Please take your seat. I am sure, Speaker, he is not the last of those who will stand up, because those who speak the truth are always feared, and here is the truth. [Interjections.] Here is the truth!
All that this debate has been called for is to allow the loud opposition to attack the ANC and the President. They do not want the truth. They will not listen to the truth. They will not allow speakers of the majority party to talk. [Interjections.] All they will do while we speak is shout, carp and insult because they are afraid of the truth. [Interjections.] They are afraid of it because it does not suit their intention. They do not even want the public to hear what we are saying. So they will scream, they will shout. They have no interest in the truth, and eventually the public will come to know who the opposition are, what they are, and what they are really interested in - and it is definitely not the truth.
Everybody in this House knows that the hon Maynier has been on a fishing expedition since he joined the House, and as the election approaches he is desperate to catch a big fish before the election, because he has failed to do so up to now. [Interjections.]
We all know that the hon Lekota has been angry since 2007. [Interjections.] [Applause.] He did not enjoy the weather in Polokwane, and he spends so much time in court that he has lost touch with reality. [Laughter.] [Applause.] He knows full well, and in their opposition caucuses he would have been able to tell his opposition colleagues, since they are now one, led by the DA, as he has accepted, strangely, ... [Laughter.] ... that Waterkloof is, in fact, a declared international port of entry. He would have been able to tell them. [Interjections.] Yes! I have told you, hon members, that the minute the truth comes out, they cannot take it. [Laughter.] [Applause.] He would have been able to tell them that the Waterkloof Air Force Base is a strategic military base under the Defence Act. It is not a national key point under the Police Act but, because he spends his time in court and not in caucus educating his opposition friends, he could not share that truth with them. [Applause.] [Interjections.] We all know that, in fact, this gentleman leads nothing. We know he is not a president and we know he sacks MPs, he readmits MPs, and he just continues to be an angry person. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
Now, Minister Radebe has provided the House and the public with a report on the findings of the investigation into the landing of a commercial aircraft at this military air force base in April this year. It is clear from the report the Minister has provided, as well as the various media statements he has released, that this landing fell outside established norms for the use of the Waterkloof Air Force Base. It is clear rules were broken and positions of authority were breached. We will consider the recommendations of the report and the proposed interventions.
One of the startling findings of the report is the abuse of position and trust by senior officials in government. [Interjections.] All in this House have agreed previously that one of the objectives South Africa should pursue vigorously is creating a capable, development-oriented public servant. The National Development Plan, NDP, suggests that this public servant will be one fully able to execute her job, committed to working in the interests of the people of South Africa, patriotic, ethical and reflective of the principles and values of our Constitution. [Interjections.]
A democracy in formation, such as our own, relies heavily on the success and support that can result from high calibre public values of the kind described in the NDP. These would be teachers committed to quality education and youth development; doctors who uphold the full meaning of the Hippocratic Oath; nurses who serve to heal; and local government workers who are honest, hardworking and results-oriented. [Interjections.] These qualities are vital for what we term service delivery, but they are even more critical for advancing and protecting the national interests of our nation in the continental and global spheres. No country can thrive if it has senior public servants ready to sell their country to the highest bidder. [Interjections.] This is true, whatever the effects of such disloyalty.
In this case our strategic military air base was infringed through misrepresentation and the brazen abuse of authority. [Interjections.] As Minister Radebe has said, we must be grateful that the majority of our public servants are hard at work doing what should be done. The minority of bad apples should not cause us to tarnish all of them. Our success in the past 19 years has been firmly supported by thousands of good public servants who have ensured hundreds of schools were built, millions of homes electrified, millions provided with water services, and many other positive changes. [Interjections.] When some public servants behave in an errant fashion, we should not forget these thousands. We should not find everyone guilty in our rush to pursue our narrow political agenda.
It is especially important that we as Members of Parliament take the lead in assisting our new nation to understand due process, to appreciate the value of proper investigation, and to come to an appreciation of the importance of reaching conclusions on the basis of facts and not on speculation, not on the hatred of certain politicians, nor on the narrow pursuit of votes by any means necessary.
All that we, as the ANC, can see is that the opposition is consumed by their hatred of President Zuma, and they are unable to look at an issue objectively and rationally if it involves an opportunity to throw stones at our President. It is tragic that Members of Parliament, who have the unique opportunity to build a new, rules-based society, generally fail to rise above their political interests and tend to be so ready to pronounce guilt that, where it does not exist, they are actually heartily, heartily sore, and they just want this guilt, owing to their deep-seated desire to besmirch the reputation of the ANC and its leadership.
There is no one in the ANC who has suggested that the landing of this commercial aircraft was correct. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: You knew!