Madam Deputy Speaker, for the benefit of the member of Cope there is a statement available and it can be photocopied and distributed as I speak. Thank you very much.
Madam Deputy Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. On 24 August 2010, the Speaker summoned me to his office to discuss the matter of the Report of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission and he insisted both to me and to the Deputy President as the Leader of Government Business that the finalisation of the report should be done and it should be presented as speedily as possible. I gave my word, as did the Deputy President, that we would comply, and I am now able to confirm that after an initial extension of the period requested and granted to the commission, this morning I had the honour and privilege of receiving the Report of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission.
It is important at this point to remind ourselves of the purpose or objective of this exercise, and perhaps the best place to start is at the beginning. The concept of the commission owes its existence to the policy intention of my first Budget Vote in 2009, dated 3 July 2009, in this Parliament. I stated at that point, and I quote:
... we are considering making a request for a separate dispensation for the Department of Defence that would allow us to creatively deal with our own needs and the specificities (and uniqueness) of the security requirements (of the Defence Force).
I emphasise this, as it is so often deliberately misinterpreted in some circles, fuelled by other corners of the House. The intention to establish the National Defence Force Service Commission was expressed long before the shameful conduct by a small group of ill-disciplined members of the Defence Force at the Union Buildings. It should be obvious, then, that we were alive to the challenge of addressing the concerns of the S A National Defence Force, SANDF, after years of the hon Lekota's being at its helm, a member here who stands up and pretends that he is perhaps new to these matters. These steps also preceded the whimper from some corners of the opposition benches. They bay and howl at the wind, for no other reason than to preen their wet wings.
The interim commission was established on 9 September 2009, after the Cabinet's approval of the creation of the new dispensation for the Defence Force. The brief of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission was clear and well spelt out in the terms of reference that they were given. These were to:
1. advise and make recommendations on a unique service dispensation outside the ambit of the Public Service;
2. advise on the regulatory framework for the unique service dispensation; and
3. investigate and provide advice on remuneration and conditions of service of members of the SANDF.
The interim commission was advised to deal with these terms of reference both in the short term, that is, legislation, and in the long term, which is what we have today in the report. The commission dealt with these as three separate terms of reference. Each one is a standalone and very separate from the others. I introduced the commission to the portfolio committee, because the short term aspect, which was the drafting of legislation, needed some kind of co-operation with the portfolio committee.
I want to take this opportunity, therefore, to thank the members of the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission for the sterling work they have done. They have not only criss-crossed the length and breadth of this country, interviewing various stakeholders, but they have also found time to benchmark their work by visiting the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Russian Federation in order to learn from other countries the international best practice in a number of issues that have a bearing on us. I trust that in time we will benefit from the lessons and insights derived from these visits. They have done us proud in contributing to the effective and efficient management of the Defence Force as it fulfils its constitutional responsibility.
The work done by the interim commission is outstanding and I commend it. Could the hon member allow hon Groenewald to listen because he is an affected party? Their dedication and commitment are clearly shown by their hard work in producing the report that they handed over to me this morning. They gave of their time and energy, despite the fact that most of them were in full-time employment.
It is now my honour and privilege to acknowledge members of the interim commission and use the opportunity to thank them most sincerely for their hard work, commitment, tenacity and single-mindedness in the midst of the noise and attempts to divert them.
The interim commission consists of people of outstanding calibre who have brought a great deal of integrity to the work that they have done. It consists of men and women who have distinguished themselves in their own right in South African society. These members are Judge Bosielo, who is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal; Mr Ismail, who is the Deputy Chairperson; Lieutenant General Moloi, otherwise known as Comrade A; retired Major General Bantu Holomisa whose exploits in the Transkei are very well-known to all of us; Ms Mgabadeli, who is unfortunately not with us here; returning to General Holomisa, we thought that perhaps he might be the best placed person to ensure that we are in the safe hands and the Defence Force does behave; Dr Mokgokong, who was the deputy chairperson of the commission that allowed a hike in our salaries as Members of Parliament; Professor Christie, a well-known Western Cape academic; Mr Ngcakani, the retired Inspector General of Intelligence; Bishop Mpumlwana, the Bishop of the African Episcopal Church, and hon Groenewald, whose attention I've been trying to obtain and who is possibly the longest serving member of the Defence Committee in this House. [Applause.] Thank you very much. I would like on their behalf to acknowledge your applause.
In their handing over of the report this morning, it was touching to hear them say that they did this and for them it was an honour to serve the country. They stressed that the report is the foundation of their observations and should be regarded as work still to be completed by the permanent commission.
Appointing members from such diverse backgrounds allowed us, for the first time in this dispensation, to have a bird's-eye view of the SANDF since 1994. The observations therefore span a period of 15 years. The importance of the commissioners is that they are drawn from disparate backgrounds; two of them are currently members of opposition political parties in this House, showing that the responsibility of the Defence Force cuts across political lines. There was a deliberate effort to include members of the opposition political parties on the interim commission to draw as wide a range of experience as was possible.
It must have been very hard for them to sit here as members of this House and listen to distortions of certain sections of what is purported to be their work, a deliberate distortion of their hard work. The SANDF is a national asset and these members understood that they could effectively contribute while in the opposition to ensuring that our sovereignty is in the hands of people who are looked after.
I would like to say to the Leader of the Opposition, hon Trollip, that when his member stands here to quote selectively on ongoing work in order to create an impression of "time bombs", which exist only in his imagination, then it begs the question where he was when all the changes were happening in the Defence Force. He quoted from a purported report of September last year and brought it here and pretended that he had just unearthed it, as something that was written yesterday. Where was he all this time when all these changes were taking place in the Defence Force?
Together with the interim commission, we worked tirelessly to ensure that there were changes. The most important fact that they established, and what must be established in this House, is that it is possible to be in the opposition to ensure that the governing party is accountable but to do it responsibly, especially when we are dealing with a national asset such as the Defence Force. [Applause.]
There are always two choices in life, hon Trollip: you are either part of change or you are working against it. Your member has chosen not to be part of the change but to work against the change. The immense improvements that have occurred in the Defence Force were very ably articulated the other day by the hon Minister Pandor. Next time, instead, of spending his time in newsrooms and feeding the press, perhaps your hon member will be in the House so that he understands and is part of the change. What it has done to him right now, hon Trollip, is that he has defined himself outside the changes that have occurred in the Defence Force. In fact, if I had been in his position, I would have made sure that I claimed credit for the changes that have taken place in the Defence Force. But, very clearly now, for all of South Africa to know, he was sleeping right through these changes as they happened.
The report will now undergo the normal process of being submitted to Cabinet - I've made a request to the President to make sure that it can serve in Cabinet at the earliest possible time. Then it will be handed over to the Speaker of the National Assembly. As I have stated before, Parliament will have an opportunity to read the recommendations emanating from this report. I commend the report.
I would, finally, like to thank those members of the portfolio committee who co-operated with the commission. I'd like to thank the members of the SANDF who made the work of the commission possible. I'd like to thank the Chief of the Defence Force, who made it possible for us to get this report today. Hon Deputy Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. [Applause.]