NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Not the Gulfstream. It was called the Concord. It was before your days of Romania. [Laughter.] I am afraid you have a one-track mind, sir. [Laughter.]
Then, of course, there was that car. The less said about it, the better and, hopefully, I will soon be relieved of that car and the privilege of driving in the luxury of that car. But that's another story. All of that was debated and shared here, and I want to say to all of you who teased and berated me: Thank you very much. I learnt out of the process. So, now we approach this next period. You know, I am amazed because people who are perfectly rational, Mr Speaker, jettison rationality on the eve of an election. I want to say that we must maintain our collective responsibility to all of our people, because this democracy and its ability to better their lives is something that we will wake up to after the elections when the new Members of Parliament have been sworn in, where the issues of poverty and inequality and unemployment will continue to dominate. So let's not destroy all rationality, all hope. We, as democrats, have the responsibility to serve our people to the best of our ability.
Of course I want to say thank you to all the present 400 members and to those who served before for the collegiality, and I want to thank especially some of the older members who were there to assist me and guide me. Tata Mlangeni, Tata Diale, Ma Njobe, Ma Ntuli - where is my old friend Aubrey Mokoena from the Release Mandela Campaign? - the hon Koos van der Merwe and a number of others. Thank you very much for that collegiality.
I also want to say thank you to the amazing public servants I have had the privilege of working with in all three departments I have served. I see here in the box some of those who served with me before in the Treasury. This speaks to a relationship that is very special.
There are also the personal staff that have served in the Ministry, and some of them have life sentences! There are two people with the surname "Smith" who are unrelated. The one joined me on 14 May 1994, and the other one on 16 June 1994. I don't know why they are still here! The person who has been with me for the shortest time has been with me for a mere seven years. So, this is an amazing group of people who have assisted me, carried me and allowed me to be.
These past five years have placed me in a position where I worked differently with an amazing group of commissioners in the National Planning Commission - great South Africans. I don't know what the political persuasions of those people are, but I do know that they want to serve South Africa and make this country great, and I want to say I owe them a debt of gratitude.
My sisters are represented here by one of them, and my sons are represented by the two here. Minister Sisulu always used to talk about my sons who used to sit there and sleep during budget speeches. [Laughter.] Now they are there and fully grown up, and I hope that they won't fall asleep during their father's speech today. Of course, my mother is very special and I am glad that she is able to be here.
I want again to express appreciation to the four Presidents. Pardon me for singling out the one President who identified some opportunity in me, nurtured me, corrected me when I was wrong, and gave me this amazing opportunity: Madiba. [Applause.]
Like with the Deputy President, the ANC flows through my veins. It's not a job. It's a belief system. And I will always remain a true, loyal and disciplined member of the ANC. And, hon Hajaig, yes, I will go to my branch meetings ... [Applause.] ... and pay my subscriptions, because none of this would have happened in my life without the ANC's affording me an opportunity to serve my people. [Applause.]
I want to leave with a short message from a writer whose work I have found very influential of late. His name is Tony Judt, and he says:
Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self- interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: Is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? Those used to be the political questions, even if they invited no easy answers. We must learn once again to pose them.
Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.