Madam Deputy Speaker, through you to the Minister, thank you for giving us a sense of how much government is helping Denel and the extent to which that is done in spite of the fact that there are other competing local businesses in the same area of production. The question is: Why should we continue to own Denel? Why should we continue to finance an arms manufacturer which, despite the overwhelming government support in procurement, cannot make a profit and continues to rely on the input of the overburdened taxpayers to keep itself afloat?
One appreciates the strategic considerations, but world experience teaches us that subsidies, whether they are direct or indirect, are like drugs; people get used to them. Perhaps, if Denel was left to compete in the marketplace by itself, it would produce weapons people want and would learn to fly at the economic level rather than continuing to rely on the state as its sugar daddy. Why are we doing that, Minister?