Hon Speaker Xhamela, your Excellency the President Nxamalala, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and hon members, the people have spoken through the results of the last elections, last month, although there has been electoral fraud, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. [Interjections.] In spite of its extensive nature, one cannot detract from the fact that the people have spoken and that the President has received a powerful mandate to govern. I am therefore not rising to oppose the President or his government, but to offer my counsel and admonition.
I do not do so because I feel I am wiser than anyone else in the House. It is true that I may be the only one in this House, apart from my brother Andrew Mlangeni, who has interacted with heads of government of South Africa from Prime Minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd to Prime Minister Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom, Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster, President Pieter Wilhelm Botha, President Frederik Willem de Klerk, President Mandela, President Mbeki and President Motlanthe, all of whom I have seen rise to power and relinquish office. I have known and personally interacted with great leaders in the ANC, also its founder Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, who was my uncle. From my childhood I knew the first president of the ANC, Rev John Langalibalele Dube. I knew Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma and I had the privilege of having dinner in his home in Toby Street in Sophiatown with him and his wife, Madie Hall Xuma. I knew President James Moroka, and one of my mentors was none other than Inkosi Albert Mvumbi Luthuli.
I knew and worked with Mr Oliver Tambo until 1979, a fact which was confirmed at this podium by none other than President Mbeki in your presence. I have known President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela over 60 years, and I had the privilege of being one of his Ministers. I have known President Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki and I was one of his Ministers for five years. I have known President J G Zuma for quite a few decades, and we worked together in President Mbeki's Cabinet.
But, hon Speaker, I do not speak from the strength of this experience. Today I am speaking with the confidence of a newfound sense of freedom. Throughout my life, history compelled me to balance conflicting interests in my contribution to public life. Before liberation, I was at the centre of political activities which were not banned by the apartheid regime. But this role limited what I could do. After liberation, I subscribed to our joint endeavours to consolidate the gains of our struggle. I accepted that in the initial stages of our post-liberation Republic, not all things would go well.
I am now free from all constraints and empowered by freedom of thought and speech I never enjoyed before. I now enjoy the freedom to speak truth to power. I do not intend to oppose or undermine the popular mandate President Zuma has received from the electorate, but to provide assistance in the form of counselling and admonition so that our Republic, through his leadership, may succeed in fulfilling the aspirations embodied in that mandate.
I commend the President for his positive overture to the opposition yesterday to be leading players in shaping the destiny of our nation. As patriots, we in the opposition must work together with the ruling party for the sake of our people in the present circumstances of global economic meltdown. I also commend the President for emphatically stating that our institutions and Constitution must be respected.
But in speaking truth to power, there are many aspects of the presidential debate which need to be addressed. Time dictates that I focus on the single most critical aspect. Nothing is of graver importance than addressing the economic crisis facing South Africa.
When I spoke in response to his Excellency President Motlanthe's state of the nation address this year, at this podium, I warned that South Africa would not be spared from the global depression and that we were ill- prepared to deal with it. Despite my warnings, government officials and politicians boldly declared that South Africa would only be marginally affected by the global depression. The worst, they said, was already over and recovery was in sight. I remember even our most popular magazine had a cover story assuring us of these things. And this was irresponsible nonsense, of course.
We lost precious time to formulate our response to the crisis. I know, Xhamela, that my contribution in trying to address this issue may be seen in the words of an old song, which was popular in my youth, to be rushing in where angels fear to tread.
Against this backdrop, South Africa is awakened to the harsh reality that in the first quarter, 22% of its manufacturing capacity has been shut down, mining has been reduced by 33% and the GDP is down by at least 6,7%. This is just the beginning. In all likelihood the recession will gather pace in the next quarter, and the collapse of the real estate market, which has been held back by the expectation of a quick recovery, now seems inescapable.
His Excellency the President addressed the problems of the economy in his state of the nation address and he was, of course, right, because the economy is our first priority. The recession will undermine government's efforts, from the upliftment of the poor to fighting crime - all issues which were addressed by the President yesterday. Mr President, the laudatory pledges you announced yesterday would be difficult to fulfil in times of prosperity, let alone in the times of severe austerity in which we are living.
The recession cannot be addressed by a bureaucratic administrative or legislative response. We are not going to fix the economy only by establishing new departments of state, appointing new Ministers or holding policy summits. The delay in taking action has restricted what we can do and what we could have done. We must now liken the global depression to a world war. We must transform our thinking and build a new financial architecture. Only the countries that adjust their economies will survive the global economic depression.
The impact of the global depression is going to be greater than World War II. We dare not be on the losing side, lest South Africa is reduced, once again, to a mere global supplier of commodities and raw materials. For years our country has tried to develop an industrial basis, and we must now protect it, as our future depends on it.
Already we are experiencing casualties. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their jobs, and more will. As winter sets in, we will see widespread hunger and despair. Under such pressures, our health care system is likely to disintegrate, alongside our already failing education system. This, therefore, is not the time, to quote my friend Baroness Margaret Thatcher, to "go wobbly". The hour demands courage and determination.
Mr President, if we are serious about protecting jobs in our shrinking industrial base and attracting foreign direct investment, we must devalue the rand immediately. We cannot wait for months, weeks or even days. The United States Federal Reserve gave the example by cutting the prime rate to zero within hours of the United States markets hitting rock bottom.
Having a strong rand is nothing but ill-conceived national pride. Our economy is not reliant on imports and we produce enough to ensure that the devaluation of the rand will not necessarily affect the goods and services consumed by the low and middle classes. We must devalue the rand and then stabilise the devalued rand.
No business can cope in an environment of two-digit currency fluctuation. Government must aggressively use whatever means are available to keep the devalued rand stable. Undoubtedly, devaluing the rand will increase the inflation rate over time. But economists and policymakers have informed me that, for a country such as South Africa, it is better to deal with a little more inflation than with widespread joblessness and long-lasting depression.
We should act now. We should save our real estate market before it collapses and force the SA Reserve Bank to cut its interest rate to single digits and as close as possible to zero. This by itself will cause the devaluation of the rand, as the currency would no longer be attractive to currency investors and speculators.
This compels us to re-evaluate our relationship with the SA Reserve Bank, which still remains a private entity owned by private shareholders and controlled primarily by such shareholders which the law requires to be kept secret. One can only assume that this money trust of bankers acts in the public interest because they are so tied to our economy that if the economy suffers, they suffer too.
But we are living in extraordinary times. The American people have begun to question the old maxim that "what is good for General Motors is good for America". It might equally be the case that what is good for the South African bankers might not be good for the South African people and the economy. The SA Reserve Bank should become what the Constitution envisages it to be - an organ of state, part of the government of our country.
This process will take time, even if conducted through nationalisation. I think "nationalisation" resonates well with my brothers on the right. [Laughter.] But the urgent need to cut interest rates to a minimum cannot wait if we want to avoid the compounded domino effect of widespread repossessions and the domestic devaluation of the South African real estate asset base.
I know that it is difficult for us as politicians to focus on delicate economic issues, which are often subcontracted to academics, think-tanks and bankers. As politicians, we often rely on our gut instinct to know what is right or wrong and what needs to be done, and we are often right. But when it comes to economic issues, we have long been trained not to do so. I plead with His Excellency the President to be responsive to the mandate he received from the people and to make sure that we maintain employment levels, jobs and industrial capacity.
I respect the role in which history has cast His Excellency the President. And I hope that he will respect the role in which history has finally cast me. I received my mandate from the poorest of the poor, who stand to suffer the most. Both he and I live amongst the poorest of the poor. The economic crisis could jeopardise everything we have fought for. I plead with the President to focus on it, not only with his mind, but with his heart. I pledge to him my full and truthful support, without abandoning my role as an opposition party member, whose duty is to hold government to account and to keep government on its toes.
Finally, let us be honest ... [Interjections.]
NgingumZulu mina, angilona iNgisi! [Uhleko.] [I am Zulu, not an Englishman.] [Laughter.]
Finally, let us be honest about the widespread electoral irregularities in the recent elections. We saw acts unbefitting our democracy, such as the IFP secretary-general, who is our colleague in this House, the hon Rev Musa Zondi, being searched in broad daylight and being humiliated by the National Intervention Police Unit in Nongoma. Election irregularities are not new to us, but they should become unacceptable.
When the former Secretary-General of the OAU, His Excellency Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, who is now one of the "wise men of Africa", visited South Africa ahead of our elections, I met him in Durban. He was to lead the African Union monitoring team during the election. I gave him a copy of my aide- memoire, which I provided to the chairperson of the IEC, Dr Brigalia Bam, and members of the IEC when they met with me and members of the national council of my party on 31 March 2008. In it I had listed all the irregularities that had taken place during our elections from 1994 to 2004. [Interjections.] Dr Bam and the IEC had promised to come back to us. But a year had already passed and they had not done so.
In our conversation, I asked Dr Salim whether we in Africa were using different standards in declaring an election "free and fair". I recalled that in a previous election in Zimbabwe most political parties in South Africa sent monitors, including my own. All of them, except the IFP monitoring team, the chairperson of the IEC Dr Bam and the European monitoring team, declared the Zimbabwean election "free and fair". Dr Salim chuckled and said he preferred the word "credible" rather than "free and fair". This reminded me of the wisdom of one of our African sayings ...
Lentswe la Sesotho le re: "Motswalle wa moloi ke moloi, motswalle wa leshodu ke leshodu." [There is a Sesotho saying that goes: The friend of a witch is a witch, and the friend of a thief is a thief.] [Laughter.]
The mandate our President has received places great responsibility on his shoulders, and we wish you well, Msholozi, Nxamalala. [Applause.]
UNGQONGQOSHE WAMAPHOYISA: Somlomo ohloniphekile, nomhlonishwa uMongameli wezwe, mhlonishwa Sekela Mongameli wezwe, Sekela Somlomo ohloniphekile, oNgqongqoshe namaSekela oNgqongqoshe, Malungu esiShayamthetho, maqabani nabangani. Siyemukela ngezandla ezifudumele inkulumo kaMongameli nengumkhombandlela esizweni sonke.
Sinethemba futhi lokuthi umphakathi uzobambisana nohulumeni ukuze konke lokhu esizibophelele kukho kuphumelele. Kuningi okuyinqubekela phambili esesikuzuzile kwiqoqo lezobulungiswa nokuphepha ukuvimbela ubugebengu. Nokho, indlela isende, njengoba ubeka Umbutho Wesizwe ukuthi ngokubambisana singenza lukhulu.Njengoba echazile uMongameli, umthethosiseko nesimo somthetho wezwe kuqinile futhi kusesimeni esikahle, kuhlumelelisa intando yeningi. Iqoqo leMinyango ebhekene nokuphepha lisebenze ngempumelelo lengamela ukhetho lwesine ngaphansi kwentando yeningi. Nakuba siphumelela kokunye kodwa zisekhona izinselelo njengoba ucwaningo ngokusebenza kweqoqo nezinsiza zalo kucacisa.
Kodwa-ke siyoze sikuzuze ukuthula, ukuphepha nokuhlala kahle. [Ihlombe] Siwethulela isigqoko umphakathi ngokubamba iqhaza ekwakhiweni kwezinhlaka ezilwisana nobugebengu ubambisene namaphoyisa. Nathi njengoMnyango wezakaDalawane sizoqhubeka siwugqugquzele umphakathi ngoba impi nobugebengu idinga kubanjiswane.
Kwezinye zezinto ezishiwo nguMongameli izolo uthe:
Ngokubambisana masenze lukhulu ukulwa nobugebengu. Inhloso yethu ukwakha uhlelo lwezobulungiswa nokulwa nobugebengu oluhambisana noguquko oluxhaswe ngezinsiza-kusebenza lwesimanjemanje noluphethwe eqophelweni eliphezulu.
Emva kwenkulumo kaMongameli yayizolo kube khona abaholi abathile emphakathini abathe bafuna imininingwane ngezinhlelo zikahulumeni. Ake sisike elijikayo kwiqoqo lobulungiswa, ukuvimbela ubugebengu nokuphepha kanje ... (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER OF POLICE: Hon Speaker, hon President of the Republic, hon Deputy President of the Republic, hon Deputy Speaker, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament, comrades and friends, we warmly welcome the state of the nation address, which is the programme of the nation as a whole.
We also hope that the public will co-operate with government in order for us to fulfil all our obligations. We have made good progress in the Justice and Security cluster to prevent crime. However, there is still a long way to go, as the African National Congress says that: "Together, we can do more". As the President explained, the Constitution and the criminal justice system of the country are strong and protected, thus strengthening democracy.
The Security cluster has worked successfully in providing security for the fourth general elections under democracy. Even though we have succeeded in some of the things, there are still challenges, as the research findings about the functioning of the cluster and its resources indicate.
Certainly, we shall have peace, safety and social stability. [Applause.] We salute the community for playing a pivotal role in the establishment of community policing forums to fight crime in partnership with the police. We, as the Department of Police, will continue to mobilise the community because the fight against crime needs co-operation.
The President said yesterday, amongst other things, and I quote: Together we must do more to fight crime. Our aim is to establish a transformed, integrated, modernised, properly resourced and well-managed criminal justice system.
After yesterday's state of the nation address, some leaders in the community said that they wanted details about government programmes. Let us copy a model from the Justice cluster, to prevent crime and strive for safety like this ...]
Hon Deputy Speaker, this is a massive task that involves many aspects of the criminal justice system. Central in this regard, is the development of capacity for fighting and reducing crime, and thus the need to review the functioning of the whole Justice, Crime Prevention and Security value chain and to ensure integration and co-ordination.
Specific measures include, amongst others: steps to ensure speedy finalisation of investigations and cases; use of alternative custodial sanction where appropriate; maintaining and safeguarding the identity of citizens and foreign nationals; the maximum and efficient utilisation of facilities and infrastructure within the cluster, including the integration of IT systems; bringing courts closer to communities; increasing the number of prosecutors; and the establishment of the awaiting-trial detainees branch as part of the Department of Correctional Services to reduce recidivism.
As part of the effort to improve our crimefighting capacity, the President highlighted, amongst others, the need to enhance our detective and forensic services. To give a sense of the scale of the programmes being undertaken, we should mention that with regard to detectives, approximately 12 900 members are already undergoing training in various detective courses, this financial year. [Applause.] More than 1 120 of this number are sitting for advanced courses. The programme started at the beginning of April 2009.
Contrary to the negative propaganda suggesting otherwise, our training programmes are benchmarked with international policing agencies to ensure the maintenance of the requisite standards.
Part of the criminal justice system modernisation process will involve the application of technology solutions to manage routine operations, reduce costs and eliminate waste, and automating paper-intensive systems. The IT systems of various cluster departments are being integrated to ensure greater utilisation of technology in the fight against crime.
Our forensic services will be strengthened through the passing of the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, a task we must accomplish within the year.
We have declared war against organised crime and corruption in the public as well as in the private sector. We shall move with speed to finalise all matters relating to the establishment of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, the DPCI. As members know, the head of the DPCI has been appointed. We are on course to ensure that the DPCI will be fully functional by 5 July 2009. [Applause.]
We are going to be tough on criminals. We shall adopt the same approach as we did when we dealt with possible hotspots during the election campaign. [Applause.] A leaflet by the National Action Council in 1955, in preparation for the real and true Congress of the People, made a clarion call to the people of our land. Amongst other things, it said, and I quote:
Let us speak of the light that comes with learning and the ways we are kept in darkness. Let us speak of great services we can render and of narrow ways that are open to us. Let us speak of laws, and government, and rights ... Let us speak together of freedom. And of the happiness that can come to men and women if they live in a land that is free. Let us speak together of freedom and of how to get it for ourselves ...
The titanic struggle against the racist policies of white domination taught us never to surrender, even in the face of mammoth adversity. Through our own actions we taught ourselves to act in unity to determine our own destiny. It would be a great sociopolitical tragedy if the majority of the people of our land who were at the core of the battle against apartheid colonialism, those who played a central role in the realisation of the democratic form of government, were to remain marginalised and not take part in the process of defining and realising the content of our democracy. Such a situation is not only a threat to future stability, but also a break to development. The effort to ensure a people-centred and people-driven process to change must succeed.
Over the centuries, African communities used Letsema/Ilima as a way of tackling problems collectively. We must continue with the effort aimed at the retention of this progressive tradition which gives practical expression to the aspiration of human solidarity. We should work to deepen our understanding of the practical implications of this tradition, taking into account our history, the specific socioeconomic conditions, and short and long-term objectives.
The youth is the energy of society. Unemployment represents wasted creative potential. Therefore, the youth should occupy our foremost attention as we work to harness all the people's creative potential and to deepen the culture of civic responsibility and human solidarity. [Applause.] Let us commence so in this, the month of the gallant youth of our land.
It is the foregoing understanding that will inform our endeavours as we work to mobilise society, and in particular the youth, to take a more active part in the fight against crime. The young lions have the energy and capacity to land a telling blow against crime.
The time has come for the subject of crime to be on the agenda of every home, private or public organisation, not only in the form of passive debate, but as part of the effort to reclaim peace, security and comfort.
Rightfully so, the people of our land demand effective provision of safety. Our history has taught us that, in the execution of its duties, a police service should always be mindful not to infringe upon the people's human rights. We need an accountable and service-oriented police organisation.
We have an ongoing responsibility to improve our capacity to prevent crime before it is committed. However, no police organisation can be everywhere all the time. Nor is there a police service that can predict every possible incident of crime.
To ensure accountability, the continued observance of human rights and improved capacity to prevent crimes before they occur, we require partnerships between the police and the public.
Accordingly, government continues to strengthen the structural design aimed at assisting us to better realise our safety objectives and at deepening and tightening the interface between communities and the police service. This design includes the establishment of community safety forums, street or village committees, and the strengthening of the current Community Policing Forum establishment programme. To this extent, the Ministry of Police is in the process of establishing a section dealing with strategic partnership and popular participation.
Community safety forums will help in the monitoring and functional co- ordination of the criminal justice system at the local and municipality level. The establishment of street and village committees will take crime combating and crime prevention to every corner of our country. We commend those communities already in action on this score and encourage others to follow suit.
We have noted that there are certain isolated voices who have raised some objections about the establishment of street committees. We regard such objections as a typical case of social consciousness having fallen behind imperatives of social evolution and development. These are the views of those who are comfortable, wherever they are. The social status and high security walls have blinded them, making them unable to appreciate the daily reality faced by millions who, in order to have any sense of safety and security, must rely on state services and their own sense of civic duty.
There is nothing genuine about these objections. These views constitute the natural waste produced by the great river of progress. Let us ignore them and continue to speak together of freedom and of how to get it for ourselves.
As part of strengthening the social contract against crime, the Security cluster will also deepen the interface with labour, churches, business, the private security industry, traditional leaders and other stakeholders.
Hon Deputy Speaker, the President has indicated that government intends to improve the legislative framework governing the activities of the private security industry. In March this year, the Minister of Police appointed a task team to conduct an in-depth enquiry into the functioning of the Private Security Regulatory Authority. Consequently, we have come to the conclusion that the authority has in many ways become dysfunctional. Remedial measures are being taken to rectify that serious situation.
We are also determined to strengthen partnerships among government departments, as well as among various spheres of government.
The experience gained during the recent elections has convinced the Ministry of Police that every department within the security cluster indeed has a role to play in the fight against crime. We believe that crime and perceptions about it are such a serious matter in our country that all of us need to give added attention to the issue.
Law enforcement cannot succeed if social, economic, ideological and cultural conditions continue to spawn criminality. The living environment itself must be less conducive to crime.
Commenting on the role that other departments can play, the 1999-2004 White Paper on Safety and Security states, and I quote:
Important also, is the need to strengthen partnerships and co-operation with the key departments involved in crime prevention and those departments which have valuable skills and resources to offer, such as the South African National Defence Force.
It is our view that in a country where centuries of institutionalised racism condemn the black majority to conditions of extreme poverty, lack of skills and underdeveloped localities, the SANDF, with their skills, indeed can play an important role in the process of skills transfer and the transformation of the living environment. We should also contemplate ways in which the Force could assist in the fight against cash-in-transit heists - this is in the process of consultation. This murderous kind of crime is not only a source of fear to those guarding these assets, but also breeds a culture that cheapens human life.
In many cities and localities, environmental issues that create conducive conditions to commit crime remain a challenge. Together with local government, we must change this situation.
We also wish to inform the nation that we shall soon be launching and escalating throughout the country, Operation Washa Tsotsi. [Applause.]
Before the attainment of democracy, meagre policing resources were spent on poor communities. We have to monitor progress in this regard and ensure that this situation changes. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]