Speaker, Cope distances itself from this Bill because, amongst other things, the ANC has introduced a different kind of Minister in our country who shoots first and aims later. It is not true that what the Minister has been doing, in terms of putting administrators in universities, is working. At all the universities that he claims he has introduced administrators to, the administrators still continue to fail our universities.
He lost a case against the Central University of Technology in the Bloemfontein High Court. This Minister does not understand the concept of co-operative governance in terms of which Ministers like Bhengu, Pandor and Asmal respected the institutions, as the ANC wanted to promote co-operative governance amongst stakeholders.
The Minister introduced administrators to manage the administration of universities for two years, with no stakeholders participating in running governance. It was this ANC that introduced that; this kind of Minister. He is so vindictive because he differs with certain institutions in this country. He continues to appoint unqualified council members who are unable to do oversight in the universities. He comes to this Parliament and requests to be given the authority to intervene and disrupt universities.
The whites of the past - the National Party, which used to sit this side of the House - did the same thing to suppress the independence of knowledge in this country. This is very dangerous. What is being done here is that we are giving Minister Blade Nzimande - when he doesn't agree with philosophy that is independent of institutions - the power to disband universities and disband councils. We cannot accept that. This will haunt us.
In the past, the apartheid regime used these institutions which claimed that they did not want the apartheid government to intervene in their programme of educating students. The apartheid government, like Minister Blade Nzimande today, interfered and rejected black students. This kind of Minister will take us in that direction.
It is this Minister who continually undermined ... It is true that some members in our executive undermine the laws of this country. It was this Minister who even marched in Rosebank and undermined the courts of this country when they were dealing with an issue. It is predominant in this Parliament that many of you are forgetting what Mandela fought for: freedom of speech. As Cope, we are not going to stop reminding you that this country does not belong to you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]