Deputy Speaker, first of all the hon Kganare quite correctly said that he could not be held responsible for other people's ignorance, but let me help him with identifying himself.
As the hon Dexter will know, in India there are several communist parties. One of them is the Communist Party of India, CPI (ML), for Marxist- Leninist. We now have a Cope (ML), but it does not stand for Marxist- Leninist, it stands for Mosiuoa Lekota, and I think Cope (ML) is where you come from. I suppose that is better than being Cope (SS), which has another set of references! [Laughter.]
I am standing up in particular in regard to the Transnet strike. I think what we should be doing today is congratulating the management of Transnet, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, Prasa, and the trade unions - not just Cosatu, but also the United Transport Allied Trade Union, Utatu - as well at the Minister of Public Enterprises and this government, for ensuring that what was a very difficult situation was brought to a conclusion; and a good conclusion.
We must not just blame workers in these matters. In the case of Transnet, the legacy of labour brokering has caused tremendous problems. Some ten thousand workers in Transnet are on short-term contracts and they get rehired over and over again. That is why, as the ANC government, we welcome the settlement which stipulates that many of these workers should now be employed as full-time workers with all of the rights that other workers enjoy.
In the case of Prasa, what we are dealing with is a legacy of a racially divided labour market in which certain categories of artisanal workers, formerly all white, enjoyed particular privileges. What we have done in the settlement is begin to close that gap as well.
Rather than complaining and whining, what we should be doing is acknowledging the very important active labour market that we have in South Africa, and the ability of South Africans, led by the ANC government and the tripartite alliance, to reach effective resolutions in difficult situations.
The hon Ruth Bhengu correctly raised the important question of the Mpumalanga province allocating R1,24 billion to road maintenance and construction over the next 10 months. It is a province that is facing particular challenges with coal haulage on our roads and it is very important that we do so.
Last week we held a very successful road summit at which we agreed that we have a major backlog in respect of road construction and road maintenance, and I am quite sure that this government will now move ahead effectively with ensuring that we begin to address that significant backlog. Thank you. [Applause.]