1 TUESDAY, 23 JULY 2019 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WESTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT The sign † indicates the original language and [ ] directly thereafter indicates a translation. The House met at 14:15. The Speaker took the Chair and read the prayer. The SPEAKER: Hon members, I would like to bring to your attention that before I call on the first speaker, I wish to remind members of certain key rules of the debate and that which we must all adhere to . Although the interjections are allowed and would be allowed, senseless interjections and running commentary will not be permitted because they will not help us in what we want to achieve in the debate. So as Speaker I would like to reiterate that as hon members we will all be treated equally and that member s as I have been saying from day one, can count on the protection from the Chair, from time to time as and when required to do so but also the Presiding Officers, myself and the Deputy Speaker, because it is a long session, we really request hon members to assist the Presiding Officers by ensuring that there is decorum that is desired in terms of the Standing Rules. 2 Allegations of unparliamentary language would be dealt with on the merits on a case-by-case and the context will be taken into account when p ronouncing on those. Remarks made in debate or by any other interjection would be put to a test and we therefore need to be circumspect of the language we use as hon members; then that suggests that you must use an honourable language as hon members. Members wishing to raise points of order may do so but please stand in your place where you sit and call the attention of the Presiding Officer to the alleged transgression and please highlight the rule. You will recall that during the Rules Workshop I have ind icated to you, hon members, that it is important that we identify which rule is being transgressed so that we do not have a period that appear to look like a kindergarten. I think we all want to assist the process and I am also going to request that hon members of the public, in fact members of the public who are present here, you are all welcome. It is always best to have the interest of the people of this province and the people of the world to this House, but I would like to request that you may smile and laugh but do not use your hands because we do not want you to participate, and we heckle from here, but do not heckle there. So you may not contribute to the debate. It is also not the intention to stifle debate here in this House so as we seek to address issues that affect the people of the Western Cape, ours is to ensure that we confine ourselves to the issues within the confines of the Rules, that we do so in a manner that is dignified and in a manner that enhances and advances the cause of freedom. 3 Hon members, that is my little bit of assertion that encourages us to work from. Now we are going to go straight to the business of the day. Mr Secretary. ORDER OF THE DAY †uNOBHALA: INgxoxo-mpikiswano ngeNtetho yeNkulumbuso engoBume bePhondo. [The SECRETARY: Debate on the Premier’s State of the Province Address.] The SPEAKER: Hon member Dugmore. Debate on the Premier’s State of the Province Address Mr C M DUGMORE: Thank you. Hon Speaker, hon Premier, hon leaders of political parties and members of the Legislature, leaders of Local Government, religious and community leaders, special invited guests within the gallery, comrades and friends. A few months ag o all of us as members of this House made a solemn oath or an affirmation: “I swear that I will be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and the Province of the Western Cape and will obey, respect and uphold the National Constitution, the Provincial Constitution and all other laws of the Republic; and I solemnly promise to perform my function as a 4 member of this Provincial Parliament to the best of my ability, so help me God.” We promised to uphold the National and Provincial Constitution and respect all laws that govern our country and province. I believe, hon Speaker, that this oath is a good place to start as we participate in this debate. As we do so we should also remember the words of comrade Nelson Mandela when he addressed the crowd on the Grand Parade on 9 May 1994 as the President Elect of the Republic. He said, and I quote : “You, the people, have mandated us to change South Africa from a country in which the majority lived with little hope, to one in which they can live and work with dignity, with a sense of self -esteem and confidence in the future. This needs unity of purpose. It needs unity in action. It requires us all to work together to bring an end to division, an end to suspicion, and to build a nation united in our diversity.” I believe also that the words of Oliver Tambo are also relevant as we seek to make sense of our role as the 42 members of this House in confronting the challenges the people of our province face. Speaking from the vantage point as the commander of the forces fighting to liberate our country from apartheid colonialism, and anticipating what would follow victory, Oliver Tambo said, and I quote: 5 “Comrades, you might think it is very difficult to wage a liberation struggle. Wait until you are in power. I might be dead by then. At that stage you will realize that it is actually more difficult to keep the power than to wage a liberation war. People will be expecting a lot of services from you. You will have to satisfy the various demands of the masses of our people.” What he also said was particularly apposite to our situation not only as the official Opposition but also the other opposition parties represented here, the Economic Freedom Fighters, GOOD, the Freedom Front Plus, the ACDP and Al Jama-ah, but also to those members on the opposite side of the House who are charged with the responsibility of governing this province. Oliver Tambo said, once more: In the process, be prepared to learn from other people’s revolutions. Learn from the enemy also. The enemy is not necessarily doing everything wrongly. You may take his right tactics and use them to your advantage. At the same time, avoid repeating the enemy’s mistakes.” This quote actually makes me think of the contribution made by Mr Michael Louis, an MPO from the ACDP then, who was part of the Committee of this House that drafted and adopted the Provincial Constitution, which we have sworn to uphold. It was he and the ACDP who fought hard for the inclusion 6 of two Commissioners with the Constitution - the Environmental and the Children’s Commissioner. Section 71(1) of the Provincial Constitution states there is a Provincial Commissioner for the environment. Section 78(1) states there is a Provincial Commissioner for Children. It is a sad day, Mr Speaker, that ten years after the promise made by the Democratic Alliance in this House that a Childr en's Commissioner would be appointed, that we do not have one. In essence the DA has defied the provisions of both the National and the Provincial Constitution for over ten years. They are what some would describe as constitutional delinquents. [Interjection.] Mr R D MACKENZIE: I am sorry hon member. You did not hear that in the Committee meetings... [Inaudible.] Mr C M DUGMORE: Now more than ever, we need, Speaker, these Commissioners. Our province has incredible natural endowments. We need to balance economic development with the sustainable utilisation of our resources. It is clear to us that the DA does not want these Commissions to see the light of day. Today we say as the Opposition, so far and no further. We have all sworn an oath to the Constitution. It is illegal and unconstitutional... [Interjection.] Mr R D MACKENZIE: But he knows, he was part of. 7 The SPEAKER: Hon Leader of the Opposition, will you please take your seat. The MINISTER OF COMMUNITY SAFETY: Who is the enemy? I want to know who the enemy is. The SPEAKER: There is a point of order. What is your point of order hon member? Mr D G MITCHELL: Hon Speaker, I am rising because the Hon Leader of the Opposition is deliberately misleading the House because as a member of... The SPEAKER: What order is that? Mr D G MITCHELL: That is Rule 54 because the Hon Leader of the Opposition was a member of the Committee which took a decision and a resolution for it to stand over to the next Parliament. [Interjections.] So the member cannot now come and mislead the House and he was party to a decision that was taken. The SPEAKER: Thank you hon member Mitchell. Let us allow hon, the Leader of the Opposition to proceed. Fortunately he is still on the floor. He may defend himself. 8 The MINISTER OF COMMUNITY SAFETY: Who is the enemy? The SPEAKER: Over to you sir. Mr C M DUGMORE: I thank you. I trust that the Table will check the time. The SPEAKER: Yes. You are not going to lose your time.