Chairperson, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and hon members ...
... ka Sepedi re re, bana ke bohwa bja set?haba; bana ke bohwa bja set?haba. Ke a boelet?a, bana ke bohwa bja set?haba. [... in Sepedi we say, children are an inheritance of the nation; children are an inheritance of the nation. I am repeating, children are an inheritance of the nation.]
Now, the surest measure of a successful state is the health and happiness of its children. Whilst we pride ourselves on having attained freedom 16 years ago, we must realise that our country is far from the kind of place where all children are nurtured.
The recent spate of infant deaths at hospitals in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape are only the tip of a statistical iceberg. Despite the advent of democracy, the rate of child mortality is at a shockingly high level. There are few countries in the world where such numbers of children suffer and die from such a wide range of causes. Malnutrition, neglect and violence negatively affect the lives of many South African children. Regular reports of horrific crimes of violence and abuse that are perpetrated against children cannot be denied. We live in a society where children are targets.
Aside from child abuse, there is also a general state of affairs that is detrimental to the development of millions of young children in South Africa. Great numbers of children are born into poverty, often living in informal dwellings whilst receiving inferior education. To make matters worse, thousands upon thousands of these children are orphaned in the wake of the Aids pandemic.
We have to ask ourselves what we have done to address their plight. Indeed, what are we doing to ensure that they do not simply repeat the cycle of poverty and suffering? I say "we", because all of us have to recognise that the injustices perpetrated against the children of South Africa are an attack on the entire structure of democracy.
A democracy that allows such conditions to prevail will have no legitimacy in the eyes of new generations that are still to come. If we look at the young and angry faces that are in the vanguard of widespread community protests, we are already seeing the first wave in a rising tide of frustrated and disenfranchised children.
We can celebrate how much we have done since the fall of apartheid, but we must be extremely careful of hiding our heads in the sand. We need to act now, and act decisively, to improve the quality of life of the majority of people in this country.
Ke a boelet?a: Bana ke bohwa bja set?haba. Ke a leboga. [Legoswi.] [I am repeating: Children are an inheritance of the nation.] [Applause.]