Madam Deputy Speaker, Cope would like to congratulate Team South Africa, which currently occupies 13th place in the gold medal standings, having achieved three gold medals and one silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics. We are optimistic about the possibility of achieving another two gold medals, in the javelin and mountain bike disciplines.
However, the Minister of Sport and Recreation should not take the gloss off our achievement and overshadow it with his alleged activities in London while accompanying our athletes to the Games. It is alleged that the Minister used taxpayers' money to host the expelled former ANC youth leader, Julius Malema, at the Corinthia Hotel in London. If these allegations are true, then the Minister would have done irreparable damage to the country, the department and, of course, to himself.
In addition to the above, Cope would like an accurate financial budget of the expenses of the Minister's trip to London to establish whether the Minister received any corporate sponsorship for his trip. Up until now, the Minister's spokesman has continued to evade all questions. Cope wants an unambiguous answer to these vexing questions. The claim that this information is posted on the Ministry's website is questionable, as Cope has been unable to access it. [Applause.]