Chairperson, let me start with a word of appreciation to all political parties for their support of Vote 13. It's encouraging. Now we have to turn this into action.
I am also greatly encouraged by the commitment from both the committee chairperson and the hon Van Rooyen to undertake the wearing of the yellow suit on behalf of committee members. I should point out that the Statistician-General is wearing blue suede shoes today. [Laughter.] He says there are similar shoes available in the other colours of the flag: red, white, green and so on. [Laughter.] He says he has a couturier who can assist with these matters. So, the tailors are indeed in place.
I'd like to respond to some of the issues raised. I think what is very important is that we do not suggest that there is confusion about the role of Stats SA and the relations between it and various functions. I think best practice is that the statistical agency measures; it does not get involved in formulating policy. In fact, it does not even - it should not even - get involved in doing the analysis, because there is a likelihood that its judgment could be clouded.
At the exit interview of the former Head of Economic Statistics, Dr Cassim, who is now at the Reserve Bank, he explained that he is actually an economist by training and not an economic statistician as such, and that he would be more comfortable in an environment where there was more analysis. It is a very important distinction and I don't think we should, at this stage, ask that Stats SA gets involved in things that are not part of best practice. If we seek that kind of confusion, then we'll create contradictions where they should not exist. In fact, the report that the hon George referred to - the Stiglitz and Sen report - was about developing an index of happiness, so don't make yourself unnecessarily unhappy about this issue! [Laughter.]
On the issues of gaps and omissions, I think there is ongoing work and we will resolve these in the fullness of time.
Hon Koornhof referred to the experiences of some countries. This is important because even things like censuses have not gone down well in some countries. In Nigeria, because it's so important in the division of revenues, the census undertaking in 2009 was in fact jettisoned in the end. There have also been difficulties in China, partly because of urban migration issues. So I think we are in a position where we have to understand just how important it is that we ensure that we get the best possible outcome for Stats SA across the board.
In respect of the other point he raised about institutions, yes, there has already been contact with Agri SA and the Transvaal Agricultural Union, TAU. There will be contact with all manner of organisations, including bodies that represent bodies corporate, so that we can get a contact list and get into buildings. It is a large, unwieldy task, but it is work in progress.
On the issue of corporate relations, if the hon Oriani-Ambrosini had read the Estimates of National Expenditure and followed the work plan and the strategic plan, he would have seen that Corporate Relations is also responsible for all the communication of the outputs of statistical theory generally. Now, I have a concern, which we discussed again yesterday, and that is that the outputs of statistics agencies tend to be fairly turgid. It is our responsibility to bring people into a more dynamic presentation of the outcomes. So, if you want that, you have got to communicate better. If you want to communicate better, then you have to spend on corporate relations. So all of the dissemination and all of the provincial offices are part of that.