Chairperson, colleagues, hon members, comrades and friends, let me start off by saying thank you to the Minister for explaining and taking us through the Bill and for telling us what led to this Bill being brought back to Parliament.
Public hearings were conducted in the areas of Merafong in the year 2005 to get the views of the people concerned. Let me boldly say that the current Minister for Provincial and Local Government, hon Sicelo Shiceka, was very vocal in advising Parliament that it was wrong to incorporate Merafong into the North West. Unfortunately, his views were ignored. The committee also raised some concerns on this issue, but unfortunately the powers that be didn't want to listen then. Thank you very much, hon Minister, for progressively addressing this issue.
In the two Bills, we are reversing the mistake that was made in 2005, where the two districts of Kenneth Kaunda and West Rand were placed under North West against the will of the people. In these two Bills, we are redetermining the geographical areas of the provinces of Gauteng and North West. All the areas under the above municipalities will be reincorporated into Gauteng province.
After some serious discussions, the committee decided to join our colleagues in provinces when they conducted public hearings. In this very affected area of Khutsong in Merafong, we were informed by our colleague, the hon Mzizi, that attendance was very good. We were informed that all structures in the area were with one voice saying "yes" to Gauteng and "no" to North West. After going through all the mandates from the nine provinces, the committee agreed that Khutsong in Merafong and the two districts I mentioned must be reincorporated into Gauteng.
In any conflict there are always two opposing views. This was the same in Khutsong. The name Khutsong means a place where there is peace. But during the time of the conflicts, unfortunately, there was no peace there. On behalf of the committee, I want to thank the hon Mzizi for the role he played in making sure that all the necessary logistics and dynamics in our committee were in place. Thanks very much, "Baba" Mzizi. You are one of the best shining examples in our committee. You put the interest of the country first and not that of your party. Thank you very much, hon member.
People opposed the views held by the majority in the area. Some of these people were attacked and many of them were even exiled. Councillors couldn't work in the area. I want to appeal to the leadership in the area to try and call some meetings to reconcile the opposing groups there. In any democracy, it is not possible for people to think the same way. If need be, some of us won't mind if you call prayer meetings or prayer days. We need to reconstruct Khutsong. If I had my way, I would rename the municipality after the Minister because of the role he played in the area. That would be part of saying "thank you" to you, Minister, for being such a dynamic Minister.
To all the people of Khutsong, please give our officials a chance to develop your area. We are all aware that service delivery was hampered because of these disputes. Of course, my colleague Comrade Chris Ntuli will deal with this matter decisively. Let me say in passing it is true that the department assured us they would do everything in their power to ensure that service delivery in the area is not hampered. As you are aware, the budget that is supposed to service the area is still under North West. The department promised that, through the transitional committee, nothing will fall through the cracks.
The last time I checked, South Africa was a unitary state. I know Comrade Moseki will give us "a briefing" on the subject. But at the same time what should occupy our minds is whether the areas in which we are staying are developed and not the question of where we are located. There are still some people who want to be placed in one province or the other. The question is how the department is going to deal with these conflicts in the future. Of course I am not best qualified to deal with this matter. It is only the hon Mkhaliphi who can do this decisively. This is all I can say on this subject.
This being our last sitting, on behalf of the committee, I would like to thank our leadership in this council for their support. We wouldn't be such a dynamic committee if it was not for the support of our leadership in this council. To date, as a committee, we have had 163 meetings since 2004. In those meetings we were able to pass 45 pieces of legislation. We were able to put through this House 25 international agreements. All this was possible because of the support we had from our leadership. Chairperson, this was possible because you gave us this support.
Apart from a few, we also got co-operation from our Ministers in this cluster. I was fortunate to chair this committee that consists of such selfless, hardworking, dedicated, understanding, decisive, intelligent, sharp, cool, always alert, wonderful, magnificent, excellent, evergreen, calculated and dynamic members. I am still humbled by the respect and co- operation I received from these members who serve on this committee. It's true that history remembers us not by our looks, but by the work we have done. Our motto as a committee has been "don't put away for tomorrow what you can do today". We have been doing this because we are aware that the full use of today is the best preparation for tomorrow. One other reason why we took this direction is because we knew that it is not the hours that one puts in that count, but what one puts into those hours.
Finally, to you colleagues, I want to wish you all the best in your future endeavours. You are an asset to this committee, the NCOP and our country, and not a liability. Hon members, please support us when we deliver the people of Khutsong back to where they belong - Gauteng. Let's support both Bills.
Modulasetulo, ga ke nyake go hlwa kgorong. Go ja kudu ga se go nt?ha tlala. Ka gona e re ke re, diphala t?a mona marula di a tloga. A re thekgeng Melaokakanywa ye mebedi ye. Ke a leboga. [Chairperson, I do not want to waste time. May I therefore say that it is time for me to wrap up. Let us support these two Bills. I thank you.]