Hon House Chairperson, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and hon Members of Parliament, I want to greet the members of the ANC, the people who are governing this country today, and the people who will win the upcoming elections. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
After all that has been said here to which the people were listening, I'm convinced that they are not going to vote for any of the people who spoke here.
The President was crystal clear on what he wanted us to do. The President wanted us to deal with clauses 42 and 45 and that is exactly what the ad hoc committee has done.
With regard to the other issues raised by the hon Leader of the Opposition, those are issues dealing with the whole Bill. I think that people are not aware, or at least the opposition is not aware, that we are not the only country that has a Bill or an Act of that nature. [Interjections.]
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Canada and India have privacy Acts. We are not a banana republic. South Africa is the sovereign state of the Republic of South Africa. We will not be guided by people who stand on the fence and throw stones! We are guided by the fact that we want to protect the safety of the citizens of this country. That is what is at the heart of the whole Bill. [Interjections.] Whether people shout or not, we are going to come back here in our numbers. I am sorry, because half of you will not come back here! [Interjections.]
Unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition was not in the committee. She is not aware that the hon Oriani-Ambrosini and hon Smuts never agreed on anything. I noticed that she was binding them together as if they agreed. They never agreed! So, it's a pity, because she is talking about things that never happened in the committee. If you were listening to the hon Oriani-Ambrosini when he was speaking here, you will agree that what I am saying is correct.
We, as the ANC, are going to protect the state of the Republic at all costs. We are going to make sure that the security of the state and our people is at the heart of what we do. The people of South Africa know that, and that is why they will always vote for us.
So, hon Oriani-Ambrosini, I'm sorry that you could not speak well because you are sick. However, even if people had heard what you were saying, they would not have agreed with you. They never agreed with you in the committee. In fact, nobody agreed with the hon Oriani-Ambrosini in the committee. I don't know why he is raising the issue again here.
I am saying to the ANC, we must support the President and congratulate him on his vision. The President did not just sign the Bill, but he went through the Bill and applied his mind, because he is the President of the people, chosen by the people of South Africa, and he will still be chosen by the people of South Africa. [Applause.] I thank you. [Applause.]