17 February 2004
This democracy is as open democracy- the constitution has the sovereignty 7 over that is why it was necessary for us to work out this power and privilege in relation to what the constitution dictates to us what to do. What it captured and guided us to do mostly in relation to immunities, privileges and posses, it guided us also in relation to provincial legislatures
This new Bill or Act it is important for us because it assist us under the new dispensation and in a transfromatory manner to be able to deal with power and privileges under the new constitution cutting us away from the history of past and trying to empower parliament to protect its power and privileges.
The most important privileges protect in the Act
(i) The power of a legislature to determine and control its own proceeding.
(ii) Freedom of speech of members of legislatures and
(iii) Members immunity from civil and criminal proceedings for anything said in a legislature or a committee of the legislature.
It is important as we provide to redefine ourselves on this new democracy that we take note that there is a Bill of Rights, the constitution, and parliaments and the courts as we do the freedom of speech. Because history cant be the same, we the ANC MP common' be different understanding our policies can't be same like the old apartheid Parliament, because under them Parliament was sovereign they had 'Bur' they had detention cells where they told person or people who disagree but we differ with such approaches we don't use or hold up people because they differ with. They followed the West Ministers system to the after. I haven't heard them explaining the relation between the executive and legislature to us it is very healthy and full of challenges with them it was a master servant relations they don't know all of them, be it security apparatus, but legislatures how many long were passed to oppress us, have been passed or the tortures that were taking place.
The ANC because it is always concern about accounting have always made it clear that for the interests of democracy and to up hold the constitution we must have a here their relationship with the parliament, executive and the board public and their institution, so that we remain accountable to our people. That is why even now after ten years of being in good we have made it clear that there should be a contact with the people, because we haven't stay away from the responsibility of taking and working without people, because at the heart of what we do as MP's we think about our people, we reach out to them, that is why we would not stay we never know what any institution or the judicially is doing.
The people has been the centre of our approaches, listen to the poor and do policies to benefit the poor because the contact we have signed without people is always about how they should benefit from us taking over political power. The ANC was formed in 1912 but key to that was to get political power so that we could change the lives of our people that is why Parliament is an important institution to us, we have been able to put laws that could change the lives of our people, we're been able to do budgets to improve the lives of our people. We as the ANC written up the constitution to make ourselves accountable, we have used our majority vote, very responsible. Because it is us who know that when didn't have political power on our how frustrating it was to come marching to Parliament and get blocked and be determine when we come to express our views to those that we haven't elected, but they will send dogs after us we have done a lot in this past 10years and remained accountable to our people.
We have made sure that each political party to have a voice in Parliament.
Madam Speaker or presiding other would make sure that even the minority parties would sit in different committees would participate in the executive, so that we could show that whilst we would always make sure that our people voter for us we do recognise to role of every South Africans in building a better society because to us every South Africa has a role for play.
The platform we create for our communities to participate and assist in legislation, our visiting of communities indifferent our opening events it is to continue reaching out to the people to let the participate in our democratic processes and to let them have a voice in what we do. This is to strengthen accountability we show a lot of caring to our people. We hope as Colin Eglin leaves Parliament he will remain positive about the work we do, that there are no communist under our beds, but were just people, human being who wants, self fulfilment and happy. To continue strengthening role in Parliament we have made Ministers to come to committees to done and account we have made top officials to account for their statement and work budgets their follow, vision, mission prioritisation in their planning we've made Parliament an institution where we exchange views of where society is going to. We have had marches coming to say thank you, you've doing a good job we've had policing far better that the apartheid era. Where policies don't fight with the public that raises issues in relation to the type of policy or legislation that is in front of the house.
Our committees have given a lot of people of opportunity to give us views about the legislation in front of us. The ANC Government cares about its people it has allowed people to access through broadcasting so as to show that what we've doing even now we have taken note of their concerns about lacking were doing something. The President and the Deputy President have raised this but it shows the healthy relationship we have with the people. The contract with the people that were asking for is organic it has been coming through out the ten years and all the years the ANC has been fighting for the needs of the poor. The way committees work looking details in front of the work of the executive-, fewer partisans are healthy for democracy.
The increase of woman participation chairing committees, speaking in the Chamber. The way we interact with NGO's or civil society, allow them to prevent in front of us speak about how far we have gone into assisting in entrenching our democracy how we do interpellation, getting the executive, the Parliament to answer question, speaks about transformation, accounting allow each party to ask questions even how small it is does get the opportunity it shows how the ANC strengthen multiparty democracy. We cant treat or give you the numbers we have in Parliament but we do give to opposition voice to speak and raise issues because we do understand democracy and we want it to work for all of us we do respect the rights of the minorities.
We have not been insulting the people of Africa we have held conferences with them. we're building the Pan African Parliament with them, we have sent one of the senior members of Parliament and the ANC Dr Frene Ginwala, this is the caring attitude we have towards the people in Africa have multilateral, bi commission with the ____ to show how the South African people would like to show the type of democracy that is needed within the African continent, no attack, or raids would better the relation with the African Continent. This Parliament and its members are the centre of working and showing the type of a attitude South African towards Africa and its people we do care as a people Government, and Parliament. That is why we say this past ten years has been challenging and demanding but as leaders of our people we will carry the people contract is a reality, we're building on it. ANC have shown leadership we need to continue building we have better international relation than the apartheid years without neighbor.