Mr Speaker, in this sitting the DA will be using its full allocation of member's statements to read out letters to the President sent to us by high school children from the Mopani District in Limpopo. We intend to deliver the letters to the President in a few weeks' time. These letters are a testament to the real impact that the lack of textbooks in Limpopo has had on learners, despite the Department of Basic Education's attempts to convince people otherwise. These letters also reveal the full extent of the education department's failure to provide a basic education service that is free from fear, hardship and corruption. In the words of one school child:
Dear President, we need more educators and we lack subjects. We need more books because learners are suffering. At my school, things are not okay because learners and teachers are crying. Yours faithfully, Mariwale.
[Applause.]