Chairperson, thank you for the last opportunity to speak in the Third Parliament. Somebody said to me yesterday evening that I cannot plan for not coming back and that I must always plan for coming back. I do not know what he meant by that. I am still trying to analyse that statement, but the Chairperson has already indicated that some of us may not come back and some of us may come back.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Peggy Hollander, for the support she has given me and the institution for the period of five years. Thanks to the Chairpersons, hon Mildred Oliphant and hon Tsietsi Setona. I am always battling to pronounce his name. They have done outstanding work in supporting the presiding officers in making this institution function better and more effectively.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the former Chief Whip, the hon Windvol, who played a very important role in assisting me as a presiding officer of this Council and other presiding officers. He did an outstanding job. I want to thank you very much for the period you have served. I also want to thank the current Chief Whip, the hon Nosipho Ntwanambi, and all the Whips that work with her to make the programme of this institution very effective and to deliver the services that this House is expected to deliver in terms of the Constitution.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all chairpersons of committees. I thank all the members of this Parliament who belong to different committees. To a certain extent, I also want to thank all political parties. [Applause.] Although we come as a single delegation from provinces, we do have our political parties. Thank you very much for the support you gave to this House and your provinces. I think we have delivered. We have done outstanding work as the NCOP within this five-year period. I don't doubt the work we have achieved in the institution. [Applause.] I thank you for your sacrifice, dedication, determination, energy, enthusiasm and everything you have done. This is the most wonderful team I have ever worked with in the past five years. I think we ended the term on a very high note, and that is what I expected. I am very happy in my heart. I can go home and sleep peacefully because we have delivered as the NCOP. [Applause.]
I would like to thank the staff of the NCOP for the wonderful work they have done - the Table staff and everybody in the NCOP. I think you have done a sterling job in supporting us. Without you we could not have achieved the work we have done. [Applause.]
I have also been tasked to say to the committees, which have been very energetic in going back and visiting provinces and doing oversight functions under the good leadership of the chairpersons, that we noticed the results of the work you have done on the ground. Thank you very much. You are outstanding people. [Applause.]
I want to thank this institution for entrusting me and my organisation, the ANC, with this responsibility as the Chairperson of the Council. I have been elected by all of you to serve you. Thank you very much that you did not elect me and then chase me away thereafter. Instead, you supported me all the way until I finished my term. I wish to thank you very much. Goodbye! [Applause.]
Thank you, hon members. I hope there will be no complaint that you are hungry.
Chairperson, I am sorry that I have do this, but I have to start my speech on a bit of a sad note. It is indeed sad that we have to end the year with both the Secretary of Parliament and the Secretary of the NCOP under suspension. It is in reality symptomatic of the entire ANC administration all over our beautiful South Africa.
And you will remember that I have warned from this podium on many occasions that the administration of Parliament has usurped far too much power for themselves and that the powers of Parliament belong with the duly elected politicians.
Now I could use my three little minutes to tell you how to rectify the matter, Chairperson, but that will not be necessary at this very late stage, because we will do it ourselves as the DA after the elections. [Interjections.]
The boasting of the Minister for Provincial and Local Government will probably also be his famous last words, because the tide is changing and the voters of South Africa are waking up to the reality. [Interjections.] And all of you should also wake up: The scoreboard will look very different this time around.
But enough of the serious stuff. Let me say that looking back over the past five years, it has mostly been a very, very pleasant experience indeed. I have had the privilege of also serving in the National Assembly, and I must admit, Chair, that the collegiality and the dynamics of this smaller House are better by far. So those of you who are going there: bad luck for you! [Laughter.]
I agree with hon Le Roux that much of this pleasant atmosphere must be attributed to the exceptional leadership of the Chairperson, Mr M J Mahlangu, and I wish to thank him and his entire team on behalf of all the DA permanent delegates. We wish you well in your future endeavours, whether it be somewhere else or back here, Sir.
It has also been quite an experience working with all my other colleagues in this House. Of course, all the experiences were not pleasant at all times, because the majority of you unfortunately are programmed by your parties' ideologies and that does not mix so well with the free-thinking, liberal spirit that you find among my DA colleagues and I. [Interjections.] I will remember the witty interactions, and the very good friendships.
Let me end by also thanking my colleagues in the DA for the wonderful team I have had. They have had to cope with me, and now I will have to cope with myself. But I thank my wonderful team for their zeal in their daily tasks, and also for their endeavours. It has been an inspiration to me, and the personal support that I have had from them all has made my task lighter and my life brighter. Thank you, my friends. May all of you be blessed by the Heavenly Father and may all of your dreams come true. May I end with something from long ago? There was a radio station called LM Radio; some of the older people will remember it. The most famous guy on LM Radio was a man called David Davies. You know, those days the radio would close down at twelve o'clock - or was it ten o'clock, I can't remember. But in those days he ended his radio programme by greeting everybody by saying: "And now to you, and to you, and especially to you, all the best for the future!" Stay well, God bless you all. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Chairperson and colleagues, I take this opportunity to thank you all for the good work and the good team spirit enjoyed during our term of work, 2004 to date. I thank the Almighty God, who has been with us through this time. I have already started my journey to retirement from Parliament. [Interjections.] I will miss you all. Keep up the good work.
Ndlelanhle, mpilonhle kini nonke. Nivote kahle futhi nibuye kahle noma abanye baliwe wuhla lwabazongenela ukhetho. [Uhleko.] Ngizoba nani nonke. [Farewell, and keep well to all of you. Vote well and come back safely even though some members are not on the candidates list. [Laughter.] I will be with you all.]
I will be with you all. [Applause.]
Order! I now call hon K B Toni. Order, please. I hope members will behave, because it is his maiden speech.
Chair, it is ... [Interjections.]
Order! Hon members, can you please behave and listen to the member?
Chairperson, hon members, we have reached the end of another session and it is perhaps the last time that this House meets prior to the end of its term.
Looking back upon the past 15 years, this House has engaged in important work and achieved many milestones. For such achievements as we have attained, the management of Parliament and parliamentary staff members played a pivotal role behind the scenes to ensure that we perform our constitutional obligations. I have only recently been sworn in, but from discussions it is clear that this Chamber plays a very important role in advancing the Constitution. It would appear that we still need to do many things to convey the role of this House.
Chair, in conclusion, one hopes that in the new term there will be rapid progress to ensure that this House expands its oversight role as a checks and balances mechanism in respect of the National Assembly, and its role in representing the views of the provinces, and also its role in encouraging public participation in the work of Parliament. May God bless you. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon members and my hon comrades, in this last sitting of the National Council of Provinces in the Third Parliament of our country, I, in my capacity as the Chief Whip, consider it appropriate, but also an honour and a privilege to refer briefly to the reasons for the existence, development and accomplishments of the NCOP since its inception, and more specifically over the past five years.
This institution is also referred to as the upper House of Parliament and represents South Africa's provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of politics. It does this mainly by participating in the national legislative process and by providing a national forum for consideration of issues affecting the people in the provinces.
It contributes to effective government by exercising oversight over the national aspects of provincial and local government. It also ensures recognition of provincial and local concerns in national policy-making and that the three spheres of government function effectively together.
In this regard, I would like to agree with the late hon Joyce Kgoali, a former Chairperson of the NCOP, when she said, and I quote:
The NCOP, provinces and municipalities are the cutting edge of the national programme to build a better life for all.
Since the inception of the NCOP in 1997 in the new dispensation, which marked a clear break with the old Senate that preceded it, it has evolved into a key institution that is tasked with safeguarding South Africa's democracy. It serves as a sanctuary for the protection of the needs and rights of the people of South Africa in the provinces.
During his tenure as Deputy President of South Africa, the one who is going to be the President of this country, come April 22, hon Mr Jacob Zuma said:
No other institution in the country can showcase our beautiful and rich diversity as a nation quite as succinctly as the NCOP. I am sure that the authors of our Constitution would be very pleased to see how their noble intentions are being realized. From giving life to the principle of co- operative governance to giving a powerful voice to the masses of our people in the various provinces and local areas, we are, through the efforts of the NCOP, building and consolidating a true participatory democracy. I want to say that we've seen the good strides made by the NCOP in many areas in the past. The Multiparty Whips' Forum is one of the important mechanisms and key instruments in ensuring multiparty democracy in the NCOP. It does this by affording political parties a platform to share ideas on measures to strengthen the functioning of the NCOP, while it contributes immensely to multiparty co-operation.
Despite having taken over the management of the Whippery only a year ago, I am convinced that it has an important role to play in supporting the NCOP in meeting its constitutional mandate of representing the country's provinces. As a passionate member of the ANC, I am convinced that I am a very passionate member of this House and a citizen of this country. I therefore wish to thank all the members of my party who have given me the strength to serve in this position, particularly during the past 18 months. Being in this position has not been easy.
The opportunity to serve as the Chief Whip was a great honour for me. I also express my profound appreciation to the hon M J Mahlangu, the Chairperson of the NCOP, the Deputy Chairperson Mrs Hollander, and the two House Chairpersons. Of course, I'm also grateful to the former Chief Whip, Comrade V V Windvol, for the work he had done before me.
Lastly, I want to conclude by saying ...
... ngomhla wama-22 kuTshazimpuzi, ngentsimbi ye-12 emini maqanda, kuza kucaca ukuba ngubani ophetheyo. Ngelo xesha uMsholozi sakube simlungiselela ukuya eMahlambandlovu.
I-ANC iza kuphatha, iphathe; ibuye iphathe. Ndifuna ke ukutsho kuwo onke amalungu ale Ndlu ukuba, bekumnadi ukusebenza nani nonke. Ngelishwa, akukho waziyo ukuba ngubani obuyayo; ingubani ongabuyiyo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[... on 22 April, at twelve midday, we will know who is in charge. At that time we will be preparing to take Msholozi to Mahlambandlovu.
The ANC shall govern, govern and govern again. I would like to say to all the members of this House that I enjoyed working with all of you. Unfortunately, no one knows who is coming back and who is not.]
Woza mhla ka-22 kuMbasa, abanye bazowukhomba umuzi onotshwala. [Come 22 April, others will face the consequences.]
Malibongwe! [Ihlombe.] [Praise! [Applause.]]
Order, please!
Ngifisa ukubethelela isipikili kulokhu okushiwo uSihlalo woMkhandlu wale Ndlu ukuthi amalunga ale Ndlu abenokuzimisela noma ngesinye isikhathi ebebanga umsindo. [Uhleko.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[I would like to accentuate what the Chairperson of this House said, that the members of this House were obstinate even though at times they were noisy. [Laughter.]]
I hope it's because you were enjoying the debates in this House and that it is also the way you have behaved in the committees when sharing the ideas and views of different provinces. I believe that, whether or not you are coming back, you must be proud of yourselves.
With those words I want to make an announcement: Immediately after we have adjourned, there is going to be a photo shoot just outside the NCOP and the Chairperson has invited all of us to have a working lunch.
I am not sure why, but the Chairperson will explain why he is calling it a working lunch. I believe that you still have responsibilities as the NCOP, because you will be members of the National Council of Provinces until the legislatures are sworn in after elections. Therefore, you still have responsibilities and that is why you are going to have a working lunch. That concludes the business of the day.