NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION - Thank you very much, Mr Chairman. Mr President, Mr Deputy President, colleagues, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and hon members, I think we should all agree that the state of the nation address has launched this Fourth Parliament in a decisive and determined way. The positive and pensive contributions of the 43 members who have spoken before me have contributed in a way that bodes well for Parliament, or, I should say, most of them did. I trust that this is an expression of the hope of renewal and not merely a honeymoon for the brand-new President.
The address on Wednesday did what it set out to do - to provide a high- level overview of the strategic choices that this government has made. I know that some hon members are champing at the bit, demanding details of the various programmes, but I need to remind this House that the President took exactly 67 minutes, the same amount of time that we should give up on Mandela Day, to cover the state of the nation. [Applause.] Many hon members here have taken a lot more time to deal with one specific issue, but, as the hon Motsoaledi said, the details will be spelt out, and certainly in the period ahead, when Ministers present their budget and policy to committees for discussion and debate. When these are then put together in the Extended Public Committees, there will be an opportunity for detailed discussion and debate. Wednesday was not meant to be that.