Mr Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) welcomes with great pride the success of the South African space satellite, Sumbandila, which produced its first images of the earth's surface on Monday, 22 February 2010;
2) recalls that the R26 million satellite was launched in Kazakhstan in September last year and was expected to orbit about 500 km to 600 km above the earth, carrying high-resolution cameras to produce images of the earth's surface;
3) further recalls that the data collected will be used in the management of natural disasters such as floods, fires and oil spills in Southern Africa and is also expected to monitor sea and land temperatures, clouds and rainfall, winds, sea levels, ice cover, vegetation cover and gases; and
4) feels that the success story of Sumbandila reinforces South Africa's role in national, regional and international space initiatives and enhances its efforts to develop space science and technology in the country.
Agreed to.
Hon members, I now wish to invite the hon Kohler-Barnard to address the House.