Deputy Speaker, one of the things all of us have been saying - and in fact you have said so in the past - is that Mr Shaik should be treated like any other person, like any other citizen, like any other former inmate who is now out on parole. He is not the only one who was released at the time on medical parole. But what we are doing is drawing a lot of attention to an individual and we are elevating him, in my view.
I really suggest that we should actually request the department to come and present to the portfolio committee a whole list of names of people who have been released on medical parole.
Secondly, I want to remind hon members that we have already referred this matter to Judge Desai and the Parole Review Board for them to develop a policy around medical parole. What we have, indeed, is that we release a person on the basis that the person is about to die, but in fact a number of them have not as yet died. Maybe they are dying, but they have not as yet died.
I really want to request that, even with regard to that, it is the responsibility of the portfolio committee to monitor and make contributions and inputs to Judge Desai and his team, to make sure that the whole area of medical parole is properly defined. Thanks.