Hon Chairperson M J Mahlangu, hon Deputy Chairperson T C Memela, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members of the NCOP, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to greet you all.
It is really disappointing to see that provinces are not taking advantage of these opportunities to come and echo their provincial sentiments on these vital issues that affect women, people with disabilities and children. This should really be condemned. Nevertheless, Mpumalanga is represented here. I am here today. [Applause.]
As we continue to celebrate the centenary of the ANC, I am delighted to be invited not only to support the budget speech by Minister Lulu Xingwana, but also to add a voice of reason to this debate with regard to issues of women, children and people with disabilities.
I must say that South Africa as a whole must go beyond a conformist mind- set and focus on enhancing performance through empowerment for there to be socioeconomic inclusiveness. The improvement of the quality of life and status of women, children and people with disabilities has not yet been fully implemented and integrated into our work ethos.
There is a need to intensify the oversight function of all constitutional institutions that are mandated to ensure a better life for women, children and people with disabilities. It is important that we should not merely conform to the new legislative regimes, but develop a way of thinking and acting that reflects our embracing of this legislative regime to really empower and engage the full spectrum of our country's diverse people.
We welcome the innovative thinking of the hon Minister and support the initiatives to implement the commitment made by the Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, to put aside R50 million for people with disabilities, as well as over R200 million towards the women's empowerment fund. That fund will assist women to be independent, and not to depend on men for a living. As the province of Mpumalanga, we also welcome the Techno Girl programme. It is really appreciated; we are going to implement it. Thank you, Minister.
Admittedly, there are challenges that the ANC government faces in pursuit of our transformation agenda within government and all state organs focusing largely on the improvement and quality of life of these marginalised groups. The challenges evolve around mainstreaming for socioeconomic and sociopolitical inclusion that should be decentralised in all departments' plans and monitored continually as we oversee the performance of all state organs.
It is important to strengthen the state machinery by strengthening the transformation agenda, which includes capacity-building; developing data- based policy-making and programme information; eliminating violence against women, children, youth and people with disabilities; creating decent employment for all of them; and working together more with marginalised groups.
Another crucial element is enhancing partnerships with civil organisations that deal with various aspects affecting the youth, children and people with disabilities. Continual interaction with these various groups will provide us with first-hand knowledge regarding the extent to which government and enacted policies contribute to the improvement of quality of life.
I would like to briefly mention that, as parliamentarians, our duties and responses to the social ills levelled against women, children and people with disabilities leave a lot of unanswered questions. I remember, Minister Lula Xingwana, that on 15 May 2012, when addressing a meeting of the National Disability Machinery, some thought-provoking questions were raised by people who were disabled, such as: Where is government in the midst of all this? What is government doing to protect people with disabilities against abuse and discrimination?
These questions suggest that we have neglected our people. Our presence has been overshadowed by the escalating failure just to meet the 2% employment equity target for people with disabilities; the inability to provide accessible housing for people with disabilities; the inability of our education system to produce competent disabled graduates and matriculants who can be employed by our government; the inability to transform the mentality of all directors-general, deputy directors-general, heads of department and other officials who are disability-conscious; and the inability to provide accessible public transport to allow people with disabilities to reach places of work and even school.
The Deputy Minister has clearly indicated here that Mpumalanga is still at 3,9% when it comes to people with disabilities. It is a figure that is not pleasing, and it is the same with all provinces. What we have discovered in Mpumalanga is that departments are not ready to absorb these people. They have no plans. They only target people who are in wheelchairs.
People who are blind are not recruited because they need a person to support them. They need resources such as Braille or voice-interactive computers. So, there is no plan or even a budget for these things. That is why these disabled people are not absorbed into the mainstream workforce of government.
We must all remember that no one is immune to disability. We need to take care of these people and think about them all the time. I will not rest if these issues are only debated for the sake of compliance with the constitutional requirements following the budgetary process by the Minister, and yet after this we fail to implement all that we say. Performance bonuses are paid annually to officials who disregard the political direction that we have provided, and yet Ministers and MECs are made to approve bonuses for this political defiance.
The boardroom silencing of women in the workplace has been noted as an issue that is gaining momentum. It is breeding another form of violence and abuse of women. Some organisations employ women in strategic positions to address equity. However, their views and contributions are neglected, which is equivalent to oppression. Women are used for window-dressing for the sake of compliance, which is tantamount to fronting in tendering; they are not treated as equal to men. The root impetus of this boardroom violence is located within the history of unemployment, inequality, exploitation, and men's inferiority complexes, which says that women should not be equal partners in decision-making.
Another painful thing that we witness in our communities is the torture levelled against our children. The communities' families, schools, churches and social organisations have lost their moral values. Children are sexually abused and harassed in these situations continually. In spite of the laws that we have passed, our schoolchildren are still subjected to corporal punishment.
Children are raped by their fathers, educators, priests and community leaders. Of late, this has become volatile. Children are exposed to domestic violence and experience uncontrolled exposure to offensive acts of pornography on cellphones, televisions and the Internet. The question is: What type of generation are we raising? What behaviour do we expect from these children when they are adults? That boggles my mind. When these children in future become serial rapists and serial killers, we will all be surprised. Yet, we are all contributing.