Proceedings of the national assembly

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

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The House met at 14:04.
The Deputy Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
NEW MEMBER
(Announcement)
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, I wish to announce that the vacancy which occurred in the National Assembly, NA, owing to the resignation of Ms Magdalene Moonsamy, has been filled by the nomination of Ms Vuyokazi Khethabahle with effect from 21 January 2015.
The hon member has made and subscribed the oath or solemn affirmation in the Speaker’s Office. Welcome, hon member. [Applause.] [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
NOTICES OF MOTION
Ms N V NQWENISO: Hon Deputy Speaker, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of the House, I shall move on behalf of the EFF:
That the House debates the abuse of power as the underlying factor fuelling corruption in the country as identified by the 2014 Corruption Watch Annual Report.
Mr D J MAYNIER: Hon Deputy Speaker, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the House  

1. 
   establishes a multiparty ad hoc committee in terms of the National Assembly Rule 214(1)(a), to investigate the role of the security services in the state of the nation address on 12 February 2015, which includes, but is not limited to, the role of the security services in one, the removal of Members of Parliament, MPS, from the House, and two, the use of a signal jamming device to disrupt signals in the House;
   

2. 
   further ensures that the committee consists of 11 members as follows, ANC six, DA three, EFF one ...
   

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: But hon Deputy Speaker, that is not a notice of a motion. [Interjections.]

1. 
   Also notes that the committee will exercise the powers in Rule 138 that it may deem necessary for performance of its tasks and that the committee report to the National Assembly, NA, by no later than 27 March 2015.
   

Mr J A ESTERHUIZEN: Hon Deputy Speaker, I hereby give notice that in the next sitting, I shall move on behalf of the IFP:

That the House debates the Statistics SA report on poverty in South Africa and immediate steps needed to ensure that in a country with such great wealth, no one goes to bed hungry.

Dr M J CARDO: Hon Deputy Speaker, I hereby give notice that in the next sitting, I shall move on behalf of the DA:

1. 
   debates the President’s discretionary powers for appointment to and removal from public office, noting the recommendation by the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee to appoint President Zuma’s special advisor, Glen Mashinini as an IEC Commissioner and further noting the remarks by the Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke on the “remarkable concentration of the President’s powers of appointment”;
   

2. 
   considers how best we may shield the appointments of public functionaries to institutions like the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, and the Chapter 9 institutions from the personal preferences and vagaries of the appointing authority; and
   

3. 
   refers the matter of the President’s discretionary powers to the Constitutional Review Committee for further consideration.
   

1. 
   recognises World Cancer Day marked on 4 February 2015 this year and its message, “Not Beyond Us!”
   

2. 
   acknowledges that current medical statistics evince that as many as one in three people will die of cancer;
   

3. 
   further acknowledges the hardships, spirit and courage of those who are currently living and dying with cancer as well as those selfless institutions, and in particular the nonfunded NGO hospices, who provide palliative care to those who are terminally ill;
   

4. 
   calls upon government and the Department of Health, to commit all available resources to the eradication of this dread disease and its palliative care and to embark on comprehensive strategies through legislation and other means, and to establish innovative treatment-based cancer research centres where cutting-edge science and alternative medicines may be administered in controlled environments to cancer sufferers; and
   

5. 
   applaudes the tireless efforts of organisations such as the Cancer Treatment Campaign, the Cancer Association of South Africa, Cansa, and other organisations who relentlessly continue in the fight against this disease and its ravages upon our people.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   notes that 486 miners who were trapped 2 300 m underground at the Kusasalethu gold mine near Carletonville on Sunday, 22 February 2015, were all rescued successfully;
   

2. 
   acknowledges that several rescue teams worked tirelessly for 12 hours to safely bring to the surface the miners who had been trapped since early Sunday morning, after a fire broke out in the mine;
   

3. 
   further acknowledges the incredible danger the miners were in and the enormous risks the rescue teams had to take to safely bring nearly 500 miners safely to the surface; and
   

4. 
   conveys its gratitude to those who risked their own lives to save the lives of others.
   

Agreed to.

Mr S C MNCWABE: Deputy Speaker, I hereby move without notice on behalf of the NFP:

1. 
   notes that on Wednesday, 18 February 2015, Nonzuzo Zuma, an eleven-year-old Grade 6 pupil at the Vezokuhle Primary School, died after a heavily overloaded bakkie, transporting 24 primary school children, crashed in Pietermaritzburg on 28 January 2015;
   

2. 
   further notes that seven other children died in the crash and that 15 children were injured in the crash, of which five are still in ICU;
   

3. 
   extends its condolences to the grieving parents, families and loved ones of all the children who died;
   

4. 
   wishes the children who were injured and are still hospitalised a speedy recovery; and
   

5. 
   calls upon the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport to urgently review legislation relating to the transport of school children.
   

1. 
   notes with great sadness the death of South African anti-apartheid novelist and influential campaigner, André P Brink, on Friday, 6 February 2015;
   

2. 
   further notes that the author was travelling back from Amsterdam to South Africa on Friday when he became fatally ill during the flight;
   

3. 
   acknowledges that he was best known for his 1979 novel, A Dry White Season, which focused on the death in detention of a black activist, and was filmed with Marlon Brando;
   

4. 
   further acknowledges that he had been a literature professor at the University of Cape Town and had just received an honorary doctorate from the Université Catholique de Louvain;
   

5. 
   recognises that he was born in 1935 in Vrede, a small town in the Free State, and became famous for using Afrikaans to speak out against apartheid;
   

6. 
   further recognises that his novel, Looking on Darkness, was banned by the apartheid government in 1974;
   

7. 
   believes that his passion, hard work and courageous outspokenness against the apartheid government will continue to be our source of inspiration; and
   

8. 
   extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   notes that in the early hours of 6 February 2015, the 11 remaining bodies from Nigeria were repatriated to the country by a South African military flight that landed at the Waterkloof Military Air base;
   

2. 
   recalls that the arrival of the 11 bodies completes the return of all 85 South Africans who lost their lives almost five months ago;
   

3. 
   further recalls that the untimely death of 85 South Africans in Nigeria was occasioned by the collapse of a building belonging to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, on 12 September 2014; and
   

4. 
   joins the families and the nation in closing one of the darkest chapters written since the advent of our constitutional democracy.
   

1. 
   notes that on 14 December 2014, Miss South Africa, Rolene Strauss, was crowned Miss World 2014 in London, England;
   

(2) further notes that contestants from 126 countries competed for the coveted crown;

5. 
   congratulates Rolene Strauss for flying our flag high on the global stage and wishes her well during the course of her reign.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   notes that 11 February 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison where he had served 27 years;
   

2. 
   further notes that the significance of 11 February lies in the fact that it set in motion a series of events which made it possible for South Africans to achieve the democratic breakthrough of 1994;
   

3. 
   realises that this day also brought about decisive advances towards the achievement of South Africa’s noble goals to create a united, nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and prosperous society based on fundamental human rights and the restoration of dignity for all;
   

4. 
   encourages all South Africans to redouble their efforts towards the creation of a society which Nelson Mandela envisaged, where all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities; and
   

5. 
   calls upon all South Africans to redouble their efforts to overcoming even the most daunting challenges and ensure the triumph of good over evil.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   extends its deepest condolences on the untimely death of Mr Felix Mshololo, who is believed to have died of heart complications on Thursday night - to his family, friends and his learners at Menzi High School, where he was the principal;
   

2. 
   notes that Mr Mshololo was celebrated for helping to turn the school’s matric pass rate around from a dismal 34% to 100% in the past four years;
   

3. 
   acknowledges that his teaching career spanned 37 years, and he earned awards including a nomination for the best principal in the Kader Asmal Awards for KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini Living Legends honour last year; and
   

4. 
   further acknowledges that Mr Mshololo desired to see his school refurbished and calls on the provincial education department to look into doing this in his honour.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   notes that the EFF branch of the Central Johannesburg College contested six seats of the Student Representative Council, SRC, and won all of them without any failure;
   

2. 
   further notes that the EFF branch of the Tshwane North College also won seven seats, beating Sasco, and other parties, taking control of the SRC leadership;
   

3. 
   notes that the students of Vhembe FET of Makwarela voted for the EFF branches giving it seven seats and in Mashamba campus, 11 seats;
   

4. 
   believes that the taking of control and leadership of the SRC demonstrates that young people in universities and institutions of learning are increasingly embracing the agenda of economic freedom in our lifetime as led by the EFF;
   

5. 
   further believes that this lays a firm foundation for the establishment of the EFF student command which will take place at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop campus, which is in the control of the EFF-led SRC, on 16 June this year;
   

6. 
   notes that the EFF is mobilising and is going to continue mobilising intelligent young people who are going to lead the development of South African society.
   

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: If there are no objections I put the motion [Interjections.] There is an objection. The motion therefore becomes a notice of motion.

1. 
   notes that at least 468 miners were trapped underground at Kusasalethu gold mine, near Carletonville on Sunday, and at least 18 were still trapped in the early hours of Monday morning;
   

2. 
   further notes that the total mining fatality amounted to 168 workers, and a safety audit showed mine safety compliance in South Africa was below target at just 66%;
   

3. 
   acknowledges that the company in question, Harmony Gold, which is the world’s fifth largest gold mine has had three fatalities at Kusasalethu mine in 2014,and two and four people died in 2013 and 2012, respectively;
   

4. 
   further acknowledges that Harmony Gold stopped operations several times, including last year, when employees were trapped underground and eight of them died underground;
   

5. 
   recognises that although Harmony Gold employed 19 758 people and paid a total of R3,4 billion in salaries, many of the workers are on temporary wage employment;
   

6. 
   further recognises that Adcorp, South Africa’s biggest labour broker by market share, reported the labour broking industry to have an annual turnover of around R44 billion – money that should be in the hands of workers;
   

7. 
   believes that this robs miners of their hard-earned money and places it into the hands of private companies that take advantage of the structural unemployment in this country;
   

8. 
   further believes that clause 2,9 of the Mining Charter gives the Department of Mineral Resources the ability to take into account, in its monitoring and evaluation function, the effect of material constraints that may result in a company not achieving its compliance targets; and
   

9. 
   calls upon the Minister to investigate Harmony Gold for possible violation of the Mining Charter and safety regulations by putting the lives of mine workers at risk.
   

Agreed to.

1. 
   notes that on 31 January 2015, Prof Salim Abdool Karim received the Kwame Nkrumah Scientific Award, which comes with R1,1million, in recognition of his research on HIV prevention and treatment in Africa, at the African Union, AU, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
   

2. 
   further notes that Prof Karim is a graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and his workload is daunting as he is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for research at the University of KwaZulu-Natal;
   

3. 
   recognises that he is the Director of the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in SA, which links five local research facilities with Columbia University in New York;
   

4. 
   further recognises that he also serves as an advisor to several governments and some of the world’s leading agencies in Aids and global health, including the World Health Organisation, WHO, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids, and the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria;
   

5. 
   congratulates Prof Karim on his outstanding work and his monumental achievements in medical research; and
   

6. 
   further congratulates him on his appointment as the first African scientist to serve a term on the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine.
   

Agreed to.