Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, members of the Republic of South Africa at large, dignitaries and patriots, we greet you all in this debate on Defence and Military Veterans, Budget Vote No 21. We want to say upfront that we support this Budget Vote. We really do as the ANC, and a number of other political parties have said so, too. This is a sign to say that when it comes to defence, everybody is a South African. We are thankful for that.
I also want to echo upfront what the hon Ndlovu expressed appreciation for, that is recognition of the successful, co-ordinated multidisciplinary approach that was shown by all the Ministers, everybody involved - neighbours, members abroad - to solving what happened in Sudan. We really appreciate these co-ordinated efforts.
For the first time after the 1994 elections, the true nonracial, nonsexist, democratic South African national recruits were openly shown on SA Broadcasting Corporation television bidding farewell to their parents, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, etc, for the purpose of going and joining this dignified call.
These recruits were no longer singing: "Saphuma sangena kwamanye amazwe, lapho kungazi khona ubaba nomama, silandela inkululeko. [We went in and out of other countries, where our fathers and mothers did not know, looking for freedom.] No, they were saying that they were joining to protect the freedoms that have been won by their forefathers, our sisters, our brothers. That was the first sign of a practical transformation during our lifetime. We congratulate those parents, those hon South Africans.
This time their mothers knew exactly where their kids were going. Those hugs and tears were not tears of pain, but tears of joy on having to go forward to do what we are debating about. Therefore, this budget has to take all those things into consideration. You could see the type of parents who were there. They were not from wherever; they are from here. This was the real proof of transformation.
The significance of these recruits in their numbers, most of them being young, is that it was only a few months after the march to the Union Buildings. The doubters of revolution in action had already given up on this department. It will always be like this when the country begins to be governed by the people for their own country to benefit both men and women and the generations come.
The committee is here requesting all of you listening to pass on the message if needs be, analyse it in your own structures including your own family structures, with the full understanding that the SA National Defence Force is not a liability, but a huge national asset for centuries to come.
Today we will help you to understand even better why we say that the SANDF is a national asset and why we request you to support it. From this point onwards, please link the budget for the SANDF with the following important realities, amongst other things: We need to go home and ask ourselves what it is that we are defending; we need to know - as patriots and as South Africans - why we are defending what we say we are defending; we need to know how much it takes to defend what we are defending, both in terms of equipment and apparatus as well as in terms of the human resources needed to defend successfully.
The hon Tolo said it, and the hon Holomisa emphasised it in a much simpler way. The hon Minister confirmed this. So, we cannot say that these are not our constituents, because this is Parliament and we still need to go out and help people in our constituencies to understand what we are here for.
In trying to link these areas with the budget, it is of great importance to always keep in mind that this department is not dealing with markets of different monetary systems. Rather, it is a unique department dealing with the lives of the citizens of South Africa, of the Southern African Development Community, of the African Union, and of the United Nations. We saw what happened in Sudan. I have spoken about that.
The point we must never forget is that the total wellness of SANDF members has to be a priority when support for this budget is sought. You cannot count it; it is not like paying an amount, say R5, for milk. The wellness of the SANDF should be seen when a member of the defence walks by. You should feel it: that the person who walked by is healthy.
We need money for that to be the case. How long will a healthy African member of the National Defence Force last? We need to know. The Budget Vote is for a certain number of years; say, from one to five years. This then begins to tell you how long this person will live. How much will she or he be able to share and impart of the knowledge he or she gained to the next generation? Hence, there is the importance of the military veteran, hon Minister. Such a budget will enable us to believe, practically, as should be the case, what Fidel Castro said one day when addressing intellectuals like you: The revolution has the right to exist, the right to develop and the right to succeed. And the right to be helped sometimes here in South Africa.
Our budget therefore has to cover and consider this existence and this development, as well as cover the right of it to succeed. The Minister of Defence, in July 2009 in her budget speech, made an important note about the issue of economy. She said:
In rethinking our role in the economy, we would like to provide training for essential skills in the economy. We believe we can play a pivotal role in providing the bulk of this. In any country, the defence force is an equal-opportunity institution where young people are given skills. We want to inject that into our society, because we have huge skills training capabilities and have tested this through our Military Skills Training Programme.
The above quote needs our sharp monitoring and recognition of the fact that the SANDF is not a liability, but an asset. We have a number of divisions. I want to allow my Minister to talk so I will give her two more minutes.
For now, I will continue. With regard to all these divisions ... There are those of us who read the Bible. I also read the Koran because it is important to know all these things. This Parliament is full of Ministers; most of them men. It is said somewhere in the Bible, with regard to ministers of religion:
"... yizwani-ke nina umfanekiso womhlwanyeli. Yilowo nalowo olizwa izwi lombuso engaliqondi ufikelwa ngomubi ohlwithayo ohlwanyelwe ngasendleleni. Yilowo nalowo olizwa izwi lombuso engaliqondi ufikelwa ngomubi ohlwitha okuhlwanyelwe enhlizweni yakhe. Yilowo ohlwanyelwe ngasendleleni. Ohlwanyelwe edwaleni nguye olizwa izwi, alamukele masinyane ngokuthokoza, kepha kanampande phakathi kwakhe, kodwa uhlala isikhashana nje, kuthi sekuvele ukuhlupheka nokuzingelwa ngenxa yezwi, akhubeke masinyane." Futhi- ke ohlwanyelwe emeveni nguye olizwa izwi, kepha iminako yalesisikhathi nokukhohlisa kwengcebo kuminyanisa izwi, abe ngongatheliyo. Kepha ohlwanyelwe emhlabathini omuhle nguye olizwa izwi, aliqonde, athele impela isithelo, omunye aveze ngekhulu, omunye ngamashumi ayisithupha, omunye ngamashumi amathathu.
Sesinitshelile ama-divisions alomnyango ukuthi yimaphi ngakho-ke asiphumi nje kohlwanyela uma sicela isabelomali, sicela isabelomali yalezizinto esenizwile kanye nalezo esingazibalanga. Ngizoma lapho ngoba ngifuna ukuthi uNgqongqoshe wami akhulume. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
["Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who procudes a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. We have told you which divisions belong to this department, therefore we do not just go and spend the money when we request the budget allocation; we request that these things we have mentioned and those that we have not mentioned be budgeted for. I will pause there, because I want my Minister to respond.]
I want to say: let's not confuse the Constitution with being yes men - "Yes, man", "No, man", "Yes, ma". No; the Constitution is clear. I want to share the following with you because it was in my prose. I can't remember the name of the author of the book A Man For All Seasons - it was stolen a long time ago by these people - but it says:
There are those ... who follow me because I wear the crown ... there's a mass that follows me because it follows anything that moves. And then there's you.
Sir Thomas was very brave and was an enemy of men, but his major enemy had to say, "And there is you, Sir Thomas." Hon Minister, respect those who you think are Sir Thomas, because they won't lead you into chaos. We support your budget again. Thank you very much. [Applause.]