Chairperson, this is what they call innovation! Some people sat here for 20 years without thinking of this. This is my pulpit and it is very easy to read from this.
Voorsitter, Ministers, agb Lede van die Parlement, ek gaan nie baie Engels praat nie. [Chairperson, Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, I am not going to be speaking much in English.]
Mr Minister, please listen to the interpretation. I am going to speak a lot of Afrikaans otherwise the interpreters do not have anything to do.
Die probleme van die Departement van Kommunikasie is veelvuldig. Die Minister het te veel s in die magte van al die entiteite en in die aanstelling van rade en die hoof uitvoerende beamptes. Dan weet niemand wie dra die broek in die departement nie. Om watter rede, agb Minister, het die direkteur-generaal gister uitlatings by die Internasionale Konferensie van die Statebond Uitsaai-vereniging gemaak? Die direkteur-generaal het die 1% belasbare bedrag wat die belastingbetalers op die offerkis van die regering moet plaas, te berde gebring.
Die rede vir die groot verwarring en onrustigheid in Suid-Afrika is die regering se onvermo om tussen twee woorde te onderskei, naamlik filosofie en ideologie. Dit veroorsaak ongemak in Suid-Afrika en dit is wat ons baie duidelik sien in al die staatsentiteite gebeur omdat daar nie behoorlike rigting is nie.
In bre terme beteken filosofie een ding en ideologie kan 'n ander gevolg h. Dit beteken dat die oorkoepelende organisasie, die ANC, een gedagte het, maar as gevolg van die ideologiese interpretasie van elk van die alliansievennote het ons vandag se gemors. Die alliansievennote van die regering interpreteer ideologie telkens anders. 'n Filosofie is 'n oorwo mening. Ideologie beteken die praktiese uitvoering van filosofie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The problems of the Department of Communications are multiple. The Minister has too much say in the authority of all the entities and in the appointment of boards and the chief executive officers. Consequently no one knows who is wearing the pants in the department. For what reason, hon Minister, did the director-general make statements at the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association General Conference yesterday? The director-general broached the subject of the 1% taxable amount that the taxpayers would have to add to the collection box of the government.
The reason for the immense confusion and uneasiness in South Africa is the government's inability to differentiate between two words, namely, philosophy and ideology. This causes uneasiness in South Africa and this is what we can clearly see happening in all the state entities, because there is no clear direction.
In general terms philosophy means one thing and ideology could have a different outcome. This means that the umbrella organisation, the ANC, has one idea but, as a result of the ideological interpretation by each of the alliance partners, we have today's mess. Time and again, the alliance partners of the government interpret ideology differently. A philosophy is a predominant opinion. Ideology means the practical execution of philosophy.]
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed a theory about ideology, and I quote from Leon P Baradat's book Political Ideologies:
They argue that rather than a science of ideas, ideology is nothing more than a fabrication used by a particular group of people to justify themselves. The concepts in ideology were completely subjective and they were used to justify the ruling class of society. Thus, the dominant political ideas or ideology of any society will always reflect the interest of the ruling class and, according to Marx and Engels, were based on incorrect interpretations of the nature of politics.
Karl Mannheim basically agreed with Marx's conclusion. Mannheim compared the ideology of one historical era to that of another, arguing that no ideology could be fully understood unless this historical relationship was clear. No ideology can be understood unless we grasp the ideas of the previous era and investigate the impact of the previous ideology on the current one.
Teen di agtergrond is dit belangrik om te let op die gekompliseerde, bykans hopelose toestand waarin vandag se ANC en regering hom bevind. 'n Paar holui-protagoniste glo in die brer beginsels van die ANC. Omrede ideologie op pragmatiese wyse neerslag vind in die uitvoering van die filosofiese denke op die mense via sy strukture, is daar kortsluitings wat telkens voorkom. Ons sien dit elke dag in die koerante, omdat wat in die brer filosofiese verband verkondig word, nie ideologies in die praktyk sy uitwerking het nie.
So sien ons elke dag die uitwerking van ideologie indien jy kyk na uitlatings van die ANC, Cosatu en die SA Kommunistiese Party - ook die ANC- jeugliga en dan ook party nommer vyf, naamlik Zanu-PF. Ja, Robert Mugabe speel ook 'n rol.
Ek praat met rede baie Afrikaans, soos ek netnou ges het. Ek wil tog nie h dat Suid-Afrika as 'n koloniale land gesien moet word nie, want dan het Cecil John Rhodes totaal geslaag in die verengelsing van ons pragtige land. Engels is nie eers 'n Afrika-taal nie. So, laat ons liewers in die toekoms isiZulu praat, mnr die Minister, of isiXhosa, of Setswana. Ek sal hard daaraan werk, maar laat ons net nie met mekaar Engels praat nie - dan mis ons die bus!
Ek wil net vir mnr Vadi s die persoon van Cope wat die party, die hele party, verlaat het, het gesien die skip is besig om te sink, toe spring hy vinnig. [Gelag.] En daar gaan nog baie wees wat vinnig spring.
Verder, oor die filosofiese en ideologiese, genadiglik het ons in Suid- Afrika 'n filosofiese onderbou waaroor almal saam besluit het, naamlik die Grondwet. Dit is die ding wat vir ons rigting gee in Suid-Afrika, maar hoe dit praktiese neerslag vind in die lewe van elk van ons gaan oor die ideologiese.
Ek wil vir u s die enigste ideologiese kampvegter van di filosofie is die DA. Die DA beskerm die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika absoluut. Ek weet mev Kilian wil opspring, maar Cope doen dit ook, en baie dankie ook vir die OD en almal wat meehelp om die Grondwet, die filosofiese denkraamwerk van Suid- Afrika, te beskerm, want as ons moes wag vir die ANC om die Grondwet te beskerm, het ons lankal die oorlog verloor. U kan gerus glimlag, mnr Vadi. Wie beskerm die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika? Nie die ANC nie.
Net om my gedagtes en ideologie by die debat tuis te bring, die probleme in die Departement van Kommunikasie is veelvuldig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Against this background it is important to take note of the complex, almost desperate situation the ANC and the government find themselves in today. A few elite protagonists believe in the broader principles of the ANC. Because ideology is manifested to the people in a pragmatic way, in the execution of the philosophical ideas via its structures, there are frequently short-circuits that occur. We see this everyday in the newspapers because that which is expounded in the broader philosophical context does not have that ideological impact in practice.
Thus, we see the impact of ideology everyday, when you take note of the utterances of the ANC, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party - also the ANC Youth League and also party number five, namely, ZANU-PF. Yes, Robert Mugabe also plays a role.
There is a reason why I am speaking so much Afrikaans, as I mentioned a moment ago. After all, I do not want South Africa to be perceived as a colonial country, because then Cecil John Rhodes would have been completely successful in the Anglicisation of our beautiful country. English isn't even an African language. Therefore, in future, let us rather speak isiZulu, Mr Minister, or isiXhosa, or Setswana. I will work hard at it, but let us not speak to each other in English - then we will be missing the bus!
I just want to say to Mr Vadi that the person from Cope who left the party, the party in its entirety, could see that ship was busy sinking, so he jumped quickly. [Laughter.] And there are still going to be many others who will be jumping quickly.
Furthermore, with regard to the philosophical and ideological, mercifully in South Africa we have a philosophical framework on which we have all decided together, namely, the Constitution. It is this that gives us direction in South Africa, but as to how it practically manifests itself in the lives of each one of us deals with the ideological. I would like to say to you that the only ideological champion of this philosophy is the DA. The DA protects the Constitution of South Africa absolutely. I know Mrs Kilian wants to jump up, but Cope does so as well, and a thank you too to the ID and all those who assist in protecting the Constitution, the philosophical conceptual framework of South Africa, because if we were to wait on the ANC to protect the Constitution we would have lost the war a long time ago. Please, go ahead and smile Mr Vadi. Who is protecting the Constitution of South Africa? Not the ANC.
Just to connect my thoughts and ideology to the debate, the problems in the Department of Communications are multiple.]