Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, fellow members, representatives from government entities, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived under the sun to the somehow gloomy eclipse of human civilisation. This is the description of a department that is riddled with kwashiorkor. The kwashiorkor has been described appropriately by the Minister, the chairperson and the Deputy Minister. Obviously, the DA has somehow come up with some solutions. [Interjections.] And I'm delighted that hon Terblanche has actually given advice on how we can tackle these and many other problems.
I have invited to the gallery Mr Conrad Tamprecht, who witnessed some of the atrocities and, in the main, anomalies that we saw in the Nyanga refugee centre. I must say that the DA welcomes with both sadness and delight the news that Judge Owen Rogers has decided to shut down the refugee centre. Now the challenge is whether or not we will be able to administer the services that we have been administering from that centre. The Minister must help provide political leadership.
This is a challenge, because if we discontinue the services provided to the refugees serviced by that centre, they are not going to get those services. If we continue under the current circumstances, the businesses there will shut down and leave that area. That will not be good for the environment given the economic crisis that we face.
This brings me to my next point that if we, as the portfolio committee, do not play our role properly, many of the challenges that the Minister has raised will be very difficult to manage. The Deputy Minister tried to piggyback on some of the issues, such the Who am I online project. Minister, the question before you around this project needs urgent answers, and I am hoping that those answers will be forthcoming.
There has been very good emphasis by many hon members on the many programmes of the department, such as immigration, public services, state entities, to mention but a few. I must acknowledge that if one talks about service, when members of the public walk into an office they must not feel that they have to beg to get these services. They also must not feel that it is compulsory to follow some of the bad practices such as paying a bribe in order to get a service.
Corruption, fraud and maladministration seem to be a priority for this government. From the DA's point of view, we acknowledge that and we applaud such an approach, but we will watch you very closely. It takes more than just saying it. [Interjections.] We need action, action and action.
Uyicacisa njani into yokuthengiswa kweencwadi zezazisi, amaphepha abaphambukeli asemthethweni kunye neziqinisekiso zokuzalwa? Uyibeka njani ebantwini beli lizwe into yokuba bahambe baye kuthenga izinto ezinje? (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[How do you explain the illegal selling of identity documents, legal refugee permits and birth certificates? How do you tell people of this country to go and buy things like these?]
How do you explain that to the nation?
Ukuba nencwadi yesazisi kulilungelo lomntu eliqhelekileyo, ayilolungelo likhethekileyo. Ndifuna ke sazi ukuba uMgaqo-siseko weli lizwe uyayicacisa loo nto. Nawe lungu elihloniphekileyo, nokuba ukweliphi icala leNdlu, ukuze ukhusele abantu benqila yakho yovoto, masincedisaneni singavumi ukuxhasa izinto ezinje. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[To have an identity document is a right and not a privilege. I want us to know that the Constitution of this country affirms that. Hon members, it doesn't matter which party you belong to, let us work together and condemn these acts in order to protect the people in your constituency.]
Last year we saw the emergence of xenophobic attacks and much has been said about them. We also need to ask questions, such as: Why are these attacks directed at the brothers and sisters from our diaspora? These forms of attack are looming again, according to reports in the Cape Argus yesterday, and we need to do something very urgently.
Hon Minister and all the members who are heckling there, it takes more than heckling. I invite you to go and read that newspaper, and visit abantu baseGugulethu [the people of Gugulethu]. [Interjections.] Go to Du Noon; go to Khayelitsha; go to Diepsloot and Alexandra. Hon members seem to be very comfortable sitting in this lavish environment, driving expensive cars and not going to their constituencies. Now, again I invite them to go to Du Noon. They must also go to Gugulethu and Delft. They will see the people who come from other countries, especially the Somalians, because of their ability to run businesses, their entrepreneurship skills and so forth. Thank you very much. [Time expired.]