Chairperson, it has been a very busy afternoon. I would like to thank the hon Minister for being present. I also want to add my voice in thanking the Director-General of the National Treasury for the excellent work he did and the expertise he brought into National Treasury. I encourage him to go and continue practising it at the Reserve Bank. We also thank the personnel in National Treasury and the provincial treasuries in South Africa for their commitment and their contributions. Some of them are sitting there.
The ANC government's objective is to create a better life for all and roll back the frontiers of poverty by focusing on its five manifesto priorities. This is demonstrated in the equitable division of revenue across all the spheres of government in order to create a national democratic society, hon Lees. Quality should inform the division of revenue - quality of spending and quality of service delivery.
As a developmental tool, the division of revenue should actively right past wrongs and correct past imbalances to improve our people's lives. We have been doing this since 1994. We could have done it before, had we been in power, but it happened in 1994. The time is now! Do you remember the posters on the lamp posts? The time is now! The priorities are the poor and the working class, and to free all people from poverty.