Donald Lee, yes. You are right, my friend. Donald would say that whatever side of the political divide we are on, this is a matter that concerns the nation, and therefore we cannot differ but should support each other in making the Soccer World Cup a success. [Applause.] Deputy President, it is true: you can go and check the records of our parliamentary proceedings. Donald Lee broke the cycle and said that even if other people were running us down by saying that we would never succeed in hosting this World Cup, we were confident as a country that we would, and we were going to have the best World Cup ever in our lifetime. [Applause.] We have given this undertaking, and we have lived up to that undertaking.
In the IFP ...
... Shenge, kukhona umfana okuthiwa laphaya nguDlamini omncane. [... Shenge, there is a boy called Dlamini junior.]
He has been representing the IFP and has been saying that the mandate he got from his party was that we should celebrate the 2010 Fifa World Cup. We will be at the forefront of leading the celebration. Today we are at that point of celebrating. [Applause.]
Deputy President, we have a deal with the FF Plus, and Minister Naledi Pandor, that today I am going to tell South Africans a story I know. It demonstrates that all of us as a country are behind the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup success. When the director in the Office of the President, Frank Chikane, was in Cape Town, there was nobody to hand over a letter, a deciding letter for the delegation from South Africa and to go to Zrich. That letter from government was needed, and there was nobody in Cape Town to hand it over. The only person who was there was a certain hon member called Pieter Mulder. This Pieter Mulder took the letter to O R Tambo Airport and said that it was a letter that he had been requested to give to the delegation so that when they arrived in Zrich with Madiba, the country would be making a submission saying that as a country we were supportive of this, and that we should please be given a chance and the honour of hosting the 2010 World Cup. [Applause.]
Pieter, baie dankie. Jy kon onbeskof geraak het en nie die brief geneem het nie, maar ons s baie dankie dat jy deelgeneem het sodat ons ? beter sokkerwreldbekertoernooi in 2010 kan h en in staat sal wees om fees te vier. [Gelag.] [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Pieter, thank you very much. You could have been rude and not have taken the letter, but we thank you for participating so that we can have a better 2010 Soccer World Cup Tournament and will be able to celebrate. [Laughter.] [Applause.]]