Thank you, Chairperson. Parliament should be at the forefront of societal education so as to build a conscious society that understands that the Constitution is supreme. The society we are building today arises from the ashes of a deeply divided past, characterised by strife, conflict, untold human suffering and injustice, in which participation in political, economic and social life was based on race. In order to fulfil the aspirations and ideals of all South Africans, Parliament must be at the forefront of rallying all to a common national agenda, which is a job for everyone who is elected here because we have a responsibility from the people who elected us to represent them here in Parliament.
The democratic Parliament derives its character from fulfilling these tasks - the ideals and aspirations of the masses. The tasks that Parliament is facing and continues to be confronted with are similar to those that the country has to resolve. We believe that through the ANC-led government, with everything that we inherited in 1994, we are able to make sure that the people really can govern, and that the people are part and parcel of our parliamentary process. I hope that we will be able to increase that and, as we move forward, that we are able then to make sure that we don't forget the role of our people, their participation, from time to time. I must thank the people for being part of this and for making sure that we are all of one mind.
Kaofela ha rona ha re le mona, re na le boikarabelo. Re ka ba le ho se dumellane ho dintho tseo re di etsang, empa qetellong batho ba re kgethileng ho tla mona, ba batla tswelopele le hore tlala e fele. Ha ho na hore o wa mokgatlo ofe, kaofela re tshwanetse ho sebedisana mmoho le mmuso wa ANC, hobane o na le tjhebelopele e tjhatsi. O na le tjhebelopele e shebang hore na batho ba ka ithusa jwang ha mmuso le wona o ba thusa. Ke tshepa hore Palamente ena ha e tswela pele e lokela ho bona mathata a jwalo.
Motsamaisi wa Dipuisano, haholo ke kopa hore re leke ho kenyelletsa batho mekgatlong ena le ho ba mema hore ba tle mona, empa re leke ho fetola tsela eo re sebetsang ka yona ho isa Palamente bathong. Re se ke ra dulela ho bua Sekgowa se seholo sa Harvard University ya Massachusetts, ha se sona se tla lokisa hore batho ba rona e be karolo ya puso. Ha re yeng re bue le bona mme ba tla utlwisisa, ba kgone ho tswela pele mmoho le rona. Ke a leboha. [Mahofi.] (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows)
[All of us here have a responsibility. We may differ on how we do things but at the end, the people who elected us want development and they also want hunger to be eradicated. It does not matter which party you belong to, all of us must work together with the ANC government because it has a vision on how people can help themselves in addition to government's help. I hope that as we go forward, this Parliament will look at such problems.
Speaker, I request that we should try to include people in these organisations and also invite them to come here; but we must try to change the manner in which we take Parliament to the people. We must stop speaking complicated language from Harvard University of Massachusetts, because it is not what will make people to be part of us. Let us go and talk to them. They will understand and be able to accompany us on our way forward. Thank you. [Applause.]]