Hon Speaker, to hon van Staden, yes, I did note that a number of companies that are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange lost some value as a result of the introduction of the NHI Bill. That largely happened because there are people in our country who are against transformation, who are bad mouthing the NHI, they send negative and alarmist messages when we are seeking to ensure that there is social justice
Those people do not realise that we could lose everything if we do not introduce a measure like this one. I feel sorry for those who have lost money but losses on the stock exchange happen from time to time. Sometimes it can take a president of another country to say something and the stock market can be wiped out. Sometimes something positive can be said and it goes up. So, that is the vagaries of the market. We cannot say because of that we should now abandon the 84% of our people who need to
gain and benefit from national health care. We cannot say that. [Applause.]
We need to come up with programmes that are aligned with the interest of the majority of our people. What I do know is that when finally the real facts about the NHI do sink in and people understand what this NHI is all about, those stocks will start going up and I look forward to you coming back here and saying to me, "President, now that people understand NHI the stocks of those companies have gone up." And I want you to thank me when that happens. Thank you. [Applause.]