House Chair and Deputy President, we are referred to as the occasional visitors to the committee. Let me say right from the onset that we are going to support the Amendment Bill and provide the reason as to why we support it. As the hon Maynier has already indicated, there is a new clause that has been introduced in this particular Bill to ensure that there is true compliance with the Constitution. We were very worried about the initial reluctance from the ruling party on this particular clause.
However, we have had engagements with them and realised that this is important. In fact, this clause is not only important to the opposition party. It is important to all of us in the country, including ordinary citizens. This clause ensures that section 199 (5) and (7) of the Constitution is fully complied with. That is the reason why we are going to be supporting this Bill. We will support this Bill because of the inclusion of that clause that recognises the importance of the Constitution. Furthermore, we support the fact that all Members of Parliament can then communicate freely, knowing that there is not going to be anybody listening to that conversation.
However, we were concerned about the Amendment Bill and the White Paper process. That process consists of two steps that are separate from each other. Ordinarily, the White Paper informs us about the type of legislation we have to adopt. However, even under these circumstances, we support the Bill before us, particularly for the reasons I have already indicated - that as a supreme law, the Constitution is contained in this particular Amendment Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]