Deputy Speaker, I would like to respond to two motions from ANC members. But before I do so, the Minister of Finance and the two Deputy Ministers, hon Makwetla and hon Nene, have asked me to speak on their behalf. They said that when I spoke to the Leader of Government Business, I should quote Vladimir Ilyich Lenin who very wisely said: "Better fewer, but better." I speak for them of course, not for myself!
I would like to welcome what the hon Dlakude said about Metrorail's measures in trying to prevent the theft of copper cables. We are confronted by a really serious problem. Theft of copper cables is one of the main reasons that there is a serious lack of reliability in our Metrorail services. It literally costs our country billions of rand and causes a loss of productivity, work hours and so forth. It affects not just Metrorail but the electricity sector as well.
Therefore, along with the hon Dlakude, we welcome the introduction of these microscopic dots, which will enable us to trace stolen goods and to deal with this issue better, but, of course, that is only one measure. We need to do a number of other things, which we are planning to do, including having CCTV cameras. Metrorail operates in a very open system, unlike Gautrain. But, as we have seen recently, Gautrain has suffered copper cable theft as well.
A major part of our recapitalisation of Metrorail will be to try to minimise the degree of dependence on copper cable and other forms of cabling, and to introduce other forms of commuting to make us less vulnerable to this criminal action. Finally, many different parties have correctly been calling for much tougher measures against copper cable theft, which is basically economic sabotage. It is theft and the consequences for the economy are extremely serious.
I also welcome, very briefly, what the hon Snell said about Buffalo City. Greenhouse gas emissions from South Africa emanating from transport make up about 15% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore the transport sector is a very serious polluter of air. We are using all our means to try to get freight onto rail when it is appropriate to do so, as in the case of Buffalo City. This decision really needs to be welcomed. Obviously, the introduction of more public transport would help too, as opposed to us crowding into cars. One car is one ton of steel, and one person per ton of steel is not a very fuel-efficient way of moving about.
Therefore, the things we are doing in our cities in respect of integrated public transport systems are all about mobility, access, and democratising space in South Africa. However, as the hon Snell remarked, it is also about reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. [Applause.]