Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Speaker, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, and guests in the gallery, it has always been the view of the ANC that to fulfil people's aspirations and achieve human developmental needs, inclusivity in participation is very important. Throughout the 20th century, the ANC consciously fostered the unity of the broadest range of forces.
The democratic breakthrough in 1994 ushered in an age in which Parliament became an organ of the people's power and people's agenda. It is at this site of power that the aspirations of the masses in their diversity lay. The nonracial unity that we currently enjoy was forged in the crucible of the working class struggle.
I must say through the Chairperson to you, Speaker, that I think it would not be correct that we make it the custom for parties to have more time to speak. Parties must go out and get votes because we are here as people's reps. [Applause.] We are representing people in this Parliament. And, I believe, that the ANC got these votes, but we go out there ...
... elangeni sishe sibe mnyama, sihambe singene indlu nendlu, singene esontweni sithi: bantu votelani uKhongolose ngoba yilokhu azokwenza nani nikanye. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[.... and bask in the sun until we turn black, entering each and every household. We also enter the churches and say: people vote for the ANC because this is what it is going to do together with you.]
Hon Lance Greyling, you cannot get more time. Hon Singh, you cannot get more time and have this made the custom. Go out and get them so that you can be a representative of those people. [Applause.]
I think we have to consider that, and, I'm sure, take the time so that you have the courage to go out and get votes - so that then you can speak in terms of the minutes, that they are proportional. We are a unique Parliament. That is correct. Our Constitution is also unique. So, in that space I don't think it is a mistake. It will never be a mistake because it finds its roots in the Freedom Charter and the ANC - we are representatives when we give it. I mean, you must be happy for the ANC to give you time to speak.
But you must not then play with that time and try to score cheap political points, Lance Greyling. And we must be able then to make sure that as Parliament, we are representing those communities. I must ask, Speaker: could we get more allocations in terms of constituencies, because we have to go out and service these constituencies as the people's reps here in Parliament. [Applause.] When it comes to constituencies, we don't get a big enough budget to deal with that. So I hope, through yourself, the Deputy Speaker and the Secretary to Parliament, we can enjoy a better allocation in terms of constituencies because it is those people that we have to go back to and service and be able to tell what it is we are talking about.
I must say as well, in dealing with this issue, the democratic breakthrough that we are all the beneficiaries of today is embraced in terms of the democracy that the ANC-led government is pushing. In that regard, the aspirations of South Africans in their diversity, as contained in the Constitution, find their roots in the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter contains the vision that steers the ANC-led government's effort towards the creation of a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
The Constitution also stresses the principles of accountability, transparency and openness. We never saw these before 1994, I'm sorry to say. Before, things were swept under the carpet. You would hardly hear anything about what was happening from the government's side, but because of the ANC's policies and principles and a vision that we must make sure that we are transparent, people can also raise their views. We are much better off now.
In the same vein, I must say that public participation in parliamentary affairs is impacted upon by broader social and economic realities. I must say, Speaker, large sections of our communities - the Chief Whip referred to them in the rural areas - in peri-urban areas, townships and elsewhere, form the majority of people that come from the underdeveloped areas. The minority is well off and owns the means of livelihood to be able to fly down to Cape Town and come to the hearings and make sure that their views can be heard. They influence and shape what policy looks like. [Applause.] We must make sure that we put in more effort to ensure that those people that we represent can also have a chance; or we must look at a system that will allow us to go about things better, as we did with the police and the justice committees that were dealing with the Scorpions at the time. They went out to different provinces and met with the people. This is what a people's Parliament should look like and do. They were able to go out and get the people's views out there. It was much the same thing as the way in which we dealt with the Constitutional Assembly. We went out to communities, to rural places all over, and then we were able to come back and say, "Here is the product" after getting involved with those people.
Otherwise, our democracy will not be felt because those people will never get a chance to participate in this Parliament. Most of them cannot afford a flight and cannot afford accommodation at a five-star hotel or four-star hotel. So, surely we as the ANC endorse a people-centred approach in that it acknowledges the critical role of citizens because people are not passive beneficiaries or charity seekers of the government. As a developmental state, this is what we think a people's Parliament will have to do. And we must make sure that we can then deal with these challenges.
I think all of us agree here that we need more resources in terms of issues raised by other parties here. I must say to my colleague the hon Shilowa, I understand that regulations are part of an element that ensures that legislation can be implemented. You can say that there is a plethora of regulations.
At the time you were premier, you were doing the same thing with your MECs. So, I find it very strange that today, when you are in the opposition, you now say that these are not the right things. This is a mechanism that allows the legislation to be better processed and to be more accessible to many people. [Applause.] So, I'm sure with regard to that you would agree with me that there is a lot that this ANC-led government has done to make sure that we can amplify all of this. But the regulations play a key part in terms of legislative implementation. So, in that respect, I believe that we have to work together.
Parliament is a site of battle of ideas and contestation of opposing forces. It must deliver on its responsibilities towards the process of fundamental social and economic transformation. This will bring to fruition the aspirations of the masses.
With the impact of apartheid still visible socioeconomically in our communities, Parliament should be the mouthpiece of the weak and the vulnerable, especially women, the elderly and children. I must say that I am proud to be a member of the ANC, because we are the only party without legislation in place but which has more than 30% women representing other women and other forces here. [Applause.] And the youth ... [Interjections.] No, no, no.