Speaker, Minister Radebe has provided the house and the public with a report on the findings of the investigation into the landing of a commercial aircraft at a military aiforce base in April. It is clear from the report that this landing fell outside established norms for the use of Waterkloof. It is clear rules were broken and positions of authority were breached.
The Executive will consider the report’s recommendations and act to address the proposed interventions. One of the startling findings of the report is the abuse of position and trust by senior officials in government. All in this House have agreed previously that one of the objectives South Africa should pursue vigorously is a capable development-oriented public servant. The NDP suggests that this public servant will be one fully able to execute her job, committed to working in the interest of the people of South Africa, patriotic, ethical and reflective of the principles and values that are in our Constitution
A democracy in formation, such as our own, relies heavily on success and support that can result from high calibre public values of the kind described in the NDP. These would be teachers, who commit to service quality education and youth development; doctors who uphold the full meaning of the Hippocratic Oath, nurses who serve to heal, and local government workers who are honest hard working and results-oriented.
These qualities are vital for what we term service delivery, but they are even more critical for advancing and protecting the national interest of our nation in the continental and global sphere. No country can thrive if it has senior public servants ready to sell their country to the highest bidder. This is true whatever the effects of such disloyalty. In this case our strategic base was infringed through misrepresentation and brazen abuse of authority. As minister Radebe has said we must be grateful that the majority of our public servants are hard at work doing what should be done. The minority of bad apples should not cause us to tarnish all of them.
Our success in the past nineteen years has been firmly supported by thousands of good public servants who ensured hundreds of schools are built, millions of homes electrified, millions provided with water services, and many other positive changes.
When some public servants behave in an errant fashion, we should not forget these millions, we should not find everyone guilty in our rush to pursue our narrow political agendas. It is especially important that we as members of parliament take the lead in assisting our new country to understand due process, to appreciate the value of proper investigation, and to come to an appreciation of the importance of reaching conclusions on the facts and not on speculation, hatred of certain politicians, or narrow pursuit of votes by any means necessary.
It is tragic that members of parliament who have the unique opportunity to build a new rules-based society generally fail to rise above their political interests and tend to be so ready to pronounce guilt where it does not exist due to their deep seated desire to besmirch the reputation of the ANC and its leadership. There is no one in the ANC who has suggested the landing of this commercial aircraft JI 9990 was correct. The SG of the ANC raised alarm as did the President and many leaders of the alliance.
The Executive ensured a senior level investigation and kept the public informed. This is accountability and it must be welcomed and acknowleged.
