Madam Chair, this protocol is very important for us. We are ratifying it although our President did not sign it, because on 18 August he, quite rightly, left the SADC summit to rush back to be present at the tragedy that had happened at Marikana.
There are three originals of this document and they are all authentic - one in English, one in French and one in Portuguese? What I am interested in is, how many people in the Department of Trade and Industry are fluent in French and in Portuguese. I'm sure there are quite a lot in the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, Dirco.
Clause 66 of the state law advisers' summary says the Protocol will have a major political significance, and hon Fubbs has referred to that. That is why the state law advisers said that section 231(2) of the Constitution must come in here.
Customs unions - and this is not the Customs Union - trade agreements and economic interactivity often lead to political co-operation and even union. The "Zollverein" in Germany in the 19th century eventually produced Germany that moved into the 20th century. Trading and currency agreements have moved towards what is now the European Union, which is still a work in progress.
The Southern African Customs Union, Sacu, comprising South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia, is the oldest customs union in the world. Increasingly we will see a move towards a rationalisation of relationships and probably more and more political co-operation. South Africa is, in fact, in economic terms the united states of Africa. We are in economic terms and, to use an African simile, the gorilla in the African garden. This is even more so in the SADC.
The services protocol is important. Sometimes one is puzzled about what a services protocol is. It is a thing which we sometimes call, in economic terms, invisible earning. I remember reading about some countries that they have a section in their gross domestic product called invisible earnings. Perhaps the best example is the City of London.
We can benefit from invisible earnings and so also could our banks, air services and computer services. An example is MultiChoice, which is hugely successful in Africa. Another one is the cellphone services. I don't think people realise how much South Africans have done to establish the infrastructure in Africa for the cellphone services.
There are other things like aircraft maintenance. Most aircraft in Africa are flown down south to Johannesburg to be serviced. Increasingly, our hospitals are being used. Many people, for example Shell in Nigeria, ask people where they want to go. It will cost you much more to fly to Paris or London, or you can fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town and get the same quality medical services. For South Africa it's a huge benefit.
Furthermore, there is article 4, which is called most-favoured nation treatment. Of course it has some acronym. The most-favoured nation treatment means that you get the same treatment as anybody else who signed this treaty. There are 15 countries and nine have signed it. They have to give you the same treatment as for anybody else. It means that we can compete with the French, British and the Germans in terms of services and provisions. It's a very exciting development.
I encourage South Africans who may feel a bit frustrated about the opportunities in this country not to be frustrated. The whole world is waiting for them. Hon Fubbs mentioned Cecil John Rhodes. If you go just behind this Parliament you will see him standing. There is a statue of him in the Gardens. He has his hands out, and he says: Your hinterland lies there. This gives us the opportunity ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]