Speaker, thank you, Deputy President, for the response. As the IFP, we welcome your efforts on behalf of government to source supplies from new oil markets in order to maintain our growing economy and energy demand.
There is no doubt that our energy stability has been put in a precarious situation by the American sanctions on Iranian oil. You did indicate that our supply is on a sound footing. But as much as that is so, I think we also have to look at the price that we pay for crude oil. The price that we pay for crude oil in relation to the rand-dollar exchange rate puts a lot of pressure on ordinary citizens of this country. When the price of fuel goes up, the cost of food, transport, etc goes up. Many manufacturing costs also go up. That is an area that we also have to look at.
It is to that end that we would like to know whether the Ghana negotiations have produced positive results. As you have indicated, there are positive results. Are they sustainable in the long term for us to be able to source crude oil from countries other than Iran, so that we can benefit the citizens of our country?