Speaker, firstly, what comes first in the grading is the state of the economy of the country. Then they look at various things. You quoted Marikana. Marikana emerged from a strike. It is not political instability. The workers went on strike, which was a strike outside the framework of how labour and capital function in this country. As soon as that happened, as I said earlier, the leadership in this country moved in response to that situation. I think that is an important element which indicates the strength of this country in terms of dealing with its own problems. As soon as the Western Cape strike happened, the leadership moved in to deal with the situation. Where does it arise from? It arises from the poor salaries that those people get. It is not a political issue. [Applause.] It is not caused by the political situation; it is caused by the conditions of the farm workers. [Interjections.]
Now, these are the two things indicated. Then you came to the ANC. Unfortunately, you don't understand the democracy of the ANC. [Applause.] That is a problem many of you have. Democracy means that there is a contestation in the party, and the ANC can claim to be number one in the contestation. [Applause.] In exercising democracy, the members of the ANC have the right to have preferences and make choices. That is what happened. That cannot be a minus; it is a plus to the democracy in this country. So, you cannot count that as a factor that influences the grading or downgrading of the country. It cannot be. It is, in fact, a plus that democracy works in this country. [Interjections.] In this country, anyone can stand up and make any statement. In Parliament here, people can talk until they sweat, making the wrong point. This is democracy. [Applause.] Thank you, Speaker.