Hon Chair, the issue of executive remuneration continues to receive the urgent attention of our nation, particularly at this moment in our history when we are facing a serious economic slowdown, which means that there needs to be serious restraint on the part of all of us, both in the public and the private sector in so far as the remuneration of all executives is concerned.
The New Growth Path raised this matter and, when it did so, there was a lot of opposition from various sources. It is important that we should stress that the private sector, especially the banks, must exercise serious restraint in so far as the heinous remuneration that they provide to their executives is concerned.
In so far as the remuneration of public office bearers is concerned, this is set by a commission chaired by a judge, and I think that it is nonetheless important that these issues continue to be raised. The state- owned enterprises are also in a process of reviewing this, and we hope that at the right time we will be able to make the necessary announcements.
Secondly, government recognises the importance of solar water heating and the green economy in driving our industrialisation agenda. It is for that reason that Cabinet approved, a few months ago, a plan to provide the required funding for the completion of the Solar Water Heating Project by 2014. We are committed to ensuring the success of this project through the collaborative efforts of various Ministers, including the Ministers of Trade and Industry, Economic Development, Energy, and Public Enterprises.
Renewable energy is a critical component of our strategy going forward in terms of which we will collaborate with other African countries. We are already well on our way in South Africa towards ensuring that solar and wind farms are established in the near future, thus adding the long- required energy mix into our grid. Thank you very much. [Applause.]