Agb Voorsitter, ek sien ek het net drie minute. Ek het gevra vir vier. In die eerste plek wil ek tog van die geleentheid gebruik maak om die agb Minister, die portefeuljekomitee en ook my party, die VF Plus, te bedank vir die geleentheid wat hulle vir my gegee het om in die Tussentydse Weermag Dienste-kommissie te kon dien. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Chairperson, I see that I only have three minutes. I asked for four. In the first place, I would really like to use this opportunity to thank the Minister, the portfolio committee, and my party, the FF plus, for providing me the opportunity to serve on the Interim Armed Services Commission.]
Hon Minister, I can assure you, appointing politicians, former generals and a former dictator to a commission, one needs a bishop and a medical doctor under the chairpersonship of a judge. [Laughter.] Sometimes you have to give a verdict. Luckily nobody went to jail and nobody was fined. I want to express my appreciation towards my colleagues on the committee, because I'm not available for the permanent commission.
I can assure you - and we even have a professor there and that is even worse, you know - that I learnt a lot. Be assured that as a Member of Parliament, I will keep on doing that oversight work to ensure that the Minister does not manipulate the commission, because she couldn't do it with the interim commission.
Thank you also for the mutual respect we had towards each other. It was really a good time in the service of our country and good luck to those other commissioners who are going to continue the work.
Having said that, all the work of the commission will be of no value if we do not put the recommendations into practice. That is the challenge for the future. We must ensure that the recommendations which come from the permanent commission are put into practice.
Minister, daar is 'n groot debat oor of ons vakbonde in die Weermag moet toelaat. Dt wat ek by die kommissie geleer het, is dat die swak hantering van die griewe van ons lede van die Weermag die bron is wat die vakbonde voed, want as ons lede se griewe hanteer word, sal hulle hul nie wend tot vakbonde om vir hul regte op te staan nie. Ons sal dit drasties moet takel en verseker dat ons gelukkige lede in die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag het.
Die grootste uitdaging bly natuurlik die begroting van die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag. Minister, u moet nie beloftes maak nie. U moet nie aankondigings maak soos in verlede jaar se begrotingsdebat en s dat almal in Suid-Afrika geakkommodeer behoort te word om diens te lewer nie. Ons het nie die geld daarvoor nie.
Ons moet nie by ons militre veterane die indruk probeer skep dat ons na hulle sal omsien as ons nie die geld daarvoor het nie. As ons beloftes maak en verwagtinge skep, moet ons seker maak dat ons dit kan nakom, anders skep ons groter ongelukkigheid. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [Minister, there is a huge debate about whether we should allow trade unions in the armed forces. What I have learnt from the commission, is that the poor handling of grievances of members of the armed forces, is the source that feeds the trade unions, because if the grievances of our members were addressed, they would not have to turn to trade unions to stand up for their rights. We have to address this urgently and ensure that we have members who are happy in the SA National Defence Force, SANDF.
The biggest challenge, however, remains the budget of the SA National Defence Force. Minister, you should not make any promises. You should not make announcements, as in the case of last year's Budget Vote, stating that everyone in South Africa should be accommodated to serve in the SANDF. We do not have the funds for that.
We should not try to create the impression with our military veterans that we will take care of them if we do not have the funds to do so. If we make promises and create expectations, we have to ensure that we are able to honour those promises and expectations; otherwise we create even greater unhappiness. I thank you. [Applause.]]