Hon Chairperson, on behalf of Comrade Dlakude and myself, I convey appreciation for all the messages of support and congratulations that were offered. Thank you very much. We were scared, but we are now sure that we will do our work as the ANC demands from us. The constitution of the ANC specifically says that you take all the tasks given to you and we deploy all our energies in carrying out those tasks. This is exactly what we are committing ourselves to doing.
On this topic, I feel that people are really talking for the sake of talking. I wrote a speech, but I have decided that it would be necessary to spend my 10 minutes talking to those people who were talking here. Let me start by stating a fact. It is a fact that in 1910 only 20% of the population of South Africa was white, and yet they took 93% of the land through the barrel of a gun. [Interjections.] Through the barrel of a gun. [Interjections.] Yes, more than a century ago they took the land through the barrel of a gun. [Applause.]
Today we are told in this House that we must stop talking about the past and talk about now and going forward. We are willing to do precisely that. But before we do that we want to draw your attention to two things. First of all, most of the people speaking here would never have said so to the Jews who were killed by the Germans during the Holocaust. They would never have said so. [Applause.] But, we are still alive and we see these things still happening, and you tell us to shut up. We will not do that. [Applause.] We will continue to talk about the past, because those we are talking to are not listening.
The second thing I want to bring to your attention is that hon Mazibuko stands here and recites all the laws that were brought against us. But at the end of that list she goes around and says, I quote:
The Ministry must fix the bureaucracy, which is delaying this process.
It is not the bureaucracy that buys farms; it is money. So, if you create efficiency in the department you will still not buy the land because of what we witness every day through the officials here. Please, talk to your farmers. Do not talk to us. Ms Mazibuko, farmers are willing to release marginal land, but they are not willing to release Stellenbosch. [Applause.] The hon Deputy President is a witness to this. The warders at Robben Island used to boast and say that you can take South Africa, but you will never have Stellenbosch.