Chairperson, with all due respect, Minister, if that was a comprehensive response, I am not sure I would like to hear an evasive one. You are making reference to toolkits, dissecting the toolkits and workshops, yet there is very low support for rural tourism and local development.
In the capital city of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, there is a pitiful amount of R800 000 to promote the city, difficult as it is. We know that you have cut up to R165 million from SA Tourism over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, and that constitutes 60% of the budget. In fact, your department is critically underfunded. It cannot compete with our long-haul competitors, and we are losing ground.
Is it not true, Deputy Minister, that you actually cannot do enough to support local government and rural tourism because so much money is spent propping up state-owned enterprises and parastatals? We are going to take a very long time before we can actually do what we should do: support tourism in these areas and start alleviating poverty where it is needed most.