Chairperson, hon Minister, hon MECs, hon members, good afternoon. I greet you in this august and honourable House which always demands equal respect with any other House of Parliament. I'm happy that the Minister is here in person, unlike on the 14th when we saw the Select Committee on Public Services being undermined by his department.
I greet you today, the 22nd of April, the day which marks a year after the people of South Africa endorsed, through their votes, that there needs to be a patriotic, nonreactionary opposition party which will not deviate from the principles of the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of this country. Hence I stand here today representing that political party, Cope. [Interjections.]
On a more serious note, it was on this day last year that Comrade Gerald Yona was gunned down in Port Elizabeth. May his soul rest in peace. Comrade Ntandazo Gewu suffered stray bullet injuries in Mount Frere. All this was a process of intimidating people because of the victory of Cope.
Njengenkwenkwe yasezilalini, andizokuthetha zinto zasezidolophini. [As a rural boy, I will not talk about urban issues.] As a rural boy I want to see an integrated rural road development programme in action. This would include, but not be limited to, the declassification and reclassification of roads as informed by municipal integrated development plans, IDPs, the Provincial Growth and Development Plan, PGDP, the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme, ISRDP, and the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme.
The consideration of road construction and maintenance - I agree with you, Minister - should be high on our agenda. Through that we will see rural economic development and improved rural access in action. A well- constituted and integrated public transport system, eg the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, and scholar transport, is the answer if you want to deal with the ills of our nation. Hence Cope agrees with the Minister in calling for the upgrading of the existing infrastructure and promoting the use of rail for freight and passenger services.
Cope advises that the scholar transport function should be implemented uniformly. There should also be a tailor-made overarching national policy on scholar transport. The scholar transport function should in its totality reside within your department as your department has the capacity in terms of all operations.
In conclusion, I have deliberately left out some issues, particularly those that relate to accidents on our roads because, as the Minister would know, I have taken the matter up with him. So, I will follow up on my question to which he has replied.
I don't want to be seen here as someone who is posturing as if we do not interact. The same with hon Barry; I have deliberately left out issues around the Eastern Cape because it is not that we don't interact. I have time and I know where to interact. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]