Hon Speaker, hon members and distinguished guests, President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma ...
... wena mfokaMsholozi, Nxamalala ... [Ihlombe.] ... kaPhum' epheth' inyama ngapha namasi ngapha, siyakuhalalisela ngokukhethwa kwakho Msholozi.
Mina neqembu engiliholayo i-Democratic Alliance siyalihlonipha ihhovisi lakho, futhi singathanda kakhulu uma ingxenye yeqembu eliphikisayo kanye nabalandeli abayizigidi ezinthathu abalikhethile nabo bahlonishwe. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[... wena mfokaMsholozi, Nxamalala ... [Applause.] ... kaPhum' epheth' inyama ngapha namasi ngapha, we congratulate you on being elected, Msholozi!
My party, the Democratic Alliance, and I highly respect your office, and would appreciate it very much if the side of the opposition party and the three million supporters who elected it are respected too.]
Mr President, you reminded us at your inauguration that this fourth democratic term of office is a moment of national renewal. You committed yourself and this Parliament to the historic undertaking by President Mandela that never, never and never again would this land experience the oppression of one by another.
You referred to the spirit of reconciliation that shone so brightly through the, regrettably, all too brief window of national pride during the late 1990s. The window is still there. All we need to do is draw back the dark drapings that have shut out the light in the past decade. This is a task that we are all surely up to.
Yesterday we were treated to the powerful words of two patriotic poets that provided us with soul food. We, the privileged few of this Parliament, must take care of our national thread.
You committed yourself to this in Pretoria. You said:
I commit myself to the service of the nation, with dedication, commitment, discipline, integrity, hard work and passion.
I, too, commit myself and my 66 colleagues in the National Assembly and my 10 colleagues in the NCOP to do the same.
Your state of the nation address was indeed positive. We need to be positive in these difficult times, but we need to be realistic and honest about the economic realities too. We have no choice in this regard because the people of this country have become disillusioned by what we do or don't do here.
If we do not change the way we do things, we might hear from the people of this country what the parliament of Oliver Cromwell heard from him when he put their term of office to end in 1653. Cromwell said that those representatives had dishonoured the parliament by their contempt of all virtue and practice of every vice. He said, and I quote:
You have grown intolerably odious to the whole nation. You were deputed here by the people to get grievances redressed, yet yourselves have become the greatest grievances and enemies to all good government.
Mr President, your international undertaking to hold ourselves to the highest standards of service, probity and integrity and to build a society that prizes excellence, rewards effort and shuns laziness and incompetence, is the clarion call that our nation so desperately needs and deserves to hear.
The challenge, however, is not only to speak these fine words, as you did yesterday, but to ensure that they translate into fine actions. There are immediate concerns that this noble intent is being undermined right here in the parliamentary committees by the appointment of people to positions of public authority who obviously do not espouse these values, people who have actually defrauded Parliament. The ANC will have to consider whether these appointments are in accordance with your public blueprint for national renewal and the call to arms against the cancer of corruption that is ravaging this country. [Applause.]
The DA commits itself to the proposed partnership for reconstruction, development and progress that you spoke of, sir, because you said that in this partnership there is a place for all South Africans, black and white. I found it significant that you made no differentiation between the languages they speak or their ethnicity; this is the essence of a true, successful rainbow nation.
The party that I represent here is a party for all South Africans, and we have promised our almost 3 million voters that we will contribute to building one nation with one future. Therefore, if you mean what you say, we can be partners in building this country into a prosperous nation.
As jy kyk hoe ons, as die DA, hier lyk, sal jy besef dat ons 'n weerspieling van ons bevolking is, en, nog meer, dat ons almal Suid- Afrikaners in murg en been is. Ons verteenwoordig nie kolonialiste of uitgeweke Suid-Afrikaners nie. U of die ANC kan ons nie wegwens nie, want ons is kinders van die stof van die vasteland van Afrika. Ons het nie 'n ander heenkome nie. Suid-Afrika is ons tuisland en ons wil en sal tot haar vooruitgang bydra deur ons rol as die amptelike Opposisie in die Parlement. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[If one takes a look at our appearance here, as the DA, one must realise that we are a reflection of our population and, moreover, that we are all South Africans through and through. We do not represent colonists or emigrant South Africans. Neither you nor the ANC can wish us away, because we are children of the soil of the African continent. We have no other refuge. South Africa is our homeland and we are determined to contribute to her progress through our role as the official opposition in Parliament.]
Professor George Devenish recently said:
A responsible opposition is as necessary to the proper functioning of parliamentary democracy as is a responsible government. It simply requires political maturity to recognise this fact.
Personally, hon President, I am South African to my core. The bookcase in my office proudly accommodates my grandfather's Hansard records of his contribution in this Parliament, and they have found their way back to Parliament more than half a century later. I come from a family that has served this country and also paid the ultimate price over generations. My family and I remain committed to this cycle of service, motivated by proud patriotism and a deep love for this country. So are my colleagues. [Applause.]
Mr President, I appreciate the way you welcomed our party's leader, Premier Helen Zille, to your Cabinet lekgotla. You have done what you committed yourself to doing at your inauguration on 9 May, where you said that you would -
... seek a vibrant, dynamic partnership that is enriched by democratic debate, that values diverse views and accommodates dissent.
This example will, hopefully, eventually reach the ANC representatives in the Western Cape legislature and their alliance partners too.
Amalungu e-ANC apha eKapa awonwabanga, ingakumbi la ahleli kweli cala lasekhohlo. Kambe ke aza kude aliqhele eli cala. [The ANC members here in Cape Town are not happy, especially the ones who are sitting on the left- hand side. Be that as it may, they will become accustomed to it.]
The DA is accustomed to sitting on the left-hand side of the House - here and in most provinces - but all opposition parties aspire to occupy the benches that you and your party occupy. We have now achieved this in the Western Cape and plan to do so here too. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
We will not be spectators or passive participants in this House. We will hold you to account on your electoral and manifesto promises. We will play an even more vigilant oversight role, but will always offer alternate views and advice in the best interests of the country, in this regard. The role of the planning and monitoring commissions, with regard to performance evaluation of the Cabinet, will be closely watched. I hope this evaluation will be implemented better than the evaluation under the Public Finance Management Act and Municipal Finance Management Act that are also performance-related.
Speaking of that, it is now more important than ever that we recognise the full extent of the international recession and the fact that we are firmly gripped therein. We must begin to isolate the opportunities for South Africa in this global predicament. Many skilled people who left our shores are returning. We must harvest their skills and place them in the vacant critical posts of the Public Service in order to improve service delivery.
For far too long now, too many parents in this country have encouraged their children to attain a worldly education so as to be globally mobile; the truth is that the pastures are not greener on the other side. We must encourage our family members and friends to contribute to the development of South Africa and Africa. This is a place of enormous opportunity, but we will only succeed if our children and grandchildren become teachers, doctors, nurses, policemen, detectives, transport specialists, engineers, scientists and telecommunication experts, with a view to applying these skills to the advantage of a neglected continent and a developing country.
The 2010 Soccer World Cup, hon President, will be a success. To the amazement of the entire world, we showed that we could host the Indian Professional League T20 tournament. The tournament could not be hosted in India, because of their fractious elections, so we hosted it in South Africa, with three weeks' notice, during our peaceful election. [Applause.] We cannot allow this golden opportunity to showcase our wonderful country to the world to be jeopardised by self-serving parochial protestations.
When we come out of this cycle of recession, the focus of the developed world will become fixed on Africa, and South Africa in particular, as we are the gateway to a continent blessed in abundance with the natural resources that are in such short supply elsewhere. This will be our springboard to unprecedented economic growth and prosperity, if we are appropriately prepared.
Op die oomblik het u, mnr die President, twee dinge in gemeen met die president van die Verenigde State, president Barack Obama. Julle is albei onlangs verkies en julle moet albei die gevolge van 'n resessie hanteer en oorkom. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Currently you, Mr President, have two things in common with the President of the United States, President Barack Obama. You were both recently elected and both of you have to deal with and overcome the effects of a recession.]
This might not be the best time to become a president, but many of the greatest in history have emerged from similar adversity. I hope, for our country's sake, that your name will be added to the illustrious list of successful post-recessionary presidents. Remember though, at this time, that it is the poor that need more attention and that depend more on effective and efficient service delivery. The ANC's cadre deployment policies have compromised service delivery standards and need, for the good of the country, to be reconsidered.
What will also make things more difficult for you than for President Obama, is the dichotomous composition of your Cabinet and party. This is going to prove extremely difficult to handle, especially with regard to your macroeconomic approach in dealing with economic growth and the creation of decent jobs. A decent job is not one created by an Expanded Public Works Programme that, incidentally, abuses most labour legislation and takes people out of penury for a short while, while they dig a trench from point A to B, only to be plunged back into having to illuminate their homes again by candlelight or paraffin lamp after they had become accustomed to flicking a switch on a wall.
Your welcome reference to reducing bureaucratic red tape restrictions in order to allow for easier licensing and registration of SMMEs is good news, but you neglected to tell us what you are going to do with the most inhibiting factor in this regard, which is restrictive labour legislation.
Die SAKP-leier en Minister van Hor Onderwys, dr Blade Nzimande, het byvoorbeeld onlangs onomwonde ges dat wat Suid-Afrika nodig het, is 'n sosialistiese ekonomiese beleidsraamwerk. Hy het verder gegaan en ges dat die ANC nie langer die belange van sy linkse alliansievennote kan ignoreer, of toegelaat gaan word om dit te doen nie.
Mnr Heinrich Wyngaard van Die Burger het heeltemal korrek opgemerk dat dit sterk woorde is van die nuut bemagtigde linkervleuel wat kennis gee dat hulle die dividend vir hul aandeel aan u verkiesing soek. Ons gaan die saak fyn dophou om te sien hoe hierdie tweeledigheid ontvou. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The SACP leader and Minister of Higher Education, Dr Blade Nzimande, for instance, recently stated unequivocally that what South Africa needs is a socialist economic policy framework. He went on to say that the ANC can no longer ignore the interests of its leftist alliance partners, nor would it be allowed to do so.
Mr Heinrich Wyngaard of Die Burger has remarked quite correctly that these are strong words from the newly empowered left wing, who are giving notice that they want the dividend for their contribution to your election. We shall be watching carefully to see how this duality unfolds.]
Your duty is to serve the country and not the SA Communist Party nor the ANC Youth League. [Applause.] What is more, you cannot afford their socialist agenda. With the constricting economy, tax revenues will decrease drastically, and your expensive plans of infrastructure spending, Expanded Public Works Programmes and additional social grants can only come from greater deficits, which is ultimately irresponsible in this economic climate.
The economic realities of this country are going to determine much of what we do over the next five years, and the ANC and its socialist tripartite alliance members would do well to recognise that our population estimates are way off the mark. This has a direct impact on the planning and provision of social services such as hospitals, housing, education and social security. The situation will have to be dealt with much more effectively and efficiently by the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation - and corruption is endemic in these departments. However, this fact also directly affects the Departments of Police, Justice and Constitutional Development, State Security, Transport, Tourism and Trade and Industry. South Africa is the destination of choice for African immigrants, and we need to be properly geared to deal effectively with the consequences of these migration patterns. Mr President, much has been said about the olive branch you have extended to the opposition - and I heard you do so again yesterday.
Kodwa ndifuna ukuthi, eli sebe andikaliboni mna. Ndibone abanye bephiwa amagqabi kwisebe loMnquma, kodwa ndicinga ukuba xa sibheka phambili siza kude silibone eli sebe. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[I beg to differ, I have not seen this branch. I have seen some people being given leaves from the branch of the olive tree, but I think if we move forward we will eventually see the branch.]
It is a source of great concern to the DA to be called "secessionist". I know, hon President, that it is convention not to be too controversial in a maiden speech. But this is the part I want you to pay special attention to. It is a source of great concern for the DA to be called "secessionist" by none other than former Deputy President Baleka Mbete. It is also unacceptable that the Chief Whip of the ANC in the NCOP can say the following about the Premier of the Western Cape, and I quote:
I want to say, Chair, and of course, hon Chief Justice, that I am not a racist. If she wants to lead her race, she has the right to do so. She has won the race to lead, but not the people of my province. This is my home, and she has to be very serious when she leads the people of this province. My question is: Who is "our people", and who is not serious? This was said without rebuke from the Chair of the NCOP, the ANC or the media. No one in the DA here or elsewhere has ever uttered such racist drivel about the ANC electoral victory or indeed your appointment, sir. Neither have we called people witches or lesbians with a designed intent to malign and foster homophobic or genocidal emotions. We have not called any elected representatives an enemy of the state, nor threatened to make anywhere ungovernable. This kind of rhetoric has no place in our society, less so in our Parliament. [Applause.]
I hope, hon President, that this debate will set the tone for this term of office, so that we can concentrate on the seminal issues that challenge our nation's prosperity. Incidentally, for the Chief Whip of the ANC in the NCOP, the DA will be a government for all the people of the Western Cape. This Parliament will have to rise to the occasion.
Soos u gister ges het, mnr die President, ons sal mekaar se hande moet vat in die gees van 'n Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap as di 'n periode van hernuwing gaan wees. Baie dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[As you were saying yesterday, Mr President, we'll have to join hands in the spirit of a South African society if this is to be a period of renewal. Thank you very much. [Applause.]]