Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy President Motlanthe - I see he has left - Ministers, House Chairpersons, comrades, colleagues and guests, Parliament's role and ultimate objective is to represent the people of South Africa and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution. Speakers before me have outlined the strategic objectives and Parliament's vision. I shall speak primarily on Parliament's involvement and engagements in international relations.
Hon members, R1,675 billion has been appropriated for the financial year 2011-12. A quick breakdown reveals the following: the programme on administration receives 21%, legislation and oversight receives 17%, members' facilities receives 13%, associated services receives 17%, members' remuneration receives 25%, and public and international participation receives 0,07%.
These facts indicate that Parliament needs to increase the facilitation of public involvement, and with the Parliament of South Africa finding itself operating in an evolving international relations environment, there is a need to adapt to or engage vigorously in developments in an age when the line between the domestic and the international is becoming blurred and when there is a globalisation of problems.
It is no longer conceivable that Parliament can focus only on national policy and leave it to government to take decisions with wider implications. To do so would amount to relinquishing their role as the people's representative and doing no more than ratifying decisions while excluding themselves from the real problems.
Parliament should take into consideration an increasing responsibility and reliance placed on South Africa internationally and actively oversee how government follows through on and ensures the implementation of its international commitments and obligations.
Parliament's initiative to define its role in the sphere of international affairs therefore needs to take cognisance of global developments and at the same time ensure that it does not encroach upon the executive responsibilities of the Ministry and Department of International Relations and Co-operation. The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Co- operation is departmentally aligned and exercises oversight over national policy and processes legislation. Parliament, however, defines its international relations policy informed by our national foreign policy.
Parliamentary international relations is the continuation of a political process and dialogue among legislatures, brought about by significant change in the world. At different international meetings Members of Parliament and presiding officers have the opportunity to exchange views on a range of international challenges. It is precisely these forums that have forced national parliaments to reconsider their role in international affairs. In the nature of global issues each country is affected sooner or later by the problems of other countries, and parliamentarians have a duty to engage with phenomena and policies that impact on the future and welfare of society as a whole.
So what are the core objectives of Parliament's international relations? As agreed by the Joint Rules Committee on 3 November 2006, these core objectives are the following: prioritising Africa; advancing multilateralism; establishing bilateral relations for strategic reasons; facilitating public participation and education; promoting and protecting human rights; reinforcing democratic values and good governance; advocating gender justice; upholding international law and justice; strengthening south-to-south co-operation; initiating and strengthening dialogue between the north and the south; and, last but not least, encouraging contact with other parliaments. All these objectives are aligned with the foreign policy of our country.
The Parliamentary Group on International Relations will concern itself with Parliament's interaction with other parliamentarians and parliamentary bodies. The Parliamentary Group on International Relations, PGIR, was established on 18 June 2009 to do the following: firstly, to implement the international relations policy agreed on by the Joint Rules Committee, by providing policy and strategic direction on Parliament's international engagements; secondly, to co-ordinate Parliament's international engagements, including its relations with other parliaments and membership of, and participation in, international parliamentary organisations; thirdly, to receive reports from parliamentary delegations and submit proposals for their tabling, referral and scheduling for debate to the presiding officers or other relevant parliamentary structures; and fourthly, to meet annually with members appointed by the House to serve on international parliamentary bodies and members of all substructures of the