Madam Deputy Speaker, His Excellency the Deputy President, hon colleagues, I want to speak as a mediator today. [Laughter.] I think that His Excellency the President and the government, meaning the Cabinet, are not surprised that people from the opposition parties are raising this issue. I'm sure if they were in the same position, they would do the same.
However, I think the point has been made. If we look and think back to the days when our people were oppressed and consider the vehicles that were used by government then, I don't know how much fuss came from that. [Applause.]
My fellow opposition leaders mustn't say that I'm spoiling their case, but I think the point has been made. But, at the same time, I think we should balance these things, look at what happened in the past and compare the poverty and oppression that our people suffered at that time. We should also look at the money per capita that was spent on white children and black children. [Applause.] In other words, I'm not saying that the point should not have been raised, but that this cow has run dry; we have been milking it and milking it. I think the point has been made, but I don't think that we should really do this as if we didn't live in South Africa before.
My former colleagues in the Cabinet, such as Minister Manuel, Minister Sisulu and others will know that I, as Minister, used the cars that I had used as chief minister right through in Cape Town. So, I have a very clear conscience. However, I don't want to be judgmental to the extent that I forget about the past and overreact on the matter we are dealing with now.
So, I'm speaking as a mediator now. This point has been made and we are tired of it. [Applause.]