Thank you, hon Speaker. Hon Meshoe, I think that this is absolutely unfair. You received the letter in three days - in three days - and not in three weeks or after a week. Really, unless there is a political motive, why should this be an issue? As I said, if on the day that I spoke to the press club you hadn't received the letter but received it a day thereafter, then it ought not to be a big issue. I made that clarification that it ought not to be a big issue. If you had said to me that you still had not received the letter after a week or after five days, I would understand.
I'm not saying that the Office of the President must not send out letters on time. But really where is the cutoff time here, and in what way was the letter sent? Now, the point is that you are sticking to a point which I don't think is a point to be stuck on because I have said that I gave an explanation. Absolutely. If you said to me, "Look, for a whole month we didn't receive any letter" - maybe we backdated these letters - there could be some room for speculation. The matter is straightforward, I think. I am even answering those who are still going to ask follow-up questions, so that they don't come back to this question. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
With regard to the time, the fact of the matter is that Judge Ngcobo is still a member of that institution. There's nothing in the Constitution that says that you cannot appoint a judge if a certain amount of years are left before his retirement. There is nothing out of order there. [Applause.]
Also, with regard to Judge Hlophe, I don't know where that comes from. I don't think I want to respond to speculation by the media. They speculate about everything under the sun. If I were to chase after those speculations, I am sure I would be speaking the whole day. So, that is not a matter of reality that needs my attention at this point in time. [Applause.]