Hon Speaker, I would like to thank you for ensuring that time was allocated for this debate, as it is an important motion and a matter of national importance. Your increased commitment to bringing important issues to the floor in this Parliament does not go unnoticed.
Hon members, it is fitting that the constitutionality of this legislation is being debated in the National Assembly today because it is we Members of Parliament who must take responsibility for allowing this draconian apartheid-era law to remain on our Statute Book.
The National Key Points Act was passed in 1980 during a time in South Africa when the paranoia of the apartheid government was at its peak. When the Act was passed, it was done in response to what the government of the day viewed as sabotage or terrorism. It was used to wage war against South African citizens. It was designed to reinforce the safety of the apartheid system and to give the apartheid Minister of Defence broad authority to declare any place in South Africa a national key point. There can be no doubt that it is unconstitutional, and there can be no doubt that the Act must be repealed in its entirety.
The question is, why did our democratically elected government make such extensive use of this antiquated law to justify the spending of over R200 million on upgrading President Jacob Zuma's private home in Nkandla?
How could the hon members of the very organisation this law was written to suppress, become the suppressors themselves? The hon Minister of Public Works should perhaps start by explaining why he said:
Let us upfront state that the private Nkandla residence of President Zuma ... [has] been declared national key points ... Therefore, any information relating to security measures undertaken at a national key point is protected from disclosure in terms of this Act.
We hope the hon Minister of Police will follow, because he, too, in response to a DA parliamentary question, used this legislation to fail to respond on the basis of so-called security considerations.
Perhaps it is because, over time, this government has come to favour secrecy over transparency. Perhaps it is because this government would rather hide the truth than hold its own to account. But there is a solution. We in the DA are no longer willing to sit back while this law remains festering on our Statute Book.
That's why I have submitted to you, hon Speaker, a private member's Bill - the Protection of Critical Infrastructure Bill - which will once and for all repeal the National Key Points Act and replace it with a constitutionally aligned alternative that balances security with transparency and accountability.
This Bill will only allow those facilities which are really compromised without security from the state, or vulnerable to threat or attack, to be declared as critical infrastructure. It is a Bill that would not be left open to government abuse, so that Ministers declare key points every time they wish to hide how much money they spent on security upgrades.
Our collective failure year after year to abolish this law has led us to where we are today. This is our chance as Members of Parliament to set it right. We cannot wait another moment and let a pernicious apartheid law from the past be left on the books and open to abuse by the ANC. We cannot afford to have our government spend a cent more on cattle culverts, helipads and astroturf for some when we should be spending money on creating jobs and improving education and delivering services to the millions of our citizens who need them. I thank you very much. [Applause.]