... moet beloon, is nou! [... to be rewarded is now!]
The ball is now in our court to implement what people have been waiting for, for so long - for 40 years.
Die ANC staan vir 'n trotse nasie. Die ANC is die regering van die mense, vir die mense. Die Vryheidsmanifes van die ANC stel dit reg - dat net die ANC regering alle ongelykhede van die verlede sal regstel. [Applous.] Dankie ANC vir trotse en onbaatsugtige dienslewering. Ek bedank agb Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, 'n vrou wat 'n imbhokodo [rots] is, 'n vrou wat gely het, deurgebreek het en die ysterdeur oopgegooi het om vir die kleinskaalvissers 'n beleid te vorm met die insette van die mense.
Agb Bhanga, die mense het self die insette gemaak in hierdie tydperk waar die Huis mislei word en waar daar ges word dat die wetsontwerp laat hier uitgekom het. Die insette van die mense was belangrik. Die tyd is verby dat daar wetsontwerpe gemaak word sonder die mense se insette. [Applous.] Die mense het nie die regering hof toe gevat nie. Hulle het die stelsel van apartheid hof toe gevat, want die stelsel van apartheid het toegelaat, toe die Swart Grond Wet gemplementeer is, dat meganismes in plek gestel is wat parallel met die uitdeling van die visbronne geloop het, en dit het daartoe gelei dat die vissersgemeenskappe van hul grond af weggevat is.
Hulle is na die binneland gestuur en daarna het die Bantustans, soos hulle vir ons genoem het, ingekom. Toe die Bantustanbeleid inskop, word die mense in kampongs gesit. Ons het nou veeldoelige sentrums van daardie kampongs gemaak. [Applous.] Ons wil nie daardie geskiedenis wegvat nie, want ons wil ons kinders se kinders leer dat dit is waar ons gelewe het, dit is wat ons oorgekom het, en dit is waarvandaan ons kom.
Vir agt jaar was daar niks vir die kleinskaalvissers nie. Waar was agb Van Dalen? Hoekom het hy nie opgestaan nie? Hoekom het hy nie destyds al 'n beleid ingestel nie? [Tussenwerpsels.] Die beleid wat ons gehad het - die hoofwet - akkommodeer glad nie die kleinskaalvissers nie, en dit is hoekom, vir die eerste keer in die geskiedenis, 'n wysigingswet vir kleinskaalvissery deur die mense self ingebou word.
Agb Meriam Phaliso van die ANC, wie hier staan, is 'n aktivis in die visserybedryf. Almal wat hier gepraat het, diegene van die DA en Cope, was nie deel van die aktivisme om 'n deurbraak te maak vir die kleinskaalvissers nie, want hulle weet nie wat dit is om te gaan slaap en net 'n klein kreefbeentjie te eet en 'n bietjie water te drink nie. [Applous.] Vandag wil ek tog vir agb Van Dalen waarsku om nie van ons mense visdiewe te maak nie en om vandag vir die Huis te kom s dat hy hierdie beleid ondersteun het. [Tussenwerpsels.](Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The ANC stands for a proud nation. The ANC is the government of the people, for the people. The Freedom Charter of the ANC states correctly that only the ANC government will put right all the inequalities of the past. [Applause.] Thank you, ANC for proud and selfless service delivery. I thank Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, a woman who is an imbhokodo [rock], a woman who has suffered and who has broken through to fling open the steel door in order to draft a policy for small-scale fishermen with input from the people.
Hon Bhanga, the people themselves made these inputs during this period when the House was misled and it was said that this Bill had reached us too late. The people's inputs were important. The time has passed when Bills were made without any input from the people. [Applause.] The people did not take the government to court. They took the system of apartheid to court, because when the Black Land Act was implemented the system of apartheid allowed for a mechanism to be put in place that ran parallel with the distribution of fishing resources, which led to fishing communities' being taken away from their land.
They were sent inland and afterwards the Bantustans, as they called us, came in. When the Bantustan policy kicked in, the people were put into compounds. We have now made multipurpose centres of those compounds. [Applause.] We do not want to do away with that history, because we want to teach our children's children that that is where we lived, that is what befell us and that is where we come from. For eight years there was nothing for the small-scale fishermen. Where is hon Van Dalen? Why didn't he rise up? Why didn't he put a policy in place back in those days already? [Interjections.] The policy we did have - the main Act - doesn't accommodate small-scale fishermen at all, which is why, for the first time in history, an amending Act for small-scale fishermen is being incorporated by the people themselves.
Hon Meriam Phaliso of the ANC, who is standing here, is an activist in the fishing industry. Everyone who has spoken here, those from the DA and Cope, were not part of the activism to make a breakthrough for the small-scale fishermen, because they do not know what it is like to go to sleep with only a small crayfish bone and a bit of water. [Applause.] But today I want to warn hon Van Dalen not to make fish thieves of our people and to tell the House today that he supported this policy. [Interjections.]]