Mr Speaker, yesterday was an opportunity for the hon Minister of Defence to come before this House and provide us with clarity about what happened in the Central African Republic. We are, as many South Africans, deeply, deeply disappointed that the hon Minister opted instead to engage in a politicking exercise instead of accountability on this serious matter.
There is still massive controversy surrounding the reasons for the government's initial deployment of the SA National Defence Force, SANDF, to the Central African Republic. The memorandum of understanding purporting to sanction our involvement lapsed on 11 February 2007. More fundamentally, it is still unclear why we found it necessary, in the first place, to support a dubious character such as President Francois Boziz, who it seems had a mysteriously excellent relationship with this government.
Mr Speaker, the time has come once and for all to take Parliament into its confidence and end the continued speculation about what the next steps are regarding the Central African Republic. What form is this support going to take? Will the Deputy President, with absolute clarity here today, confirm or deny reports that the government is planning to redeploy troops to the Central African Republic? I thank you. [Applause.]