... senior officers would not be going shopping in pink slippers. [Interjections.] She is a disgrace to the thousands of loyal, professional and disciplined members of the Defence Force. [Interjections.]
In the end, unless drastic action is taken, the Defence Force is in danger of becoming an armed welfare service. That is why the Defence Review, conducted by Roelf Meyer and his Defence Review Committee, is so vital to the future of the Defence Force.
I recall saying some time ago that never in the history of defence policy- making had so many worked for so long, to produce so little. But I am pleased to say that, finally, the 423-page consultative draft of the Defence Review has been produced, and I look forward to interacting with the Defence Review team as we work together to produce the final draft of the South African Defence Review 2012. [Interjections.]
In the end, if the Defence Review does not succeed, the Defence Force will not succeed. But, to succeed, we have to have a proper debate on defence policy. However, this is going to be very difficult in the current political climate because for three years the Minister has been engaged in a political war with this Parliament.
The Minister ensured that Nyami Booi, the former chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, was fired. [Interjections.] The Minister has prevented the Chief of the SA National Defence Force, Gen Godfrey Ngwenya, and his successor, together with all the service chiefs from briefing Parliament on the military preparedness of the Defence Force.
The Minister rarely appears before the portfolio committee, the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, or the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. The Minister refused to provide copies of the interim reports of the National Defence Force Service Commission to the portfolio committee, which suggested that the Defence Force itself could become a threat to national security. And the Minister either refuses to reply or provides partial replies to oral and written questions on the Defence Force in Parliament.
This year alone I have submitted nine written questions to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, requesting him to compel the Minister to provide replies to Parliament. In the end, the Minister has become a political monster, turning the Defence Force into a state-within-a-state beyond proper oversight and accountability by Parliament. Of course, the Minister has been aided and abetted in her political war by proxy forces in Parliament. The Joint Standing Committee on Defence almost routinely begins late, rarely has sufficient members to make up a quorum and, most importantly, never schedules a hearing on the really tough issues in the Defence Force.
The Portfolio Committee on Military Veterans is even worse: dealing with the entire R37,49-billion budget in one hearing taking less than two and half hours. Both defence committees rarely conduct oversight visits, preferring the safety of the parliamentary barracks.
The chairpersons of the defence committees behave more like the Minister's parliamentary valets than committee chairs committed to real oversight and scrutiny in Parliament. In the end, the Minister has got what she wanted, "Yes, madam; no, madam; three bags full, madam," defence committees in Parliament. It's an absolute disgrace.
So we must now face the fact that effective oversight of the Defence Force has collapsed in Parliament. The truth is that we do not know anything about military preparedness. Parliament has never been briefed on the military preparedness of the Defence Force.
The Minister wants Parliament to establish a new committee probably called the joint parliamentary committee on defence, which will operate like the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence. This means that, in practice, oversight of the Defence Force will be conducted behind closed doors in Parliament. [Interjections.]