Speaker, Cabinet has taken a brave stand, and we hope the Minister will be strong enough to see the action through. There have been almost similar interventions in the past: a team led by a Dr Madiba was sent to the Eastern Cape, and another team was led by a Ms Collette Clarke. Another intervention involved taking Prof Nengwekhulu from the Limpopo department of education.
We do not know what the outcomes of those interventions were, except that as soon as those teams left, people went back to their old ways. However, we also know that some of the problems were caused by previous political heads who entered into an agreement with a union in terms of which they would "co-govern" the department.
As a result, you now have MECs and heads of departments who are tied hand and foot on the one side, and departmental officials who see themselves as untouchable and therefore act with impunity on the other.
For the sake of the children in the Eastern Cape, move in, Minister, and stop the rot. As we said earlier, we hope you have the stamina to stay the course, and that you will not be intimidated by calls to have you removed as Minister. Azapo supports the decision to intervene. Thank you.