Go and read the documents. Go and read the documents and you will see that this is not about parties and stuff. It's actually about a series of core functions within the organisation of Stats SA.
The hon Oriani-Ambrosini also called for devolution to municipalities. Now, I know that, ideologically, he is very attached to devolution but I want to caution him against that kind of ideology, partly because you will not be able to do this adequately. There is work in progress with the Department of Home Affairs, where core functions, such as the registration of birth - core input into the Population Register - is now being collected at a number of hospitals already. That work will continue. It will be evolved organically as institutions are ready to do it. We must not go back to the past, where some local induna is deciding on whether somebody should be buried and so on and there is actually no synthesis of the Population Register. We must not go back there again. I think we would all concur that, across the board, municipalities have different capacities. So, let's not impose further obligations where they can't even comply with the obligations than already obtain.
Hon Adams deserves to be teased after her hard work. She said, "you count" but, Ma'am, you counted incorrectly: this is going to be only our third census, not our fourth!
Hon Marais raised important issues about both migration and immigration. Regarding the migration issues, you know, demography is only one part of the equitable distribution, but these claims need to be backed up. If the claims are as strong as you say they are, then I would say to you, Sir, that the DA would not stand a dog's chance in the Western Cape. We would wipe the floor with you, if the claims are as strong as you say they are. So watch your words; they might come back to bite you. [Laughter.]
The question of immigration is clearly one of the most intractable difficulties that confronts us in a census like this. People are unrecorded because they don't draw a distinction between Stats SA actually discovering them and talking to them, and Home Affairs or the police coming to get them. This is one of the biggest difficulties. In some communities, some of the newly arrived immigrants are actually in very strong positions and have the ability to persuade as well. We put that on the table as one of the challenges before us.
Hon Van Rooyen spoke about war. They say, hon Van Rooyen, that in war, one of the first victims is always the truth. Now I want to take issue with the DA. When I spoke in this very room about statistics and the MDGs, then Madame Merci Beaucoup, no, Mazibuko - I'm a bit confused because of the accent ... [Laughter.] ... made some outrageous comments about the MDGs. They are untrue. They are trying to politicise statistics in the country. These are the kinds of things that create distortions and they must desist from it, failing which we will take statistics and turn them into nonsense.
Finally, in the context of the plea for ambassadors, let me say ...
... Ngihlaba umkhosi kinina nisisize ukubala umphakathi waseNingizimu Afrika ngenkululeko. Ngiyabonga. [... I am calling on everyone to assist us to conduct the census freely in South Africa.]
Debate concluded.