Madam Deputy Speaker, the IFP thanks your good office, all parliamentary personnel and all our parliamentary colleagues for the conscientious hard work, efforts and expertise delivered in connection with the diligent management of our Parliament.
The total budget allocation for 2011-12 is R1,674 billion. We ask, firstly, whether we are getting value for money spent commensurate with the money allocated. Secondly, is Parliament utilising this money as effectively as possible in the pursuit of its strategic objectives? I now turn to some other relevant issues, like the parliamentary Budget Office. We ask the Speaker to note that we still do not have a parliamentary Budget Office, which is an essential structure. So, Mr Speaker, we accordingly ask that this be seriously attended to.
Regarding the proposed parliamentary building project, we are just starting to resurface from a major economic downturn. We do not think it the appropriate time to embark on such a massive project. We therefore propose that this project be postponed, and that we rather cope with what we have in the meanwhile.
This Parliament has, amongst others, portfolio committees, ad hoc committees, a Chief Whips' Forum, programming forums, the Qualifications and Credit Framework, QCF, the Ethics Committee, the Rules Committee, the Joint Rules Committee, the Parliamentary Oversight Aurthority, POA, and many others. We in the IFP perceive the need for a greater level of cohesion and co-ordination between these various structures, as idealistically espoused in section 40(1) of the Constitution calling for "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated spheres" of government.
But the good news, apart from the bad news - I can announce that Mr Ellis is going to be appointed as ambassador to Robben Island - is that the Chief Whips' Forum will discuss this and other issues at a special workshop on 2 and 3 August. [Laughter.]
Concerning the Joint Rules Committee and the Rules Committee, I am sure that I will be joined by both you and all other political parties in the House when I say that the Joint Rules and NA Rules Committees are failing our Parliament. In fact, the Rules Committee has met on only two occasions since the start of the Fourth Parliament, for a total period of 1 hour 45 minutes. [Interjections.] In addition, we have some allegedly unconstitutional Rules in the Rules of the National Assembly - Rules that should have been addressed many years ago.
With regard to the fact that it takes up to two years for Hansard's bound compilations to be compiled and for the hard copies to be issued to members of the House, this is unacceptable and must be addressed.
Concerning the composition of delegates in overseas parliamentary delegations, the IFP has been classed together with all the small parties for such delegations, although we hold the equivalent number of votes of all the small parties put together. As a result, we have to compete with eight small parties to have an IFP MP included in delegations. We call upon your kind office to urgently review this matter, and we propose an increase of two delegates per delegation - one for the IFP and one for the small parties. [Laughter.]
Finally, I want to place on record that we do not regard white members in the ANC as thieves and criminals. All of us whites were called criminals and thieves by Mr Malema in the presence of the president of the ANC at Kimberley, and your president has never repudiated Mr Malema. In fact, his silence has ratified this insult as ANC policy. But, rest assured, we don't regard you whites in the ANC as criminals or thieves. [Interjections.]