day, I was sitting in the operations room with my generals, and I was listening to the battle as it was ensuing in Bangui. Now, the second matter is that I was supposedly dancing at the Brics summit. I hope you will pass this on. I don't remember attending a single one of the dinners at the Brics summit because of the amount of pressure we were under. To release a statement after two days was the right thing to do, because we first needed to do a proper assessment to be able to know how many casualties we had sustained before we inform the South African public. I believe it was the correct thing to do and that we were quite responsible in the way in which we discharged our functions. [Applause.]
The third matter is ... [Interjections.] Now, hon Maynier, you will not get information about the combat readiness or nonreadiness of the SA National Defence Force. I don't understand and I don't know why you want this information so desperately. [Interjections.] I don't understand. You know better; you have been a soldier. You know that there is technical information that you may not release to the South African public. This you know, because you have been there.
The other thing that I must say is that to suggest that I released information to Seleka is suggesting that I am part of some counterrevolution on the African continent. I want to suggest that you are wrong. You are wrong! I am a democrat; I am a human rights activist who has fought for your liberation in this country ... [Applause.] ... at a time when some of you were conducting raids and maiming and killing women and children in the frontline states. I was there in the trenches, but I was in the trenches of those who were fighting for liberation in this country. [Applause.]
Incidentally, I can tell you now that I am not a civilian. I am only a civilian because I am a Member of Parliament. I am a Minister deployed here by government. I happen to be a soldier myself. Therefore, I can never be insensitive to the needs and the requirements of our soldiers. I can never subject them to conditions of vulnerability, because I myself am a soldier, and not only a soldier - I have survived ambushes before, some of which were orchestrated and planned from the Republic of South Africa. [Applause.]
You know, sometimes some of the remarks that you make can be very good. You can be very good when you like, but at times you can be very insensitive. Take, for instance, this issue of the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the risk of being emotional. We submitted to Parliament a request for approval for 400 soldiers to be deployed to the Central African Republic ...