Hon Chairperson and hon members, as you are aware, the Moral Regeneration Movement, MRM, is a partnership between government and civil society. The MRM developed a Charter of Positive Values, which forms the basis of all the programmes it runs. In particular, the MRM is holding social dialogues in communities, where people discuss matters of concern and explore how the Charter of Positive Values can be applied as a useful instrument to deal with social issues like domestic violence. For obvious reasons, there is a specific focus on young people who can use the charter as a guide to mould their lives.
The leadership of the MRM also speak of the Charter of Positive Values whenever they are required to address civil society organisations, or when they are doing interviews on radio. The MRM is an integral part of the planning and leveraging of Heritage Month, Women's Month and 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.
July is designated Moral Regeneration Month, during which there are activities in all provinces aimed at helping communities to rededicate and recommit themselves to moral renewal, as well as to fostering social cohesion. For example, last July the MRM organised sporting activities between Somali nationals and locals in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. In KwaZulu-Natal, they organised cultural and musical events that included people from the Great Lakes region. These are helping to foster greater understanding between foreign nationals and local communities.
Latest statistics on HIV/Aids and details measures taken to win battle against HIV/Aids
9. Mr B L Mashile (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
(1) What are the (a) latest statistics on HIV/Aids and (b) trends in HIV/Aids infection; and
(2) whether South Africa is winning the battle against HIV/Aids; if not, what corrective or enhancement measures are being taken by the government in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details? CO386E
Chairperson and hon Mr Mashile, according to Statistics SA, it is estimated that the number of people living with HIV in 2011 is 5,38 million. This translates into an HIV prevalence of 10,6% for the overall population and 16,6% for the 15 to 29-year age group. Among pregnant women, HIV prevalence has gradually levelled off to just below 30%. With regard to HIV incidence, which is the rate of new infections, estimates suggest an annual incidence of 2,0% to 2,4% in the first half of the decade starting in 2000 and about 1,2% to 1,7% in the second half of this last decade.
The rate of new infections continues to outpace our prevention efforts and thus prevention programmes will be prioritised in the new National Strategic Plan, which is being developed for the term 2012 to 2016.
In reflecting on the question of whether South Africa is winning the battle against HIV/Aids, it is instructive to note that South Africa has invested a large amount of resources in its HIV response. There are a number of interventions for prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as programmes to mitigate the impact of HIV on those infected, as well as their families and communities.
In this regard, a number of successful programmes have begun to show an impact. These include the programme for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which has yielded remarkable results. Recent health statistics show that transmission rates have declined from 10% to 3,5% over the last three years, with KwaZulu-Natal reporting a further improvement. Theirs is down to 2%. South Africa has the largest antiretroviral treatment programme, with over 1,3 million people currently receiving treatment.
In addition, on 12 August this year government announced a new policy, that people who are infected with HIV and have a CD4 cell count of 350 and less will be eligible for antiretroviral treatment. This means that more people will have access to treatment before they become too ill. An important issue to note is that the number of deaths due to HIV-related causes is beginning to show a decline due to the intensification of antiretroviral treatment.
Research conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, also shows that young people are engaging in safer-sex practices by using condoms and this has led to a slight decrease in new infections among young people.
Over the last 15 months South Africa embarked on the world's largest HIV counselling and testing campaign, which has resulted in more than 14 million people being tested, of whom 2 million people were found to be HIV-positive.
Given the fact that South Africa has a huge challenge and burden of disease due to HIV, the impact of current interventions will bear fruit over a period of time, due to the nature of the infection. However, it is critical to emphasise that prevention is the key pillar of our response and all sectors of society must collaborate and unite in efforts to reduce new infections. I thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Deputy President. The follow-up question relates to the fact that during the Third Parliament, and even before, there was a countrywide complaint among the people that the South African government did not take Aids seriously. How would you describe the mood now, with the interventions that you have made as government?
Thank you very much, hon member. The government, through the Minister of Health, is working very well with all the stakeholders within the SA National Aids Council, Sanac. That has improved the attitude towards testing and counselling. Many people who in the past would have had to protest and even approach the courts to nudge government or persuade government to provide treatment are today working very closely with government through Sanac. So, that is being recognised, even by the UNAIDS Executive Director, Dr Sidib.
It is also being recognised by other nations that the fight against HIV/Aids in South Africa is regarded as a national challenge and all stakeholders are working in concert to reduce new infections and to ensure that those who are already infected receive the requisite treatment.
The "group of champions", consisting of former presidents in the Southern African Development Community region, has also added its support and commendation the efforts that the South African government, together with Sanac, is making.
High level of inequality in society and measures taken to address this inequality
10. Mr D B Feldman (Cope) asked the Deputy President:
Whether, regarding his sustained and high profile leadership of the War on Poverty Campaign, South Africa is no longer the world's most unequal nation as determined by the Gini coefficient; if not, when will this campaign help the 4,5 million persons or the 36,5% of the workforce to find sustainable jobs, seeing that only 350 000 new jobs were created during the past eleven years; if so, what measures did he employ to (a) increase employment, (b) defeat widespread endemic poverty and (c) bring South Africa down on the list of most unequal nations? CO390E
Hon Chairperson, and hon Mr Feldman, I would like to thank you for raising the important question of the high level of inequality in our society. Whether we measure this inequality by means of the distribution of income, assets, access to services or access to opportunities, it is true that the differences we see in our society between and within various groups of the population is undesirable, whether we are the world's most unequal society or not.
It is undoubtedly true that South Africa remains one of the more unequal societies among those that are reliably measured. It is a consolation, however, that we have considerably reduced the poverty rate since the early 1990s, mainly through initiatives that I will mention shortly.
The reasons for persistent inequality are not hard to find. Firstly, in contexts of high inequality, growth is often concentrated in sectors that benefit the advantaged. The poor, on the other hand, are likely to be excluded from market opportunities, or lack the resources to benefit from growth and participate meaningfully in the economy.
Secondly, high levels of inequality make it harder to reduce poverty, even when economies are growing.
Thirdly, inequality makes it harder to incorporate the poor and disadvantaged in the growth process. Inequalities constrain their productive capacity and their potential contribution to development. Fourthly, in highly unequal societies the poor are more likely to be locked into the informal and subsistence economy. This may limit the size of the domestic market and thus retard the potential for sustained growth.
Lastly, high levels of inequality may undermine the realisation of civil, political and social rights. They may raise the level of deviant behaviour and sow disharmony.
Thus, when you grow in a historically unequal society, unless you deliberately intervene to reduce inequality, the situation will remain unequal, or even worsen. It is for these reasons that we find the current levels of inequality undesirable.
In understanding the multidimensional nature of poverty and inequality, government has adopted a multifaceted response that deals simultaneously with deprivation and exclusion. Accordingly, we have programmes to encourage investment in job creation by the private sector in urban and rural areas. We have temporary public employment programmes, such as the Community Work Programme and the Expanded Public Works Programme. We have programmes to improve the quality of health care and education as a basis for growth. We have very substantial social security programmes, including child support and old-age pensions. We also have major investment programmes in infrastructure to increase our competitiveness and our quality of life. These programmes have helped us to reduce poverty, especially among the poorest, even if inequality remains unacceptably high.
Many jobs have been created in the past decade. In March 2001 employment stood at 11,1 million and the rate of unemployment was 29%. In the first quarter of 2011, even after losing close to a million jobs in the worldwide recession, employment stood at 13,1 million and the unemployment rate was 25%. So, in fact, close to 3 million jobs were created, but sadly nearly a million of those were lost in the worldwide recession.
While much progress was made in the area of job creation up to 2008, the global economic crisis has had a significant impact on the South African labour market. Consequently, it reversed some of the gains in the fight against poverty and inequality. Nevertheless, we still have much higher levels of employment and lower levels of poverty than we had in the South Africa we inherited.
Looking ahead, let me say that achieving the necessary decreases in unemployment, poverty and inequality requires strong, sustainable and inclusive growth that underpins much faster job creation. In this regard, the New Growth Path targets 5 million jobs by 2020. It provides a framework within which we can address the critical challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality - and, in addition, improve the pace and quality of service delivery.
We are confident that the policies and programmes of this government, including the New Growth Path, will help us to roll back unemployment and considerably reduce inequality. I thank you for your attention.
Hon Chairperson, I thank the hon Deputy President for the in-depth answer. I would just like to know: Does relocating the War Room on Poverty to the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform mean that the Presidency surrenders? If not, what are the relevant details?
No, it does not mean that the Presidency is throwing in the towel. On the contrary, I remain the champion of this, even though the War Room is now located in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. I still continue to be the champion of this initiative.
Focus of proposed gender equality Bill on addressing gender-related problems, and focusing of attention on attitudinal change
11. Mr D A Worth (DA) asked the Deputy President:
In view of his statement regarding Women's Month that patriarchal attitude is one of the main gender-related problems (details furnished), (a) how is it envisaged that the proposed gender equality Bill will address these problems and (b) how does he intend to focus attention on attitudinal change?