Yes, certainly. What I want to assure hon Ellis is that he will not be in our Cabinet. [Laughter.]
Chairperson, let me start again. The Department of Science and Technology is one of those departments in government which appears not to court controversy. It does so by virtue, firstly, of succeeding in an area where most other departments fail, namely, generally sound management and regular clean audits. I think that deserves applause. [Applause.]
However, despite the glamour associated with many high profile projects, one should not lose sight of the fact that South Africa is still underachieving in key areas. I want to refer to the targets adopted by government. Indeed, the issue of targeting and what this entails is of deep concern to the IFP, because we are of the view that targets are seemingly being set without regard to the likelihood of their being met. The department may well be caught between a rock and a hard place in this regard. If the targets are too low, why bother and why the budget? But if they are too high, why set oneself up for failure, and why the fantasy that they mean anything?
A couple of key areas deserve particular attention. In respect of human capital development, in our view this is without doubt the single most important programme of the department, and especially if we have regard to the number of set Masters and PhDs. May I also congratulate your daughter, Chairperson, on getting her PhD.