Deputy Speaker, Deputy President, Ministers and hon members, as indicated by members who have spoken before me, the Bill did serve before this House, and we are now dealing with the amendment that has been effected by the NCOP. It is important, however, that we remind this House, briefly, of the objective of this Bill. Before we deal with the objectives, the Bill is important because, first and foremost, we must understand why the National Health Laboratory Service Bill was established, and why it is being amended.
It was established to make sure that we address the issue of equity of access to laboratory services, and to address the issue of capacity in relation to the ability to recruit specialised skills in disadvantaged areas and communities. It also became a platform for teaching, training and research-related laboratories, including the training of registrars. Lastly, it is to build and