SPEECH BY BALEKA MBETHE - SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRESIDENT'S DEBATE

25 May 2004

Madame Deputy Speaker, Hon President, Hon Members

I take advantage of this opportunity in my capacity as the Speaker of the National Assembly to say something during this important debate. I will soon have an opportunity to address the House on the occasion of the debate on the Budget Vote of Parliament in June.

The importance of this debate - apart from it being based on the State of the Nation Address by the President - is that it comes six weeks after our third election which have produced this House. Hon Members, we are a collective of South Africans who have been given a mandate by the electorate to use the institution of Parliament to respond to their need, to make this country work better and to build our nation and the values which can better take us to a better future. Coming so soon after our successful elections it is an appropriate occasion for us as the elected representatives to thank the electorate for their confidence in us collectively.

Today I wish to reflect generally on some of the challenges that face this Parliament and some of the thoughts that need further processing as we move forward.

STRENGTHENING THE WORKING RELATIONS AND LINKAGES WITHIN GOVERNANCE

• Between the various arms of governance in the country, we need to examine where there is room for improvement in our system and working relationships. Parliament must play its role alongside and together with the Executive and the Judiciary to strengthen our democracy. As a society and a system we must grow and strengthen ourselves by building on the constitutional imperatives such as public participation, accountability and co-operative governance.
• Elected public representatives, regardless of party political affiliation are representatives of and accountable to the public that elect them. They carry the authority of the masses of South Africans who came out in their thousands on the 14th April. The act of election itself is an expression of democracy whereby the electorate freely express and bestow confidence in the organized groups of people called political parties. Though organized in political party formations, we need to always remember that the needs of all South African citizens must inform the work of Parliament.
• We must remember some of the challenges which have emerged in the past 10 years. The question of ensuring that ordinary people make their input in, for example, our public hearings is one such challenge. Public hearings have tended to be largely opportunities for the elite in our society to express themselves. The question is how do we strengthen these linkages in our system to ensure we enhance the capacity of ordinary people to make their voices heard in Parliament? We must seek to be informed by the views of the people on the ground in the work we do. More detailed proposals will be tabled as soon as we are ready with them.
• As a new Parliament we must look at our parliamentary system in which one of the Houses (NCOP) facilitates input directly informed by consultation with the provincial legislatures and communities. We need to consider if there are any improvements needed. We need to consider whether we have fully appreciated and taken maximum advantage of their different roles. In looking at how to strengthen the working relations between the two Houses of Parliament the question of provincial visits by the respective committees of the two Houses is an area of particular interest. Are there any unnecessary overlaps? Do they play different roles in the areas in which they work? How do we co-ordinate and enhance the effectiveness of the work done by MPs and committees on the ground towards deepening our democracy?

These are all important questions which might sound technical, but have important bearings on improving governance broadly and heightening our capacity to deliver on the hopes and aspirations of ordinary South Africans.

RESOURCES

Over the past 10 years there have been many visits to other parliaments internationally. It is clear that Parliaments of the so-called "developed world" are far better resourced than we are in many ways. I will focus more on this area in Parliament's Budget Vote. For now I wish to say that there were numerous discussions on this over the past 10 years and we need to improve on the resources we allocate to for example:

• Committee work
• Constituency work
• Other facilities which comes as support to Members of Parliament

INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS

Today is Africa Day. It reminds us that we are not an island as a country. Even in the legislative sector we are part of collectives of Parliaments and MPS. On an ongoing basis we need to strengthen our work and linkages with Parliaments in the region and Africa as a whole.

This coming weekend our delegation will be leaving for Namibia to participate in the SADC-Parliamentary Forum. One of the key issues on the agenda of the SADC-Parliamentary Forum at present continues to be the challenge of Regional Integration, specifically in the context of the debate on the creation of a SADC-Parliament. This matter and the relevant documents have been referred to the Ad Hoc Committee on International Affairs. The National Assembly will soon have to debate the report that will emanate from the work of that committee on this matter. Our views will then be conveyed to the Executive.

I must also remind the House that we will soon have to decide on Parliament's delegation to the Pan African Parliament. These bodies at regional and Continental level are a proud realization of progress our Continent is making as we take our destiny into our own hands as Africans. The work done by these institutions must always be informed by caring for our people, enhancing good governance, accountability and building a human rights culture in Africa.

Ms B Mbete
Speaker of the National Assembly