Thank you, hon Minister. I was getting concerned because you were using a lot of your response time, but you will have some time to respond. You requested to finish your speech and we afforded you that opportunity. Thank you.
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and distinguished guests, good morning. My area of focus is on the overview of the department's mandate.
When the President established the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities in 2009 it was evident that there was a need to address equity and inequality of the vulnerable groups in society. This was based on the Bill of Rights of our Constitution and what we, the ANC, stand for as a movement, that is: a non-sexist, nonracial and united democratic society in accordance with the national democratic revolution. This was about translating these values and principles into practical actions for implementation through policies, programmes and projects that are supported by adequate funding for them to be effective.
The department does not render direct services to the public. Its purpose is to drive, accelerate and oversee government's equity, equality and empowerment agenda in terms of women, children and people with disabilities, especially the poor and rural communities.
This came about as a result of the realisation that having policies and programmes on the empowerment and protection of women, children and people with disabilities without a strong system for continual monitoring and evaluation was not enough to advance, develop, promote and protect the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities through mainstreaming, lobbying, advocacy, awareness-raising, empowerment and monitoring compliance in government and all relevant sectors. Recent events which show an increase in sexual violence against women, children and people with disabilities have shamed the nation and brought to the fore the indisputable importance of the work of this department.
When assessed against international benchmarks, South Africa is among the top ranking countries in promoting gender equality. This is true in terms of establishing a progressive constitutional, legislative and legal environment that prohibits discrimination and promotes equality and representivity in public institutions and in the workplace. In this regard a lot of progress has been achieved since the dawn of democracy in 1994. The establishment of this department itself and the existence of constitutional agencies, such as the Commission for Gender Equality and the SA Human Rights Commission, are some of the institutional examples of progress being made in advancing the ideals of equality at a societal level.
In the January 8 Statement, the "Year of Unity in Diversity", the President said:
In the cities, changing gender roles were also evident. In the rural areas the wives of migrant workers were compelled to take on both gender roles in their households for the greater part of the year. In the urban shanty-towns and in the trade union movement women were less reticent and were often more determined in struggles asserting their right to live and work in the urban areas.
South Africa is a signatory to international instruments, and yet some of these are not being effected. The Children's Act, Act 38 of 2009, and the Child Justice Act, Act 27 of 2008, are but some examples. We need also to remind departments that people with disabilities is a crosscutting issue which requires addressing by all departments if we are to meet the 2% target in terms of employment. The responsibility does not only lie with the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities. In terms of accessibility to buildings and transport, we need a universal approach.
Notwithstanding these, challenges of implementation still remain glaring. It is regrettable that, three years into its establishment, the department is yet to perform to its expected maximum potential.
There are many reasons for this and many have been acknowledged as arising from, among other things, new institutional formations and budgetary limitations. We believe that the department's programme priorities are sound, given that the gap is in terms of government departments' failure to meet government employment equity targets with regard to persons with disabilities and women, especially at management level. The Public Service Commission reports have consistently shown a lack of progress in this regard.
In his state of the nation address the President further reiterated the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality that African women and the youth continue to suffer from, despite the progress made.
We, as the ANC, have remained firm in ensuring that government policies and programmes must promote gender equality and the rights of people with disabilities to be treated equally and empowered for employment. The monitoring and evaluation of these policies are crucial functions of the department. We welcome and support their priorities. It is particularly important that this department become the central point for public participation and involvement by different stakeholders and communities in the fight for equality. This role will assist in terms of involving communities in policy-making but, equally, in ensuring oversight and education.
Since the biggest challenges with regard to achieving equality and protecting rights are experienced in the rural areas and poor communities, it is imperative that the department give more attention to its advocacy and mainstreaming programmes in terms of budget allocations and institutional capacity.
The budget of the department has grown from R143,1 million in 2011-12 to R172,2 million in the 2012-13 financial year. The department's budget constitutes a mere 0,01% of the overall national Budget. As was the case in the past financial year, women empowerment and gender equality consume most of the budget at 55%.
In terms of administration, according to the National Treasury between 2009- 10 and 2011-12 expenditure increased significantly from Rl,7 million to R42,8 million. This was attributed to additional funding for capacity to provide financial and administrative support to the programmes and the Ministry.
According to the third quarter expenditure analysis of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, this programme was allocated R42,8 million for the 2011-12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter the department had spent R46,1 million of the budget. Compensation for employees was allocated R17,9 million and Rl9,2 million has been spent during the same period. This means that the department has managed to spent the entire budget of this programme within nine months.
This means that this programme has exhausted its entire budget for the year. This is owing to the fact that the department has been employing staff at higher notches than those which have been approved by the Department of the Public Service and Administration. This has also been due to the fact that some staff members have been employed outside the establishment of the posts, which were formally budgeted for by the department. Of note is that this programme has exceeded its spending by Rl5,4 million for the first nine moths.
Having met with the department to scrutinise the strategic plan and the budget, the committee made the following observations. The committee noted that this department has, once again, received the smallest budget allocation. It is also concerned about the department's overexpenditure in the previous financial year and the impact this will have on the planned activities for this year. The committee expressed concern as to whether the department would be able to achieve its set targets and objectives given its budget. The committee also observed that in terms of identified risks, the same risks were identified by the department in both the current and previous strategic plans, namely insufficient budgetary allocations, lack of compliance and accountability, and a lack of skills and capacity. The committee enquired whether any mitigating mechanisms to counter these risks had been identified and implemented. It was also concerned that the department indicated that many programmes and projects would only be implemented in 2012-13. The committee was also concerned that the travel and subsistence budget for the administration programme increased, while significant budget cuts were made for travel and subsistence for the remaining programmes.
The committee asked whether all the targets, as set out in the 2011-12 annual performance plan, had been met and requested clarification where this did not happen. It also enquired about the signing of memoranda of understanding with other departments or provincial governments in so far as programmes are concerned. In addition, the committee also requested the department to submit the content and the nature of memoranda of understanding that have been signed.
Having considered the budget and the strategic plans, the committee recommends that the department forward copies of memoranda signed with government departments and provincial governments, as far as women, children and people with disabilities are concerned, to the committee. The committee also notes that issues related to women, children and people with disabilities cut across all departments and recommends that funding for mainstreaming, awareness-raising and the celebration of commemorative days be shared across all departments.
The department should play a co-ordinating role with regard to commemorative celebrations rather than an implementation one. The committee also urged the department to continue its advocacy and monitoring role in so far as the 2% employment target of people with disabilities is concerned.
It also requested that the department forward copies of research studies undertaken and reports drafted in the past financial year. The department should caution against overspending on travel and subsistence allowances.
Given that the department is in the final year of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, the committee urges the department to expedite the implementation of its programmes in line with the said objectives and budget. The committee requests the department to report quarterly on its expenditure and programme implementation. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 8. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and all our distinguished guests, good morning to you all. Academics often say that deep-rooted sociohistorical legacies have led to the high prevalence of sexual abuse in South Africa. They may be right.
However, at times like these we must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough to protect our women, children and people with disabilities? What role can each one of us play in preventing rape? What is the role of our government in this regard?
This year our country's democracy turned 18. Just as when a child turns 18 and attains adulthood, our country is at a point where we must be prepared to take responsibility for the welfare of our people. The recent brutal gang rape of a young, mentally disabled girl in Soweto - the Minister was at her home - sent a shockwave through our country. As a nation we all feel ashamed.
We recently read of the rape and assault of a young, disabled boy by a woman and a girl, and the alleged rape of a 19-year-old, mentally challenged woman in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. When I learnt of the 8- year-old, Grade 2 pupil who landed up in hospital after she had been raped, throttled and had her eye gouged out, I was shocked to my core.
These are only a few cases that we know of. What about the thousands of other cases that go unreported? According to Interpol, South Africa is the rape capital of the world, with fewer than 1% of rapes reported to the police. As a nation, we are failing our women and children. This government is failing our women and children. [Interjections.]
The Minister's department is responsible for promoting, facilitating, co- ordinating and monitoring the realisation of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. In these recent cases, children have had their rights stripped from them, and it is forever stripped.
As usual, I will, no doubt, be accused of playing politics with this issue. I cannot keep quiet about what is so obviously a failure of our government to protect these young people's rights to dignity and security of person. After all, Minister, it is your job to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. [Interjections.] It is also my job to make sure that you do. [Interjections.]
We must ask ourselves whether we really place a high priority on the importance of the rights of vulnerable people in our country. If this is true, why do we still have no compensation for victims of rape, abuse or violence? Why do we still have too few social workers, therapists and clinical psychologists who can counsel victims of abuse as well as their families?
This department spends millions on campaigns and events. that make little impact on the suffering of the most vulnerable South Africans. [Interjections.] The Minister often reiterates that her department is not an implementing agent. We know that its role is limited to monitoring and co-ordination. That is exactly how she has countered criticism on the underspending in key programmes in her department, and justified its skewed spending priorities.
The DA has been monitoring the performance of your department closely, Minister. The poor financial management and inappropriate spending priorities have become the defining characteristics of this department. [Interjections.] The department's failure to effectively spend the budgets in its Rights of Persons with Disabilities programme is tantamount to the violation of the rights of South Africans with disabilities.
It is for this reason that, in April, the DA requested the SA Human Rights Commission to investigate the failure of the department to realise and protect the rights of people with disabilities. [Interjections.] This constitutes a massive failure on the part of this department.
There is an urgent need for this department to take the lead in co- ordinating a multipronged approach across government to fight rape and sexual abuse. The Minister should take the lead in facilitating - and we will help to co-ordinate - between key departments such as Health, Social Development, Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, and Police, and ensure that a comprehensive strategy is developed to address issues facing women, children and people with disabilities.
Proper oversight and co-ordination must also be carried out by your department over the Justice department in order to strengthen our criminal justice system in its protection of vulnerable South Africans. Minister, if you are serious about monitoring, co-ordinating and facilitating the empowerment of vulnerable groups, then you need to address the following as a matter of urgency, and the DA proposes the following. The SA Police Service - and I do not know if you know about this - plans to downscale victim-friendly facilities where crime victims, particularly women and children, can be interviewed and counselled in private, and where they are offered support by professional social workers. Minister, you should not allow this to happen, as we desperately need these services, especially in our rural areas.
You should campaign to reinstate the family violence, child abuse and sexual offences units. In the year before these units were disbanded, 66 units dealt with 60 000 cases and made more than 28 000 arrests.
You should campaign for the institution of special rape courts. We in the DA believe that the establishment of special rape courts will go a long way towards achieving justice for victims of rape. [Interjections.]
You should campaign for the much-needed reinstatement of the SA Narcotics Bureau, which was disbanded in 2004. And, very importantly, Minister, you should co-ordinate a programme where young boys and men interrogate the concept of masculinity, and reframe their roles as men, fathers, husbands, brothers and uncles, against a background of protection, rather than domination. [Interjections.]
Verlede week, toe ek 'n besoek aan die begrotingskomitee gebring het, was ek uiters geskok om te vind dat amptenare van u departement rondskarrel om aan die komitee 'n verduideliking te gee ten opsigte van die oorbesteding van die begroting rakende reise en administrasie, die oorskryding van voorgestelde kerwe vir die besoldiging van poste - en die verduideliking was dat sekere amptenare meer ondervinding het en dit is waarom hulle meer geld kry - deur die Departement vir die Staatsdiens en Administrasie en die onderbesteding aan programme, veral vir gestremdes.
Dit is duidelik dat die bevoegdheid en kapasiteit om aan hul mandaat te voldoen, ontbreek. Dit is duidelik dat hierdie departement nie weet dat hulle slegs dit wat deur die Nasionale Tesourie aan hulle toegeken is, kan bestee nie.
Dit is duidelik dat die Nasionale Tesourie hulle nou moet leer en help, en 'n onderneming is aan die begrotingskomitee gegee oor hoe hulle hul begroting sal bestee. Dit is uiters duidelik dat, na drie jaar, hierdie departement nog nie weet dat oorbesteding in die huidige jaar van die volgende jaar se begroting verhaal word nie. Die impak van so 'n voorval kan verpletterende gevolge vir die departement se strategiese plan h.
'n Uiters groot gebrek aan kundigheid, veral finansile kundigheid, heers in u departement. Na drie jaar word die grootste gedeelte van u departement se begroting nog altyd aan administrasie bestee - en nie aan programme waarby vroue, kinders en mense met gestremdhede kan baat nie.
Respek moet gekweek word vir die betydse voltooiing van verslae deur alle lyndepartemente. Dit bly 'n bron van kommer wanneer selfs internasionale verslae, soos die verslag vir die UN Convention on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, nog nie voltooi is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Last week, when I paid a visit to the budget committee, I was completely shocked to find that officials of your department were scurrying about to provide the committee with an explanation for overspending the budget regarding travel and administration, for exceeding the proposed notches for the remuneration of posts - and the explanation for this is that because certain officials have more experience, they receive more money - by the Department for the Public Service and Administration and for the underspending on programmes, especially those for the disabled.
It is clear that the competence and capacity to deliver on their mandate are lacking. It is clear that this department does not know that it may spend only that which is allocated to it by the National Treasury. It is clear that the National Treasury should now train and assist them, and an undertaking has been given to the budget committee about how they intend to spend their budget. It is extremely clear that, after three years, this department still does not know that overspending in the current year is recovered from the following year's budget. The impact of such an incident can have devastating consequences for the department's strategic plan.
An extremely large dearth of expertise, particularly financial expertise, exists in your department. After three years, the greatest portion of your department's budget is still spent on administration - and not on programmes from which women, children and people with disabilities may benefit.
It is necessary to cultivate respect for the timely completion of reports by all line departments. It remains cause for concern that even international reports, such as the report for the UN Convention on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, has not been completed.]
The Constitution expressly states that the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of our democracy. It preserves the rights of all our people - of all our people - and upholds the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil these rights.
Hon Minister, your department should play a significant role in realising these rights for vulnerable and marginalised women, children and people with disabilities. As it stands, it is not clear how your department is working to improve the lives of women, children and people with disabilities.
So tell us your plan to uphold the rights of those you claim to champion. Show us, Minister, that your Ministry cares about the vulnerable South Africans it is supposed to protect. [Interjections.] And, Minister, prove to us that your Ministry matters. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and our guests, good morning. Before I tackle my speech, allow me to take this opportunity to thank the chairperson of the portfolio committee for raising our concerns as a portfolio committee in this meeting.
Secondly, on behalf of Cope, I would like to welcome the Deputy Minister, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, to her new department.
Siyathemba ukuba siza kusebenzisana kakuhle njengoko usibonisile ekomitini. [We hope that we are going to work hand-in-hand, as you have already shown us in the committee.]
With regard to administration, monitoring and evaluation, the question that I need to ask the Minister, through you, Chairperson, is whether the department has monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place to ensure that the department achieves its mandate. This will guide the department in its strategic objectives.
In terms of rural development, the department ... ichithe izigidi zeerandi kwi-National Consultative Conference kwaye ukuba loo nto injalo, ndicinga ukuba le mali ininzi kakhulu. Kodwa ke, ukuba iyichithe ukuze amakhosikazi afumane izakhono eziza kuwanceda ukwenza izinto ezifanele amakhosikazi neziza kuwaphilisa ngomso, ndicela uMphathiswa asixelele ukuba zeziphi ezi zakhono athe aphuma nazo la makhosikazi kule ngqungquthela.
Kwakhona, ndifuna ukubuyela kwimali engama-R894 yamawaka ethe yachithwa kwindawo yokuhlala nakwizithuthi. Ingaba la makhosikazi ebethathwa kwezo ndawo ebekuzo? Ndifumanisa ukuba le nkcitho ininzi kakhulu. Izigqibo ezathathwa kwingqungquthela zibandakanya ukusekwa kwe-technical task team. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[... has spent millions of rands on the National Consultative Conference and, if that is true, I think this amount of money is too much. But, if you spent it so that women could be trained and get skills that will help to develop them tomorrow, I request the Minister to tell us what kind of skills the women got from this summit.
Again, I want to go back to the money issue, where an amount of R894 000 had been spent on accommodation and transport. Were these women collected from their places? I find this expenditure to be more than enough. The decisions that were taken at the summit include an establishment of the Technical Task Team.]
What progress has been made by the Technical Task Team established after the summit to take forward the process into all nine provinces? Has a strategic plan for rural women's development been finalised and is it being implemented? How far is the process of setting up monitoring and evaluation systems for women's projects to address the challenges identified?
Cope also believes that there is a dire need for a barometer that will enable assessment of the department's achievements. The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities should have monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for other government departments and the private sector.
In terms of people with disabilities, according to the General Household Survey of 2009, women are more likely to be disabled than men. The rate of disability also varies from race to race, and the majority of disabled people in the country are African women. Oku ke kuya khubekisa kuba kaloku intswela-ngq esho yande kakhulu kwaye ukungaphangeli akuphazamisi ubomi kuphela koko kuchaphazela nempilo. [This is quite offensive because unemployment is rife, and being unemployed does not only affect the emotional being, but the physical being, too.]
I also want to know what steps the department has taken to accelerate the achievements of a 2% target for the employment of people with disabilities. This was supposed to have been achieved by 2010.
Uyakusiphendula ke, Mphathiswa. [Minister, we will wait for your response.] [Interjections.]
People with disabilities ... Ndicela ukuba nithule nimamele. [ ... Will you please keep quiet and listen.]
People with disabilities are unable to fully realise their economic potential. They are forced to depend on the disability grant, while they are also being exploited. For example, at the Gugulethu-based Nontuthuzelo workshop, the people with disabilities who work there ...
... bafumana umvuzo owakha wamncinci kuba befumana inkamnkam. Bayakhala kuba abakwazi ukuvula amashishini abo okanye ukuqeshwa ukuze basebenzise izakhono abanazo ngenxa yokuba befumenana inkamnkam. Ingaba isebe - ndicela uthule bhuti, nihloniphe ke futhi. Aninantlonipho okokuqala - liyasebenzisana neSebe loPhuhliso lwezeNtlalo yoLuntu ukubonelela abantu abakhubazekileyo ukuphucula ubomi babo? (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... receive the lowest income ever just because they get a disability grant. They are not happy, because they cannot start their own small businesses or be employed so that they can use their skills, just because they get a social grant. Whether the department ... [Interjections.] ... Can you please keep quiet, sir, and show respect, too. You do not show respect to start with. I want to know whether this department is working co- operatively with the Department of Social Development, helping people with disabilities to improve their lives?]
People with disabilities do not have access to transport. Is the Minister aware that Dial-a-Ride has 27 vehicles in the Western Cape servicing 6 000 people? Is she monitoring the waiting list to see how many people are waiting to access this service? Is she also monitoring and evaluating the accessibility of these vehicles to people with disabilities?
The department has allocated R5,7 million to monitoring and evaluation. This is a huge adjustment from the R2,8 million of the past financial year. We would like to know how this programme will benefit people with disabilities - tangibly. As regards the Commission on Gender Equality, we would like to know the reasons for the delay in the appointment of gender commissioners. In February this year the report on the appointments was considered, but to this day there are no commissioners.
Regarding violence against women and children ... kwezi veki zigqithileyo sibone amalungelo amakhosikazi, abantwana kunye nabantu abakhubazekileyo enyhashwa. Umntwana onemimyaka esi-8 uye wandlwengulwa, wakhutshwa iliso. Esi sidlwengu sineminyaka eli-15, sasifuna ukumbulala. Esi sehlo sibi senzeke KwaZulu-Natal silandelwa sesinye isehlo esenzeka eSoweto apho umntwana oneminyaka eli-17 wathi wadlwengulwa. [Laphela ixesha.] Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... in past weeks we have witnessed the disregard of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. An 8-year-old child was raped, and her eye was gouged out. The 15-year-old rapist wanted to kill her. This terrible incident happened in KwaZulu-Natal. There was another one which happened in Soweto, where a 17-year-old was raped. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, the department is to be congratulated on the progress it has made, both in terms of service delivery to our citizens and in terms of its own internal efficiency. The remarks made by the hon Minister a few weeks ago, referring to closer cohesion and alignment of the department's annual performance plan with that of the strategic plan, are most welcome and must be commended. There is forward movement but, hon Chairperson, there are still many challenges.
The rape of our women, our children and our disabled people continues unabated. We live in a country in which a nine-year-old girl was recently raped, brutally beaten, burned with cigarettes and left for dead. And, as tragic as this was, she is one of many brutal rape incidents that occur daily on our streets and in our very cities and neighbourhoods. Recently, seven schoolboys gang-raped a fellow learner, recorded the incident on a cellphone, and this recording has now gone viral on the Internet. Corrective rape, because of sexual orientation, still continues in our rural areas and townships. In another incident, a 20-year-old mentally disabled woman was raped in Benoni. There is a sickness that exists and that is growing in our society; a sickness that, if not treated at causal level, will engulf and destroy the very fabric and sanctity of the society we all hold so dear.
Human and child trafficking is being discovered everywhere. Horrific sexual hate crimes, such as the ones above, are now becoming so commonplace that we tend to become numb towards them. This numbing and indifference are tantamount to tacit acceptance and condonation of these most dreadful acts. We must not let this happen. We are in a fight to the death against a most formidable enemy; a social ill that is pure evil. We, therefore, urge the Minister and the department to work closely with their counterparts in related departments in doing everything within our very considerable power to eradicate this scourge from our land.
Inequality in respect of access to employment, market and skills development must also remain a priority within the department. The government must lead by example. This department has a duty to ensure cross- departmental and business-sector compliance within the practice of equal- opportunity employment. The rural development strategy must be sufficiently capacitated, driven, rolled out and monitored if it is to have its desired impact.
Overspending by the department remains a serious concern to the IFP. By the end of the third quarter, the department had spent 107,8% of its budget on administration; 112,5% on compensation to employees; and 561% on advertising and catering. Madam Minister, can you tell us what happened here? We also note, with great concern, an issue of underspending by the department after having failed to transfer payments that were meant to go to the Commission on Gender Equality.
In conclusion, the IFP supports this Budget Vote. We fully support the Minister and the department. We undertake not to rest until every woman, child and disabled person in our country has equal access and protection to the liberties, freedoms and rights which we all hold so dear. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and distinguished guests, our former President and world icon Nelson Mandela said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." We must reflect on the past 18 years and ask ourselves how this democracy and freedom are protecting our children.
In light of the challenges, risks and obstacles that our children face today, this department is in part mandated to ensure the progressive realisation of children's rights and responsibilities by promoting and advancing the mainstreaming, co-ordination and monitoring of children's rights.
Despite these commitments and promises, children continue to suffer violence, abuse and exploitation every day. We will only flourish as a nation when we have succeeded in protecting every child from exploitation, violence, abuse and neglect.
We read every day in the newspapers how children are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. It is shocking to note that it is reported that child abuse is so rampant in South Africa that a child is raped every five minutes, and child abuse has skyrocketed by 108% since 1993.
Minister, the failure to protect children undermines national development and has costs and negative effects that continue beyond childhood into the individual's adult life. While children continue to suffer violence, abuse and exploitation, we fail them and we will also fail to meet our development aspirations as stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals.
This department has the potential to act as a watchdog and ensure that our government departments - who are implementing agents and have a direct obligation to children - are living up to their constitutional mandate.
In August 2011 there was only one name in the Child Protection Register and, in December, there were 22 names in the register. This is nowhere near an accurate reflection of all those convicted offenders who should be banned from working with children. Minister, you should be leading the campaign by demanding that more should be done to protect our children.
As the ID, we are concerned that only R13,5 million has been set aside for the department's children's rights and responsibilities programme as an overall budget, while R24,9 million is budgeted for travel and subsistence. How can it be that almost double the amount spent on promoting and realising children's rights is spent on expensive trips around the world?
We urge the Minister to provide strategic leadership to ensure efficient and effective use of these limited state resources so that they are utilised in the best interests of our children. We are tired of overexpenditure by this Ministry and the continued abuse of funds on unnecessary things, such as overseas trips and luxurious accommodation, while so many of our children suffer. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: House Chair, hon Minister, hon members, distinguished quests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Before I start with my speech, I would like to say thank you very much for the warm welcome to this new Ministry.
I must say that, since I arrived here, I have never understood why travelling evokes such emotion amongst Members of Parliament. Unless members have been requested to do desk work - and then they should say so - so that they can sit comfortably in their luxurious offices, if they are at all luxurious, and not protect the rights of those we are mandated to protect. I think it is important that we understand each other, because I really need to be assisted on how we are going to protect the rights of women, the rights of children and the rights of disabled people by sitting in our offices.
I also find it very interesting that New York has become a pain in people's "somewhere". [Laughter.] That is where the headquarters of the United Nations is based. When Parliament ratifies these UN conventions that are intended to hold this country internationally accountable for what we do as a collective, why must we go and report the work that we do? I need assistance and guidance with that, because that is where we are collectively held to account as a member state.
If the Human Rights Council, which we are about as a department, sits in Geneva, you are then saying we should have a telephone conversation. I don't know. But I would need help. As a department, we also don't have concurrent functions. If we are to deal with provinces, we must physically go there to deal with the issues of children. Should we not travel? I need this House to assist me with that - because if we are to meet the obligations of this country, we are obligated to do a lot of travelling. [Interjections.]
Among the yardsticks by which to measure a society's respect for human rights, to evaluate the level of its maturity and its generosity of spirit, is by looking at the status that it accords to those members of society who are most vulnerable, disabled people, the senior citizens and its children. This is what former President Mbeki said in relation to the Integrated National Disability Strategy.
The recent exposure of incidents of child-on-child violence and the rape of young children with disabilities speak about the mental state of our nation, although it is not a new phenomenon.
The protection of children and women with disabilities from exploitation and sexual abuse is a constitutional obligation placed on every South African, in particular members of this august House, as you take your oath or affirmation when you take office.
The recent cases of the sexual abuse of young people with intellectual disabilities have once again brought to the attention of ordinary South Africans the realities disabled people and their families live with on a daily basis. Their abuse often goes unreported, but even if they do speak out, they are unlikely to be believed. It is, however, regrettable that this ongoing abuse has to go viral on social media before the South African society sits up and takes notice.
The media, regrettably, often unintentionally contribute to an environment in which the abuse of people with disabilities occurs by the manner in which they portray people with disabilities as powerless, helpless victims and objects of pity. That I extend to some of the members in the House. Disabled people are human beings, not things. [Applause.]
It is the responsibility of the media to ensure that they use the power of words and images responsibly, and that their reporting promotes a culture of respect, dignity and human rights of people with disabilities.
We would all agree that education remains a crucial weapon to liberate people from oppression. The hon Surty and I have agreed on critical areas for intervention in facilitating progressive access to education for the estimated 467 000 children with disabilities of compulsory school-going age - who are currently out of school - at the beginning of the 2013 school year. Particular attention will also be given to accelerating the pace of implementation of inclusive education, and the creation of safe environments in special schools. Hon Lamoela, please assist us, because 200 000 of those disabled children reside in the Western Cape province.
Similarly, we have also agreed with the Ministry of Higher Education and Training that the focus this year will fall on developing minimum norms and standards for the establishment of disability rights units at all institutions of higher education as well as at further education and training colleges. These units will, among other things, facilitate access to reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities. We have agreed with the Ministry of the Public Service and Administration, supported by the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, on what will be done differently to achieve the set target by the set date, as the Minister and the chairperson have already alluded to.
Other focus areas this year will be on monitoring equal access for people with disabilities to government's economic empowerment programmes, such as the Jobs Fund, co-operatives development and the review of the sheltered employment workshops where we were all dumped, courtesy of the former government.
The majority of people with disabilities in South Africa live in rural areas and survive on social grants. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the National Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec, programme by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is therefore recognised as an important step in ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those with disabilities and their families.
We will be working with the department to mainstream disability considerations in the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, CRDP, by targeting the existing CRDP sites to ensure that the roll-out of rural infrastructure meets the requirements of universal access and design. This will contribute to the equalisation of opportunities and the building of inclusive rural communities. Our commitment to rural development also extends to universal access to health services. The department will monitor the roll-out of the National Health Insurance, NHI, in the 11 pilot districts to ensure compliance with our constitutional obligations to equity, equality and nondiscrimination.
Community-based rehabilitation is an important aspect of the provision of rehabilitation and assistive device services to people with disabilities in rural communities. We will work with the Department of Health in escalating the roll-out of these services.
We commend the Department of Health for the progressive steps they are taking to reposition mental health within the social model of disability, and for the affirmation of the rights of those with mental impairments.
Noting the tortoise-like pace of progress over the past 18 years in creating an inclusive society for all, we therefore have changed the approach to co-ordinating and consolidating our work in championing the national disability agenda.
The principle of self-representation by people with disabilities is non- negotiable. We acknowledge the representation from the judiciary to the legislatures, to the executives, as well as the Chapter 9 institutions.
We salute the ANC in its centenary year for having understood this important principle, and we pay tribute to those disabled leaders like the late Friday Mavuso and Maria Rantho, who picked up the spear when given the opportunity by the august liberation movement to lead. To the ANC and to those leaders who have led disabled people, we say, Aluta continua [the struggle continues].
We remain committed to ensuring that the face of HIV and Aids changes from that of a burden of a black woman to that of society in general. We will be monitoring the implementation of the national strategic plan and we have made contributions to the operational plan as it affects women, children and people with disabilities. We will take the opportunity to elaborate further on the programmes that will be implemented in our Budget Vote in the National Council of Provinces where the actual delivery will take place.
The sectors we represent remain the most affected by the scourge of poverty, which leads to many other challenges. Amongst them are teenage pregnancy, diseases, and it also ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chair, Minister, Deputy Minister, chairperson of the portfolio committee, colleagues, Members of Parliament, heads of departments present here, members of the departments, nongovernmental organisations and members of the community in the gallery, before I start with my speech, I just want to say to the hon Lamoela that it is really surprising to hear a person who sits on the portfolio committee that deals with these issues today claiming that it is the responsibility of the Minister - that it is her job. I thought that in the portfolio committee we all understood that it was our responsibility. One woman alone cannot change and liberate other women.
She's the Minister. She is responsible. [Interjections.]
If I had wanted to ask you, I would have asked you, but I believe we have to do this together and not the Minister alone. Hon Lamoela, you say that the Minister must prove to us her worth and what she's doing. I don't think we are in a court of law here, where she actually has to prove this to us. We have to work together with her so that, in the end, we achieve gender equality and women empowerment. I didn't ask you. If I wanted to ask you, I would have called your name. [Interjections.] So, don't just butt in to answer for your colleague. [Interjections.]
I now turn to my topic, which is women empowerment and gender equality. As we debate this Budget Vote for Women, Children and People with Disabilities today, we need to do so with pride for the enormous achievements that we, as women, have made in our struggle for the emancipation of women. This has been done in the context of our long national democratic struggle, under the leadership of the now century-old liberation movement, the ANC. The ANC Women's League has, since its formation in 1948, mobilised for women's rights and gender equality within the movement itself as well, as in society as a whole.
As the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, our role is to oversee this Vote, Vote 8, through the programmes of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities in the promotion of ideals for the achievement of women empowerment, gender equality and the eradication of patriarchy in our social relations. As a result, we as the portfolio committee studied the 2005 World Economic Forum survey on measuring the global gap in women empowerment. South Africa ranked 36 out of 58 countries surveyed. South Africa has the highest mark for women's political empowerment, indicating that much progress has been made in this regard.
However, with regard to other women empowerment and equality issues, such as economic and marketing relations, the role that women play was brought forward. It has been noticed that there is minimal leadership training for women participating in economic processes in order to enhance their effectiveness. There is a lack of a gender mainstreaming approach in the conceptual and developmental phase of processes within government institutions as a monitoring tool.
Another observation revealed that we have 0,5% women in the mining industry, 1,9% women in the construction industry, and 2,5% women in the transport industry. The analysis concluded that higher percentages of women undertake low-wage employment, and that women primarily serve as domestic workers and home-based caregivers. They remain consistently underrepresented in high-skill, high-wage employment.
Other research done by the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2011 indicates that unemployment of women stands at 28%, whilst that of men is at 22,5%, and this indicates that more needs to be done. Informed by this survey and other surveys, the ANC-led government is really committed to its strategic objective of rendering South Africa nonsexist, nondiscriminatory and united.
Why this qualification? It is due to the fact that next month, in June, the ANC will be holding its policy conference, and gender equality will be one of the topics. At this conference the ANC will be assessing how far the programmes are in eliminating gender inequalities in informal and formal employment. It will, again, find out how far the monitoring is in the process of promoting women empowerment and gender equality. After this, the information will be used to sharpen the policies within the government.
Holistically, the framework for the conference - or the issues which will be discussed during it - will be the framework of economic participation, which refers to the presence or numbers of women active within the labour force. The increased number of women who contribute and participate in the economy is important for lowering levels of poverty amongst women. In addition, it is also a means of raising household income and encouraging economic development.
The other sphere will be that of economic opportunity. Here the conference will assess women's economic involvement to see how many women are employed in high-skilled jobs. It will find out whether there are any improvements in economic opportunities for women - in other words, whether women's access to education and information opportunities has improved, because without education, there can be no empowerment or development.
As far as rural women are concerned, the conference will assess whether there is access to farming land, fertiliser, seed and ploughing equipment. It will assess whether those women received an education, whether their numbers have increased in decision-making, and whether they are given a chance to access credit for the farming of the land as their means of living.
This shows great commitment by the ANC-led government, through continual research and surveying, in order to understand exactly what needs to be improved or discarded to better the policies within government and the lives of South African women, by rendering this country nonsexist. To conclude, O R Tambo once said:
The mobilisation of women is the task, not only of women alone, or of men alone, but of all of us, men and women alike ... A system based on exploitation of man by man can in no way avoid the exploitation of women by the male members of society. There is therefore no way in which women in general can liberate themselves without fighting to end the exploitation of man by man, both as a concept and as a social system.
We, the ANC, support Budget Vote No 8: Women, Children and People with Disabilities. [Applause.]
Chair, hon Ministers, Deputy Minister, you know that I am not thrilled about the existence of this Ministry, knowing how a lack of funding is so negatively impacting on children at risk, in need and in crisis, and feeling that the money spent on this additional Ministry could be better utilised on things like ensuring that we have the required number of social workers to effectively implement the Children's Act and the Older Persons Act.
Human rights observers, however, tell me that the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities is at least starting to show signs of having some positive impact. Some improvements have been noted on communication regarding the rights of persons with disabilities over the past couple of months, but they say the department's role in respect of women's rights appears to be the main focus. The ACDP agrees with them that a greater emphasis on children and persons with disabilities is needed.
The department will have to improve its capacity to co-ordinate and monitor various departments in respect of mainstreaming the rights of women, children and persons with disabilities across government programmes. There is evidence of attempts to do this, but as yet they are limited. As the department is no longer housed in the Presidency, some of its status and therefore its co-ordination and monitoring clout, in respect of other departments, has been undermined. The political weight of the department in relation to others is essential if it is to successfully perform its function.
The issue of technical skills and knowledge within the department is also crucial to perform a co-ordination and monitoring role. The people appointed to senior positions must be strong in this respect.
We note that the department has been drawing on civil-society support for planning processes over the past few months, and this is positive. However, more thought must go into the question of how to improve on this and ensure that the approach to engagements is meaningful and not tokenistic.
The deaf community, hon Minister, are particularly frustrated with the department. They point out its extravagance with funds in travel: They say one trip to New York cost more than twice the expenditure in the disabilities programme. Millions of rands have been spent on unauthorised and irregular expenditure, and the department's only available annual report for 2010-11 indicates 66% underspending in its programme for the rights of people with disabilities. This is a hugely problematic track record for such a young Ministry. At the same time, they say the department could not find the funds to support the hosting of the 16th World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf, a bid which the Presidency supported in 2007. While they were honoured that the Minister did attend the congress, funded by the scarce resources of NGOs, they needed more than your presence. Choices are limited for the deaf, and they see the department's failure as more discrimination.
Four and a half years ago it was agreed to accommodate South African sign language as a twelfth official language. Logistical and budgetary implications existed, which would have to be investigated. [Time expired.]
Ke a leboga Modulasetilo, Tona ya lefapha, Motlatsatona, Maloko a Palamente a a tlotlegang, le baeng mo Ntlong.
Ke a le dumedisa. Ntetle ke simolole ka go leboga fa bomme ba ntshitswe kwa dikgolegelong maabane, re solofela gore ba tla dira ditiro tse dintle, tse di botlhokwa le tse ba di ithutileng kwa dikgolegelong. E bile re solofela gape gore e tla nna batho ba ba botlhokwa mo set?habeng sa rona, ba ba tla kgonang go godisa bana ba bona ka lerato. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs G K TSEKE: Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and guests in the gallery. I greet you all. Allow me to start by conveying my gratitude for the release of women offenders yesterday. We hope that they will put into practice the important and good lessons that they have learned in prison. We also hope that they will be indispensable people in our community and will be able to bring their children up with love. [Applause]].
Before I start with my speech, I want to formally invite the hon Dudley - because she loves this portfolio committee - to come and participate in the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities.
Our debate today, on the budget for the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, has to acknowledge, in the first instance, that the country has made admirable progress in establishing and entrenching a progressive rights-based culture since 1994. This is particularly appropriate for the protection of children's rights when assessed against international benchmarks. Our government has achieved a lot in terms of legislation and policy, the majority of which are consistent with the provision of the Bill of Rights in our Constitution.
These rights are not only for the sole purpose of liberties, but are about addressing our society's main problems of inequality and poverty. These problems have more devastating implications for children because they are more vulnerable. It is for this reason that we must give special attention to them when assessing the department's budget.
Whilst we acknowledge achievements in terms of a progressive policy and legal environment, we are concerned about the challenges of implementation and law enforcement in particular. We are concerned with the continued incidence of crime committed against children, as reported daily in the media and in our communities. It seems that this incidence of crime is on an upward trend. This gives us more reason to ensure that this department is strengthened in order for monitoring and evaluation to be undertaken regarding this trend. Our debate today is about how, as society, we seek to change the situation and create a better world for our children.
Bana ba rona ke mabolomo. Re tshwanetse go ba rata, re ba nosetse. [Our children are flowers that should be loved and nurtured.]
The ANC is a party that stands firmly and resolutely for the protection of the rights of children. Its policies are anchored upon a belief in building a caring, open and democratic society, based on the ethos of equality and freedom where the poor and the most vulnerable in society receive priority in terms of empowerment, state assistance and the enforcement of their human rights.
In this context, ANC policies are based on the belief that the best interests of a child is paramount in everything we do in our society. This is manifested in the priority given by the ANC government to programmes that are aimed at addressing child poverty through measures, such as providing safety nets in dealing with child murders, disappearances, abuse and neglect.
These noble values are embedded in the Constitution of the Republic in the Bill of Rights. Amongst other things, the Constitution entrenches the rights to basic food, shelter, basic health care and social services; to be protected from exploitative labour practices; to family care, which includes the right to be cared for by the extended family; and to be cared for by the state where the child concerned is in need of care.
Various ANC policies have affirmed these constitutional rights and put them into practice through the ANC's government policies and programmes. At its national general council meeting in 2010, the ANC resolved to do the following in protecting the rights of the children: implementing targeted efforts to improve literacy and numeracy from Grade R upwards; strengthening the foundation phase of learning phases; implementing Action Plan 2014: Towards Schooling 2025, and giving priority to both Grade R and early childhood development; increasing social support to children in schools; providing health and social support to all schools through collaboration between the Ministries of Basic Education, Health and Social Development; and expanding the provision of psycho-social and health support to schools.
In our assessment of this budget, we would therefore like to see government departments placing these issues at the top of their agendas regarding the promotion of our children's rights. We want to see this department putting more effort, in terms of its budget allocation, into monitoring other government departments, agencies, and programmes. These policies are indeed incorporated and implemented. To achieve this, it is imperative that the department has to establish collaborative, working relationships between their stakeholders, NGOs and government institutions, as indicated in their strategy.
As a governing party, these policies have now been adopted and are being implemented through various programmes by government. We note and appreciate that the following programmes, as indicated in the department's plan, are indeed consistent with our mission to protect children's rights as articulated in our Constitution: policy and planning for the promotion and protection of children's rights; mainstreaming and capacity development for the promotion and protection of children's rights; and monitoring and evaluation.
In implementing these programmes, we need to constantly draw lessons from our failures and successes using information generated from the department's monitoring and evaluation data. As indicated in the last but most recent UN Millennium Development Goals country report for 2010, the country is making progress in achieving children's rights. This is particularly evident in addressing child poverty and health status through state interventions.
For example, the report acknowledges a positive correlation between the increase in the child support grant from 1999 to 2011 and the improved nutrition levels between the ages of zero to two years in the same period. The report further noted that the increase in the provision of social grants has had a developmental impact within households in terms of nutrition, education, health, vital services and employment, thus benefiting children.
Hon Minister and Deputy Minister, before I conclude, let me also highlight this concern for your attention. In Programme 3, that is the children's programme, there is overexpenditure. The overexpenditure in the third quarter is an ongoing concern for us as it is far above the required amount, which is 75%. This reflects a lack of proper planning as activities will be compromised in the fourth quarter.
In conclusion, if you were to keep track of how we were doing in promoting the rights of our children so that we can progress further, it is important that this department, as a monitoring agency, is capacitated. It is important that it becomes a knowledge base in terms of research, evidence- based policy-making and monitoring and evaluation. On this basis, the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson and hon members, I am standing in for the hon Ditshetelo, who has had a bereavement and has had to fly back home. This is a department that seeks to ensure that all South Africans, in accordance with the dictates of the Constitution, are equal.
The UCDP welcomes the strides made to bring the department to an even keel after it floundered on the rough seas immediately after being established. While some women are living themhigh life as executives in the corporate world, there are others in the countryside that cry out for help as they are left to suffer from hunger, neglect and ill-treatment invariably disguised as culture.
The UCDP holds the view that nondiscimination and nonsexism should not only be preached, but also practised. No woman should be coerced into a matrimonial relationship, or any relationship for that matter, without her consent. We hope the Ministry will agitate for the tightening of legislation on this matter, so that equal should be equal, and some should not be less equal.
We note and accept that women have been deployed to participate at operational levels of the United Nations and on African Union peacekeeping missions of the SA National Defence Force, the SANDF. We also note the concerted efforts mounted by South Africa to consider gender balance, when nominating teams to assist with mediation and/or reconstruction and development in conflict-ridden countries.
The UCDP condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the Ganyesa madness of yesterday that resulted in the death of a woman in labour because protesters had barricaded the road, and thus an ambulance could not reach her to take her to the clinic. Discontent about a road should not result in the death of two innocent souls. We hope this will be followed up, and that those responsible will be brought to book.
The UCDP calls on the Minister to ensure that Article 3 of the African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, which focuses on the prohibition of recruitment of child soldiers and the abuse of girl-children as wives and sex slaves in violation of their rights, as enshrined in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, is observed.
The "ukuthwala" [forced marriage]practice should be fought against with all available resources as it deprives young girls of their youthfulness. That it is tradition is neither here nor there. People cannot eat their cake and have it. If people accept democracy with its concomitant appendages, they cannot go back and cling to culture and tradition when it suits them.
We respect the slogan of the people living with disabilities, which says: "Nothing for us without us." We hope more and more opportunities will be given to these people, some of whom are brainy and talented and are an asset to this country. The likes of Oscar Pistorius, Steve Kekana and some hon members in this Parliament, who are Sponono debaters, are just simple examples that come to mind. The UCDP supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, Ngqongqoshe ... [Hon Chairperson, Minister ...] [Interjections.]]
Chair, I rise on a point of order.
Yes, what is your point of order?
Chairperson, the DA speaker was next on the list.
Who?
The DA speaker was next on the list, the hon More. [Interjections.]
She follows Nxumalo. [Interjections.] Yes, it is here. They shuffled the list. Ms More, you will be the next speaker. Hon Nxumalo, can you commence, please? [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Ngiyabonga Sihlalo ohloniphekileyo, Ngqongqoshe, iSekela likaNgqongqoshe, amalungu ahloniphekile ePhalamende, izikhulu zikahulumeni kanye nezethameli zethu ezisivakashele namhlanje, ngaphambi kokuthi ngiqale ngenkulumo yami, ngicela ukubongela kuqala uSteve Kekana noBabsy Mlangeni abathole izindondo eMafikeng izolo. [Ihlombe.] Babonisa ukuthi ungafinyelela emaphusheni akho noma unokukhubazeka, siyababongela. [Ihlombe.]
Manje sekuyiminyaka eyikhulu uKhongolose ungumbutho ohamba phambili ukulwela isithunzi sabantu ukuze bazuze ukulingana kanye nokuthuthukisa amalungelo abantu kanye nenkululeko. Le migomo kanye nobugugu bayo manje sekusekelwe kuMqulu wamaLungelo esiNtu kuMthethosisekelo wethu kaZwelonke. Lokhu kuchaza kubuye futhi kusebenze njengomkhombandlela wenkulumompikiswano yethu namhlanje kwiSabiwomali soMnyango wabesiFazane iziNgane kanye nabaNtu abaPhila nokuKhubazeka. UMqulu wamaLungelo eSintu uvimbela noma ngabe yiluphi uhlobo lobandlululo olubhekiswe kubantu abaphila nokukhubazeka, futhi uphakamisa ukuzuzwa kokulingana kuyo yonke imikhakha yempilo emiphakathini yethu. UKhongolose wamema ukushaywa komthetho kanye nezinye izindlela ezingenziwa ukuze bavikelwe futhi bathuthukiswe.
Kule nkulumompikiswano, kufanele siqhubeke nokusekela bonke labo abahamba phambili ekulweni kanye nasekuqinisekiseni ukuthi amalungelo abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka, njengoba kugxiliswe kuMthethosisekelo, ayingxenye yezinhloso zethu zokwakha umphakathi ohlangene, ongowentando yeningi, ongabandlululi ngobuhlanga, nangobulili kanye nochumayo obhekele ukulingana.
Ngokwezikhungo, ukwakhiwa kwalo Mnyango kahulumeni kwaba wukuhlomula okubaluleke kakhulu okungamele kubukelwe phansi. Ngokufanayo kwaba umphumela womzabalazo ogxilile owawuholwa nguKhongolose kanye neminye imibutho elwela ukulingana ezweni lethu eyayikade iwumemezela iminyaka ngeminyaka. Ngenkathi sibonga esikuzuzile kanye nenqubekela phambili eseyenziwe nguhulumeni kaKhongolose, kuze kube manje ekugxiliseni amalungelo abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka, kusekuningi okusafanele kwenziwe.
Lokhu kufakazelwa yimibiko elandelayo evela ku Khomishana yemiSebenzi yoMphakathi ekhombisa okuncane osekuhlonyuliwe emikhakheni yezokuqashwa kwabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka emkhakheni kahulumeni. Isibike unyaka nonyaka mayelana nokwehluleka kweMinyango kahulumeni kanye nokwakuhloswe yizikhungo mayelana nokuqashwa ngokulingana kwabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka. Lokhu akuvezi isibonelo esikhuthazayo emikhakheni ezimele lapho isimo sihlale sisibi kakhulu khona. Ukushaya imithetho kanye nezinqubomgomo kuyinto engavamile ukuba yisisombululo, kuphela uma kungaxhasiwe wukusetshenziswa kwezindlela eziqinile kanye nokuphoqelela.
Kungenxa yalesi sizathu sokuthi ukusungulwa kwalo Mnyango kwemukelwe ngoba wakhelwe ukuqapha ukusebenza kanye nokuqinisa ukwengamela. Kuyadabukisa-ke nokho ukuthi kusukela ekusungulweni kwawo kuze kube manje awukwazanga ukugxiviza isitembu sophawu lwawo futhi usebenze ngokubonakalayo. Nokho-ke, siyawukhuthaza futhi siyazeseka izinhlelo zawo ezihlose ukubhekelela isimo sabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka eziyilezi: inqubomgomo kanye nokuhlela ukulinganiswa kwamathuba abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka; ukuhlela kanye nokuthuthukiswa kokulinganiswa kwamathuba abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka; ukuqapha nokuhlola kanye nokucwaninga ukulinganiswa kwamathuba abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka.
Ekubhekeni kwethu lesi Sabiwomali kanye nalezi zinhlelo, kudingeka sihlole, siqhathanise nezinselelo eziningi ezisabhekene nabantu abayizigidi ezimbili; okungabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka ezweni lethu. Yize noma sesiyenzile inqubekela phambili mayelana nohlaka lomthetho oyisisekelo, abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka basabhekene nalezi zinselelo ezilandelayo: ubuphofu obedlulele - kuyabathinta ngaphezu kwamanye amaqembu emphakathini; bezwa ubuhlungu ngendlela engeyinhle ababukwa ngayo kanye nokuxhashazwa kwamantombazane anokukhubazeka ngabantu besilisa, nokucindezelwa okuholela ekubandlululweni okuqhubekayo kanye nokukhishelwa ngaphandle umphakathi; iningi labo alifinyeleli ekutholeni izinsiza ezibasizayo njengelungelo labo; ukungabikhona kwabasebenzi abaqeqeshwe ngokufanele ukuze babanikeze izinsiza zokubasiza.
Ukungafinyeleleki kanye nokungabikho kwezokuthutha - into ebuhlungu ukuthi uma uphakathi etekisini ubona umuntu ohamba ngesihlalo sabakhubazekile emisa itekisi, umshayeli wetekisi ngeke ame ngoba uthi loyo muntu uzomchithela isikhathi. Leyo yinto ebuhlungu kakhulu kubantu abanokukhubazeka okuseyinselele enkulu kithi siwuMnyango.
Ukungafinyeleleki ngokwanele kwezemfundo kanye nezinsiza; ukungabikho kwezikole nezinkulisa zabantwana abanokukhubazeka, sisakhala ngempela njengekomidi ukuthi izikole zabantwana abanokukhubazeka azikho, uma bezikhona, lento yokuxhashazwa kwabantwana abanokukhubazeka ngabe ayikho emphakathini wethu - ngoba azikho izikole yingakho kwenzeka lento phakathi kwezingane zethu. Mina angikhumbuli ngibona kunenkulisa yabantwana abanokukhubazeka, kuseyinselele enkulu kuMnyango wethu; ukungabikho kwamathuba emisebenzi kanye nokungakwazi kweMinyango kahulumeni ukuhlangabezana nokuhlosiwe ngokulingana njengoba kubekwe nguhulumeni; ukungabikho kokuhlelwa kwemiGomo yeNtuthuko yeMileniyamu, ngakho-ke kuholela ekutheni bangabandakanywa kwezentuthuko.
Ekusekeleni kwethu lesi Sabiwomali, siphawula ukungapheleli kwamandla anikwe uMnyango ngoba awuyiqhubi imisebenzi. Amandla awo awaphelela ekubeni nomthelela, ekuqapheni kanye nasekuhloleni. Kulokho-ke sikholwa ukuthi izinhlelo zawo azifinyeleli ekuqinisekiseni ukuhlelwa kokulinganisa. Okubaluleke kakhulu kunakho konke ukuthi ukuqapha kwawo kanye nemininingwane yokuhlola kanjalo nocwaningo olwenziwayo kuzosiza ukushintsha indlela okubukwa ngayo kanye nokucindezelwa kwabantu abaphila nokukhubazeka.
Sifuna uMnyango uqinise iqhaza lawo lokuqapha kanye nokuhlanganisa konke okwenziwa yiMinyango kahulumeni ukuthuthukisa amalungelo abantu abaphila nokukhubazeka. Izinhlelo zikahulumeni kufanele zibheke kakhulukazi ngokukhethekile iqhaza lezwe lokuhlangabezana nezibopho ngokwe-United Nations Rights Optional Protocol kanye nokuhlela izindaba zabakhubazekile kumiGomo yeNtuthuko yeMileniyamu, kanye nokuqapha inqubekela phambili ekusebenzeni.
Mayelana nokubheka imizamo yoMnyango ngalezi zinhlelo, kanye nezindlela zokuqinisa amandla awo okuphathwa komsebenzi nokuhlela, uKhongolose umema ukuba sesekwe lesi Sabiwomali ukuze umnyango ukwazi ukuthuthukisa zonke izinto okudingeka ukuba uzithuthukise ngoba imali yesabiwowali enikezwa umnyango ayenele ukuthi ingathuthukisa zonke lezi zinto ofuna ukuzenza. SinguKhongolose siyaseseka iSabiwomali. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Ms M D NXUMALO: Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, hon Members of Parliament, government officials and our visitors, before I commence with my speech, I wish to first congratulate Steve Kekana and Babsy Mahikeng for being honoured at Mafikeng yesterday. [Applause.] They have shown that you can attain your dreams even when you are disabled; we congratulate them. [Applause.] For the past hundred years the ANC has been the leading party in the fight for the dignity of the people - to attain equality and human rights as well as political freedom. These policies and their values are now entrenched in the Bill of Rights, and our national Constitution. This means that this must function as the directive of our debate today in the budget for the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities. The Bill of Rights prohibits any kind of discrimination against people with disabilities and, furthermore, advocates equality for everyone in all spheres of life. The ANC proposed the making of laws and other ways that could be used to protect them and promote their interests.
In this debate we must continue supporting all those who advocate and want to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities, as entrenched in the Constitution, are part of our objective to build unity in our society, to promote democracy, eliminate racial and gender discrimination and to ensure a prosperous society that regards everyone as equal.
As far as centres catering for people with disabilities are concerned, the establishment of this government department was a benefit and very important. Likewise, it was the result of a profound struggle led by the ANC and other political parties fighting for equality in our country. It had previously fought for it for a number of years. While we are grateful for what we have attained and the progress made by the ANC government up to now to promote the rights of people with disabilities, we still have a long way to go.
The following reports by the Commission of Public Works bear testimony to this; they show very little that has been achieved in the employment of people with disabilities in the Public Service. It has reported year after year on the failure of government departments and the objectives of the centres for people with disabilities to give equal employment opportunities to them.
This does not set a good example for the private sector where these opportunities are even more scarce. The passing of laws and the adoption of policies are not usually the solution if it is not supported by strong and compulsory implementation procedures.
It is for this reason that the establishment of this department should be accepted, because it was established to monitor its functioning and to strongly implement its purpose by having strong leadership. It is sad to note that, from the moment it was established up to now, it has not made its mark and yielded tangible results. Nevertheless, we encourage and support its programmes that are aimed at catering for the needs of the disabled, which are the following: the policy and programme of giving equal opportunities to the disabled; the planning and promotion of equal opportunities for people with disabilities; and monitoring, assessing and researching the provision of equal opportunities for people with disabilities. In our assessment of the budget and these programmes, we must assess and compare the many challenges faced by two million people - which is the number of people with disabilities in our country. Even though we have made progress regarding the framework of the basic policy, the disabled are still faced with the following challenges: They face extreme poverty - which affects them more than the other sections of society; they are adversely affected by the way other people look at them; and disabled young women suffer extreme abuse at the hands of men - the oppression which leads to continued discrimination and them being regarded as outcasts by society; most of them cannot access facilities which are their constitutional right and there are not enough adequately trained public servants who can help them access these facilities.
There's also a lack of and an inaccessibility to transport. What is even sadder, is that when you are in a taxi and you see someone in a wheelchair stopping the taxi, the taxi drivers usually do not pick them up; they complain that doing so is a waste of their time. That is so painful to people with disabilities and it is still a great challenge for us as the department.
Then there is the lack of adequate access to education and facilities, as well as a lack of schools and pre-schools for children with disabilities - we as a committee regard this as a serious problem. If there were any suitable schools for them, the abuse of disabled children in our society would not be so rife; the lack of schools causes this problem for our children. I do not remember ever seeing a pre-school for children with disabilities; it is still a big challenge for our department. The lack of job opportunities and the inability of government departments to cater for the needs of people with disabilities, as stipulated by the government, and the lack of planning in respect of the Millennium Development Goals all leads to their exclusion from development.
In our approval of this budget, we have observed the lack of authority given to the department because it does not perform properly. Its authority is limited to producing effects - monitoring and assessing. Therefore we believe that its programmes fall short of ensuring the planned equality measures. What is most important is that its monitoring and the details of its assessment and research that are being conducted, will help to change the attitudes towards and the oppression of people with disabilities.
We want the department to monitor whether all government departments promote the rights of people with disabilities, and to increase such monitoring. Government programmes must especially focus on the role of the country to meet the obligations according to the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the planning of matters pertaining to people with disabilities as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals - monitoring the proper functioning and progress of the department. Regarding the progress of the department in respect of implementing these programmes and ways to assert its authority in respect of proper planning and functioning, the ANC proposes that this budget be approved so that the department can develop everything that it needs to because the budget given to the department is not enough for us to do all that we have planned. We as the ANC approve the Budget Vote. [Applause.]]
Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members of the House and guests, my speech will focus on women's issues, the budget, and the overall impact.
Budgets reflect government's priorities and are a useful tool to measure the extent to which political commitments are translated into fiscal commitments and eventually into quality service delivery to all.
Minister, the mandate of your department is vital. Let me assure you, we understand it and it resonates with us, especially when it talks to the poor and rural communities. But, to date, your department has done very little in holding other government departments accountable, especially if they do not comply in this regard.
According to the 2011 annual media estimates from Statistics SA, women constitute 52% of the population, and 18 years down the road of democracy, the majority of women, particularly in rural areas, continue to suffer and struggle socially, politically and economically. The department needs to ensure that women benefit from state interventions, and that they are empowered through job creation and economic growth.
In 2010 the hon President Jacob Zuma made a commitment that gender will be mainstreamed into all government programmes in order to include women and address gender inequalities. To date, the majority of women are still at the periphery of the economy. There is no effective monitoring and indication to gauge that, indeed, the majority of women are and continue to be empowered, even in the new massive infrastructure development announced and pronounced upon in the 2012 state of the nation address.
The Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill is an important Bill, and I am happy that the Minister said she is working on it. Minister, it is about time. Nothing has been said about this Bill since 2010.
Employers are failing to meet the employment equity targets, and this perpetuates gender inequality and discrimination against women. Research shows that women are underrepresented in senior positions, especially in private and public institutions. Instead, you find more women in part-time jobs and in the informal sector.
The Domestic Violence Act and the Sexual Offences Act are significant pieces of legislation that are key in combating violence against women. But, irrespective of this legislation, the SA Police Service, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and the National Prosecuting Authority, as a sub-programme, are failing the women of this country.
There is a lack of police records of sexual offences and domestic violence. Some files lack significant records, and the police are not adequately trained to deal with these cases. Victims wait for a long time for trial dates, hence most women are demotivated and never go back or even report repeat offences. Therefore, women remain victims of all this and of rape.
Sadly, the reality is that the rape and violence statistics are on the rise. In 2006, there were close to 55 000 rape cases reported in our country. It is further estimated that 450 000 rape cases go unreported. This means that, on average, approximately 1 300 women are raped every day in South Africa. A woman is raped in our country every 17 seconds. This does not include the number of child rape victims. It is estimated that one in every two women will be raped. Between 28% and 30% of adolescents reported that their first sexual encounter was forced.
Seven commissioners are required for the Commission for Gender Equality Act to be implemented, but since 2009 the numbers have been deteriorating. On Wednesday, 9 May 2012, we learnt that in December 2011 there were three commissioners, and now we only have two commissioners left. Minister, please fast-track this process. It is very important.
Illiteracy and unemployment levels are the highest among women, hence the trend of women being sexually abused before they get employment continues. Women's health and life are threatened by their vulnerability to HIV infection, but, even worse, by the spiking rate of maternal mortality in South Africa, as reported by Human Rights Watch. Again, a woman dies owing to poor administrative and financial management, poor quality of care and lack of accountability.
The National Development Plan, the NDP, talks to a capable state that drives development, that promotes ethics that serve the citizens, that provides opportunities and also outlines nation-building and social cohesion. If this is approved and implemented, South Africa will achieve a better life for all and women can play a very vital role in this.
The DA developed the 8% growth policy project, which also diagnoses and assesses the key challenges facing the South African economy and outlines 12 areas that the government should focus on. These areas are: increase labour demand, improve labour supply, stimulate entrepreneurship, deepen BEE and employment equity, assist the poor, develop capacity, enhance competition, and be money smart to create jobs and fight poverty over the next decade.
This project, together with the NDP, will definitely go a long way in terms of improving the quality of life of South Africans, particularly women. It will further cut out red tape, such as the overspending in this department owing to overseas trips. Where we govern, we improve people's lives. Imagine a smile on the face of the mothers of 850 young people in the Western Cape who now have jobs. Thanks go to the DA for setting a trend and launching the first phase of the implementation of the National Youth Wage Subsidy. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Modula Setulo, Sesotho se re, mma ngwana o tshwara thipa ka bohaleng. Empa bohale ba dithipa tsa jwale ke bo fetang ba tau. [Chairperson, in Sesotho it is said that women will do anything to protect their children. However, today's problems are more fierce than a lion.]
Things will never change and go right in our country if we continue to have cases like that of the Bheki Celes, the Jackie Selebis, appointments like that of Adv Menzi Simelane, cases like that of the Richard Mdlulis, Gauteng e-tolls and legislation like the secrecy Bill and the review of the powers of the courts. The lists of these endemic, malignant, viral and infectious corruption cases are on the rise. All these undermine the hard-earned democracy by our respected idol, Madiba.
Women as home-builders suffer more to sustain their families because it is no longer about service delivery, but power-hunger, selfish self- enrichment, the lining of one's pockets ... Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the starting point is that today we feel, especially with issues of disability, that we have come a long way. Remember, in 1998 the United Nations declared South Africa as having the worst conditions for the disabled, and of poverty.
Thereafter, disability was put under the Office of the Presidency, and there was a desk. Today, at least, there is a Minister, and we have complained with the Ministry that disability is not getting enough attention. Today, in this budget, for the first time, you can see for yourselves that, indeed, issues of disability are adequately addressed. Well, it will never be adequate but, for the first time, we are satisfied that disability is getting full attention. [Applause.]
We would like to thank the Ministry for all its efforts and travelling around. South Africa likes to be world class. When you go to Geneva and Beijing, this is because we want to learn from the world and exchange knowledge and experiences with other nations in terms of how they are doing things about the problems encountered in society. We have said that it isn't enough to sign treaties and conventions, but that we really want to see action.
To the Monitoring and Evaluation Minister, we are happy that you are with the President and the Minister of Social Development about the monitoring and evaluating of issues of disability. We just want to point out that although the Budget Vote is good in terms of issues of disability, we also have to consider issues of women and children. Remember, ultimately, our children - what is going to happen to them. At a philosophical level, the question of whether the child is the product of the parent gets asked all the time, specifically as regards the mother, because the mother is the one closest to the child. For anything that goes wrong with the child, the parent or society will be blamed. If there is juvenile delinquency or crime in society - because the child is doing all of that - ultimately, the question arises: Re re, ke ngwana mang? [We ask, "Whose child is it?"] This happens all the time, whenever there is a problem.
Therefore, if the child is the product of the parent or of society, if anything is wrong with the child, whether it is child rape or anything else, the blame is taken by society, because society or the parent produced that child. This is unfortunate for the mother, because ... lebone ka lapeng le boneswa ke mme. [... she is the beacon of light in the family.]
When things go wrong in the home, people always want to know where the mother is. [Laughter.] That is because the mother is the backbone of society, so it is very important that we empower the mother, that we empower the woman and get her employed, and that she too goes to school.
In fact, Minister, the one area in respect of which I would like to make a special request is that you monitor our health system and the issue of the reopening of colleges. The colleges absorb many girl-children. Today many girls who have matriculated are unemployed, and nursing colleges all over South Africa - Baragwanath, Natalspruit, and Katlehong - used to absorb these girls. In the past, from the junior certificate up to matric, they used to go there because they could be trained on the job, and one doesn't fail there, because people are trained on the job. They were even paid at the same time. So, those whose parents could not provide them with a tertiary education had hope in nursing, because they knew they could be trained and paid on the job. It was more practical and, as a result, we produced many nurses in the past. I am surprised that today we have a shortage of nurses in the country. So, please monitor this. I would like to support this Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, let me thank members for their support of this important Budget Vote. I also want to remind members that the task that has been put to us by the President and the nation is huge.
As chairperson Ramodibe has said, our budget is only 0,01% of the overall Budget. Also, we have the smallest budget for this financial year and, therefore, may not be able to meet our targets. Therefore, hon members, projects that we had planned could not take place because there was no money. We are also saying that we need to ensure that we have an adequate budget to assist us with implementing the mandate that has been given to us.
I think the DA, before they talk about trips, must get their facts right. They ran to the Human Rights Commission with all their lies. They told the Human Rights Commission that I sent staff officials to New York and paid R7 million for them. We only paid R1,1 million. I think the lies of the DA must be exposed, and we must be able to go there and not confuse the Human Rights Commission. [Interjections.] I have welcomed the Human Rights Commission, but they don't know how to deal with the lies of the DA. [Interjections.]
I also want to remind members that, yes, there is spending on travel, even locally. I want to remind members that we are working with rural women; we are working with people with disabilities and children. Rural women are not employed. When we deal with the policies and programmes, we have to consult. When we consult, we must meet with them, and we must pay for their travel and accommodation.
When we deal with children, we deal with people who are not working - young children. They need chaperones to take them to the Union Buildings for any consultations and meetings we need with them. That is money, hon members. When we deal with people with disabilities, most of them are unemployed and, therefore, for us to sit down and consult with them, to have summits, and work with them to develop disability policies and programmes, we have to pay for their travel. We have to pay for the people who support them and must guide them to go to whichever venue. So, we are saying that we will depend on this committee to assist us to ensure that the National Treasury gives us the necessary and adequate resources to help us implement our mandate.
I also want to assure the hon Lamoela that her bright ideas from the DA have already been implemented by the ANC. [Interjections.] [Applause.] We had already, at the end of last year, endorsed the National Council on Gender-based Violence, which will work with civil society. We have started to work with civil society.
We have our Deputy President, who works with young boys, has dialogues on International Men's Day and has an ongoing programme with progressive men that are ensuring that young boys have the right role models. We are also saying to the DA that they must lead by example, sisi Tseke. Your premier is the only woman who is in leadership in the Western Cape. You must make sure that she recognises other women, and you must implement your ideas. [Applause.] She is not the only woman in the Western Cape who has brains. I thank you, Chair. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Thank you, Minister. That concludes the debate and the business of this Extended Public Committee. [Interjections.] The committee will now rise.
Chairperson, I was trying to make a point of order. I was trying very hard to make a point of order, but you were looking the other way. The Minister exceeded her time. You did try to stop her, but she did exceed her time. I just want to point that out to you. Thank you.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Sorry, hon member.
Debate concluded.