Madam Speaker, in addressing the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill and the South African Police Service Amendment Bill, I simply want to caution that we should be careful as a nation not to destroy institutions of the state, particularly those dealing with the security and safety of our country. We can't have murder, rape, corruption, etc, committed with impunity. Zero tolerance of crime should not be mere lip service.
Our national institutions must be reviewed and adjusted where the necessary adjustment needs to be done. But, under no circumstances should our institutions be interfered with for parochial objectives.
Much has been said about the Scorpions. The subject has reached a feverish pitch. Some people have gone to court to express their feelings about this issue. There are those who have argued that the purpose of these Bills is to protect certain political leaders from being charged for criminal offences such as corruption. If this is true, it is despicable and must be condemned in the strongest language at our command by all the citizens of this country.
On the other hand, there are those who claim that the Scorpions exceeded their powers. They also hobnobbed with foreign secret services to a point of being a tool for foreign interests. One thing must be made crystal clear and that is that security and safety forces exist to serve our country and not its functionaries or political leaders. Their primary duty is to secure this nation.