The heartfelt appeal made by the Honourable Mangena cannot and will not be ignored or brushed aside. Even if we fail in some areas, we dare not fail in this area. We should guard against the commitment of many ordinary South Africans to democracy fading, because the democratic process fails to alleviate poverty. Democratic consolidation will depend to a large extent on an improvement in living standards and conditions. Madame Speaker, we could not agree more.
Opposition can never be an end in itself.
The objective of opposition should also be to build a better country. This is especially true in a country as diverse as South Africa. I trust that both the ANC and the IFP, which serve together in Government, will respond to this call in the genuine, open and cooperative spirit in which it was made, unencumbered by the adversarial sentiments to which it is so easy to succumb. The Hon Marthinus van Schalkwyk is as aware as I am that there are some in this House who will advise him to be wary of what I have just said. I. They will encourage you to come into another embrace whose merit, it will be argued, is that thus you become part of a vigorous opposition and thus better serve democracy.