In the Minister's previous life, there was a TV show that he participated in, and those are big shoes to fill! He has spoken and he did all the thanking and wrapped up the debate for both of us! [Laughter.]
Chairperson, let me also thank members of the House and MECs. I don't know where Mr Sinclair and my friend Mr Bloem have disappeared to. I am actually very disappointed that Mr Bloem has left the House because I wanted him to help me with the reading material for Mr Sinclair. He read the Freedom Charter wrong and got the year wrong. He also doesn't understand formal jobs and work opportunities. But can we ask him please - hon Sibande, can you invite him - to come to the select committee next time so that we can help him? Let's empower him. He might have a role to play.
Hon Groenewald, I have some responses to suggest to you. My team is there, and after the debate you may engage with them. We've got responses to all the issues you raised. I don't want to prolong the closing session, but there are answers and we certainly thank you for raising the issues with us. We would like to encourage you not to wait until the next Budget Vote before you raise issues. My cell phone number does work, and you can call me.
I thank all the MECs for their contributions. We have a very vibrant team in the Minmec, and the Minmec has certainly strengthened us as Public Works.
Chairperson, I want to say to the NCOP that they have a crucial role to play in intergovernmental relations and they can assist us to unpack some of the difficulties that we have in understanding Schedule 4 of the Constitution. Public Works has a very strange concurrent function; it has a qualification in it that it is not the same as Housing and it is not the same as Health and Agriculture. Therefore, don't just blame everything on any one of the public works departments and be careful because some of the things you are blaming us for might actually be to do with local government.
I will be good, Chairperson, and at some stage arrange that we have a discussion on how we can try to demystify the functions of Public Works at the national and provincial levels. It is important that this House leads us in that debate. It will also give expression to Chapter 3 of the Constitution, which deals with co-operative governance, so that we can assist and strengthen each other in the spirit of the Constitution, rather than criticise and blame each other. I would certainly like, Chairperson, to be part of the discussion at some stage in order to assist in that process.
I've been asked by the Minister of Human Settlements to thank both Deputy Ministers. Firstly, there is the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Deputy Minister Z A Kota-Fredericks. I remember her as chairperson of the housing committee in our previous life, hence the title sticks, but her title is now human settlements. Then there is Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu of Public Works and I thank her very much for her contributions.
Certainly, as we can see, there is our NCOP product there, the MEC from the Eastern Cape, who gives us a very hard time and keeps us on our toes. Now she wants me to go and build six more bridges in the Eastern Cape! But that is correct.
Chairperson, I want once again to thank the select committee for giving us an opportunity to appear before them, to share with them our strategic plan and to explain the budget. We thank you very much for the oversight role that the NCOP is playing and we hope and trust that you will support our Budget Vote positively when you do so, and approve our budget. Thank you, sir. [Applause.]