Hon House Chair, let me start by expressing appreciation for all the comments made by colleagues in this very important debate.
What I hear is that there is no disagreement that poverty is indeed a challenge in South Africa. Unemployment and underdevelopment are similarly a challenge in South Africa, and we need to deal with those issues.
What I don't hear us having a common approach on, though, is the "how" part of it. How to deal with that? I did say earlier in my speech that there is no one-way approach to this. To those of us who are ideologically inclined to say that we must just look at the markets - like the hon members from the DA who are saying we must ensure that we work on equal opportunities for all - let me say, yes, we are saying equal opportunities for all in the ruling party and in government.
What we don't agree with is that we must just say equal opportunities for all, and that is the end of it. There are people who will need to be uplifted. Those were colleagues who stood here and who understand where the ANC comes from, and where we are going. Naturally, and unsurprisingly, they are from the ANC.
We spoke about a need for us to do something to uplift the rural women, as hon Montsitsi has just said. Hon Boroto has just demonstrated how important it is to take care of the elderly, but also to take care of the women in those rural areas.
So, the sooner we get out of this mode of debating whether equal opportunities for all as an exclusive policy, is right, and therefore all others are wrong, the better for us as a nation.
We are definitely out there to root out poverty. We are saying that we have seen in this country of ours, South Africa, what those who followed the markets only, and ignored the entire 65% of the population in the rural areas and never even thought of providing facilities for them, actually led this country to. We have seen it happening: education denied, infrastructure denied, everything denied, and then people - especially the haves - were focusing on the markets. They think that if one focuses on commercial operations, everything else will fall into place.
No, we don't agree. Let us really refocus our energies. We will certainly address all the issues that encompass people in rural areas.