Thank you, Mr Speaker. On the issue of the joint venture between Lonza and the state for a state-owned pharmaceutical company, we welcome the news about the Ketlaphela project. Hon member, we are very happy about that and believe the project should be accelerated.
On the issue of exercise, the outdoor gym in Soweto and the impact on non- communicable diseases, I am eagerly awaiting the day when there is a gym here in Parliament, used by hon members on a daily basis. I am eagerly waiting that day. [Interjections.] There should even be an attendance register for members who attend. You might not be aware that some medical aid companies know how important this is. One of them is Discovery, one of the biggest medical schemes in the country. They are linked with gymnasiums around the country. There is a card, which you use when you clock into the gym. It actually shows Discovery that you have been to the gym. As a result they reduce your premium because you are actually exercising and they know you will claim less money for health care because you will not have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. This is very important. So, I am looking forward to Members of Parliament doing just that. We might have to ask your medical scheme, Parmed Medical Aid Scheme, to introduce that type of thing - where they reduce your premium if you clock in at a gymnasium.
I am answering the last question on behalf of the Minister of Basic Education, in response to the MF member who came with allegations concerning teachers whose conditions of service were being altered. If I understood him correctly, that was his complaint. I am sure by now he is painfully aware that no Minister or MEC can unilaterally alter anybody's conditions of service. The labour laws of this country do not allow that.
What I think he is talking about is the issue of moving teachers because of teacher provisioning, scales and standards. This was agreed to in the chamber. It is not unilateral. It is done with the teacher unions and it is an annual thing. You calculate the provision of teachers in terms of the learner-to-educator ratio and then some teachers have to move. I must say that, while this has been accepted even in the chamber, teachers sometimes do not agree with having to move because it might not be nice for them. That does not mean the MEC is going against any law. What he is doing is perfectly legal and the Minister of Basic Education mentioned - it was even in the newspapers - that teachers needed to go and work where they were needed, not where they wanted to work. They must go where the students are. [Applause.]
Thank you very much, hon Minister. I am reliably informed that, in fact, there were two gyms here after 1994, one for men and another for women. The one for men has fallen into disuse - it was never used - while the one for women is still functioning. [Interjections.]