Chairperson, Ministers and hon members, in 1994 the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, declared to the world: "Let freedom reign. The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement." We celebrated that "glorious human achievement" with him and we were determined that the sun would never set on that achievement. That was a time of belief for all of us. It was a time to look forward and to be proud. The whole world looked at us in amazement. Regrettably, in the lifetime of our great and iconic leader, the enhancement of the freedom of others has receded into the background. Our glorious human achievement has been sullied by legislation taking us back to where we were coming from. [Interjections.]
In recent days we witnessed how government spokespersons savaged Reuel Khoza for his warning that although South Africa is widely recognised for its liberal and enlightening Constitution, we are observing the emergence of a strange breed of leaders who undermine the rule of law and override the Constitution. Mr Khoza further warned that South Africa was fast losing the checks and balances provided by the Constitution. [Interjections.]
Over the past few years we have seen the dismantling of the Scorpions and the strenuous attempt by government not to include a public defence clause in the Protection of State Information Bill. We have seen government lose many court actions and we have heard Deputy Ministers and others criticising the Constitution. Government's reaction to losing in the courts has always been predictable. It has tried to intimidate the judiciary by suddenly proposing a review. [Interjections.]
The struggle for liberation, which ended in a grand triumph in 1994, unfortunately needs to be revived. We need to mobilise our people once again and stand in defence of our Constitution against the so-called ...