"This is a self-inflicted pain by the municipalities of Gauteng, because we warned the municipalities of Gauteng as early as June to take care of their water infrastructure, as they are losing lots of water"

"Surely we don’t want to be counted when there’s a war on water, so there must be a reference that says we did our part to save the continent from going to war due to lack of access to water"

"In the next AWW, we must step up our game and make sure that all the resolutions taken here are implemented. The time for talking is over"

"The only shortcoming I observed is that I was the only Minister of Water who is a woman. There is a lack of gender representation in this sector to the extent that there was no dedicated section dealing with the struggles that confront women"

"What we (South Africa) brought boldly to the fore is the need for water to be a priority on every panel. We learned a lot, but they also learned a lot from from us. We were not here just to absorb, but also to share"

"Specific work has already taken place, which include the upgrading of water treatment works, upgrading of raw water pumps, construction of new water reservoirs and the drilling and equipping of boreholes"

"The functions of the NWRIA will include the financing, development, operations and maintenance of the national water resource infrastructure and the treaty and non-treaty functions performed by the TCTA. Processes are now underway to manage the establishment of the agency"

"I’m not sure if I would have done things differently. I should have looked into them and their registration but they were registered with the Financial Services Board, which I thought was sufficient to prove they are in the finance business. Like any other [due] diligence in getting a loan, I should’ve thought better than I did.”"

"It is difficult for a person who looks like me to get a loan in the South African economy. It’s difficult to get a loan and start a business as an African child without any form of assistance. There are so many brilliant dreams and ideas that black young people have but there’s no financing for them."

"I don’t know who they were involved with. The only way to get to know where Gundo has invested will be through a section 52 report, which comes every three months to update the council about the status of its investments, if there are any. That’s how I could’ve known about their investments. In terms of the names of the people, I don’t know and I’ve never met them."

"Terrorism continues to challenge the international community and no country can regard itself as immune from this threat as recent events both on our continent and further afield have shown."

"This challenge is especially felt in situations of instability, which have created the space for terrorist groups to thrive and operate with impunity depriving innocent civilians of security, human dignity and peace."

"Terrorism in any form and from whichever quarter cannot be condoned. South Africa stands firm with the international community in condemning all acts of terrorism."

"South Africa has always held the view that countries cannot face this challenge alone and it is important that we pool our resources to counter this threat."

"In dealing with the threat of terrorism it is important to understand what drives it and to address its root causes by developing appropriate strategies to prevent it and counter its impact."

"Very seldom nowadays will you find people doing anything if there is no reward."

"More often, if it is men, they will start off by clearing their throat. Then you know that this is a party line and not a personal conviction.”"

"When you do not retain people, you create a situation where there is too much competition, where it is a case of: ‘I feel I need to impress my party bosses. I must be loud and prove that I can denigrate the other parties better.’"

"I sometimes laugh when members of Parliament have a party line and you can see the difference between the mouth and the eyes. You see someone is saying something but doesn’t really believe it."

"These three contribute to violence against children and women. For me, that is something which, if ever I retire, I would want to give my life to preventing."

"I am not judging because the story is still unfolding and you don’t know if there are exaggerations."

"Sometimes South Africa must not be scared to go back. Were we right when we outlawed [corporal] punishment for children at home and at school?"

"Every time I am thrown into a situation, I just say to myself: ‘I now need to understand the rules of this situation endingena kuso (which I am entering into) and take it from there.’"

"We were quite calm about it. We had been forewarned that it was going to be rougher than usual."

"Each time they are involved in road crashes, we see a high number of casualties. These crashes are usually caused by recklessness and general disobedience of road safety regulations"

"We condemn this senseless and inhumane act in the strongest possible terms. In the same vein, there is a relief in that three suspects were arrested following this harrowing ordeal and are undergoing court proceedings. I am confident the evidence at our disposal will be sufficient to send these criminals in custody to face the full might of the law"

"The bus driver is reportedly new in his job and not familiar with the surroundings. The scene has been cleared, and the injured passengers have been taken to various hospitals in Makhado"

"According to reports, the bus drove over a roundabout, the last traffic circle from Makhado toward Polokwane, at a high speed, lost control and overturned, killing and injuring its passengers in the process"

"All I do is according to the rules, that has helped me a lot to gain confidence and be able to command the council. We emphasise the importance of respect among each other and we advance democracy."

"What we get from the community is that people want the land to farm and the relationship with farmers gets worse each day."

"Our municipalities have enough land for human settlement, however, without proper water and sanitation the government cannot build houses there. We understand that we can not do it all overnight but we have made progress in that regard."

"The bullying issue and gangsterism are also our issues, I have worked with the provincial government to address and intervene in those cases,”"

"We will not be intimidated by such incidents because it means there will be no leaders in future as those who kill will have it their way, which compromises democracy."

"The elected leadership must be protected. There are internal structures and the party's constitution that must be utilised rather than resorting to killings."

"It's scary, but that is the nature of politics. The history of the organisation motivates us. I believe the ANC has a future and we must fight against the scourge of killings to advance democracy."

"When I found out last week that I no longer had a job, I cried and so did my children. I thought I had to go from door to door to beg for food for my children, as I did before I worked,”"

"The man visited me in Khayelitsha yesterday morning and I could not believe when he said he wanted to donate such a large sum of money to support my family. When I received the cheque, I cried and screamed ‘yoo yoo’ in disbelief."

"We will never accept any principal taking action against an employee who reports a criminal offence,”"

"All South African troops going on peacekeeping missions must undergo a rigorous SEA training. There is not a single soldier who does not know what sexual exploitation and abuse is and what the consequences are,”"

"I let the spirit of the constitution manifest in the vision and work of my ministry."

"One embarrassing thing to a man is when a woman minister asks him, ‘Why do you have to do that? Why do you need to lose everything you have invested in over the years?’ Much as I am a minister, I am also a mother"

"men and women [who will] enlist and be deployed.” Women are particularly encouraged to join the forces"

"For me, the proof is in the pudding. I think I have earned [the South African people’s] respect"

"South African women are assertive and are rising to the challenge. Women all over the world are taking their rightful place."

"Women don’t want to be patronised, they want to be recognised for what they do.”"

"Women must take their rightful place"

"If you’re rich and have support from your cronies, there things are going well. It’s shocking,’"

"I think it’s very sad to see that people who have basically abused human rights on a gross level such as this are being rewarded."

"It would be nice to see some kind of retribution. But just a recording of their crimes, in my opinion, is one step towards people much later looking back and seeing that human life at one stage, despite our Constitution, is treated cheaply, especially if you’re poor and don’t have access."

"Hon members, I shall never forget how I was part of the team in the history of our people, the team that ensured that South Africa, our beloved country, became much better than it was before 1994"