Chairperson, hon Speaker, when any politician or Member of Parliament gets onto this podium and starts off by saying "we are the only party that does this and we are the only party that does that", then alarms should go off, and we should realise that.
At the time of this debate, 20% of the duration of the fourth Parliament has already expired. I know that the hon Chief Whip of the ANC - the ruling party - feels very strongly that this is the fourth Parliament, and things will be done differently, and that it will not be business as usual. However, it is all about perceptions. The public and even some sections of the media draw no distinction between the first, second, third or fourth Parliament. To them Parliament is Parliament. They associate Parliament with politicians and their general perception of politicians is unfortunately rather negative. There is a massive challenge to all of us to rehabilitate the image of politicians, as well as that of Parliament.
The hon Chief Whip of the ANC said today, and I quote:
We must ensure that Parliament is respected by our respective constituencies, be that on the side of government or the opposition.
I agree with that; it is absolutely correct. However, if a point of order, which is not actually a point of order, is put on the agenda - the one which was raised by the hon Chauke just now - then it tends to give people the perception that we are not to be taken seriously. Mr Chauke knew very well that it was not a point of order he was raising, but that he was trying to score a cheap political point.
How do we get the respect of the people out there? This won't happen automatically. So, how do we do it? The fourth Parliament must be relevant. Are we relevant and topical? I don't think so. All emphasis is on oversight at the moment, and I understand that. But the Constitution clearly says that the NA is elected to represent the people and the NCOP is selected to represent provinces. Section 42(3) of the Constitution stipulates that we should represent the people by providing a national forum for public consideration of issues. I think it is in this terrain that we miserably fail. Die Parlement word nie gebruik as 'n platform waar die belangrike sake van die dag, wat in die harte van die mense daarbuite is, gedebateer, in diepte bespreek, tot 'n punt gevoer, oor gestoei en antwoorde voor gesoek word nie. Ons mis daardie geleenthede.
Die Parlement moet verstaan dat ons, ingevolge die Grondwet, op dieselfde vlak as die regsprekende gesag en die uitvoerende gesag is. Ons is nie ondergeskik aan die uitvoerende gesag nie. Ons is ook nie ondergeskik aan die regsprekende gesag nie. Volgens die Grondwet is daardie drie bene van die staatsgesag gelyk, en ons moet ons rol volledig daarin speel. Ons moet dit elke dag doen. Die Parlement moet nie probeer om ten opsigte van politieke standpunte wat deur partye voorgestaan word, noodwendig oor die regerende party, ... [Tyd verstreke.] Die VF Plus sal die Begrotingspos steun. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Parliament is not being used as a forum where the important business of the day, which people out there are passionate about, is debated, discussed in depth, brought to a head, engaged with and for which answers are sought. We miss those opportunities.
Parliament must realise that we are, in terms of the Constitution, on a par with the judicial and the executive authority. We are not subordinate to the executive authority. We are also not subordinate to the judicial authority. In terms of the Constitution these three tiers of government are equal, and we must participate fully therein. We have to do this every day. Parliament should not try to, with regard to the political views of some parties, necessarily about the ruling party ... [Time expired.] The FF Plus will support the Budget Vote.]