Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, the director-general and his team, ladies and gentlemen, our youth present, and "kleintjies" [little ones], as we celebrate the centenary of the ANC and the 18 years since the attainment of our hard-won democracy, we note that the ANC has made tremendous strides in the liberation and empowerment of women and children.
Die ANC-regering het die uiters onmenslike verlede probeer uitwis deur verskillende programme en nuwe beleidsrigtings en wette daar te stel, wat almal akkommodeer en gelykheid nastreef.
Dit is gevolglik belangrik om te erken dat die kwessie van grondsake 'n baie sensitiewe, ingewikkelde en hartseer saak is, met die potensiaal om families uitmekaar te skeur.
'n Voorbeeld hiervan is dit wat die voorsitter genoem het. Agb lid Groenwald, u weet mos die Wes-Kaap is 'n eilandjie op sy eie in Suid- Afrika. Hierdie gebeurtenis wat die voorsitter genoem het van die ou vrou wat onteien is van die grond in haar geboorteland en van haar susterskind, het net hier in die Wes-Kaap op die eilandjie gebeur. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The government has tried to get rid of the extremely inhumane past by putting in place various programmes and new policies and legislation that will accommodate everyone and strive to achieve equality.
Consequently, it is important to acknowledge that the land issue is a very sensitive, complicated and distressing matter that has the potential to tear families apart.
An example of this is what the chairperson mentioned. Hon member Groenewald, surely you know that the Western Cape is an island in South Africa - all on its own. This incident that the chairperson mentioned, involving the elderly lady who has been alienated from the land in the country of her birth and from her niece, happened right here in the island of the Western Cape.]
For the majority of women in rural areas access to and control of land is a very significant issue. It is vitally important that we address the question of land tenure security, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women and youth. By land tenure, we are refering to the terms and conditions on which land is held and used, and transactions are done. In dealing with tenure rights of women in the rural areas, we are guided by both constitutional and policy imperatives to redress gender inequalities in land distribution and ownership.
Equitable access to land has been one of the central issues in the history of our struggle as a movement. This is articulated in the Freedom Front, adopted by the real Congress of the People, held in Kliptown on 26 June 1955 ... [Laughter.]