Chairperson, Deputy President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, colleagues, comrades, friends and compatriots, this Bill has come a long way. There have been lots and lots of consultation since 2006. I must mention here that this Bill is the first since 2009 that our committee has had to deal with. What a pleasure to have had a consensus view on a straightforward yet technical Bill.
On behalf of our glorious movement, that turned 100 this year, it gives me pleasure to debate this Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Amendment Bill. This very year, 2012, our country celebrates 60 years of volunteerism since the Defiance Campaign Against Unjust Laws, ably led by Chief Albert Luthuli and the volunteer-in-chief, Nelson Mandela. Ah Dalibunga! [Praise!]
We derive pleasure from supporting this Bill, mindful of the tasks and challenges that our country, particularly our livestock farming community in the economic sector, is confronted with. Also, since our rural farming communities lack professional veterinary and para-veterinary services, this Bill, in partnership with organisations like Onderstepoort Biological Products, shall go a long way to bringing the required services to communities in far-flung rural areas. We do all of this because our objective is to continue the advancement of an agenda for a better life, primarily for the poor and especially for the rural poor.
Among the objectives of this Bill is compulsory community service. South Africa is on track to compel our veterinary and para-veterinary graduates to volunteer part of their time for community service. We take a leaf from the book of the experiences of Chief Luthuli and our volunteer-in-chief of the defiance campaign of 1952, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. This Bill presents the opportunity for the people of our country to learn from those heroes and heroines and to understand that 60 years of the spirit of volunteerism still lives on in our country. We shall go a long way in creating a sense of patriotism, especially among the youth of our country.
This Bill also presents South Africans with an opportunity not only to preserve and grow this scarce skill, but also to attract nationals from other parts of the world. This therefore calls for the creation of an enabling environment for these foreign nationals to acquire their permanent residency and/or citizenship of our country, South Africa. This does not imply that anyone from anywhere can come and practise as a vet or para-vet in South Africa. Stringent measures will apply and must be met through set standards in our system of higher education.
As true patriots, our vets and para-vets must be called upon to exercise their own consciousness and choose South Africa above all others as the home to practise and grow the profession and be role models to those who come after them.
Without doubt, the rural communities stand to be the direct beneficiary of this legislation. This legislation will bring a professional veterinary and paraveterinary service closer to the communities that are in dire need of it.
While our black rural communal farmers continue to constitute the majority of livestock farmers in South Africa, it is unknown to some of us that the reality is that a mere 10% of our black communal cattle farmers contribute to the beef industry and to the meat we eat in our country. This Bill will therefore seek to improve the position of these black rural communal farmers in the livestock industry; in order words, to increase their production levels.
In conclusion, this Bill will provide for the appointment and the determining of the powers of inspection officers, and for the investigation of complaints of vets and para-vets, thereby asserting accountability in the profession.
On behalf of the ANC, I submit for adoption the Veterinary and Para- Veterinary Professions Amendments Bill, which is a section 75 Bill, in terms of tagging. [Applause.]