Hon the Deputy President, as you rise to respond, can I just remind you that two minutes is allocated to each reply to a supplementary question.
Even maidens are allocated two minutes.
Hon Speaker and hon the Deputy President, Standard & Poor's is the most important agency as far as the mining sector is concerned in the world. They have recently warned to downgrade us if business confidence weakens, labour disputes escalate and production costs goes up due to the weakening of the currency. What they want to see is an improvement and efficiency in the public sector.
Hon Deputy President, we had an average of 32 public unrests per day across all provinces in South Africa. Are you not concerned that this would escalate during the elections and force Standard & Poor's to take a negative decision on us?
Hon Speaker, following the reply of hon the Deputy President, we have recently seen the emergence of another new union in the mining sector, which looks like a breakaway from Amcu. Are you concerned about whether that particular union should be engaged early in the process?
You would remember that there was a debate about whether Amcu, in its formation, needed to be engaged to stabilise the industry. Are you concerned that that particular breakaway union that has now happened may create further instability? If it is so, what would be your take in engaging with that particular union fairly and early in the process? Thank you.