Thank you very much, hon Chair. Hon Deputy Minister, the abuse of children in particular entails child trafficking. When we talk about cases of missing children you can't talk about them without mentioning child trafficking. The question that I have is in relation to the progress which the South African government is making in dealing with child trafficking and also how the cases of missing children are prioritised at the level of police station. Thank you very much.
The DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY FOR WOMEN, YOUTH AND PERSONS
WITH DISABILITIES: Chairperson, the Department of Social Development which is mandated to oversee the wellbeing of children will hugely benefit from the outcomes of the national strategic plan, NSP, as they are applicable to all forms of violence including human trafficking. As a department we have approached the Department of Transport as they deal with roads and logistics. As they create awareness about roads and logistics safety they have to ensure that they also talk about issues of trafficking of persons and create awareness among their workers. It is a bilateral which we have just started and we hope to hugely benefit from it. When you talk about human trafficking they are trafficked through our official logistic vehicles by people who are aware that a person they are taking has no papers or passport. That is what we are working on with the Department of Transport.
Generally, I think South Africa has been very efficient in tracking young people. Recently, a 15-year-old was recruited to go and train outside, but was caught before leaving the country because of the use of cyber security. I think there is vigilance especially to young people. We have to continue those relationships with the Department of Communications and make sure that they are able to help us track young people who might be at risk of being recruited.
Those who use social media in particular face a big risk. Those from rural areas just get into trucks and find themselves in big cities or in another country. Sometimes they are driven away from their families by poverty or other false information they might hear about better opportunities somewhere. The police and the State Security agencies are all fully aware of the risk that this country has to manage. The Children's Act has been strengthened to ensure that there is effective legislation to this effect. Also, we are the signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Part of the national plan of action is to protect children from such practices.