Hon Acting Speaker, the very genuine undertakings from the Deputy President and also the steps he took are unfortunately not adequate at this stage because there was a decline in the number of answers given from 2010 to 2011. In fact, it worsened by 47%. Some of the worst offenders unfortunately include the President of the country. His failure rate in terms of responding to questions is 22%; that of the Minister of Correctional Services, 48,39%; the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 29,46%; and the Minister of Communications, 20%. Obviously, this is totally unacceptable.
Despite the fact that the National Assembly Rules provide for 10 parliamentary working days after publication of the questions, some 254 questions remained unanswered towards the end of last year. We therefore want to know what other steps you are contemplating to make a turnaround so as to make sure that the people respect the Constitution and their duty to account to Parliament and to give the necessary information - including possible deductions from their salaries. Thank you.