Chairperson, Mr Speaker, comrades and hon members, may I state from the start the APC's support for the budget. Parliament's key responsibility is to make laws and oversee executive action. At the beginning, which was in 1994, there was a necessary focus on lawmaking to transform our country into a nonracial and nonsexist democracy.
Progressively, the shift, especially in this fourth Parliament, has been to focus on the very important aspect of oversight. Clearly the space and energy is there to hold the executive accountable, but there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of focus, depth and impact. Parliament has a responsibility to empower or capacitate its committees, and committee members have an obligation to do their work diligently.
Yes, the executive accounts to Parliament. But this does require a restatement that indicates that this is both a political and constitutional mandate and not a matter of personal preference. Poorly capacitated committees render oversight a mere formality without a mutual enlightenment that enhances the quality of service delivery. The executive has the responsibility to ensure that the information brought to Parliament is qualitative, accurate and timeous. That is, officials should not come before committees ill-prepared and also mislead Members of Parliament, and annual reports must not have inaccurate data and facts and that they should be submitted in time. The APC is raising these issues because in the past financial year we have seen officials coming unprepared and having to be sent back, officials blatantly misleading members, and Parliament receiving annual reports without cause very late or not receiving them at all. Oversight over the executive is an indispensable necessity that must be done without fear, favour or prejudice and committees must not be seen to be currying favours with the executive at the expense of robust oversight.
Parliament's support for committees has been tardy. Sometimes there is a pedestrian approach to attending to committee challenges. Committees are the engines of Parliament. Let us hope that beginning with the new increase in the allocation of committees, there will be changes for the better. Certainly there are visible improvements, but much more still needs to be done.
As Parliament we represent our people. Their hopes and dreams for a better life are, in some way, dependent on our work. This is a people's Parliament. Let the needs and concerns of our people be at the centre of our work. The APC is steadfast in its commitment to work for a society that is democratic in form, nonracial in character and socialistic in content. I thank you. [Applause.]