Chairperson, I'd like to thank the ANC for supporting the Bill. I also just want to emphasise that, indeed, it is important to pay attention to language, including references to gender, and also not to call people "aliens" as the law presently does. There are all the other things they've said, but I won't go into that.
I just want to clarify a few things, particularly for the DA, and maybe for Cope too. First of all, I don't understand when hon Mnqasela says that they don't support the part that says that a child who is born in South Africa and lives in South Africa until he reaches his majority has an option of becoming a South African citizen. Because at the moment there's nowhere we say unless it is 14 years or 16 years of age that we won't support it.
Why is it 18 years old? Eighteen years is the legal age of majority in this country. There must be logic in what we say. That's the reason why we chose 18 years, but that is not there in our law at the moment, so we are enabling those children to have that choice.
The second thing is that the Department of Home Affairs is the custodian of citizenship laws in the country. That is why it is under Home Affairs - I don't know what he wants it to be under. Let me just explain: If you get naturalisation and you then go to war and fight under a different flag, when this country has said, for whatever reasons, that it is against that war, it would mean you have made a choice. So why should we not take away your citizenship? I don't understand that argument.
We wrote the Constitution and I don't understand why it is unconstitutional, but if it has to be tested, really, we are not talking about your birthright, we are talking about somebody who is naturalised, who makes a choice and goes and carries a gun under the flag of another country. That's what we are talking about and that must be made very clear because we mustn't cause confusion.
I just want to clarify this for the DA because I don't want any misunderstandings. Today you've been a bit destructive. I thought you were the DA, Democratic Alliance not "destructive agency". Thank you. [Applause.] [Laughter.]