Deputy Speaker, I would like to thank the hon Minister for being able to come back to Parliament and make a presentation on this thorny issue. I must say in earnest that we are floundering in the information that is being thrown around, which is actually a thumb-suck. Sometimes this hurts and demoralises the soldiers, and we don't understand where the report has come from.
In the portfolio committee we were very emphatic that the report had to come through the Ministry, and the Ministry would then present it to Cabinet, and it would come to Parliament. We have never been able to conceptualise how that type of report comes as it does. When it came to our attention that there was a report that was being thrown around in the streets that was when it came to our portfolio committee. That was when unions were saying that there was a report.
Nobody knows the essence and contents of the report. The Speaker directed us, saying that there was no link between the Bill that we had to prepare and what was in the report. He was the only person in Parliament who could give us the confidence in the work that we were doing. We thank the Speaker sincerely for being able to give us direction.
The manner in which you played opposition politics and narrated your stories has nothing to do with the portfolio committee. At no stage did we commit ourselves to what the opposition member always said and explained in the papers, saying that there was a report. In terms of our regulations, performance and how we did our work in the portfolio committee, at no stage did we ever find that link.
You were correct when you said it was a misleading act to come to Parliament and tell us that there was a report, when nothing was ever presented officially to the institution of Parliament. It would be quite a disaster for us as a portfolio committee to say that that report was ever placed. It has always been about gossip and rumours. I can honestly say that none of the rumours and the gossip were correct.
As I stand here on behalf of the portfolio committee to thank the Interim National Defence Force Service Commission for the work that they have done, they and nobody else have ever been able to place the report. Today we have stood again for matters of principle and the following of procedure, that they will come to the institution and present it. They have to come and tell us what is happening.
We have not played at the level of gossip and rumours that have been spread around in regard to the issue. As the portfolio committee, at this particular moment, without listening, narrating and playing to enthusiasms about what the opposition leader said, we feel that the matter stands firm that there is no report. I vouch for what I am saying, and I stand by the oaths that I have taken in Parliament, that there is no report. You will be misleading Parliament by coming to claim that there is a report that has been placed somewhere. It has been rumours.
We told the South African National Defence Union, Sandu, to present the report that they had to us. However, the report that they had was gained by theft. We are saying to the union that the report they had was gained by theft. The portfolio committee agreed that the union had stolen the report from somewhere but it did not know where. As a matter of fact, that is what the records of our portfolio committee say: The union went and stole that report. Who they got it from and what the contents of that report are has never been deliberated before the portfolio committee. Again, it would be misleading to say that that report has ever been presented. Under my leadership, according to my knowledge, no report has ever been presented to the portfolio committee.
It is really misleading to Parliament when an hon member claims things - and tries to lead by all his activities and dancing - that there were links. We have finished the Bill and nobody has ever been able to prove the link and show us what was happening.
Let me thank the interim commission for the good work that they have done, and the commitment that they have shown in the way they have conducted themselves. The members have been able to stick to the mandate that they have been provided with. The level of transparency with which you have conducted this particular development, Minister, has been very valuable. You were the first one to come to Parliament and introduce the mixture of the opposition, our party and different people who would be able to take this responsibility. You have done very well and have been able to keep us informed.
If those members had gone against the discipline that you provided them with when dealing with issues of confidentiality, I must say that hon Holomisa, hon Groenewald and even hon Ntsiki were not able to break that form of discipline. We must really thank them for the way they conducted themselves. Even in times when we were very pressured and we feel that there was the responsibility of trying to confide and tell us what was going on in the report itself, they maintained that discipline. Hon members, we really want to thank you. You have done a very good job. From your own experience you have heard us telling you in the committee that you have had a variety of experiences which have been able to make their way into the report itself. Therefore, we would like to thank you very much.
You know, hon Holomisa, if I can repeat what I said to you at some stage when I met you, your experience is very valuable. Nobody can tell us that you have never gone through building up a defence. We have also told hon Groenewald that his experience has added a lot of value to the report that has come out.
I must say, Minister, we have heard members speaking today and we have had a reflection of the navy from them. People from the navy know it better and are able to tell you the truth about it, show it as in a mirror. One of our members has been trained there. They would have a better understanding of how a navy functions. We have heard a very good presentation from the landward section today. There is the issue of the combat-readiness which never suffices. Those members who are there and are committed to our country have today been able to stand firm and explain to hon members about the conduct and the challenges that the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, is facing in regard to its landward, air force and maritime areas.
Tomorrow we are taking an observation from the Air Force and one from Health. Both sectors and components have an influence on the combat- readiness of the SANDF. They have been able to present to us, unambiguously, the progress that has been made within the SANDF. I thought that hon members would appreciate that type of development because it speaks to our patriotism and how we should conduct ourselves, based on the information regarding the institution which has been provided.
Again, we would like to thank General Door for the way he conducted himself and also the Admiral for being able to give the navy a proper report on how we can look at the institution again. There is a lot of progress that has been made. We are quite confident that the improvements that we have put in place and the commission itself will be able to improve the conduct of the