Thank you for your response, Mr President. I am sure that the submissions you have received from interested and affected parties do not include the poor. The same people were here before Parliament in public hearings and made the same points and they didn't want to listen to us.
I am also glad that you said that there are perceived constitutional differences. The fact of the matter is, Mr President, that there are two legal opinions - one for and one against. It is best to leave the adjudication of these matters to the courts - deciding which opinion is correct. We only want you to sign that legislation now.
The hon Minister of Economic Development made a statement a week ago in this Parliament in which he said that the Competition Commission has been helped and measures have been stepped up to deal with the people in the food chain, and all the collusion taking place there.
Once you sign that Act, Mr President, it will become a criminal offence for company directors to continue fleecing the poor. That is what we are asking for. I think you will agree with me - this is my question - that, if you don't sign the Act now, and the Competition Commission proceeds with their investigations to prosecute, these company directors will get off scot-free because you can't apply the law retrospectively. That is why I feel that this is important because fines are not a proper deterrent to these directors. Therefore, it is vitally important that we need to get this Act as soon as possible in order to safeguard the poor against these unscrupulous, greedy companies that are fleecing the poor. Thank you. [Applause.]