The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has elected Mr Poobalan Govender as its Deputy Chairperson. Mr Govender is a permanent delegate to the NCOP representing the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
In accepting his election, Mr Govender said: "I stand before you with a profound sense of gratitude and humility as I accept the responsibility of this leadership role as the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP. As I step in this new role, I am acutely aware of the weight of responsibility it carries."
He then urged his colleagues not to lose sight of the task at hand. "Our nation is faced with formidable challenges and we must not falter in our efforts to serve the people of South Africa," he said.
He urged the permanent delegates to harness all their resilience, optimism and resolve, for the people of South Africa have changed the country's destiny. "Their decision to vote in a way that opened the door for the Government of National Unity (GNU) ... means our work is not a task of one person, one organisation or one arm of the state, but of a collective," he explained.
In his view, the GNU calls on MPs to embody servant leadership. "GNU is a unique calling for all of us to find an opportunity to express our shared commitment to servant leadership," Mr Govender said. He reiterated that MPs should never lose sight of the fact that they are there to serve the people.
Furthermore, he pointed out, "As a country, we are emboldened by a clear electoral mandate to advance our national interests and our country's developmental mandate. These are commitments that supersede partisan politics but instead call for a strategic compacting among political parties through consensus and building of social cohesion."
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After the President announced the Cabinet, the path before us is clear, he asserted. We must urgently pass the budget and engage with critical processes that will give effect to our constitutional mandate of law-making, oversight, public participation and parliamentary diplomacy.
This resolve will enable the house to play a meaningful role in reducing poverty, inequality, unemployment, and gender-based violence and femicide, Mr Govender said. If the house is to be successful in advancing South Africa's national interests and in improving the lives of the electorates whose vote elevated them to the positions they occupy today, Mr Govender continued, NCOP delegates must ensure that at all times their work is anchored in the supremacy of the constitution above all else.
The NCOP also elected two House Chairpersons. Mr Dennis Ryder, a permanent delegate representing Gauteng, was elected as the House Chairperson responsible for committees and Mr Bhekizulu Radebe, a permanent delegate representing Free State, was elected as the House Chairperson responsible for House Support and International Relations.
