Deputy Chairperson, hon Deputy Ministers who are here, hon members and the people who are listening to us, allow me to say that tomorrow we will be 18 years into a new democracy. When we look back - and I agree with the President when he said this in this House the other day - we, as South Africans, will realise that we have achieved a lot. We are the only country in Africa that can stand up and say, "This is what we have achieved."
However, there is a big challenge in our country. Coming up to Freedom Day, we need to be honest with ourselves. Yes, we can solve our problems and we are on our way, but the challenge is so big that it takes a long time to overcome. The wheels are turning so slowly that some of our people are perishing before reaping the fruits of this freedom.
I want to plead with this government to show commitment. I would like to ask government one thing, and this thing is written in the Word of God, in the book of Ecclesiastes. According to Ecclesiastes, there was a big city that a certain king wanted to destroy. There was a poor old man who, through his wisdom, protected and saved that city but no one remembered that poor old man. All I want to say to my colleagues and everybody gathered here is that we should celebrate tomorrow and remind ourselves that there are poor people out there who need us. The youth out there need to be educated. The inequality in this country really is something we need to tackle with both hands and feet and everything we have in order to achieve the goal we so desire.
Allow me to conclude by saying that the Northern Cape is not a poor province. It is very rich in minerals - but some of the poorest people are found in that province. Why? Because of this inequality! We need economic freedom in the Northern Cape and throughout this country for our people to enjoy real freedom. [Applause.]