Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members and hon guests, the PAC joins the nation in mourning the tragedy which has befallen our motherland. The temptation is high to blame others for this tragedy. Honestly speaking, we are all to blame for the Marikana massacre.
Abe Mokoena is writing from Polokwane in The Star newspaper of today and he is telling the truth as it is. He said, and I quote: "Everybody in South Africa failed the martyrs of Marikana."
We are a nation united in mourning. Without mudslinging and blaming anyone, the PAC contends that there are four lessons to be drawn from the Marikana massacre. They are as follows: The first lesson is that the negotiated political settlement hailed locally and internationally as a miracle is fundamentally flawed. It delivered an empty shell of political power to the indigenous African people. The ownership of wealth is skewed in favour of the multinationals. Marikana is a sad reminder that economic justice cannot co-exist with democracy. This nation needs another round of negotiation on how to share the wealth of the country in a fair and just manner. Otherwise, we must brace ourselves for many more and bloodier Marikanas to come.
The second lesson is "violence begets violence." Marikana has exposed how violent our society is. Poverty, as we all know, is a form of violence against the poor. It is a structural violence that gives birth to violence by the poor people. The poor are not professionally trained to mete out violence.
What the police did in Marikana exposed them as untrained or ill-trained in dealing with volatile situations. Surely the police need some history lessons in their training manuals. They must know that the people they killed in Marikana are the legitimate owners of platinum. Yet, they don't enjoy the benefits thereof. The police must be taught that in the majority of cases, the people they call squatters and trespassers are the rightful owners of this land.
The third lesson, which is about the collusion between some labour movement leaders and the mining bosses, was clearly exposed by Marikana. This web of greed, double standards and double talk has let down the working men and women. In present-day South Africa, we are witnessing the bourgeoisification of the trade union's leadership. These class traitors are secretly plotting with the mine bosses against the exploited workers.
When the sun of truth finally rises in this troubled land, we will know who cheated the workers and who benefitted from that cheating because those who benefit from theft are as guilty as the thieves themselves.
The fourth lesson is that as representatives of the people, members of this House were passive as the clouds of discontent were threateningly gathering over Marikana. Yes, we are passive. We call ourselves an activist Parliament. I am afraid this is just cheap posturing. An activist Parliament has its finger on the pulse of the nation. We react to events instead of acting in time to avoid a disaster. We are fast becoming a reactionary Parliament. No wonder that when citizens have problems, they go to the Public Protector. No one thinks of going to Parliament when they are in trouble.
The onus rests on us all to restore the integrity of Parliament. Marikana could have been avoided if this Parliament was living up to its calling.
Ke tla ruma polelo ya ka ka le le rego: Mahloko meloko le metswalle ya bagologolo ba Marikana. Meokgo ya lena e tla phumolwa ke letsogo la nako. Mahloko magage?o! Ga di lebogwe. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Let me conclude my speech by saying: We are conveying our condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their lives in Marikana. Your wounds will heal with time. We are saddened by this.]