Programme director
Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Baleka Mbete
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Lechesa Tsenoli
Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, Hon Raseriti Tau
Honourable Members of Parliament
The Secretariat
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this on-boarding programme for Members of the fifth Parliament.
This simply refers to induction, orientation and training through which new entrants to an organisation acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to become effective organisational members and insiders. It is intended to be more conversional, allowing all the participants to have exposure to critical information and knowledge pertaining to their work and the environment.
Honourable members we need this on-boarding session, especially now during this exciting period in the life of our democracy. We hope that this session will give us the necessary tools to help us develop and deepen our democratic culture.
This is more so given the fact that about 50% Members in the National Assembly and 86% in the National Council of Provinces are new.
There is nothing wrong with change; there is everything wrong with refusal to change, to adapt and to innovate. Democracy can only thrive if those leading it are all time learners.
There is a lot of work to be done in this fifth Parliament. This is attested to by the on-boarding programme that we have that runs for almost ten days. That can be a lot of information to consume.
Therefore we do not expect the Honourable members to know and memorise all this information at once. For now at least grasp the basics and learn the details as time goes on. However, those who can master this now please do so because the faster you learn the ropes the better for the fifth Parliament. Hopefully the returning Members will assist the new ones to come on-board as fast as it is reasonably possible.
We all know the basics of debates and meetings. We all know that each institution has its values, history, culture and rules. We also know that we come from different races, cultures and constituencies. What binds us is being South African and being Public Representatives mandated to better the lives of South Africans.
Our immediate focus will be to constitute committees of both houses and all other institutional arrangements. And ideally we want members to have grasped what this entails when we do this. This is one of the reasons for this on-boarding training and I trust Honourable members are eager to learn about all that.
We must also ensure that the programme of Parliament is designed to effectively do the oversight, monitoring and evaluation of government departments. This is the essence of Parliament.
I therefore implore you all to take seriously the on-boarding programme that has been ably put together by our officials, in consultation with the new leadership. Please listen attentively. We would like everybody to play a very active role in representing our people. This programme will provide you with the necessary insight into how best you can do that.
Programme director, this year we celebrate the 20 Years of Freedom and democracy. This momentous occasion presents an opportunity for us to reflect on how our freedom and democracy were achieved; the progress we have made in the past 20 years; and on how South Africans will work together to implement Vision 2030.
The National Development Plan, which is our roadmap until 2030, outlines the type of society we are striving for, where no one is hungry, where everyone is able to go to school and further their studies if they wish, where work is available, where everyone is making a contribution because each person has been provided with what they need to reach their full potential. So there can’t be any excuse to not deliver. It is now for us to put our shoulders to the wheel; to demonstrate to the electorate that we are worthy of the trust it placed in us on 7 May 2014.
The fifth Parliament ought to be a people-centred Parliament. As some of you will be aware, in 2005 this Parliament crafted a vision which is: To build an effective people’s Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of realising a better quality of life for all the people of South Africa.
This vision captures the essence of what our Constitution seeks to achieve, as contained in the Preamble. Among other things it states that the aim is to build a united and democratic South Africa and to improve the quality of life of all citizens.
Like you, I look forward to serving in a Parliament where inputs of members can be expressed constructively and freely, without fear or favour. I hope that the debates and inputs we will have will be well informed, meaningful and respectful.
It is my wish that you will utilise the time we have made available for you to familiarise yourself with the work and certain requirements for you as public representatives, including the Rules of Procedure.
With these few words you are all welcome to this on-boarding programme. I hope it will arm you to better perform your duties as Members of the fifth Parliament of a democratic South Africa.
I thank you
