Thank you very much, Chairperson. I would like to thank Members of Parliament who have contributed to this debate - those that said anything worth listening to. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Interim National Defence Force Service Commission for the sterling work that they have done since 2009, when they started off as a short-term interim appointment. Their term comes to an end at the end of June. I would particularly like to thank Judge Bosielo for ensuring that we are where we are now. Thank you, Judge Bosielo. [Applause.]
My gratitude goes to the nominations committee, headed by Dr Ralph Mgijima, who spearheaded the nomination of the current Review Commission, which was accepted by Cabinet yesterday. And we will provide those details when Cabinet is ready to release them. I would like to thank Major General Roy Anderson who, together with the Deputy Minister here, headed a task team that reprioritised the department's budget and assisted us to manage our budget in such a way that we saved considerably. [Applause.]
At this point I would like to thank Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano, who will be retiring as Chief of the Air Force at the end of September 2012. He has served with distinction, an officer and gentleman in every sense of the word, a man of honour who, when things went wrong in the SA Air Force, knew that he would have to pay the ultimate price when he offered to resign last year. I refused to accept his resignation. I need to repeat: he is an officer and a gentleman. Thank you, General. [Applause.] We hope you will accept staying in the defence family.
My sincerest gratitude goes to the Defence Review Commission headed by Mr Roelf Meyer. The Defence Review is before the country now. Exceptional in- depth research has been done, and the rest is up to us South Africans to have the opportunity to shape the future of the Defence Force. We have concluded the Defence Review in so far as putting together the necessary infrastructure and the necessary research.
I hope that in the middle of August - and towards the end of September - those in Parliament who might be responsible for this, might take a retreat so that perhaps we could have a four-day workshop to go through the review one page at a time until we are all in agreement on the contents.
I believe some hon members somewhere have been making some lame threats that they will write their own defence review. Banish any such childish tantrum. The Defence Review is a constitutional responsibility of the Minister of Defence. That perhaps might explain, hon Maziya, why there was such a performance, because the same rumour mill that hon members feed, comes back to us. It has been reported how much in trouble you have been for those childish tantrums. You have no authority as the DA over the Defence Review.
I would like to thank the hon Groenewald ... [Interjections.] I would like to thank the hon Groenewald. I would like to say to the hon Groenewald: I too have been very disappointed by the content of this debate. We invited our honourable guests, veterans, some of whom who have lost husbands ...