Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests in the gallery, ladies and gentlemen, the attainment of democracy in 1994 laid a solid foundation for the creation of a society based on political equality, mutual respect and social inclusivity.
When President Jacob Zuma first announced the creation of the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities in May 2009, he emphasised that the objective was to work towards equity and access to development opportunities for the vulnerable groups in our society. If there were to be a single measure or civilising mission of the struggle for democracy, it would be how we treat the most vulnerable in our society.
This department pursues the mandate of advocating for the promotion and protection of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. The mandate of this department is broad and it will therefore require staff that are competent and equal to the task and budget thereof. With regard to the rights and responsibilities of children, there is a significant piece of legislation that has been passed to facilitate the improvement of the conditions of children. Under the ANC government, sexual offences have been made statutory offences and special provisions for children and persons with mental disabilities have been made through the Sexual Offences Act of 2007. The Act also provides for the development of a national sex offenders registry, which was set up in 2009.
The Children's Act also provides for full parental rights and responsibilities, whilst the Maintenance Act of 1998 compels a biological father to provide for his children financially, regardless of his marital status. But we continually see cases of fathers neglecting their children and fathers abusing their children, and also neglected children on each and every corner, especially in areas like Cape Town.
Maloko a a tlotlegang a Palamente, set?haba sa rona se fetogile mo malatsing a. Re tlhoka tlhompho, lerato le maitseo. Re latlhile setso sa gore "ngwana wa moagisane ke ngwana wa gago". Bana ga ba sa na tlhompho go batsadi ba bona; ba ineetse mo diritibatsing le bojwala; le basetsana ba ima ba sa le bannye. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Honourable Members of Parliament, our nation has changed nowadays. We need respect, love and good manners. We have lost the tradition of "the neighbour's child is your child". Children are no longer respecting their parents and they have become slaves to drugs and alcohol and girls fall pregnant at an early age.]
We have also witnessed high levels of moral decay in our society: parents drinking alcohol with their own children, learners smoking cigarettes in full view of the public, and elderly people and women being targets of violent crime in our communities. Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse them tear at the fabric of our society, and this weakens our nation. I can count a number of issues that are affecting our society, but because of time, I chose these few. The biggest questions that need to be responded to are: What has gone wrong, and what can we do to turn the situation around for all of us to live a better life?
It is high time that we all come together and put a lid on this deviant behaviour, which is eroding the moral fibre of our society. We need to go back to our roots and rebuild our nation. [Applause.] We need activists for this campaign of no violence against women and children, and to preach the values of ubuntu. Let us support the Stop Rape campaign, be it in our constituencies, schools, playgrounds, social clubs, funerals. Let us spread the message. This is killing our nation. [Applause.]
Thuthuzela Care Centres are also in place to support victims of abuse. These centres provide a range of prevention and response services, a directory of victims' services, and victim-friendly facilities within police stations.
Another challenge that impacts negatively on children is that women are still underrepresented in the labour market. Furthermore, women earn 72% of men's income on average, and this really affects children as most families are headed by mothers. The interventions by government, however, recognise the need to promote the representivity of women in strategic sectors of the economy to address these historical injustices, and the introduction of women empowerment and gender equality will assist in this regard.
The ANC government is seized with these challenges and continues to grapple with them in the context of the broader economic transformation programme of the ANC, as has been espoused in the resolutions of our national conferences. In spite of these challenges, the ANC government has worked with the people of this country to realise the following achievements, which continue to improve the lives of children: Statistics SA reveals that South Africa's performance in the area of maternal health continues to improve; the United Nations' development goals have already been met ...
Re bone bana kwa dikolong ba amogela dijo tsa mahala e bile mananeo a a fitlheletse bana ba ba kwa dikolong tse dikgolo, ka gonne malapa a le mantsi a aparetswe ke botlhokatiro le lehuma. Ke ka moo re le mokgatlho o o busang; wa batho pele; le o o ikanneng gore o tla fetola matshelo a Maaforikaborwa, o bone go le botlhokwa go tsweletsa mananeo a.
Gape, bana ba rona ba tsena sekolo mahala go tloga kwa sekolong se se potlana go fitlha kwa diyunibesithing. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[We have seen how children are benefiting from our feeding schemes, at different schools and even at high schools, which were brought about as a result of the unemployment and poverty that have affected a lot of families. That is the reason why, as the ruling party, the one that puts people first, we have dedicated ourselves to changing the lives of South Africans and we have also seen the importance of continuing with these programmes.
Our children also get free education from primary school to university.]
Hon member of Cope, I hope you are listening.
O ne o tla se bona kae seo kwa ntle ga puso ya temokerasi; e e senang kgethololo; e e tlisitseng diphetogo mo ngwaneng wa mmala wa sebilo? [Legofi.] Tseo ke ditiro tsa puso e e eteletsweng pele ke ANC.
Re bone kwa Mpumalanga Lefapha la Thuto ya Motheo le bula dikolo tsa bana ba ba golafetseng [special schools] tsa maemo a mantle ... (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Where were you going to see all this if it weren't for the democratic government that does not discriminate; the one that has brought change to the African child? [Applause.] All those are brought to you by the ANC-led government.
We saw that in Mpumalanga, when the Department of Basic Education opened world-class schools for children with disabilities ...]
... world-class facilities, namely the Pelonolo Special School, the Mantjedi Special School and the Loding Special School, which are all situated in the Dr J S Moroka Local Municipality. This resembles a nation at work.
We have also seen interventions in the sports and recreation sector, wherein the boy- and girl-child are given an opportunity to exhibit their talents. We have seen the SA Football Association, Safa, launching and supporting the under-12 and under-15 football league, wherein young boys and girls will identify their talents and be professional athletes, and also be taken off the streets.
There is a need to empower both the boy- and the girl-child, including those with disabilities. These initiatives include the growing-your-own- timber approach to projects like the Techno Girl programme. This is an initiative piloted by the Department of Basic Education in partnership with the UN Children's Fund and Uweso Consulting. Its aim is to take young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and help them pursue scarce careers most urgently required in South Africa. The programme focuses exclusively on careers in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
This programme entails recruiting more people from disadvantaged areas and public schools. We are placing them in a structured job-shadowing programme for three consecutive holidays annually, for a period of four years. We therefore recommend that this programme be expanded to the deep rural areas.
The department is signatory to various international conventions and protocol. In this regard, the department continues to meet its obligation of reporting to the various international forums on its progress, with its mandate of advocacy for the promotion and protection of the rights of children and people with disabilities. Participation in these strategic bilaterals and multilaterals is an expression of the seriousness with which the ANC government takes children's rights. This is a measure that opens up the country to account to the world on its policies and practices which affect the lives and livelihoods of children, including children with disabilities. Some of the protocols South Africa has reported on include the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. These conventions are meant to induce a moral commitment from the country to adhere to four general principles, namely that all rights be available to all children and children with disabilities without discrimination of any kind; that the best interests of the child be a primary consideration; that every child has the right to life, survival and development; and that the child's view be considered and taken into account in all matters affecting him or her.
We therefore want to congratulate the department for work well done in making sure that these reports, which have been outstanding for years, are deposited with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. We also want to thank the Speaker of the National Assembly, the hon Sisulu, for acknowledging the work done by the committee on the country report. Further, recommendations were sent to the leader of government business, the hon Motlanthe, for the attention of different departments. We would apprecitate it if, and look forward to , the relevant Ministers could give us progress updates on the recommendations contained in the committee report. [Applause.]
In conclusion, let us join hands, young and old, black and white, to make South Africa safe for all who live in it. The ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]