Order, hon members. I wish to thank parties for advising the staff on which Vote they will make declarations, record their objections, or request divisions. This information will greatly assist and speed up the process this afternoon. As agreed at the NA's portfolio committee this morning, declarations will be limited to two minutes. The bells will be rung for five minutes for the first division on a Vote, but for only one minute on subsequent divisions.
Vote No 1 - The Presidency - put.
Declarations of vote:
Madam Deputy Speaker, the Presidency should set an example to the rest of government. However, instead of offering a clear vision for our country, rolling out initiatives that seek to improve the lives of all South Africans and embracing the values of our Constitution, the Presidency has become a bloated mechanism to reward political patronage with little regard for accountability and transparency.
The DA cannot support the Presidency's budget. It cannot support a budget for a department whose budget grows like an aggressive tumour and is not being subjected to any dedicated parliamentary scrutiny. It is a disgrace to this House and Parliament's constitutionally mandated responsibility to oversee the executive that the ANC's Chief Whip announced yesterday that he wished to make it "abundantly clear that Parliament's oversight role relates to other government departments, not the Presidency". Hon Motshekga's comments speak to this administration's belief that high- ranking members of this government, who should embody the values on which our democracy is built, are exempt from upholding these values.
The outcome of the debate regarding oversight of the Presidency will, like the current debate surrounding the Protection of Information Bill, indicate which road this administration intends to follow: the path of secrecy, cronyism and delivery for a few, or the path of democracy, accountability and delivery for all. The DA will not stand down until the Presidency is subjected to the same degree of oversight as every other government department and will use every use every available mechanism to assist in this regard.
The Presidency approved hundreds of millions of rands worth of wasteful expenditure for the National Youth Development Agency's, NYDA, World Festival of Youth and Students and to the repetitive renovation of five official residences. It has dedicated R24 million to a state-owned enterprise review committee, ostensibly to examine ways to improve their efficiency while, at same time, purging the boards of Eskom, Denel and Transnet, no doubt to reconstitute them with loyal ANC cadres.
It has overseen the creation of a new department - supposedly to oversee government performance - the great irony being that until this administration ...
USEKELA-SOMLOMO: Liphelile ixesha lakho Mnumzana.
INKOKHELI YEQELA ELIPHIKISAYO: Enkosi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Your time has expired, sir.
Thank you.]
When President Zuma introduced Budget Vote No 1 last week, he said government is promoting the agenda of Africa and the south. Speaking about the bombing of Libya, the President said: "We strongly believe that Resolution 1973 is being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation."
Even though the Presidency knew that some Western powers were pursuing regime change and foreign military occupation, his government still gave legitimacy to an illegal regime change in Cte d'Ivoire by attending Alassane Ouattara's inauguration, after a coup d'tat by the French special forces and the United Nations, UN. [Interjections.] The majority of African states chose to boycott the event, yet our Deputy President attended on behalf of South Africa, endorsing the illegitimate government.
The Presidency should have condemned the injustices in that country, rather than endorse an agenda that is not going to help the continent of Africa. I believe it would be incorrect to support this Budget Vote because what the President has said is contradicted by what the Presidency is doing. [Interjections.]
Deputy Speaker, the Constitution of the Republic requires that all spheres of government work together and participate in the development of programmes to redress poverty, underdevelopment, marginalisation of people and communities, and the legacies of apartheid and discrimination. The implementation of the strategic agenda of government and national priorities require an effective national government, as well as a smooth functioning and careful synchronisation of the three spheres of government.
The government's strategic agenda is derived from the electoral mandate of the ruling party. It is the implementation and achievement of this strategic agenda which then forms the substance and focus of the Presidency. The Presidency has to ensure that the President is able to exercise both his executive and head of state authority and plays a key role in the achievement of the above. This equally informs the President's mandate.
The Presidency exists to "ensure that the President is able to execute his or her constitutional obligation to promote unity and to do that which will enhance the Republic". The President's state of the nation address of 2010 adopted 12 strategic outcomes and measurable outputs. This marked a milestone in the process to improve government performance and a focus on delivery. The ANC believes that the Presidency has delivered on its mandate and therefore supports Budget Vote No 1: The Presidency.
But, with due respect, hon Meshoe, you said that even the Cte d'Ivoire situation was resolved. So you are telling the public about preconceived ideas that you are not able to change, even if facts are placed before you. [Interjections.] Hon Trollip is criticising the Presidency, but he is using the wrong motivation. So it's as if he has not said anything on the matter under discussion. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, repeating the points we have made does not necessarily strengthen an argument. However, the Presidency is the head of the South African government, and this is one Vote that we have to be particularly firm about. We should not compromise on this Vote because the direction our country is taking will be and is guided by the Presidency.
The constitutional responsibilities, especially those that relate to internal developments in the country, are vital if the country is to move in the right direction. We indicated the failures that we observed in the earlier discussions and debate on this Vote. We would like to reiterate that we had raised such sensitive issues that we cannot compromise on them. We have to say that unless the Presidency is seen to take seriously the obligations placed on itself by the principal law of the country, the Constitution, we will not support this Vote. Thank you. [Interjections.]
Division demanded.
The House divided:
During division:
Hon members, we will try the electronic voting system one last time. If it doesn't work now, we will have to roll out manually.
The question before the House is that Vote No 1 be agreed to. Voting will now commence. Is the system still not working? Hon members, it is clear that we need to go back to manual counting. The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY - PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATION: Hon Deputy Speaker, even the manual one has a problem. People do it differently! Which one is the correct one? [Laughter.]
Hon members, I appeal to members to lift their hands in a manner that their organisation will recognise. [Interjections.] Did you want to say something, hon member?
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES: Hon Deputy Speaker, in a lighter vein, I can see that the ANC is trying to double its votes. That is not allowed. [Laughter.] I have one problem - when we are going to be counting the votes, are we only going to count the total number of "yes, in favour" or "against"? That will not give us what the positions of different parties are. We will not have the names or the party positions on this. I would like to request the different party Whips to indicate the position of their parties so that that could also be recorded.
I thought that the declarations were going to be indicating that, but you are right. Can we start voting? Let us start by those who are in favour of Vote No 1. Can we do it like that?
HON MEMBERS: Yes!
Hon Deputy Speaker, on a point of order, the hon Mazibuko is busy taking photos. Why is she doing that? Can that camera be taken, please? [Interjections.]
Madam Deputy Speaker, like many of my colleagues, I am an avid user of social media and I wanted to tweet a picture of our broken- down systems, so that the public can share in the proceedings of this House. [Interjections.]
Hon member, you are not allowed to take pictures in the House. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
I will refrain from taking pictures. I apologise.
Hon Deputy Speaker, it seems to me that she is the second leader within the DA who has a problem with social networking. [Laughter.]
Deputy Speaker, that is because we actually have supporters.
Hon Mazibuko, I hope you are not going to use the pictures you took in the House. Order, hon members! The question that was put to the House was agreed to by 222 "yes" votes and 78 "no" votes. [Applause.] Therefore, the Vote is agreed to. Are there any Whips that would like to make declarations?
Hon Deputy Speaker, I would like to assist you. I don't think that it is necessary to make declarations. The Whips could just indicate to the table and then we can proceed.
That is okay.
Deputy Speaker, can we just make sure that that becomes part of the Minutes of the Proceedings? Thank you.
Deputy Speaker, are we sure that those pictures will not go to the wrong address? [Laughter.]
They will be deleted. They won't be sent anywhere.
How do you know this?
The directive was that the photographs should be deleted. Therefore, we won't see them anywhere.