Thank you, Speaker. What you heard here today, hon President, and going back to what Hitchens said, I suspect that the DA wants you to exhibit "Westernised polish and smoothness". I am sure that you have heard how hon Lindiwe Mazibuko speaks. That is "Westernised polish and smoothness." When you are dealing with them and their constituency, they want you to be a mild leader. When it comes to the trade union movement, when it comes to Cosatu, the homeless, or the marginalised, they want you to do completely different things. You are supposed to tell the unions, the poor, and everybody else that you are the boss. That is when your leadership is being questioned - when you are supposed to, in their words, be dealing with Cosatu. When it comes to them, you must be this polished person, you must be nice to the markets, you must be nice to the world and everybody else, and you must forget about the real people who ensured that the ANC leads and that the ANC will continue to lead. [Applause.]
In closing, President, we, as the ANC, support this Budget Vote, because it represents the future. We do not have the responsibility and luxury of sitting in the opposition benches. You have the responsibility to govern. You do not have to please anybody except the real electorate, the real people who put the ANC into office. We hope that through this budget, you will be able to do that. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate interrupted.