Opening remarks by Speaker at Induction for Members of Parliament (MP) in the

National Assembly, Cape Town

12 May 2009
Honourable Mr M J Mahlangu, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)
Honourable Ms N C Mfeketo, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA)
Honourable Members of Parliament (MPs)
Officials of our Parliament
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this induction programme for Honourable
members of the fourth Parliament. This is an exciting period in the life of our democratic
government as our Parliament is more diverse than ever before (certainly in terms of
political parties represented) and as such, offers such a unique opportunity to develop and
deepen our democratic culture.
As some of you may know, I sat on the Independent Panel Assessing transformation in both
Houses of Parliament. Many useful observations and recommendations were made in our
report. All of you should be re-assured that these will be taken forward.
I urge you all to take seriously the induction programme that has been ably put together by
our officials. Please listen attentively as we do not want anyone of you getting into trouble
over declaration of assets or with the South African Revenue Service (SARS)! More
importantly, we want all of you to play a very active role as representatives of our people
and this programme will provide you with a necessary insight into how best you can do that.
The training for members of parliament is an ongoing process and we expect of you to
indicate whether you have further training needs.
There is a lot of work to be done in this fourth Parliament. Our immediate focus will be to
constitute committees of both houses and all other institutional arrangements. We must also
ensure that the programme of Parliament is designed to effectively do the oversight,
monitoring and evaluation of government departments.
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 we will
have will be well informed, meaningful and respectful.
We also need to give serious attention to the ways in which members interact with the
public and we must rededicate ourselves to the true meaning of keeping the doors of
Parliament open.
I hope you find the training useful and I look forward to your recommendations on future
training. Together we must continue the transformation of our Parliament and ensure that it
remains relevant to the many challenges our people face and the hope they have invested in
all of us.