Thank you, Deputy Speaker. The Department of Public Enterprises is the custodian of state-owned entities that has a direct effect on millions of South Africans and the economy as a whole. Never before has a bigger mockery been made of the South African public by allowing yet another government bailout of a R1, 5 billion to our financially inept national carrier, SA Airways.
Instead of taking the obvious financially sound decision of either privatising or entering into a public- private partnership as, coincidently, encouraged by the Presidential Review Commission, as South Africans, we are forced to watch good millions and millions of rands being thrown after bad.
We are also forced to watch as one of the most important projects in our country's history, the Medupi Power Station, fall behind schedule, resulting in costs escalating to millions. Thousands of former Transnet employees live on the breadline daily and still we cannot get a firm and direct assurance from Transnet that the plight of the suffering and hardworking South Africans will be sorted out and that they will be allowed to live out their golden years with dignity. This is just not good enough and South Africans deserve better. [Applause.]