Madam Deputy Speaker, I strongly resist going biblical as that is very slippery ground. I'll stay with an outstanding South African leader, Professor Njabulo Ndebele, who had a piece in The Sunday Times dated 7 February 2010, in which he marked the 20 years of freedom for uTata Nelson Mandela. The piece was titled, "The long walk remains." I quote:
South Africa desperately needs new politics in which the actors understand the full implications of abundant new opportunities for the people to rediscover one another and to build the country. Today we know that the diversity in thinking is a national asset.
This country cries out for true leadership that will help us realise these benefits; leadership which will put South Africa first in all of its actions.
The former United States Secretary of State, General Colin Powell, in his primer on the subject said:
Good leadership involves responsibility to the welfare of the group, which means that some people will get angry at your actions and decisions. It's inevitable if you are honourable. Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity; you'll avoid the tough decisions; and you'll not confront the people who need to be confronted.
Former President Nelson Mandela, manifested the requisite leadership qualities and led this country from the front. We miss that bold, visionary, compassionate, inclusive, unifying and moral leadership.
The country demands upstanding leaders to secure the future of our young democracy. Our faltering and underperforming parastatals, many of them currently without chief executive officers, yearn for quality leadership. Such leadership can put Eskom, the avaricious energy monopoly, back on track and secure our electricity future without the nation paying an arm and a leg for energy.
This is critical as the nation fearfully awaits the decision of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, Nersa, regarding Eskom's latest application for a tariff increase of 35% a year for three years. We appeal to Nersa to exercise responsible leadership in this regard. The regulator must put the interests of South Africa above those of Eskom to dispel the widely held view that they do the bidding of Eskom. A bad decision will spell serious trouble for the country's economy which is already hard- pressed; and more misery for the poor.
It is, therefore, very important that we take special care when we fill the critical leadership positions at Eskom and the other state- owned enterprises. The people who are appointed must be fit for the purpose, competent and serve those entities in the best interests of the country. Let us, please, keep party politics out of the selection process.
In this regard, Speaker, it would add insult to injury for the people of this country if the state were to pay Mr Jacob Maroga one red cent following his resignation from Eskom. He failed the nation and he doesn't deserve what he is asking for. If the state does that, the people will not forget.
We thus hope that the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Energy will be goal- orientated, that it will fast-track results and not be a further stumbling block to the entry of independent power producers onto our energy market. This is taking too long to happen; we need action, now.
To get results calls for a Powell brand of leadership. Regrettably, what the people get from leadership these days are huge doses of promises, bluster, fudge, sophistry, denial and Orwellian-speak, in which wrong is right and conflicts of interest are pooh-poohed. This is the failure of leadership. Saying sorry does not make it right. The ANC, Chancellor House, Hitachi, Eskom and Nexus fall into this category.
Earlier, I referred to the nation's fearful state regarding the outcome of Eskom's request to Nersa. There is, however, another pervasive fear in our land: the fear of being mugged, brutalised, raped or even murdered in our own homes.
The eradication of this national plague demands decisive leadership and action. I know that in this regard I'm speaking for many people in this House and country. Crime is slowly but surely strangling our nation. The President has declared 2010 as the year of action. He mustn't stop there. Results will come only when inaction is followed by serious consequences.
General Powell reminds us of the following:
Strategy equals execution. All the great visions and ideas in the world are worthless if they can't be implemented rapidly and efficiently.
[Time expired.] [Applause.]