I have heard this before and to tell you the truth, hon Green, I haven't quite understood what that meant. The first government response, and it was immediate, was to intervene through the police to stop the violence. It didn't take 10 days.
I don't know why the police would not be counted as part of the government. [Applause.] You can ask the hon Charles Nqakula here. The matter was acted upon very quickly to say that these things are happening and that we have to respond with the necessary speed. I must say that, even with regard to Johannesburg, the Metro Police, and the municipality, also responded with very good speed. I don't accept this idea that there was some delay and government was paralysed and didn't know what to do. It is incorrect.
There are some matters that didn't prove very easy. For instance, as you are aware, people ran to the police stations, which is quite natural and, of course, police stations don't have accommodation for that kind of person. So you couldn't very well drive these people away to somewhere else; you had to arrange as to where they would go. Obviously that could not be done overnight. Indeed, there would be a delay about that; about the resettling of people wherever.
So I don't know. As soon as we had a clearer picture of the displacement of people, people immediately got together at the disaster management centre and stayed in contact, served within the task team and got into contact with the provinces to do all of the detailed work that was necessary. They asked: What resources do we need in order to deal with this? This is the size of the problem; this is where it is; what do we do?
I think with regard to this argument about a delayed response, you would have to tell me what the delay was. What was it that was done on Tuesday that could have been done on Monday? Then one could deal with it, but it is this general statement that I don't think is correct. It doesn't help us to solve this problem.
You know we have communities, hon Green. The whole disaster management system, the Gauteng province and the ministerial task team identify a location, for example, Midrand in Gauteng, where we can put a temporary shelter. Fine, the problem that arises then is that the communities around there object and say, "Don't bring these people here." But where should we take them? "Take them anywhere you like, but not here!" So, you then have to engage those communities in a discussion to get them to agree to move. Indeed, you may not have been able to set up the tents on Monday - not because you didn't want to, but because you had to respond to what the communities say.
I am saying that, as you can see, the charge of an unduly delayed response on the part of the government would have to be stated in more specific terms.
Did the police move too late? Starting with the attacks that took place in Atteridgeville in Ga-Rankuwa, was it possible for government to respond earlier? I don't think so. Why is "police response" not "government response"? Whose response is it if it is not government's response? It is government's response. It had to be the first step to say let's stop people being killed and attacked. That is the first thing, before you ask where you can settle them. Thank you.