NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE SERVICE COMMISSION INTERIM REPORTS

(Member's Statement)

Mr D J MAYNIER (DA): Speaker by now we all know that the hon Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, has refused to hand over the interim reports of the national defence force service commission to this Parliament. One of the many reasons in the Minister's arsenal of excuses for this was that there was no link between the interim reports and the Defence Amendment Bill. The primary objective of the Defence Amendment Bill was to establish a permanent defence force service commission, and the fact is that there is a link between the interim reports and the Defence Amendment Bill.

What does one find when one reads the interim reports? One finds that the interim report itself recommends the establishment of a national defence force service commission. Several pages of the interim report are devoted to recommendations covering the appointment, terms of reference, functions, staff, and reporting responsibilities of the proposed defence force service commission.

And here is the real clincher: the interim report itself contains a draft Defence Amendment Bill. How is it possible, therefore, that an interim report which contains a draft Defence Amendment Bill is not linked to the Defence Amendment Bill? The fact is that the Minister has been caught out telling a big political fib to this Parliament. The Minister should now take steps to stop the bleeding, stop the pain, and release the interim reports to this Parliament. [Applause.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Speaker, on a point of order: There is a Rule which says that you cannot attack the integrity of a member of this House without bringing about a substantive motion. Therefore the hon member is totally out of order in making the kind of imputation that he has made.

The SPEAKER: That is correct. There is such a Rule, but I will study the Hansard and come back with a ruling.

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Source: Unrevised transcript, Hansard

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