Let me also speak about the Infrastructure Building Programme. Hon Minister, we agree with and support the initiatives and strategies that you have put in place in regard to how to resolve the current impasse in the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project. That is precisely because we understand that we still have R845 billion's worth of infrastructure building programmes that need to be handled with care. Therefore, the rating of our own state-owned entities, SOEs, and development finance institutions, DFIs, remains critical because it is going to be behind the balance sheets of these institutions. This will enable us to meet the infrastructure needs and provide what the country is yearning for. For us to achieve 6% or 7% growth in our economy, our energy programmes and infrastructure should be up to scratch. How we respond to the challenges of a R20 billion project vis--vis R845 billion is still in the pipeline.
It is very important that we manage ourselves as Parliament because we have the responsibility to let the truth come out and to let the public know. We must do it in a responsible way.
The last point I would like to raise is on ... [Interjections.] Chair, can I be protected? [Laughter.] This Budget Vote is also about fiscal sustainability, and making sure that both provincial and local governments, as well as SOEs, do not contribute to the fiscal destabilisation of our country. Therefore, the intervention by National Treasury in provinces where there are problems is not about anything other than strengthening the fiscus of those governments and ensuring that we as a country do not land in a similar situation to Greece.
There are differences today in Europe. France has just had its elections and Germany has its Chancellor, Angela Merkel. What Holland and Merkel are saying is something that we have to worry about, because if there are disagreements at that level, the sustainability of the Eurozone will continue to pose a very serious and dangerous threat to us as a country. Thank you, hon Chairperson. [Applause.]