Hon member, will you take a question?
Mr D van ROOYEN: Chairperson, in our next committee meeting we will entertain that question. [Laughter.] Thank you, hon Swart, for giving me that title. I wonder if I would qualify to be a Reverend? [Laughter.]
We urge political parties to continue advocating the essential importance of statistics because this is central to the realisation of our developmental objectives. Even beyond elections, and irrespective of the outcome, let us continue to preach the gospel of the census and support enumerators when they go about doing the counting.
We are saying this because it is our belief that we are in this together. Let's ensure that we all count. We have come out clearly as MPs, saying to Mr Lehohla and his team that we are ready to hit the ground running. We have long called for ambassadorial packs to be given to MPs as a way of arming us, as we go about our work, to popularise the work of Stats SA. I once more urge you and your team to take advantage of the fact that we represent the broader constituency of our beloved country. You should use us good ambassadors for this strategic, important project.
I can even confess that we are not just saying that the chairperson should don the yellow suit but we as MPs are also prepared to don those suits. [Laughter.] We are going to paint South Africa yellow. We also want to express our sincere gratitude to your team on work well done hitherto. Once more, the ANC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]