Chairperson, firstly let me thank all the parties for supporting this Bill, and say that this is going to help us take our programme to fight poverty forward.
Also, we are used to fighting all the time and engaging.
Kepha okumnandi ukuthi ngesintu bathi impangele enhle ekhala igijima. [What is interesting is that in our culture we say, "Make hay while the sun shines."]
So, we've heard what you are saying and some of the issues that have been raised are reasonable. We note the concern about ongoing discretionary decisions about disabilities. What is important is that we should understand that doctors have been trained, and we are continuing to train them in parts of the assessment tools to improve the objectivity and reliability of assessing for disability. This issue was raised by the hon member Mr Wiley.
Regrettably, the argument of the DA about the causes of poverty is very simplistic. Poverty is multidimensional in nature and it's a lot more complex. What we need to understand is that when our government took over, there was a very high level of poverty, squalor, hunger and unemployment. It takes years to eradicate poverty. We have been called upon by the United Nations to halve poverty by 2015 and that is what we as the government of the ANC are trying to do. That is what the Millennium Development Goals are demanding of us as governments.
Mexico, one of the countries that has a good social assistance programme, takes seven and a half years to take people out of the cycle of poverty. I think we should be proud of the work that our country is doing. This programme is for vulnerable groups only but, from what I've heard here, it sounds as if the programme is also for people who are eligible for work, people who belong to the working class, who can contribute to the economy of the country, and who are between the ages of 19 and 59. This programme is only for older persons, children and the disabled. These are the vulnerable groups. It's not for able-bodied people.
I also want to remind the hon member Mr Wiley that this government's response to poverty is to provide not only toilet bowls, but also walls. [Laughter.] So, it's a comprehensive programme.
Mr De Villiers of the ID, the open opportunity society should not be an argument aimed at ignoring ... [Interjections.]