Hon Chairperson, from the onset the PAC wants to set the record straight. For us, there is no need for semantics; for playing with fancy words and seeking attention. Soweto uprising day, 16 June, will remain so in our hearts forever more, no matter what the official calendar says. Sharpeville and Langa day - 21 March - will also remain so till the end of time. The same people in our land who celebrate the 1917 Russian October revolution have the audacity to distort and mutilate our history to achieve their narrow political interests. They are hypocrites!
The first sparks of upheaval ignited in Soweto and later engulfed the whole country. Bantu education was challenged in its entirety and the Afrikaans language was opposed as a medium of instruction. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the undying memory of Tsietsi Mashinini, Khotso Seatlholo and the multitude of heroic young people who tamed the colonial settler beast.
Today, most of the people who faced guns and teargas with bare hands in 1976 are living in abject poverty. They need help to turn their lives around, as they are the true custodians of the freedom we enjoy today. We are guilty of consigning our heroes to the garbage bin of history.
Today's youth are shackled and caged. Before we can promise them paradise on earth, we must free them or help them to free themselves from the clutches of landlessness, miseducation, ill health, joblessness, drugs, political patronage and economic blackmail. We need to liberate our youth from the scourge of nyaope, tik, mandrax and alcohol in our communities. Our laws are very lenient towards drug lords. We have failed our youth in many respects. For instance, we gather in this House and legalise gambling. Then we leave this House shedding crocodile tears because our young people are addicted to gambling.
We promised our youth economic liberation in our lifetime. How can people be economically liberated when they are still recipients of food parcels, especially on the eve of elections? [Time expired.]