Madam Speaker, in 1959 the Cuban people finally overthrew what was a neocolonial, corrupt and mafia-linked regime. From 1959 onwards they embarked on a remarkable process of development in which they have achieved remarkable successes in the fields of health, education, sport and many others.
This was, however, an example which was not to be tolerated by a powerful imperial force very close to the Cuban island.
Since 1959, an unremitting war of terrorism and destabilisation has been waged against Cuba. Thousands of Cuban citizens have been killed. Crops have been poisoned. Factories have been destroyed. A Cuban aircraft was bombed in mid-air, killing a Cuban sporting team and many nationals from other countries. There have been bombing raids on the island. There have been hundreds of assassination attempts against the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro.
What we easily forget is that this is not just a Cold War reality; these acts of sabotage and terrorism against Cuba have continued into the 2000s, into the new millennium.
Now, we agree with the United States of America that there needs to be a war on terrorism. Indeed, as recently as last week, this country supported the US when there were apparent threats against US citizens in our country. We supported the US in that, but war on terrorism must be war on terrorism, and not on people embarking on developmental agendas.
What the Cuban Five have been imprisoned for in the US is so-called spying - espionage. What they were spying on - and they were indeed spying - were Cuban exiles engaged in terrorist activities against Cuba from US soil. They did not spy on a single US facility, on a single US resource; their attentions were focused purely on the war against terrorism, in this case terrorism directed at Cuba.
Therefore, we fully associate ourselves with what my colleague from the ANC benches has said, namely that the Cuban Five must be released. It is absolutely imperative.
I would just like to respond to two other matters. On the issue of driving licences, we share hon Oriani-Ambrosini's impatience and frustration with the long time delays at driving testing stations. Minister Ndebele is very seized with this matter; he is deeply concerned about it.
There are also other problems; it is not just long waiting lists. Sometimes people take less than three hours to get a driving licence - through corrupt means. That's another problem. The relevance of the driving test to actual driving is another issue that we are also looking at.
The hon Kganare spoke so fast and was so anxious to get in his factionalist points about the ANC-led government that I did not catch everything he said. I would, however, urge him to tell me exactly what it is about scholar transport in the Free State that concerns him.
We are deeply concerned that scholar transport should be supported. It is a matter that is under the education budget, but the Department of Transport is very concerned about the long distances that our students often have to walk. So if he would please, apart from factional concerns, raise the matter in detail we, from the side of the Department of Transport, will certainly look at it. Thank you.