Hon Chairperson and hon Minister, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and many of these intentions emanate from this department. It's not what we say, but what we do, that will translate good intentions into improving the lives of millions of poor and disadvantaged people who eke out an existence that is linked to agriculture, on the land.
One of the few good intentions that have come to fruition in this department is the fact that 85% of all geomatics students studying land surveying are being sponsored by this Ministry. The shortage of skilled land surveyors and the need for these services in South Africa is acute, and I must applaud the department for taking this initiative.
A young man from my home town, Mr Kyle van Niekerk, who is my guest here this afternoon, applied to the Department of Agriculture four years ago to study geomatics. His application was turned down. I petitioned you, Minister, when you were the MEC for Agriculture and asked why a person who qualified in every respect was not accommodated in the bursary programme. I want to thank you and your department for giving him the opportunity to participate in that bursary programme after my petition. More importantly, I would like to commend the young man for taking the opportunity granted to him, for qualifying this year and for having received the Dean's Award for being the top student in the past three years. [Applause.]
My contention, hon Minister, is that if you offer opportunities to the best people, you can expect and get the best results. If you don't and you use other qualification criteria that are not focused on the best, you will have compromised results that result in the mediocrity that abounds in this department.
This might sound harsh, considering the fact that I have been on the committee for only five months. However, this is neither the time nor the place to trade platitudes. My interaction with officials of this department spans 13 years. My experience to date has been one of frustration as a direct result of ineptitude, carelessness, lack of Batho Pele, lack of professionalism, poor integrity and blatant dishonesty.