Speaker, we recall the tradition of the majority's prerogative to choose its leaders, to choose its government and the extent to which it can exercise state power, bequeathed to world politics through Greece - Athens, to be precise.
Parliament, which is now known as a speaking place, was handed down to us through the ages as the embodiment and expression of the general will, a pursuit of the virtues of social political and economic justice for all citizens.
In his address to the meeting of the institutions supporting democracy, referred to as Chapter 9 institutions, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the hon Sisulu, among other things, called for Parliament to strengthen these institutions. In my view, strong, dedicated, experienced and assertive parliamentarians will achieve this and much more.
We are here, morally and otherwise contracted by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, to deliver a better life for all our people and beyond. However, a weak, unassertive Member of Parliament makes a weak institution of Parliament, which then becomes the soft underbelly of our democracy and a threat to our sovereignty.
The crisis of the constitution in 17th century England saw a frantic political battle by the English parliament to strike a balance between the prerogatives of the king and the fundamental rights of the subjects. The Englishmen believed this would bring harmony and political stability to the polity, for the good of all governed. Subsequently the English parliament moved swiftly to democratise the body politic. Unfortunately, I must say these noble efforts were not adequate to avoid the 1688 English Revolution.
For 16 years the Republic fared relatively well and even President Zuma recently expressed optimism in the progress made by South Africa on some of the Millennium Development Goals. It is also a word of encouragement and support to leaders of other African countries.
Internationally, South Africa is navigating the tempestuous seas of globalising economies and geopolitical power, where the world democracies like the United States, European Union, India, etc, and the world autocracies such as Russia, China, etc, including the theocracy in Iran, are battling for greater regional influence and international power.
A lot remains to be done on the part of South Africa to bring political stability and an internationally acceptable climate of democracy and human rights to Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Swaziland and Darfur, and also to the Middle East.
In conclusion, I believe this Parliament, as the voice of the people and the custodian of our democracy, should take heed that of late the poor have started to become restless. They are seriously questioning the relevance of our Constitution and the meaning of democracy in the midst of their poverty and suffering. Some have come to believe, like Aristotle, that our widespread state of poverty and underdevelopment is now being perpetuated by a defective democracy. Thank you. [Applause.]