Hansard: NA: Subject for discussion (Prof N M Khubisa): The high incidence of violence and abuse against women and children
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 11 Sep 2014
Summary
No summary available.
Minutes
UNREVISED HANSARD
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Thursday, 11 September Take: 165
THURSDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2014
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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The House met at 14:03.
The Deputy Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
NOTICES OF MOTION – The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY
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START OF DAY
NOTICES OF MOTION
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that I will move that:
The House notes that hon Baleka Mbete is an outstanding ... [Interjections.] ... veteran of the ANC and the liberation movement ... [Interjections.] ... and has dedicated her life to the betterment of the lives of our people.
I move that the former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Comrade Baleka Mbete - from 2004 to 2008 and 1996 and 2004 - this outstanding cadre of the movement has acquitted herself very well. [Interjections.]
Hon Deputy Speaker, we acknowledge that when she went into exile, she taught in Mbabane, Swaziland and then went on to work for the ANC in several other African cities, including Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Gaborone ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members!
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: ... Harare and Lusaka.
We acknowledge that as one of those who played midwife to our democracy and reconciliation ... [Laughter.] ... she served as a member of the presidential panel on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. [Interjections.] We recall that in all these positions, she has served the nation with integrity, professionalism ... [Interjections.] ... dedication and selflessness. [Interjections.] We further recall ... [Applause.] ... that she is one of the foremost advocates of gender equality and a beacon of hope, and she will stand against all those men who will gang up against her simply because she is a woman! [Applause.]
We believe that her vast experience in politics, government, the legislature, and social transformation stand her in good stead ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: ... to lead this Parliament for the next five years.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: ... and express the fullest confidence in her leadership in this legislature. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, after listening to the soliloquy of the Chief Whip of the Majority Party, I would ask you to please rule whether that is, in fact, a motion because it sounded a lot more like an executive statement or a speech. [Interjections.] I would like you to see whether it is in the correct format to be before us here today. [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, does any other member wish to give notice of a motion? Hon member ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Sorry! Sorry! Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I have asked you to make a ruling whether, in fact, whatever it is that has just been read out from that side of the House is, in fact, in terms of the Rules. I submit to you that it is not in the form of a motion.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: All right, that is your opinion. I will look at it, and I will come back to the House.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of the House on behalf of the DA:
That the House—
- notes—
- the unacceptable level of disruption in sittings of the Fifth Parliament;
(b) the Speaker’s inability to resolve key Rule-related matters of the House swiftly;
(c) the Speaker’s prevention of an oral question session in the last term by not availing herself or another Presiding Officer from a conference;
(d) the Speaker’s inability to protect the institution from the deliberate use of spurious points of order that have repeatedly shut down the democratic practice;
(e) the Speaker’s failure to instil respect in the authority of the institution and restore order in the sitting of 21 August 2014;
(2) condemns the Speaker for—
(a) remaining the chairperson of the ANC whilst serving as Speaker of this House;
(b) cancelling meetings of the Parliamentary Oversight Authority;
(c) not acceding to our request to have the Parliamentary Oversight Authority meet more frequently;
(d) making political appointments to her office from unelected ex-MPs, costing millions of rand; and
(3) passes a motion of no confidence in the Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr J J MC GLUWA
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The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION
Mr J J MCGLUWA: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the DA that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the role and function of the Public Service, its commitment and the impact it has on service delivery in the Republic of South Africa.
Ms D KOHLER
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Mr J J MC GLUWA
Ms D KOHLER: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the DA at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the findings and recommendations of the Khayelitsha Commission and their possible relevance and application in terms of poorly resourced police stations nationwide.
Mr K P SITHOLE
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Ms D KOHLER
Mr K P SITHOLE: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the IFP that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the ongoing lack of a register of immovable assets by the Department of Public Works and the debilitating effect that has on departmental planning, budget, and co-ordinated infrastructure development in general in South Africa.
Mr D M KEKANA
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Mr K P SITHOLE
Mr M D KEKANA: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the ANC that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the state of readiness and importance of digital migration.
Ms N R MASHABELA
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Mr D M KEKANA
Ms N R MASHABELA: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the provision of free, quality education for the poor from the foundational levels to the attainment of post-secondary qualification.
Mr M G P LEKOTA
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Ms N R MASHABELA
Mr M G P LEKOTA: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of Cope that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the special and exclusive privilege of former ANC Members of Parliament to occupy and live in houses reserved for serving Members of Parliament whilst serving Members of Parliament, especially those from opposition political parties, have to live outside parliamentary villages and at great inconvenience to themselves.
Ms H O MAXON
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Mr M G P LEKOTA
Ms H O MAXON: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the EFF that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the transformation of the country’s criminal justice system and correctional services system to make the criminal justice system more accessible and representative and to make the correctional services system more corrective and less punitive.
Dr M J FIGG
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Ms H O MAXON
Dr M J FIGG: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the DA that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the increasing public debt and, with the possible further downgrading of the credit rating, what contingencies if any will be put in place if the downgrading materialises.
Nks N NDONGENI
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Dr M J FIGG
IsiXhosa:
Nks N NDONGENI: Somlomo ohloniphekileyo, egameni likaKhongolose ndiphakamisa ukuba indibano elandelayo yale Ndlu:
Ixoxe ngemiphumela nexabiso elixhomileyo loqhangamshelwano. Ndiyabulela.
Ms D CARTER
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Nks N NDONGENI
Ms D CARTER: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of Cope that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the Department of Basic Education’s admissions policy and the effect of provincial departments doing away with feeder zones which, amongst other consequences, give rise to learners who are not academic achievers being discriminated against to favour out-of-town pupils who are academic achievers, giving a false sense of achievement with respect to matric results.
Mr S G MMUSI
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Ms D CARTER
Mr S G MMUSI: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the ANC that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the challenges that slow down the implementation of broad-based black economic empowerment as a vehicle to broaden and deracialise the ownership and control of productive assets by black people, women and youth.
Mr K Z MORAPELA
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Mr S G MMUSI
Mr K Z MORAPELA: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the EFF that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the need for declaring a moratorium on farm workers’ evictions.
Ms S P KOPANE
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Mr K Z MORAPELA
Ms S P KOPANE: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the DA that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the severe shortage of social workers and its implications on social services, and comes up with solutions.
Mr N L S KWANKWA
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Ms S P KOPANE
Mr N L S KWANKWA: Deputy Speaker, I hereby move on behalf of the demo ... UDM ... [Laughter.] No, the UDM! I beg your pardon. I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the impact of strained industrial relations and the rapid electricity price hikes on the poor and the South African economy in general.
Ms D R TSOTETSI
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Mr N L S KWANKWA
Ms D R TSOTETSI: Deputy Speaker, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the ANC at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates the progress made on the establishment of e-governance.
Ms M V MAFOLO
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Ms D R TSOTETSI
Ms M V MAFOLO: Deputy Speaker, I give notice on behalf of the ANC that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House debates restructuring the country’s science and technology infrastructure to benefit the poor and rural areas.
Mr J VOS
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Ms M V MAFOLO
SUCCESSES OF CAPE TOWN TOURISM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr J VOS: Mr Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes the successes of Cape Town Tourism and their achievements in innovation and destination marketing.
- further notes that Cape Town recently launched a new Mobile Visitor Information Centre, which is a first on the African continent;
- further notes that Cape Town recently received the national Loerie Award and a Gold Lion Award at the Cannes Lions Festival for tourism excellence; and
- congratulates the staff at Cape Town Tourism and their partners on the excellent accomplishments that have made the whole nation proud.
[Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member who sat down, it’s me who must tell you to sit down, not another member. Take the floor; she will get her chance.
Mr N SINGH: Hon Deputy Speaker ...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, not you, sir. There was a member behind you who was on his feet.
Mr N SINGH: I just want to rise on a point of order.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, what’s the point of order?
Mr N SINGH: The previous motion hasn’t been put to the House. There was a motion without notice, and I didn’t hear it being put to the House.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay, that’s a definite point of order.
Agreed to.
Mr M Q NDLOZI
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
SIGNIFICANCE OF SEPTEMBER 12
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M Q NDLOZI: Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes the significance of September 12, a day which has become known as the Steve Bantu Biko Day at home and internationally amongst progressive people;
- further notes that Biko was murdered by the racist, murderous apartheid regime; and
- shall be remembered for his selfless contribution to the Black Consciousness Movement and the need to end black self-hatred and the defeat of white supremacy; and
- we are reminded of his words that the basic tenant of Black Consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity; and
- that we remember Biko’s eternal message of decolonising the mind. The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, ...
Dr C P MULDER: I object. Thank you.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay, all right, that’s the problem. That motion falls away.
Ms C N MAJEKE
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
MR NDABAMBI MTHENJANE, AN UNSUNG LIBERATION STRUGGLE HERO
(Draft Resolution)
Ms C N MAJEKE: Hon Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes that Mr Ndabambi Mthenjane, an unsung liberation struggle hero, passed away on 28 August 2014 at his Soweto home;
- further notes that Mr Mthenjane, who turned 100 years old on 28 February 2014, was known for his firebrand activism and unlimited opinions about the struggle;
- recalls that he spent most of his youth as an activist in Mpumalanga;
- further recalls that even though he was not one of the renowned freedom fighters, he will be remembered as an activist who contributed in the fight against oppression; and
- remembers that he surely joins other struggle stalwarts for whose contribution today we enjoy freedom. May his soul rest in eternal peace!
Agreed to.
Mr M L W FILTANE
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Ms C N MAJEKE
DANGEROUS INCIDENT AT MTHATHA HIGH COURT
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M L W FILTANE: Hon Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes the incident which unfolded at the Mthatha High Court yesterday where two dangerous suspects died on the scene and one official was reportedly wounded, following a fierce exchange of gunfire with members of the National Intervention Police Unit, NIU, and correctional services officers;
- further notes that the two suspects, Sakhumzi Mvoko and Yandisa Bila, jointly faced 17 counts of murder, armed robbery and rape;
- recalls that the suspects had allegedly terrorised the former Transkei area for many years;
- acknowledges that one suspect gained access a firearm from a dustbin situated within the precinct of the court of law, which raises serious questions about the state of safety of our justice officials and institutions;
- further acknowledges that, in December 2013, two police officers were stabbed at the same Mthatha High Court by prisoners;
- commends the National Intervention Unit, NIU, and Department of Correctional Services, DCS, officers for the swift reaction to a potentially dangerous situation for ordinary citizens; and
- further wishes the injured officer a speedy recovery and hopes that the investigation into the person who hid the firearm in the dustbin is concluded speedily as aconsequence.
Agreed to.
Mr S MOKGALAPA
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Mr M L W FILTANE
VISA FOR HIS HOLINESS, THE DALAI LAMA
(Draft Resolution)
Mr S MOKGALAPA: Hon Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes that the visa for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, to attend the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates has been denied for the third time;
- further notes that China has fully endorsed South Africa’s decision in a very public statement;
- confirms that no valid reason for the denial has been forthcoming from both the Department of International Relations and Co-operation and the Department of Home Affairs;
- requests the government of South Africa to be consistent in its handling of visa applications and not to be partial to the friends of Number One, such as the Guptas, who could fly in and land at the Waterkloof base with no visa at all; and
- calls on our government not to allow our foreign policy to be determined by China.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I oppose.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Okay! It falls away. [Interjections.] Yes!
Mr M L W FILTANE
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
CONTRIBUTIONS BY BRYAN HABANA IN FIELD OF RUGBY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr M L W FILTANE: Hon Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes that Bryan Habana, who was born in June 1983 in Johannesburg, has contributed significantly to the game of rugby;
- further notes that Habana proved, beyond reasonable doubt, his talent in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, when he was named one of the best players, when he was only 24-years-old at the time ;
- recalls one of his best moments during the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final when he intercepted the ball from the centre of the field to score a try that took South Africa to its second World Cup victory;
- note that Habana has played 99 games for South Africa, up to last weekend when he played his 100th game as a Springbok;
- acknowledges that this outstanding achievement for Habana should be celebrated by all South Africans and continue to unite South Africa as a sporting nation; and
- congratulates Habana for his contribution to South African rugby as a shining example to be emulated by generations to come.
Agreed to.
Mr J A MNGXITAMA
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Mr M L W FILTANE
CONTINUOUS FLARING UP OF INDIVIDUAL ACTS OF RACISM
(Draft Resolution)
Mr J A MNGXITAMA: Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House-
- notes the continuous flaring up of individual acts of racism;
- acknowledges that there is still no legislation that criminalises racism in South Africa;
- further acknowledges that the United Nation’s Conference against Racism and Related Intolerances held in 2001 in Durban resolved that all nations develop a National Plan of Action against Racism; and
- further notes that such a plan be undertaken.
Agreed to.
Ms M R MOTHAPI
Mr J A MNGXITAMA
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SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN EXCEL IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
(Member’s Statement)
Sepedi:
Moh M R M MOTHAPO (ANC): Mohl. Motlatšamodulasetulo, pele ga ngwaga wa 1994, ga se selo seo se bego se naganwa gore basadi ba ka tsena lekaleng la saense le go kgatha tema mešomomg ya diphatišišo tša saense.
Re leboga lenaneo la tlhamoleswa la ANC. Lehono re bona basadi ba baswa bao ba nago le phišegelo ya tsebo le tshedimošo ba itokišetša go ithuta ka makaleng a diphatišišo le tlhabollo. Saense e mabapi le boithomelo, tharollo ya mathata, kgodišo ya GDP le ekonomi.
Basadi ba Afrika-Borwa ba šoma ka maatla go fihlelela manamelo a godimodimo a diphatišišo le tlhabollo. Se se hlatsetšwe ke palo yeo e golago ya basadi bao ba thopago difoka tša bokgoni makaleng ao a fapafapanego a diphatišišo le tlhabollo.
Basadi ba ba tloga ba kgaogane le kgopolo ya kgale ya gore lefelo la mosadi ke ka moraleng, gomme ba maemong a godimo lesolong la go iša Afrika-Borwa pele. Bona ka bobona ba anega kanegelo ye botse, ye bose.
Re reta ka moka basadi bao ba šomilego ka bokgwari go hlabolleng naga ya gabobona. Ke a leboga. [Tšhwahlelo.] [Legoswi.]
Ms D VAN DER WALT
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Ms M R M MOTHAPO (ANC)
GOVERNMENT FAILS TO ERADICATE MUD SCHOOLS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms D VAN DER WALT (DA): Hon Deputy Speaker, despite education being an Apex Priority, the most vulnerable of our society are forced to study in the most unsafe and deplorable conditions. After the Department of Basic Education was taken to court, it promised to replace mud schools through the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative, which we refer to as Asidi.
Government promised that 510 mud schools were to be replaced over three financial years ending 2013-14. Only 49 were completed, which is less than 10% of what was promised. Government failed and then shifted the goalposts. Minister Motshekga then committed to replace 290 schools by the end of the 2014-15 financial year and 171 in the 2015-16 financial year.
The truth is that since the inception of this programme, only 75 schools have been completed, and only 6% of the budget for the 2014-15 financial year has been spent to eradicate mud schools in South Africa.
Government is failing again and has shifted the goalposts again. In an oral reply, the Minister advised ... [Time expired.]
Mr K Z MORAPELA (EFF)
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Ms D VAN DER WALT (DA)
UNFAIR RECRUITMENT POLICY OF COMMUNITY WORK AND EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMMES
(Member’s Statement)
Mr K Z MORAPELA (EFF): Hon Deputy Speaker, let me draw the attention of this House to the fact that on Tuesday, 9 September 2014, members of the community of Mofulatshepe, Smithfield, took to the streets to demand explanations about the recruitment policy of the Community Work Programme, and the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP.
The reason they were embarking on the exercise is because they deemed the recruitment policy to be unfair because one member of the ANC told them that deployment is for the ANC members only. Only members of the ANC would be deployed in those programmes.
Based on this provocation by the member of the ANC, the community went on a rampage to demand answers. As usual, the police were called to arrest 13 young people who were demanding fairness from the district mayor of the ruling party in the Xhariep District Municipality.
This behaviour of the ANC leaders who think employment in municipalities is only meant for ANC members must be rejected, and our people must be encouraged to fight this wrong practice. As we have previously warned, the ANC is testing the patience of our people. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms V P MOGOTSI (ANC)
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Mr K Z MORAPELA (EFF)
NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART TEMBISA SOUTH POLICE STATION
(Member’s Statement)
Ms V P MOGOTSI (ANC): Hon Deputy Speaker, the ANC proceeds from the premise that a rising quality of life also means improvement in the safety and security of citizens in their homes and environment where they live, work and engage in extramural activity. As the ANC we welcome the opening of the newly built R68 million state-of-the-art Tembisa South Police Station, in Ekurhuleni on Tuesday, 02 September 2014.
The ANC is of the view that the community of Tembisa will now feel safer with the new police station in place. It is going to bring much-needed relief to the community of Tembisa, as their complaints will be attended to timeously, and they will no longer have to depend on one police station, which in the past could not adequately and effectively serve the huge area.
The ANC views this project as a means geared at further reducing levels of crime, as there is going to be more police visibility and time for police to focus on hotspot areas.
Thus, this initiative demonstrates the seriousness of our government’s commitment to bringing police service closer to the people. The ANC calls upon the community of Tembisa to work with the police, as it is the only way to win the war against crime. I thank you.
Mr K P SITHOLE (IFP)
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Ms V P MOGOTSI (ANC)
INNER CITY REGENERATION OF TSHWANE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr K P SITHOLE (IFP): Hon Deputy Speaker, the Department of Public Works, in the 2010-11 financial year, completed a plan for the Inner City Regeneration of Tshwane. The plan was, and I quote:
A captured vision for the city as an African capital city and demonstrates how government’s presence in the inner city creates a catalyst for inner city regeneration and development.
Plans were also completed for the Slovo Park and Paul Kruger and Marabastad zones. Needless to say, nothing further has happened. These departments, through the hon Minister, must now answer for the slow pace in respect of implementation of these projects and advise as to when it intends to roll out inner city regeneration to other municipalities. I thank you.
Mr M L SHELEMBE
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Mr K P SITHOLE
HOSTILITY TOWARDS THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC PROTECTOR CAUSE FOR CONCERN
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M L SHELEMBE (NFP): The NFP upholds the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996, which provides for the establishment of Chapter 9 institutions whose main aim is to safeguard, support, protect and advance fundamentally human rights as enshrined in our Constitution.
The NFP is worried about the manner in which some leaders of the ruling party handle the Chapter 9 institutions and other entities that report directly to this Parliament. We have seen the attitude that has been adopted towards the Office of the Public Protector. The hostility, the attacks and the contempt directed to this office are all a cause for concern.
The ruling party is totally failing to draw the line between the government and the party. The attacks on the Public Protector are meant to make this office ineffective and inefficient. This office is not a darling of the ruling party because it is not taking orders from the ruling party. It understands it is a statutory body of the state, which is there to serve the state and enhance the democratic ethos of our state.
It is a travesty of justice to undermine this office. We have seen the political jibes and salvos by the ruling party that are all meant to undermine the Office of the Public Protector. We have since learnt that the morale in that office is down. The chief financial officer and the chief operations officer are said to be resigning. Other senior officials are said to be feeling uneasy about being in that office. Apparently ... [Time expired.]
Ms P T MANTASHE
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Mr M L SHELEMBE
REBUILDING THE CULTURE OF AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOODS AND RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
(Member’s Statement)
Ms T P MANTASHE (ANC): Hon Deputy Speaker, the ANC has always dedicated its efforts to rebuilding the culture of agricultural livelihoods and rural entrepreneurship, which apartheid and colonialism dedicated so much effort to destroying and uprooting in black communities.
Therefore, the recent initiative to build a R60 million multipurpose training and development centre at the Agricultural Research Council in Roodeplaat, Pretoria, is a step in the right direction in terms of advancing the cause of new emerging black commercial farmers. The multipurpose training and development centre initiative is a result of a partnership between the ANC government and the Agricultural Research Council.
This project is aimed at developing and producing successful farmers, who will be very productive. They will be provided with the training so that they can be self-sufficient and contribute towards the success of agriculture, particularly land reform.
This initiative speaks to the rural development strategy of the ANC that advocates for the growth of rural market institutions including the provision of infrastructure. This will assist rural communities and small farmers to build organisations which will help them to access markets, build links with formal sector value chains and co-ordinate their activities to realise their economic scale. I thank you. [Applause.]
Ms D CARTER
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Ms T P MANTASHE
LIMPOPO LEARNERS WITHOUT TEXTBOOKS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms D CARTER (Cope): Hon Deputy Speaker, in April this year, media reported that thousands of learners in various grades across Limpopo had spent the first quarter of the year without textbooks for certain subjects. The department, however, disputed this, saying that all 4 059 schools, in fact, did get their textbooks.
In July, during the budget debates, we once again reminded the Minister that there were schools in Limpopo that had not received their textbooks. We keep hearing from the department and the Ministry that these textbooks were delivered. The question is: Where were they delivered? Were they delivered to a warehouse somewhere in Limpopo or to the correct schools?
The fact of the matter is that there are schools and pupils in Limpopo that are still awaiting textbooks. I confirmed it again this morning telephonically. In Polokwane and in Waterberg, we are talking about students in Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 who are still without textbooks for mathematics, science, technology ... [Interjections.] ... and engineering and graphic designs. This is absolutely unacceptable.
It is difficult to keep up with the chopping and changing of heads of department. We are now in our fifth year with MEC number four and head of department number four. A fish rots from the head down. Leadership is the root cause of the failures. If a department does not execute its responsibilities, it is the leadership that is failing. If a department is failing because they have the wrong people, it is the leadership that allows the wrong people to stay.
Only leadership can demand and ensure that the department does the work. We need leadership. Please deliver those textbooks. [Interjections.]
Mrs B L ABRAHAMS
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Ms D CARTER
OTTO THANING BECOMES OLDEST PERSON TO SWIM ENGLISH CHANNEL
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs B L ABRAHAMS: Speaker, a 73-year-old South African heart surgeon, Otto Thaning, has become the oldest person to swim the 34 km English Channel and complete the distance. In his interview he said he had wanted to show what older people are capable of if they look after themselves. Otto Thaning took the title from Australian Cyril Baldock, who only last month swam the channel three months shy of his 71st birthday.
As the ANC, we congratulate Mr Thaning, who first swam the channel in 1994. According to him, the temperature of the water was the biggest problem and he suffered cramp in his feet early on in the swim. We are impressed by his determination as he said his ``wish was basically to promote the idea that people over the age of 70 can do things like this if they look after themselves and work hard’’.
The English Channel is usually a little bit colder at this time of year but he never gave up. The English Channel is 34 km straight across but, given the effect of ocean currents, it is rare for a swimmer to cross the channel in less than 40 km.
Mr Thaning trained medically under Dr Christian Barnard, who performed the world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant in 1967.
The ANC congratulates Mr Thaning for this wonderful, historic victory. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr I M OLLIS
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Ms B L ABRAHAMS
IMPLEMENTATION OF BLANKET MINIMUM WAGE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr I M OLLIS (DA): Deputy Speaker, the DA believes that one blanket minimum wage may cause massive job losses and may only increase poverty in our country. We therefore welcome the statement yesterday in the parliamentary Labour committee by the EFF member, hon Moteka, that a R12 500 minimum wage would not work across many industries in South Africa, as it was unrealistic. [Interjections.]
The EFF member’s comments came about as a result of my question to the taxi industry’s representative body, the SA National Taxi Council, Santaco, as to whether this minimum wage was sustainable in the taxi industry. The Santaco representative explained that it was unlikely to be sustainable in the taxi industry as the average salary in this industry was substantially below that figure.
Other industries will face a similar challenge and, just like the taxi industry, will not be able to afford an unrealistic blanket minimum wage.
The EFF’s statement is particularly welcome as it shows a maturing of the debate and an acknowledgement by the EFF that rash statements don’t help South Africans or the debate around minimum wage.
The DA believes...
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Hon Deputy Speaker...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Hon Deputy Speaker, the hon member is deliberately misleading this House. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: On what Rule do you rise? What is your point of order, hon member?
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Deputy Speaker, he can’t mislead the House. He is saying that the EFF has taken a different position on the question, and that is not true. That statement will now go into Hansard, even though it is a misrepresentation. It is not true that hon Moteka said those things the hon member says he said.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: On a point of order...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, you have a platform on which to contest that. Proceed, hon Ollis.
Mr I M OLLIS: Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Point of order, Deputy Speaker...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You do know that you are interrupting a member from your own party...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, I want to deal with what was said earlier.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: What is the point of order?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, the point of order is that it is unparliamentary to accuse an hon member of deliberately misleading the House. I would ask you to ask the hon Chief Whip of the EFF to withdraw that statement. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Go ahead, hon Ollis; I will come back to this.
Mr I M OLLIS: Thank you, Deputy Speaker.
I repeat, the EFF’s statement is particularly welcome as it shows a maturing of the debate and an acknowledgement by the EFF that rash statements don’t help South Africans or the debate around minimum wage.
The DA believes that South Africa’s unemployed people are facing massive challenges...
Mr J S MALEMA: Hon Deputy Speaker, on a point of order...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hold on, hon member. Hon Ollis, finish your statement.
Mr I M OLLIS: I have one more sentence, hon Deputy Speaker.
The DA believes that South Africa’s unemployed people are facing...
Mr J S MALEMA: On a point of order, Chair...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Take your seat first, hon member. I will recognise you. [Interjections.]
Mr J S MALEMA: But he is out of order.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, hold on, please. Finish your statement, hon Ollis.
Mr I M OLLIS: The DA believes that South Africa’s unemployed people are facing massive challenges and we need to do everything possible to help them get a job. The 8 million unemployed South Africans must take priority in any discussion. I thank you, hon Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, before we proceed... Yes, hon member?
Mr J S MALEMA: Hon Deputy Speaker, can you give us direction on how we are going to deal with this misinformation, because you said we have a platform but I don’t know which platform you are referring to.
This hon member cannot speak on behalf of the EFF when the EFF is here. He is deliberately misleading the House. We are not part of that. We want clarity around how to deal with this.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Malema, it is unparliamentary to say that a member is deliberately misleading the House. You know the Rule that says so. You cannot say a member is deliberately misleading the House. By saying so you are effectively saying that the member is lying. I read you a Ruling here yesterday that had previously been made on this matter. It shows that that utterance is regarded as unparliamentary.
Mr J S MALEMA: No, hon Deputy Speaker, we did not say that he is lying – even if we wanted to say so – out of respect for the Ruling that had been made. We are trying to find an appropriate word to use, and we are saying that he is misleading the House.
You are speaking about a Rule...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, can I address you now? Please take your seat.
Hon members, it is not for the Chair to establish the veracity of a particular statement such as you are making. The Chair has to preserve an impartial position. The Chair can thus not become involved in disputes around facts, and cannot be expected to deliver judgment on the accuracy of a member’s remarks in a debate.
Members should use the opportunities provided during the course of a debate to put across an alternative perspective.
If, after consulting Hansard, a member is still of the opinion that he or she had been misquoted or misrepresented, he or she should use the various procedural mechanisms available to members. This addresses this issue of so-called misleading of the House.
You are now inviting Presiding Officers to participate and pass judgment. We can’t do that. That is what I meant when I said to you that you have other ways of addressing the matter without suggesting that a member is deliberately misleading the House.
So, we request you to withdraw the statement that the hon member is misleading the House. [Interjections.] Yes, I am saying you must please do that. The request is that you withdraw the statement that the hon member is deliberately misleading the House. [Interjections.] You are being explicit. [Interjections.]
Mr G A GARDEE: Hon Deputy Speaker...
An HON MEMBER: Chairperson...
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you can’t all rise at the same time.
Mr G A GARDEE: Deputy Speaker, may I address you in order to find a solution to this mess. May I address you?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, I have raised the... [Inaudible.]
Mr G A GARDEE: Can I address you to assist the House, Deputy Speaker?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Gardee, I have made a Ruling and I request that it be adhered to.
Mr G A GARDEE: Hon Deputy Speaker, it is in the best interest of the Chair and the House for you to maybe listen to my offer to assist in this matter and, if you still feel uncomfortable after I have addressed you, you may then proceed as you wish.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am going to do that. Proceed.
Mr G A GARDEE: Hon Deputy Speaker, in the interest of progress, peace and stability, I suggest that we should maybe shelve this matter for now and pick it up as a discussion in the Chief Whip’s Forum, where we might be able to find each other on matters where there are such kind of statements that have to do with misleading of the House. Otherwise, this House, at certain points in time... the Chair will remain with whosoever it wants to remain with... because if we allow lies – something economical with the truth being said here – it is unfair for the House to insist that the Ruling should stand.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, I have heard you, and I insist that the statement that the hon member is deliberately misleading the House is unparliamentary and be withdrawn.
Mr J S MALEMA: Deputy Speaker, we are not going to be part of a situation where a member stands up here and misleads the public, and you expect us to be part of that misleading. We are not going to do that. This member is misleading the House. We, as an organisation, have a position on that matter which is well known. It is not there... And you expect us to sit back and allow this hon member to mislead the House? We can’t do that. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Malema...
Mr J S MALEMA: No one else can speak on behalf of the EFF, especially on policy, and expect us to keep quiet. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Hon Deputy Speaker, may I address you?
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, hon member?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Deputy Speaker, what hon Malema said is well within the bounds of debate. We are protected by section 58 of the Constitution here. The issue on which I raised a point of order was not the hon Malema’s utterance, but that of hon Shivambu, who said that the hon Ollis was deliberately misleading the House. [Interjections.]
Hon Shivambu can have his own opinion on whether hon Ollis is misleading the House or not, but what we will not allow – and precedent and the Annotated Digest of Rulings is very clear on this – and what he may not say is that an hon member is ``deliberately misleading the House’’.
We ask that, for the sake of progress, hon Shivambu withdraws that statement, so that we can move forward. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members,... [Interjection.] Yes, hon member?
The MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Deputy Speaker, in the interest of progress, I think hon Malema has accordingly amended their statement by saying that the member is misleading the House. That is parliamentary. I think it is a way of withdrawing the earlier statement... [Interjections.] ... that the hon member is deliberately misleading the House. Maybe we should accept it and move forward on that basis.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. Hon members, my attention has been drawn to the fact that it was hon Shivambu who said the word ``deliberately’’. Hon Shivambu, I would like you to confirm that you said so and, if you did, I am requesting you to withdraw the statement ``deliberately misleading the House.’’ [Interjections.]
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Hon Deputy Speaker, I want to draw your attention to the ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Order!
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: [Inaudible.] ... the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans was here. He basically did not tell the truth. When we stood up to say that he had to tell the truth, we were told that we had to withdraw.
Every so often, people give wrong information to the House, but we are not allowed to use this space to expose the lies. This is Parliament. When people give wrong information, we must be able to indicate that they are not telling the truth.
Okay, now we are going to do this so that we move forward. I withdraw the word ``deliberately’’, but still maintain that he misled the House. Too much! [Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, the Ruling we have just read has been read before. We want to do it once more.
... that members should use opportunities provided during the course of debate to put across an alternative perspective. To say members are lying, to say members are deliberately lying is out of order, and should not be repeated. It is wrong.
Hon Shivambu, you should not make your withdrawal conditional. It is not good. It is incorrect.
So, please indicate your withdrawal to us clearly without conditions attached.
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Deputy Speaker, the hon member of the DA misled the House too much. I withdraw the ``deliberate’’ component.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, this is unacceptable. I am going to have to come back to this because I think we must take stronger action on this matter, as it is not being taken seriously enough. It is unacceptable that we draw your attention to the problem you are creating and yet you continue with it. I suggest that you have been warned. This is unacceptable. We will come back to this matter.
Hon members, let us proceed to the next motion.
Mnu D D GAMEDE
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
PROVISION OF WATER
(Member’s Statement)
IsiZulu:
Mnu D D GAMEDE (ANC): Sekela Somlomo, uKhongolose uncoma ukuvulwa kohlelo lwamanzi i-Phongolapoort Sport Bulk Water Supply. Lolu hlelo luzoletha amanzi kwizakhamuzi eziyi-16 200 kusizakale abantu abangama-134 864. lokhu kuqinisa izinhloso zikaKhongolose zokuletha amanzi ezindaweni zasemakhaya. Leli damu lihlale iminyaka eminingi engaphezu kwama-30 lisetshenziswa ngabathile kuphela, imvamisa abalimi abamhlophe.
Umphakathi waseJozini uzozuza kakhulu ngala manzi, futhi uyawuthemba umbuso kaKhongolose. Sekela Somlomo, kungekudala umphakathi waseJozini uvotele uKhongolose ngobuningi kukhetho lokuchibiyelo, uthatha elinye iwadi khona eJozini. Noma bengathini, noma bangenzani uKhongolose uzoqhubeka nokuletha izinhlelo zenthuthuko njengamanzi imigcwaqo kanye nokunye. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER
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Mnu D GAMEDE
WELCOMING OF GIRLS FROM BLOEMHOF GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, we are informed that the girls in the gallery are from the Bloemhof Girls High School in Stellenbosch. [Applause.] Welcome to the gallery.
Next is Agang SA. Is Agang SA here?
Hon MEMBERS: No.
Mr M M TSHISHONGA: Hon ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members over there, please settle down. Go ahead, hon member; I am saying it in your protection. You can rise and speak. Go ahead, ntate.
Mr M M TSHISHONGA
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The DEPUTY SPEAKER
CONCERNS ABOUT LACK OF TITLE DEEDS AND VANDALISM OF UNUSED OLD AGE HOME IN KENSINGTON
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M M TSHISHONGA (Agang): Hon members and the Chairperson, Agang is concerned about the area called Kensington. The people there do not have title deeds and amongst the buildings which are there, there is a new old age home. Apparently it took over R18 million and it is being vandalized without being used and without being protected. Thank you.
Ms T P MANTASHE
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Mr M M TSHISHONGA
SOUTH AFRICA’S PARTICIPATION IN FACIM FAIR
(Member’s Statement)
Ms T P MANTASHE (ANC): Deputy Speaker, one of the ANC’s economic policy assertions is to promote trade among African countries; to support regional integration, and to create large regional markets to sustain industrialization. Hence, the ANC supported the participation of a delegation of 39 South African companies, with the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry, at the 50th Jubilee of the Feira International de Maputo which is referred to as the FACIM fair.
South Africa’s participation in the FACIM is to tap into the Mozambican market in the transport and communication industries where South African companies have the capability to supply services and capital equipment. Mozambique is seen as one of the South Africa’s top five trading partners in Africa, and we want to expand our market share to enable our companies to compete with other countries that have since made substantial inroads into the country.
Our participation in the fair has strengthened ties between us and the Mozambicans in terms of future business using FACIM as a platform to increase trade and investment between Mozambique and South Africa. Siyaqhuba, I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr T R MAJOLA
Ms T P MANTASHE
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LAUNCH OF FREE WI-FI PILOT PROJECT IN WESTERN CAPE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr T R MAJOLA (DA): Deputy Speaker, more than 90 000 residents will be able to access wireless Internet through the Western Cape’s government free pilot project. Alan Winde, Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, officially launched the free Wi-Fi pilot project at the Hague Primary School in Delft on 18 March 2014.
Delft is one of the four areas which has been chosen for the project. Atlantis, Robertson and the Garden Route are other locations. The aim of this project, Deputy Speaker, is to see what models work best so they can replicate it across the Western Cape Province. Eventually, every residence must have access to free or affordable Internet. I am pleased that more schools will be connected as part of this project and it is encouraging to see teachers embracing technology.
On 25 August 2014, the Western Cape government officially launched free wireless Iinternet in George, connecting 20 000 residents. It is a part of the Western Cape government’s approach of taking the services to the people. Residents will have access to 150 megabytes free Internet per device per day. I hope residents and business will be able to use this to further their education. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr R N CAPA
Mr T R MAJOLA
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KWAZULU-NATAL DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS WINS EIGHT NATIONAL HOUSING AWARDS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr R N CAPA (ANC): Deputy Speaker, we congratulate the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements for obtaining eight national housing awards at the national Govan Mbeki Awards which were held at the Sandton Convention Centre. The department is, indeed, moving South Africa forward.
The province also won the coveted Best Performing Province Award. The awards are held to recognise excellence and best practice in the provision of decent human settlements by the municipalities and contractors in South Africa. Cornubia at eThekwini Municipality and Vulindlela in Msunduzi Municipality received awards for the Best Priority Projects and the Best Enhanced People’s Housing Process Awards.
Tongaat Hulett will build about 10 000 upmarket houses for the open market in the same area. There will also be 32 000 houses targeted for the year across 51 municipalities. This indeed is a good story to tell. [Applause.]
MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS (Mr T W Nxesi)
MEMBERS’ STATEMENTS
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UNFAIR RECRUITMENT POLICY OF COMMUNITY WORK AND EXPANDED PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMMES
INNER CITY REGENERATION IN TSHWANE
(Ministerial Response)
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS: Deputy Speaker, let me thank the member from the EFF for raising the irregularities relating to the implementation of the EPWP in Bloemhof. If there is further information, we request that it be forwarded to us so that we can deal with it together with the concerned municipality.
We have previously dealt with or received complaints on this matter from various municipalities, for instance, in the Boland, Midvaal and even here in the Western Cape. So, we have to act decisively and send a clear message that this programme, if handled properly, can unite our communities rather than dividing them.
Secondly, with reference to the statement on inner city regeneration from the IFP, the programme is very active; it is under way. There is a lot of planning which must take place before the implementation of the BRT system which you see. These needed careful planning. It is led by the city, working with us. As late as yesterday, we had a meeting on receiving the reports about it. There is still a lot which is going to come but we are extending inner city regeneration even to the small towns now. Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS
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IMPLEMENTATION OF BLANKET MINIMUM WAGE
SOUTH AFRICA’S PARTCIPATION IN FACIM FAIR
(Minister’s Responses)
The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY: Deputy Speaker, I would like to respond to the statements by the hon Ollis and the hon Mantashe.
With regard to the hon Ollis, I want to ask any member of the House if they can enlighten us if there has ever been an occasion where the DA has supported a wage increase for workers. Has there ever been an occasion where there has been a proposal for a wage increase by workers, and the DA has not opposed it. Enough said, surely!
Let’s turn to the hon Mantashe. On the statement by hon Mantashe, let me just say that the exhibition in FACIM in Maputo that she referred to is one of many similar events that we participate in on the African continent.
The African continent is indeed our priority for the promotion of trade and investment relations. Our approach is one where we are supporting regional integration, but regional integration through a development integration paradigm where we are trying to promote intra-regional trade but, at the same time, recognise that we and the rest of the continent need to industrialise to move up the value chain.
It is for that reason that we are prioritising programmes like the SADC, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Comesa, East African Community Free Trade Area and the Continental Free Trade Area which, we believe, complemented by infrastructure programmes and co-operating on industrial development, can contribute to this continent moving up the value chain and creating the conditions for more employment and better living standards for all our people. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF POLICE
The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
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NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART TEMBISA SOUTH POLICE STATION
(Minister’s Response)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF POLICE: Deputy Speaker ...
Sesotho:
Motlatsa Modulasetulo, ke tla leka hore ke bue ka se hlahisitsweng ke Setho sa Palamente sa ANC, ha a ne a bua ka pulo ya seteishene sa sepolesa mane Tembisa, ebile a hlalosa ka mokgwa oo e leng seteishene sa maemo a hodimo ka teng. Ke rata hore: Re le mokgatlo wa ANC, ...
English:
... indeed this is service delivery at its best.
We have designated this financial year as the year of the police stations, hence you will see more of this type of police station being opened. We are giving the best to our communities. I thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM
DEPUTY MINISTER OF POLICE
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REBUILDING THE CULTURE OF AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOODS AND RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CONCERNS ABOUT LACK OF TITLE DEEDS AND VANDALISM OF UNUSED OLD AGE HOME IN KENSINGTON
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM: Hon Deputy Speaker, I wish to thank the hon Madlopha for her observations about the multipurpose centre. Indeed, we have entered into this relationship with the Agricultural Research Council in order to enhance the capacity of young South Africans who, we think, in the next couple of years could actually join the rest of emerging black farmers to ensure that we reverse the 1913 Native Land Act and its legacy.
That centre will be linked with the erstwhile Strydom Teachers’ College in Thaba Nchu, near Bloemfontein, which is the headquarters of the National Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec.
To the hon member from Agang, who talks about Kensington and title deeds: I wish you could talk to us about it! Thank you. [Applause.]
MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES
MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM
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WI-FI IN SCHOOLS AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES: Deputy Speaker, to the hon member of the DA who spoke on the free Internet: I think it is a good move that the Western Cape is joining the rest of the country in this national effort. [Interjections.] It is a very important effort to modernise the way we do things in South Africa. We welcome such initiative but we must make sure that whatever we do is in line with the national policy. [Interjections.]
Whatever we do must be in line with what the Department of Basic Education has prescribed as a minimum requirement so that no child – whether in a rural or farm area – is disadvantaged and we are only focusing in those privileged schools. [Interjections.] So, ... [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, members! Order! Order!
The MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES: Can you stop howling?
The importance of this free Wi-Fi is not only for the children at school. It is for the people who reside around those schools so that, as we move along in this digital phase, they must also benefit. It is not only limited to schools. It may initially be given to the schools but the people around those schools must also benefit from that access to the Internet. Thank you. [Applause.]
SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
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The MINISTER OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND POSTAL SERVICES
THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF VIOLENCE AND ABUSE AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN
(Subject for Discussion)
Prof N M KHUBISA: The Deputy Speaker and hon members, South Africa faces a globally unprecedented problem of violence against women and children. As we celebrate 20 years of democracy, women and girlchildren continue to live in perpetual fear of their lives as they are being abused, raped, molested and mercilessly killed.
The gendered nature of domestic violence has unfortunately also seen an increase in the number of women being murdered by their intimate male partners. It has been estimated that a woman is killed by her male partner every six hours, the highest rate of death by domestic violence in the world.
The gang rape and death of an Indian trainee doctor, Jyoti Singh, caused national outrage in India and internationally; yet it took Anene Booysen’s own tragedy for South Africans to examine the real peril of being born a girl.
These killings demonstrate the culture of violence against women, and sexism that still pervades our society. Women fought and succeeded in getting many basic rights, yet in the private sphere of their homes, the inequality between men and women is still a battle ground.
The horrific truth is that, of the 16 000 murders which happen in South Africa each year, many relate to domestic violence. Violence against women and children is a worldwide pandemic. More recently, we witnessed horrific scenes in war-torn Middle Eastern countries of atrocities perpetuated on women and children. Children were maimed; women had to flee their homes to an uncertain future; girls are being abducted from their homes, and peacemakers in Somalia have raped women. In India recently, a young woman lost her life through brutal gang rape. Last week, seven men were sentenced to death in Afghanistan for the rape and assault on women.
Should we have sympathy for such men who are behaving in sub-human fashion? What rights can they justifiably claim when they wilfully, knowingly and deliberately committed such heinous crimes?
Hon Deputy Speaker, in most cases unemployment, poverty and social inequality are presumed to be the key drivers of violence. Inequality in access to wealth and opportunity results in feelings of low esteem, which are channelled into anger and frustration.
Widespread exposure of children to violence promotes antisocial behaviour. Many children are without their biological parents’ protection and therefore are extremely vulnerable to abuse and neglect. Widespread abuse of alcohol and drugs is another key factor which causes abuse of women and children.
In our country there are so many drug lords and most of them own shops. Something has got to be done about them. South Africa has one of the highest per capita alcohol consumption levels per drinker in the world. Law enforcement is generally weak. Few perpetrators are effectively punished. We need some infrastructure for the police, especially in the rural areas where we find that the police do not have the vehicles to apprehend the perpetrators. What is it that we are doing with regards to women and our girls who report the cases to the police in order to find that they themselves are raped at the police stations? This is appalling; something must be done.
Whatever the forms of violence, it is time that we as the nation mobilise our people to recognise, reject and eliminate all forms of violence against women and children. We must declare an emergency before it escalates beyond shame.
Many of our senior citizens, orphans and physically challenged people who are sexually molested, abused and killed, stay alone. As government, we need to think about having some shelters or safety homes for the weakest of our people. The people of our country must be treated the same. Most people are asking whether Oscar Pistorius is treated differently from anyone else, just because he happens to be a distinguished figure in our country. Well, we are waiting for the judgment in his case.
The most serious abuse which we do not really refer to is that experienced by emotionally and psychologically abused women. These women belong to the class of Advocate Thuli Madonsela, who has also been emotionally and psychologically abused.
Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Ms G K TSEKE
Prof N M KHUBISA
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Setswana:
Mme G K TSEKE: Motlatsammusakgotla yo o tlotlegang, Maloko a Palamentle, baeng ba tlotlo, re a itse gore ke nnete e e sa pekanngwang fa motsogapele a ne a re bana ba tshipa ba tsaya tsela e le nngwe fela, fa ba kgaogana ke baso ba mogotlha.
Re tshwanetse go dira mmogo go bona phitlhelelo ya katlego mo go ntsheng tshotlako ya basadi le bana mo setšhabeng sa rona. Seno, ke pharela e kgolo thata mme e re tlhoka rotlhe gore re diragatse kopo ya puso ya rona ya gore re dirisane le sepodisi sa rona le mafapha a mangwe a puso go senola le go utulola diphiri tse di iphitlhang mo malapeng a rona. Diphiri tse ke dinwamadi tse di itumelelang go kgarakgatsa bana le basadi mo nageng ya rona. Ke maikarabelo a rona rotlhe go goa, go itsise le go lemosa setšhaba gore se se ikgatolose pharela eno. Goseng jalo, re tla ya moribe re ntse re na le matlho re itebeletse.
English:
Hon Deputy Speaker, the ANC has been at the forefront of women’s struggles by putting forward a vision of a nonsexist society, and systematically realised this vision through progressive gender equality and women empowerment policies, its institutional mechanisms a and intervention measures. As a direct result of the ANC’s progressive policies, the country’s Constitution articulates the very nonsexist vision that has indeed influenced interventions which safeguard the rights of women and children to safety and security.
Today’s progress on the elimination of this violence is due to the ANC’s policies, its institutional mechanisms, and its intervention measures which recognise women as equal citizens with equal rights and responsibilities, who deserve to be and feel safe.
The transformation of power relations between women and men in institutions and laws is fundamental in building an inclusive, progressive and prosperous society. Collective efforts by the social, justice, correctional, and police services cluster have resulted in various mechanisms of interventions which include policies and programmes, and the establishment of a Ministry responsible for women is an indication to show how serious the ANC-led government is in addressing the radical social and economic transformation of our society.
Consideration of social factors too is critical in addressing gender inequality, poverty, oppression, patriarchy and sexism, which will create a conducive environment and will enable women to take control of their lives. Therefore, to achieve this ANC vision of gender equality, women also need the equal enjoyment of rights and access to opportunities, including resources, to allow them to exercise their rights and to stand up for themselves against this violence. A lot has been done by the ANC-led government and, because we care for our people, we are striving to do more to ensure the protection of women and children to allow them to enjoy this hard-earned freedom.
The recent media houses as well as social media circles were abuzz with the violation of the female student at the University of Zululand by fellow students. Her only sin was to put on a short pants in which she felt comfortable and in so doing, she invited hurling of insults by other students. To make this worse, she was tormented by, among others, fellow female students at the university.
Women’s psychological abuse hinders the culture of learning. This is a serious societal problem that needs a united front in a bid to confront the status quo threatening our survival as a society. This is uncalled for. How on earth can we then allow such stereotyping to take centre stage in the world of democracy? This is a form of psychological violence against women in society. Unless it becomes a matter of national concern, it will continue to haunt us as a society. It pushes back the gains of our democracy.
Empowerment of women will allow victims of violence to uplift themselves and rebuild their lives. There must be fair distribution of resources between men and women; redistribution of power and care responsibilities; and freedom from gender-based violence. Women existing in subordinate positions within social relations and in the family should be considered with the aim of restructuring society so as to eradicate male domination.
This equality should include both formal and substantive equality to ensure a total eradication of patriarchy. This is in line with the ANC’S 53rd National Conference which noted that there is still a need to continue to systematically fight against patriarchy and any other forms of abuse against women in our society.
Hon members, I call upon each of you to make sure that whatever you do or say leaves a smile on the face of the vulnerable, the neglected and the abused. Let us try to revive and reawaken the true impact of nostalgia. As we continue to touch the lives of the needy, we should always hum a song that gently brings back hope; warms and lightens the hearts of those that are left in the cold. That, and only that, would be an investment that ensures each one of us yields good returns. A simple commitment like ``I can’’ melts the heart and closes severe social cracks among our people. One love, one heart and one nation!
Thank you. [Applause.]
Mrs D ROBINSON
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Ms G K TSEKE
Mrs D ROBINSON: Hon Deputy Speaker and meisies [girls] van Bloemhof, we have just celebrated Women’s Month. The status of women has improved since the dawn of democracy. There are many more women parliamentarians, and many more high flyers and successful entrepreneurs. I also acknowledge the outstanding role played by our Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, a woman who is not afraid to speak truth to power, and who is not cowered by those who choose to ignore the precepts of our Constitution, especially the accountability that is demanded of those who hold high political office.
However, we have little to celebrate if we look at recent statistics regarding crimes against women. For the year 2012-13, there were 2 266 women murdered, 29 928 sexual offences, 55 320 serious assaults and 83 394 common assaults on women.
To quote the title of Alex Boraine’s new book, What’s gone wrong, why are law, order and justice so elusive? To find solutions, we need to identify problems within the SA Police Service, the SAPS, and the justice system. Better training must be given to police officers on how to deal with rape and abuse; sensitivity training on gender issues should be improved; management and supervisory roles must be improved at station level, and more social workers should be made available to provide counselling for the police to help them cope psychologically.
The Civilian Secretariat for Police found that the SAPS members did not know how to implement the Domestic Violence Act or what steps to take against complainants. There were 127 complaints of contraventions of domestic violence rules, yet only 3% of the cases resulted in disciplinary convictions. To top it off, 42 domestic violence deaths were committed by police officers, the very people who should be protecting the public. Clearly, this is problematic and needs further investigation.
The issue of violence against women is a crosscutting one that needs all the various stakeholders to make a joint and concerted effort to protect women from abuse. In the DA’s vision of an open opportunity society, barriers that exclude any person from social and economic justice must be dismantled, ensuring every individual enjoys equal rights before the law and equal access to opportunities, regardless of gender or race. No one should be regarded as a second-class citizen, neither women nor members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex, LGBTI, sector. People should not be regarded as commodities or sexual objects to be used, abused and cast aside. No one has the right to demand sex, or to refuse birth control or refuse to use condoms for protection. No one may deny another’s bodily integrity. Hon members should all agree that heavy penalties must be imposed for corrective rape because no one person has the right to impose his will on another.
Patriarchal attitudes belong in the past; we now live in a democratic era bound by constitutional values. If we wish to advance the cause of women and reduce violence, we would do well to ensure that our schooling adequately prepares all young people for the modern world so that they don’t perpetuate the cycles of abuse; ensure that learners, especially girls, do not drop out of school; ensure sufficient funds are available for postschool education and training; and protect women, girls and sexual minorities from violence.
We need to discourage teenage pregnancies which trap so many girls and their babies in permanent dependency and poverty, often accompanied by sexual violence. This country is in desperate need of an audit into existing legislation which advances women’s empowerment, so that we can identify the gaps. We need to check why crucial pieces of legislation, like the Sexual Offences Act and the Domestic Violence Act are not properly implemented, and what can be done to ensure that their objectives are realised.
We as public representatives need to take issue where fathers leave mothers to fend for children on their own – to stop ``papgeld’’ dads who go on the run. The new measures introduced in August this year, after the DA Women’s Network launched its campaign against maintenance defaulters, must be intensified and be a joint effort on which government should act too.
After much work by the DA, it is now a matter of course that errant parents who do not pay their maintenance be blacklisted by the National Credit Regulator. This is to help incentivise both mothers and fathers to take responsibility for their children. We also need to reconsider the ancient rule of the powers and privileges of Parliament that prohibits any Member of Parliament from being served with a summons or of being arrested on the precinct of Parliament, especially when abuse and the payment of maintenance is at stake. Any Member of Parliament, no matter how senior, must abide by the law and must be held accountable for maintenance payments. [Interjections.] If he fathers a child, he must pay the money! Members of Parliament should set an example by being law-abiding citizens, nonabusive, accountable and must pay their maintenance. Moral regeneration should start at the top so that the scourge of violence and abuse can be ended. Let us work together on this, members.
IsiXhosa:
Enkosi kakhulu.
Ms M S KHAWULA
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Ms D ROBINSON
IsiZulu:
Nksz M S KHAWULA: Ngiyabingelela Sekela Somlomo wami omkhulu, njenge-EFF sithi omama mabanikezwe inkululeko kwezomnotho ukuze kuphele ukuhlukumezeka kwabo bathole imisebenzi, izindlu, imfundo nempilo engcono. Ukuhlukumezeka komama kwenziwa ukuthi bathembele kwabesilisa ukuze babaphe imali. Ngaleyo ndlela yingakho sithi mabathole imisebenzi ukuze bakwazi ukuthi baphilise izingane zabo.
Omama ubabona begcwele imigwaqo behamba bebelethe izingane beqoqa izinsimbi beyozidayisa e-scrapyard libalele noma lina. Siyi-EFF asihambisana neze nale nto.
Okunye omama ubathola begcwele umgwaqo bebelethe izingane becela imali, becela iminikelo. Le nto ikhombisa ukuthi abantu baseNingizimu Afrika, ikakhulukazi izingane nabantu abezifazane, abakakhululeki. Omama abakhubazekile nezingane bayahlukunyezwa, bayadlwengulwa futhi abanayo imizi yokuhlala. Izindlu abahlala kuzona ziyanetha. Omunye umama okhubazekile kwa-J eMlazi akakwazi ukuhamba nokwenzani, uqashile akanawo umuzi. Sewawufuna umuzi ekhanseleni akawutholi. Imvula iyazenzela; ungalubona usizi ababhekene nalo.
Siyi-EFF asihambisani nokuhlukunyezwa kogogo. Yingakho sithi imali ayikhushulwe ibe yizi-2600 ngoba ugogo nguyena onakekela wonke umuntu ekhaya. Abantu ekhaya baphila ngaphansi kukagogo; uyena owaziyo ukuthi kuyadliwa. Okunye ukuhlukunyezwa kwabesimame nezingane – yilapho abazali behlukana khona. Ukwehlukana kwabazali kunzima kabi ngoba abantu besilisa banomkhuba wokuthi izingane bangazondli. Angazi ukuthi zisuke sezenzeni izingane.
Nalapha ekhaya ePhalamende bakhona laba bantu abanezingane abangafuni ukuzondla. Uma uyiLungu lePhalamende funda ukondla ingane musa ukuxabana nengane ngoba uxabene nomzali [Ubuwelewele.]
Okunye lezi zehlukaniso zomama ziyinkinga ngoba uma umuntu wesifazane sekufanele ahlukane nowesilisa isinqumo esithathwayo ukuthi akabulawe – angazi ukuthi ubulawelwani. Abanye baze babulale nezingane. Lalelani, siyi-EFF sizimisele ukubona abantu besimame benikezwa imihlaba ngaphandle kokubuzwa imbiba nebuzi Ukuthi: Ungubani? Ingabe ushadile noma awushadanga? [Ihlombe.]
Sengigcina, nibonile into eyenzekile Ophongolo ukuthi ngempela esikushoyo siyi-EFF ukuthi asikakakhululeki eNingizimu Afrika – kuyiqiniso. Uma ngabe izintatheli zingabonanga buningi ubugebengu obenzakalayo. Ezindaweni zasemakhaya imigwaqo ayikho, amanzi awekho. Omama bavuka seligamenxe ihora lesihlanu entathakusa bayokha amanzi. Bayadlwengulwa uma beyokha amanzi; abantu basemakhaya abazi ukuthi bazobika kuphi ngoba izinkantolo zikude okudinga ukuba bagibele uma beya khona. Siyi–EFF sithi hambelani abantu ezindaweni zasemakhaya ningalokhu niziphakamisa la ePhalamende abantu behlupheka bengenamanzi emakhaya bengenalutho. Bayadlwengula futhi bayalamba. [Kuphele isikhathi.] [Ihlombe.]
Ms S J NKOMO
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Ms M S KHAWULA
Ms S J NKOMO: Madam Chair, the IFP has noted that violence and abuse of both women and children seem to be continually on the increase. We proudly proclaim that as a country we have had 20 years of democracy and we recently even celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Women’s Charter. However, the high levels of abuse against women and our children in society dampen the many strides that women have made in the advancement of our country.
We will soon be marking another 16 Days of Activism campaign, and even though it is commendable, it is not enough. In fact, we should strive to get to the point where such a campaign would be unnecessary in this nation. This should not be the kind of legacy we pass on to our children. They should not see this as part and parcel of their heritage. Many reasons as to why there are high levels of abuse have been put forward and we have strong legislation in place to help deal with the many identified instances of abuse. However, despite vocal public support for these kinds of legislation, they are still meaningless because, in the privacy of one’s home, abuse continues.
Some practices also have a role to play in sustaining this kind of abusive environment. Women and our young girls are not seen as valuable beings but are mostly seen as commodities of trade. If these kinds of practices continue, we cannot expect any change to happen anytime soon, since women are not seen as deserving of the same status afforded to men and boys. Peer pressure and bravado are also some of the driving forces behind women abuse. Men do not want to appear weak to their peers, and so women become an outlet for their egos. A woman wearing a mini skirt is still harassed and sometimes raped, because according to these men, by wearing this short skirt she asked for it. Her dress code is actually seen as a provocation.
We must change our outlook on these matters. There is a deeper level that needs to be addressed as to why women and children continue to be abused, and we need stronger political and communal will on the matter. Without it, we will continue to have these kinds of debates every year, with no end in sight.
In conclusion, may I speak on behalf of our children? In this instance, when we speak of children we are referring to girls, but we would also like to include our boy child or the male child, in relation to male circumcisions that we as women see happening. We are including them because many children are being killed due to these practices. Thank you.
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM
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Ms S J NKOMO
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM: Chairperson, first of all let me remind my colleagues from the EFF that I am not one of those fathers who do not pay maintenance for my child.
The National Freedom Party condemns with the contempt it deserves the murder, rape, abuse - both physical and emotional - of our women and children. Let me express my grave concern regarding the increasing violence against women and children. But let us not confine this to women and children but also the aged or elderly. We often seem to forget that the elderly are also abused in this country and throughout the world.
In terms of released statistics, more often than not, an abused child becomes an abuser. In order to prevent this vicious circle of behavior, we need to protect our children and women from these offenders. The NFP is not convinced that the measures presently in place are adequate to curtail the violence against women and children. Courts must ensure that these criminals are not only punished through jail sentences or fined, but also ensure that offenders are rehabilitated. Unless rehabilitated, when an offender comes out of prison, he will continue to abuse.
The NFP is of the view that in order to break the cycle of violence, once charges are laid, they should not be withdrawn without input from a social worker; that repeat offenders should be punished with the maximum sentence which the law provides for; and finally, the NFP calls for a register of all repeat domestic violence offenders, for them to be named and shamed. This, I believe, will prevent these offenders from continuing with this life of abusing our women, children and the elderly. I thank you.
Mr B T BONGO
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM
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Adv B T BONGO: Chair, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers and Members of Parliament, it is a matter of considerable pride that many of the rights and freedoms that women fought for are now entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. These rights are part of an ongoing struggle of the national democratic revolution which, at its core, is the fight for a nonracial, nonsexist, democratic and united South Africa.
The violence against women finds its roots in the triple challenge which was suffered by the women in the past. Our Constitution, obviously based on the Freedom Charter, aims to build a society that is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. The Constitution further creates enabling legislation that would fight this demon of violence against women and children.
South Africans, from all walks of life, know that the ANC and the government of South Africa have taken a position in fighting this demon. The government has introduced certain pieces of legislation, inter alia the Employment Equity Act, Domestic Violence Act, Maintenance Act, Sexual Offences Act, amongst others.
The ANC-led government under the leadership of His Excellency President Jacob Zuma has established a specific Ministry that will be attending to this issue that deals specifically with women in South Africa. The ANC is the only organisation in the country that has a 50:50 gender parity policy on women. [Applause.] We are calling upon all other opposition parties, particularly the DA in the Western Cape, to make sure that they don’t just put up a cabinet that is full of males so that we can attend to this matter very decisively. The Justice department ... [Interjections.]
Mr M WATERS: Chairperson, on a point of order: Will the speaker take a question on how many female premiers there are in the ANC ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Don’t continue, hon Waters please!
Adv B T BONGO: The Department of Justice is finalising the implementation of specialised courts that will be dealing with sexual offences. There is a need to make sure that each and every one of us takes this matter of human development, especially that of women and children’s development, as a matter of interest for both men and women alike. There is a need to deconstruct the idea of patriarchy and construct a new way of thinking.
The matter of women is not for government alone as a stakeholder. We need to acknowledge that government is just but a stakeholder in the matter that relates to women. We need political parties and civil society organisations to assist us in ensuring that we able to fight this demon.
Yesterday, when I was watching TV, I saw a bunch of men gathering here in the precincts of Parliament, wanting to raise a motion of no confidence against a person, just because she is a female. The fact that opposition parties who do not agree on any matter amongst themselves but only agree when a woman must be taken out shows that we are far from dealing with this matter. [Applause.]
Hon Holomisa’s hatred of women is something that you can no longer ignore. Whenever there is a woman involved, he is the first one to raise issues around women. We need to make sure that we ...
Mr G A GARDEE: Chairperson!
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Bongo, do you mind taking your seat?
Mr G A GARDEE: Chairperson, when the speaker spoke of a ``bunch’’ we never thought he might be referring to people who are inside this Chamber. But, on listening to his speech as he continued, the ``bunch’’ now refers to hon Holomisa. So, it does appear that there is a need for a ruling on whether the usage of the word ``bunch’’ is parliamentary or not. I thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Gardee, what is your point of order? [Interjections.]
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: [Inaudible.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): I am not asking this question to you, hon Shivambu, but to hon Gardee, please! Let him respond.
Mr N F SHIVAMBU: Let’s assist you, Chair.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): No, no! Let him respond. I am asking him because he is the one who raised a point of order. Please, allow me to do that.
Mr G A GARDEE: Chairperson, the point of order is: Is it parliamentary to refer to members of the House as a ``bunch’’? The word ``bunch’’ was earlier used in such a manner that it did not appear to be in reference to any hon member. But, as the speech continued, it now appears that Gen Holomisa is amongst the ``bunch’’ that was referred to. I don’t know who the other people in the ``bunch’’ are, other than hon Holomisa. However, for the purpose of this House, such a reference doesn’t appear to be parliamentary. Can you make a ruling in that regard?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Okay! [Interjections.]
Mr N L S KWANKWA: On a point of order, Chairperson.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Can we say this - before you continue – that your time will be restored.
Can I respond in this way: There is a misinterpretation that you are making regarding the speech. At the beginning of the speech, the word ``bunch’’ was mentioned, and the reference to hon Holomisa came in later. Can we therefore say that we are not going to entertain this because it was not a direct reference to hon Holomisa. [Interjections.]
Mr N L S KWANKWA: Chair, on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for the hon member at the podium to make an unsubstantiated allegation that Gen Holomisa has a ``deep hatred’’ of women. He should withdraw that statement. The second one point is: He is hon Holomisa and not Holomisa. Can I ask you to rule on that matter?
Adv B T BONGO: I can withdraw, Chair. It is not a problem but the matter that we need to emphasise ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Bongo, please wait. I didn’t hear you saying that he has got ``hatred’’. You know, saying that somebody has got ``hatred’’ is actually not correct. Can you withdraw the word ``hatred’’?
Adv B T BONGO: I withdraw, Chair. Instead of me having to clarify certain points ...
Ms D CARTER: Chairperson, a point of order, please!
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Can you please withdraw unconditionally?
Adv B T BONGO: I withdraw. I withdraw, Chair.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Thank you, continue.
Adv B T BONGO: The issue that relates to women ...
Ms D CARTER: Chair!
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Can we allow the speaker to continue now that he has withdrawn.
Ms D CARTER: Chairperson, he has withdrawn the word ``hatred’’. He should withdraw the whole sentence and not just the word ``hatred’’. And if you cannot make a ruling ... [Interjections.] ... I propose that you then, please, look at the Hansard and come back with a ruling on that. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon member! Hon Carter! Hon Carter, we are done with this matter. He understood me. Thank you. Continue.
Adv B T BONGO: Regarding the issue of violence against and abuse of women and children, the blame cannot be put upon the police alone. This is an integrated matter. We have got to look at the peace and stability cluster but also look at the social issues around this matter – issues that relate to human settlements and the upbringing of our children.
In the community where I grew up as a child, the role of parenting is not only confined to a single parent but is that of the whole community. The behaviour displayed by the hon members of the EFF has got something to do with the environment under which they were brought up and the parents that brought them up. [Applause.] That is why they will come to this hon House, insult elderly people ... [Interjections.]
Ms K LITCHFIELD-TSHABALALA: Chairperson, may I address you?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Tshabalala!
Ms K LITCHFIELD-TSHABALALA: Chairperson, is it parliamentary for this member to cast judgment on our parent’s morality and our upbringing?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): It is not parliamentary to do that. If I heard him ... [Interjections.]
Ms K LITCHFIELD-TSHABALALA: Can he withdraw it? He just ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Can you repeat what he said, maybe, just to refresh my mind?
Ms K LITCHFIELD-TSHABALALA: He said that the behaviour of EFF members is a reflection of their upbringing and their parents. He mentioned the word ``parent’’.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon members, let us be mindful about the language that we use. We cannot bring in parents into this. Hon member, will you please withdraw that statement?
Adv B T BONGO: Chair, I withdraw.
The matter that relates to this violation ... [Interjections.]
Mr M S A MAILA: Chair, I am rising on a point of order.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Bongo, can you take your seat for a while?
Mr M S A MAILA: Chair, hon Tshabalala referred to hon Bongo as ``this member’’. Can she be advised to refer to him as ``hon Bongo’’? [Interjections.]
Ms K LITCHFIELD-TSHABALALA: Hon Bongo.
Adv B T BONGO: Chair, we ... [Interjections.]
Ms M S KHAWULA: Order, honourable Chair!
IsiZulu:
... Nathi siyawaqhumisa ama-point of order la!
English:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Khawula, I did not recognise you ...
IsiZulu:
... uyaqhubeka uyakhuluma.
English:
Please sit down. Let us allow the speaker to finish. Please sit down.
Ms M S KHAWULA: No ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): No! There is no point of order now. We have ruled on that matter.
Ms M S KHAWULA: We want to say something.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): No, we have ... [Interjections.]
Ms M S KHAWULA: This is my right!
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon member, on which point of order are you rising? [Interjections.]
Ms M S KHAWULA: No ...
IsiZulu:
Ngifun’ ukubuza mina Sihlalo ukuthi ... [Ubuwelewele.] Akumina owathi ungalwazi ulimi lwami ...
English:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Khawula, talk to me. ... [Interjections.]
IsiZulu:
Nksz M S KHAWULA: Lalela ... ngiyaxolisa kakhulu Sihlalo wami. Lithi elami, kuwumthetho yini la ePhalamende ukuthi omunye umuntu, egibela lapha, agibele ekhanda lakhe aze amenze nje. [Ubuwelewele.]
English:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon ...
IsiZulu:
Nksz M S KHAWULA: ... ngoba, ngokwazi kwami uma sesilapha kufanele ngabe siyahloniphana. Sizofundani thina kubantu be-ANC uma begibela la benze nje ngoba phela nathi ukudelela siyakwazi?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Khawula, that’s not a point of order, but I understand where you are going. Thank you very much. Please, members, refrain from doing that.
Adv B T BONGO: Chairperson, what I was saying is that we have seen a team ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon members, please allow the speaker to complete his speech.
Adv B T BONGO: ... of men - only men - who have lost votes during elections, gathering with a view to fighting against a woman who happens to be the Speaker of this Parliament. But we, as a team of winning men, are here to give courage to all women and to tell them that ANC is there to defend you. [Applause.]
So, we must take a cue from what the Chief Whip of the ruling party used to say when advising us as new members – and I think even members of the EFF must do so – that whatever we do here in Parliament, we must use a yardstick by which we measure our conduct. That yardstick should be ...
IsiZulu:
... bazothini abantu emakhaya?
English:
I wonder whether members behaving in the manner in which we see them behaving are proud that they represent their communities and people who elected them.
Mr G A GARDEE: Chairperson, I am rising on a point of order.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): What is your point of order?
Mr G A GARDEE: The hon member is now speaking about the conduct of EFF members when he is actually a member of a committee responsible for instituting disciplinary measures against EFF members for alleged misconduct.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): What is your point of order?
Mr G A GARDEE: Chair, is it proper for a member of a committee that is deliberating over a particular matter to talk about that matter even before it is concluded? I thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): I am not sure whether the member is referring to a specific case. What I can hear when listening to the member is that he is talking about the behavior in the House, but not a specific case that he is dealing with. So, this is not a point of order. Continue, hon member.
Adv B T BONGO: Chairperson, in conclusion, what we want to say to all members in the House is that this matter of violence against women and children needs all of us. It needs all of us ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ms C N MAJEKE
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Mr B T BONGO
Ms C N MAJEKE: Hon Speaker ... [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon members, order! There is a speaker at the podium, please. Can we respect the House?
Ms C N MAJEKE: Hon Speaker and hon members, 20 years into our democracy, our women and children continue to be victims of gender and child abuse. We still need a radical social paradigm shift about gender equality that should usher in a new generation of women and men working together to create a human world order that is safe for our children.
The numbers reported daily through the media of the various forms of violence against children and women continue to escalate even during campaigns when the nation is having a specific focus on these vulnerable groups in society. Despite successful battles by women, securing many basic rights, many of which have since been legislated including the rights of children, in the private sphere of women and children, in their homes, abuse and inequality remains the battle to be fought collectively.
Whilst efforts are made to educate women and society at large about the rights of women and children and the responsibility of all citizens with respect to ensuring that such rights and legislations are respected and adhered to, many women remain unaware of their rights. Some women are afraid of further and increased violence from perpetrators if they were to report to the SAPS.
Certainly, as a nation, we have a responsibility and duty to unite against the violence and abuse of women and children. The fight against violence and the abuse of women and children demands a zero tolerance system to punish, deter and rehabilitate offenders whilst supporting and restoring dignity and justice to victims. I thank you. [Applause.]
Adv A D ALBERTS
Ms C N MAJEKE
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Adv A D ALBERTS: Madam Chair, the equality of a society is measured in the quality of care provided for the weakest, namely its women, children and elderly. The statistics on the protection provided by the government to women and children is a sign that we, as a society, are living on borrowed time. When I say that we are living on borrowed time it means that if we tolerate violence and abuse against women and children, we eventually will tolerate anything else, and that will lead us to a road that is too ghastly to contemplate.
Afrikaans:
Die eintlike punt van die amptelike statistieke is dat dit te hoog is en dat dit eintlik nie moet bestaan nie. Vroue en kinders moet gekoester en beskerm word. Die belangrike vrae wat hierop moet volg en beantwoord moet word, is tweevoudig: Waarom gebeur hierdie dade enigsins in Suid-Afrika en, tweedens, wat moet hieromtrent gedoen word?
Eerstens, die oorsake van hierdie tipe geweld en mishandeling is beide eenvoudig en kompleks – enersyds eenvoudig, omdat die oortreders nie bedreig of bang voel om die dade te pleeg nie, en andersyds kompleks, omdat die oortreders dikwels self die slagoffer van geweld was. Die eenvoudige oorsaak is te vinde in die gebrek aan behoorlike polisiëring deur beide die polisie en die gemeenskap wat daardie onsigbare tou van moraliteit versterk deur afkeur en vervolging.
Die komplekse oorsaak is te vinde in die wyse en plek waar ons grootword. In Suid-Afrika in geheel is die gebruik van geweld op soveel vlakke gelegitimeer. Voeg daarby die invloed van die media by wyse van die Internet, films, televisiereekse, daaglikse nuus, advertensies en so meer. As daar gekyk word na die invloed van ouers wat dalk self met geweld in die huishouding grootgeword het en die breër gemeenskap se wil om die reg in eie hande te neem weens ’n gebrek aan behoorlike polisiëring, kan ’n mens begin verstaan waar die probleem lê. Ek gee nie voor dat ek al die oorsake aangeraak het in hierdie kort tyd nie.
English:
This brief analysis uncovers the notion that we as people have always been undermined by various forms of bullying. A bully can come in many forms, even in the form of a woman or child. The hallmark of a bully is that he or she wields some form of malevolent power over the other person. A bully is often the government itself. If we are mindful of this, then it is the malevolent power behind the bully that must be broken to stop the vicious cycle of abuse.
What then is to be done about this bully-type behaviour and power? Firstly, empower those units that undermine bullies in society, for example, the SAPS Child Protection Unit. Introduce a religious ethos in schools that engenders respect and undermines spiritual poverty. Empower communities by devolving powers of protection to them. Take all inhibitors out of the economy and ensure the growth of the middle class.
Afrikaans:
Hierdie stappe kan gesien word as ’n beleggingspolis vir die toekoms. Sonder dit stap ons ’n gevaarlike pad waar die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing transformeer tot hel op aarde. Ongelukkig vir baie vrouens en kinders is dit reeds so.
English:
Thank you, Chair.
Mr W M MADISHA
Adv A D ALBERTS
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Mr W M MADISHA: Hon Chairperson, we are in crisis. In South Africa, on average, a woman is raped every four minutes. The International Police Organisation, Interpol, has named South Africa as the world’s rape capital and said women were more likely to be raped than educated. What a national disgrace, we must say.
According to a 2009 Medical Research Council study, one in every four South African men admitted to raping a woman. Some of them, of course, are very senior leaders in the country. Disgustingly, it is friends, neighbours and trusted individuals who violate women in the cruellest way possible.
According to Prof Rachel Jewkes of the Medical Research Council, rape is about a culture where young men feel they have a right to a woman’s body. Frighteningly, half of all gang rapes in South Africa were prearranged. If that is so, where is the Department of Arts and Culture in reviving old solid customs and helping to create a new culture in keeping with our constitutional imperatives? Where is our public broadcaster and where are our script writers to help remove this stain on our nation’s honour? Where are the community leaders who allow such disgraceful conduct to prevail in their communities? Where is the presence of local government in ensuring that the hot spots of violence against women and children are given attention through adequate service delivery?
When a child is abused and a woman is violated it says to us that our society, which was meant to be healing, is becoming even more violently sick. By the time I take my seat, another woman will have been raped and maybe half a dozen children will have been abused.
For a nation with so many skilled activists and with a government so aware of the need to change us from the polecats of the world to one that is honoured and admired, we are talking too much and doing too little. We have probably the biggest government in the world and yet very little gets done to secure our children, protect our women and defend our honour.
When we bring ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ms C DUDLEY
Mr W M MADISHA
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Mrs C DUDLEY: Chair, 2014 marks 60 years since the signing of the Women’s Charter which called for the removal of all laws, regulations, conventions and customs that discriminate against women – and, still, shocking statistics show that one in four women are in an abusive relationship and one women is killed every eight hours in our country. It is no better for children, who are killed in South Africa on an average of three a day.
Stakeholders agree, however, that we do not need more legislation. We have the Child Care Act, the Domestic Violence Act, the Sexual Offences Act and the Criminal Procedures Act. We are a country that is heavily legislated, but the abuse of women and children is endemic. What we do need is to ensure that legislation is supported by budgets; there is no point in having laws on paper if there is no budget to implement them.
Perpetrators of violence against women and children enjoy impunity because they know they can get away with their crimes. When police say that they do no not have enough vehicles to track down perpetrators or they fail to investigate properly, the state is facilitating the violence.
People working with victims and those at risk are frustrated that programmes funded by government are only reactive and not proactive. The funding of nongovernmental organisations only covers a social worker, and no funds are available for much- needed integrated community outreach programmes. Programmes are needed for survivors, perpetrators, parents, communities and schools. The economic empowerment programmes are desperately needed for women. Women’s empowerment groups are also saying that it is about time that social workers employed by the Department of Social Development stop being administrators and do what they were trained for.
The protection of women and children is enshrined in our Constitution and advanced by our Chapter 9 institutions, the Commission for Gender Equality, the SA Human Rights Commission and the Public Protector. The researchers point out, though, that the locations of these institutions do not make it easy for victims. Many people in villages and townships cannot get to them and there is a call for free call centres to be set up and promoted. National campaigns are also problematic in that they are often in cities and townships and not in rural villages or farms areas.
Many women are still not entirely sure of their rights, but even the most informed and educated women are traumatised by an assault and are unlikely to be assertive or to insist on their rights at the time.
Much of the violence is the work of gangs, and the ACDP notes the controversial calls on national government by the Premier of the Western Cape to deploy the SA National Defence Force into the Cape Flats. The Activists Networking against the Exploitation of Children, Anex, is saying that those opposed to this may need to reconsider their position to make it possible for them to render services to vulnerable children.
The ACDP also notes efforts to encourage people to help gender-based violence victims by the Foundation for Professional Development which has launched a knock-on-door campaign, which aims to help people create a distraction to enable victims to escape danger or call for help. I thank you.
Mr L M NTSHAYISA
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Mrs C DUDLEY
Mr L M NTSHAYISA: Hon Chairperson, it is a pity and very unfortunate that this important debate is being introduced in this House when the AIC still wonders whether this House is the right place to talk about violence, or whether this is the right time for the National Assembly to deliberate on violence and the abuse of women and children - at a time when the very people of South Africa are beginning to familiarise themselves with the unruly and very unbecoming behaviour that is being displayed in this House.
Nonetheless, the AIC views violence against women and children as a factor that prevents the implementation of human rights in this country. Violence results from historically unequal power relations between men and women. Violence is a crucial social mechanism through which women are forced into a subordinate position in relation to men.
The AIC therefore says no to the sexual abuse of women and children of our country. We say no to women trafficking. We also say no to and are against forced prostitution and the exploitation of our women, physical abuse and all sorts of violent and abusive action against our women and children in our country. We call upon all men in this country, who love their nation, to stop raping, killing and ill-treating the innocent women and children of our land and rather to protect these innocent souls. Many women and children are experiencing violence and have learnt to live with its consequences, unreported.
This is why the AIC believes that a nation should be built upon strong family units, which respect the dignity of human beings. All men and women should refrain from their wicked ways so that they do not die in iniquity.
The women who catered for Inkosi Mathole in Nkandla – that is Nxamalala village – have not been paid until now. This is something that needs to be taken into consideration, because these women were not paid after having worked so hard. [Time expired.]
Ms R M M LESOMA
Mr L M NTSHAYISA
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Ms R M M LESOMA: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, hon members, fellow South Africans, we thank the ANC government for providing this opportunity to speak on this subject matter. Here we are not just dealing with today, as some of our people who ...
Mr M WATERS: Point of order ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon Waters?
Mr M WATERS: Chair, this debate isn’t from the ANC government. It is an hon member’s debate from the NFP. I think that needs to be made clear. It is not at the behest of the ANC government at all.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): He never talked about proposing the topic – that’s what I heard. He is talking about the ANC government, which has got nothing to do with what you are referring to. [Interjections.] Hon Lesoma, continue.
Ms R M M LESOMA: Here we are not just dealing with today, as some of the people in the outside world would like us to believe, women’s circumstances and their access to justice ... [Inaudible.] We are also dealing with the legacy of apartheid legislation, which strongly entrenched itself in minds and habits, such as the Group Areas Act, which grossly undermined the underresourced rural areas, and shifted the cost of living onto women which obstructed their access to justice in all forms. The apartheid system was extremely violent. The triple oppression of women under this system grossly crippled our society.
Let us walk and do the talk together on the road that will clear up the confusion that government is doing nothing. Of course, much still needs to be done. Women still perpetually experience inequality challenges, including in the form of local customs. They fear and risk being the victims of gender-related violence anywhere, anyhow, any time.
IsiXhosa:
Yho! Kwaze kwanzima, kwalukhuni emnyango, kodwa ukhona urhulumente kaKhongolose ...
English:
... who has introduced a Ministry of Women to deal head-on with these social ills. It ... [Inaudible.] ... terrorises women and children, just as apartheid was in control of black people. Law enforcement can only do so much. More has to be done by our communities and our constituencies.
Since the advent of democracy and political freedom, South Africa has seen a number of women taking up leadership positions in areas previously dominated by men – such as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans and the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation.
Involving women in government processes constitutes one of South Africa’s globally acclaimed success stories. The anchor for the government is clearly articulated in the national resolutions of the ANC and the National Development Plan, NDP. This is a continuation of the progress made in the implementation of the 2009 manifesto priorities, in particular fighting corruption and crime, and promoting social cohesion and nation-building. The National Development Plan aims to eradicate poverty, increase employment and reduce inequality by 2030. Its implementation will be a people-driven process to which everyone will be able to contribute.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow: we are all called upon to contribute to fighting violence against women and children, and not to only point fingers and read statistics, but do nothing tangible.
The ANC and its government are ever committed to working with all of society for the greater good of our society. Working with all sectors within our communities, we will create an environment conducive to improving conditions for the promotion of social cohesion and nation-building.
In 2000 Cabinet adopted the South African National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality, which provides a foundation for the establishment of the national gender machinery. All of these are efforts by the ANC-led government: training of judges to be legally alive to issues relating to child custody, economic support and security of victims, with clear guidelines for protecting and sentencing ... which do not ... [Inaudible.] ... violence against women and children.
Why training? This is to deal with and delete old-order legal assumptions. What a good, caring government. As we speak, we have special children’s courts; the establishment of integrated victim empowerment policy and centres, which direct energy to service delivery to victims of crime and violence and seeks to promote a reduction in secondary victimisation and improve co-operation with the criminal justice system. The Victim’s Charter brings relief to women and child victims of crime by ensuring the rights of victims are recognised and protected in line with government’s vision of cultivating a human rights culture. By reintroducing the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Courts, the Department of Justice and Correctional Services has thus established capacity and has laid a foundation.
In June 2012 the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development established a task team to investigate the re-establishment of a dedicated Sexual Offences Court, and has finalised the development of the revised Sexual Offences Court model that seeks to address gaps that led to the demise of the previous specialised sexual offences courts. [Interjections.] What a good story to tell – just to go through and work through together what the ANC government has done until date.
A prevention and awareness campaign in 2014 will mark the 14-year anniversary that ...
Mr K Z MORAPELA: Chairperson, may I address you?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): You’re allowed.
Mr K Z MORAPELA: I’m just checking if the hon member is prepared to take a question.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Hon member, are you prepared to take a question?
Ms R M M LESOMA: Hon Chairperson, not today.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms M G Boroto): Not today, thank you. Continue.
Ms R M M LESOMA: The year 2014 will mark the 14-year anniversary that extends the 16 Days of Activism campaign into a year-long campaign programme, involving men and women across the country with a measurable impact on attitudes. There is also the one-million signature campaign that led men to say, ``Not in our name’’.
There is also comprehensive treatment and care for all survivors of gender violence, including the provision of post-exposure prophylactics to reduce the chances of HIV infection, treatment for the possibility of STDs and pregnancy, as well as counselling. In addition, there is co-ordinated support and communication among those involved in the implementation through the establishment of appropriate institutional mechanisms.
Let us all join the ANC-led government. [Interjections.]
The high incidence of violence and abuse of women cannot be tolerated. It undermines all the struggles we have waged as women for our full emancipation from all forms of oppression and exploitation.
... [Inaudible.] ... care systems. We must remember the women of Ingugce, the Zulu maidens, who sacrificed their lives during the 1890s so that we could exercise our right to live without fear and doubt. Comrade Charlotte Maxeke, our first African woman graduate, gained her Bachelor of Science degree in 1905 and fought very hard to have women admitted as full members of the African National Congress. Is her spirit tormented by the rate of violence perpetuated against women? A society that tolerates violence against its women is a sick society.
Violence against women and children, regardless of race, religion, colour, language or political affiliation is a priority of the ANC-led government. The ANC government develops, assesses and advances the bettering of lives of all vulnerable groups, moving with time.
Yes, we are moving South Africa forward. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr M A PLOUAMMA
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Mr Z A MORAPELA
Mr M A PLOUAMMA: Hon Chair, the high incidence of violence against women and children is symptomatic of a society that is very ill. This issue speaks to the general moral degeneration that is allowed to spread like a wildfire through our society. It begs the question whether our new social order ... [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Hon member, just a minute. Hon members, the conversations are now too loud. We are drowning out the speakers. Please! Thank you.
Mr M A PLOUAMMA: We have to ask to what extent our current new liberal order creates an environment that allows for individuals to assume that they can abuse women and children. Whilst we have a judicial system that increasingly tips the scales of reason in favour of individual rights above what is morally right or in favour of the general boni mores, I fear violence against women and children and other social ills will remain with us for a very long time.
In this societal context, South African women and children are at the mercy of a police and judicial system that is ill-equipped to effectively combat the abuse and effectively punish the perpetrators.
The problem of women and child abuse is not one that merely requires denouncing, but requires a whole societal moral regeneration that would redefine our whole value system. We need a society that holds those in positions of trust accountable for their actions.
Our problem is that the society that South African women and children are exposed to is one where the government of the day condones acts of corruption, nepotism, poor service delivery and other social ills, thereby creating a value system that allows for an environment fertile for social ills such as violence against women and children. Perpetrators are made to believe that society is incapable of keeping them accountable for their actions.
Until our government changes its own value system with regard to accountability, we will not see a decrease in these and many other social ills. I thank you.
Mr Z N MBHELE
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Mr M A PLOUAMMA
Mr Z N MBHELE: Hon members, today we have heard a lot about abuse against women and, rightly so.
However, I am going to focus a bit more on the aspect of children, which tends to be a secondary concern. Children with disabilities are among the most marginalised, abused and neglected of all members of any society. Section 28 of the Constitution states that every child has the right to care, nutrition, shelter, health care and social services and, crucially, to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation. Unfortunately, children with disabilities face daily barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights and it is estimated that about 10% of the world's young people are either born with a disability or acquire one before they reach the age of 18.
Many of these young people spend their days at home with little stimulation or opportunities for learning, with their caregivers struggling to secure the assistance, support or resources they need for their health, wellbeing and development. As a result, they are often isolated and vulnerable to abuse and neglect. In particular, it is widely documented that people with mental disabilities face multiple forms of prejudice and discrimination in their daily lives in the form of stigma and social isolation. These attitudes are expressed as teasing, negative labeling, being called possessed or cursed, and sometimes violence.
Despite progressive policy and legislation over the past 20 years, there has been limited real impact on the lives of young people with disabilities and the scale of the existing problem, without a doubt, remains underdocumented. Awareness and knowledge about disability is fragmented and gaps in service delivery remain due to inadequate budget allocations, weak capacity and patchy implementation.
The difficulties experienced by many families due to the pressures of caring for a child who is disabled are exacerbated in the case of mothers who are left alone to cope as single parents with minimal support. It is reported that some parents abuse substances and leave the child neglected, as we saw on the front page of today’s Sowetan or they are often left in the care of a grandparent or sibling.
The Department of Social Development has a mandate to promote the well-being and development of children and youth with disabilities, which includes intervention programmes and services. As outlined just now, the implementation footprint in this regard is woefully inadequate, leaving a vacuum for neglect and abuse to run rampant.
IsiZulu:
Sihlalo, ngiyazi ukuthi amalungu kakhongolese ayazijabulela izindaba ezimnandi. Bengifuna ukunitshela ngendaba eyodwa emnandi qha evela lapha e-Western Cape.
English:
In April 2013, the Western Cape Department of Social Development launched a pilot project to conduct household surveys in Mfuleni, Vredenburg and Diazville to identify vulnerable children and youth with disabilities in order to connect them with existing services. The survey also aimed to uncover the unmet needs of young people and their caregivers, and to identify gaps in services in the pilot areas.
The survey formed part of a broader project to develop referral systems to promote inclusive attitudes through awareness-raising and advocacy programmes, and to support parents and primary caregivers to facilitate their children's holistic development.
Almost 15 000 households were surveyed over 3 weeks, with 3-6% of households being identified as having at least one young person with a disability living in it. During the survey period, more than 500 cases that were identified as urgent or needing immediate assistance were referred either to a relevant specialist non-governmental organisation service provider, government department or local social workers. At least 40% of young people who were disabled and identified were under the age of 18, with 30-35% of them being reported as having multiple problems. More than half of these young people had experienced difficulties related to their disability since birth.
It is this kind of specific information that is needed in order to plug caretakers of children who are disabled into support, service and referral networks so that the incidence of abuse and neglect of disabled children is reduced. It must be said that many families do love and accept their children who are disabled. What is needed are improved efforts from government to identify families that are struggling so that they may be assisted and equipped to provide adequate care.
The DA-led Western Cape province is showing the way, and the time is now for other provinces and national government to follow this example. This is essential if the rights of vulnerable children, as set out in the Bill of Rights, are to be protected and promoted. Thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF WOMEN IN THE PRESIDENCY
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Mr Z N MBHELE
The MINISTER OF WOMEN IN THE PRESIDENCY: Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers and hon members, here in South Africa we come from a past where violence was a norm, including the previous state which was violent and justified violence. Within this context, women and children suffered violence and abuse in various forms - physically, sexually, emotionally, psychologically, economically and otherwise - and children did not escape the same.
Women who were raped then were always blamed for being raped or not believed that they were raped because of the cautionary rule which existed. Women suffered in silence with no space and institutional arrangement for recourse and their human rights were violated on a daily basis. Even before the dawn of democracy, the ANC, its leagues and alliance partners were already playing a pivotal role in addressing violence against women and children, underpinned by the 1954 Women’s Charter which aimed for equality for women.
It is the ANC-led government, since the dawn of democracy, that introduced measures to address the scourge of violence against women and children. The introduction of the national crime prevention strategy in 1996 inculcated a victim-centred approach in the criminal justice system. The spin-offs have been a plethora of legislation, either new or amended, that affirms victims’ rights and ranges from firearm control to domestic violence legislation.
Protocols, norms and standards have been developed, for example, the uniform protocol for services for victims of crimes, the Patient’s Rights Charter and the NPA Customer Services Charter. Indeed, I agree with the hon member who said we have sufficient laws. The challenge for all of us is how we move forward and make sure that we can implement them.
The other spin-off has been the implementation of the restorative justice approach that aims to involve the parties to a dispute and other affected by the harm in collectively identifying harms, needs and obligations through accepting responsibilities, making restitution and taking measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident and promoting reconciliation. Institutional mechanisms such as the specialised sexual offences courts, Thuthuzela Care centres, family, child and sexual offences units, correctional services, supervision boards and others were established in order to create a space and provide institutional arrangements for recourse and to promote women’s human rights.
The ANC-led government appreciated the importance of understanding the causes of domestic violence as some of the perpetrators are themselves victims of domestic violence. They are also hurting, and therefore want to hurt others too. Our approach to this scourge must be multipronged in order to ensure that we address even the causes of violence against women and children. Hence the introduction of restorative justice which sees crime as an act against the victim, and shifts the focus to repairing the harm that has been committed against the victims and the community.
It believes that the offender also needs assistance and seeks to identify what needs to change to prevent future re-offending. We need to introspect on how we raise our children. Do we give them an impression that it is okay to solve our problems through violence or do we educate and nurture them to realise that violence is the enemy of the human race?
As we are here today, one of the critical achievements which we need to highlight is the actions of the Departments of Transport and Basic Education which went through consultations and deliberations and came up with a scholar or learner transport policy which intends to ensure that children are safe as they go to school.
As the ANC, we continue to work towards the eradication of violence in society, specifically against women and children, in all its forms.As such the 53rd National Conference of the ANC took a resolution that social transformation continues to be a critical building block of our country. At the centre of social transformation is the total emancipation of women articulated in the 1994 Women’s Charter for Effective Equality. We need to continue to systematically fight against patriarchy and any other form of abuse against women and children in the family, the workplace and society as a whole.
While several gains have been made and many milestones achieved, challenges still remain. More work needs to be done to ensure that the transformation of power relations between women, men, institutions and laws, elements that are fundamental in building an inclusive, progressive and prosperous society, requires all of us to play our part. We need to focus our efforts on addressing gender inequalities, poverty, unemployment, oppression, patriarchy and sexism which are the main drivers of violence and abuse against women.
Chairperson, despite this harsh reality, the increased reporting on violence and abuse against women and children, especially in instances of domestic violence and sexual offences such as rape, indicates that response and support mechanisms, programmes and awareness campaigns are beginning to bear fruit. This further shows the confidence that the public has in the criminal justice system is improving, and the confidence in the ANC.
Unless we shift from our view of violence against women and children as a government or criminal justice system problem to realising that it is very much a societal problem, we will always miss the mark in our efforts to eradicate this scourge in our communities. The nature of gender-based violence is such that it cuts across class and race and shames us all collectively as a people. In order to eradicate this shame, we must work together, sparing no effort to root it out from society.
However, as we are here today, a question that bugs me when I think about the scourge of violence against women and children is: What do we do when we witness violence against women and children? If we acted collectively, we would dent the scourge. So, today, I would like to challenge all of you by asking you this straightforward question: When a child was molested, what did you do? When a woman was assaulted by her partner, what did you do? When your neighbour was being abused, what did you do as a neighbour?
I must say, for all us, as we move towards 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, what do you do to come back to this House and say this is your contribution as an individual in fighting violence against women? Or are we going to come to this House with the intention of standing at this podium and apportioning blame and making this a responsibility of the law-enforcement agencies?
I want to say, we have a role. Let us go back and ensure that we do not come here and complain, but we contribute in changing society as individuals and as a collective so that, all of us can say, count me in in fighting violence in this country. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Prof N M KHUBISA
The MINISTER OF WOMEN IN THE PRESIDENCY
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Prof N M KHUBISA: Hon Chairperson, hon members, I thank members for their participation in this debate.
I know a debate of this nature gives us an opportunity to air our views on a matter that is critical and is affecting the social fabric. And I want to thank the hon members for having candidly debated the matter. Of course, a number of issues have been mentioned, and I believe that we need to get to the crux of the problem and ensure that we deal with it in order to re-align our society.
There’s a question that we have legislation available, but we still have the preponderance of violence and abuse against women and children. Why? That tells us that the law needs to be very strong and ensure that the perpetrators are arrested with immediate effect and are prosecuted.
It is very traumatic, for instance, to find out that a senior citizen is still awaiting a case that has to be attended to and it drags on and on. If those guilty are arrested immediately and cases are processed immediately and we send out a message that the law is biting in our country, in that way, therefore, we will be able to minimise the number of criminals that are destroying the social fabric of our country. So, the law needs to be very strong.
A debate of this nature is not a debate whereby we need to be very defensive, because hon members here are debating with the intention of sending a message to the executive to ensure that these ideas are taken by the executive. Therefore, it is important that we go all out and pull all the resources, the executive arm of the government, the police, the justice, welfare, education, everybody, all and sundry, to ensure that we attend to the problem.
Some of this gender-based violence and abuse is happening in schools. So, if it is there in schools, it means that it is coming from families. Therefore, we need to restore even the social fabric because it is somehow becoming a thing that is perpetuated from one generation to the next. So, we carry upon our shoulders a responsibility to ensure that we go all out and mobilise all the forces that we have at our disposal to ensure that we get to the root and the radix of the problem.
I believe, hon members, we have debated this matter and that something will be done. Of course ...
IsiZulu:
... nale ndaba yokuhlukunyezwa kwabesifazane nezingane akusiyo indaba yase-Afrika; ama-Afrika abebavikela abesifazane emakhaya, ngisho kunempi bebevikelwa abesifazane. Ngakho-ke kuyinto nje entsha okungesiyo eyase-Afrika okufanele sibhekane nayo. Indaba yokuthi abantu besifazane ...
English:
... are still facing inequalities with regard to their socioeconomic conditions, is a very pertinent issue that needs to be attended to because it creates those gaps which make our women inferior.
Hon Chairperson and all hon members, thank you very much for having participated in the debate. Thank you. We appreciate it. [Applause.]
Debate Concluded.
The House adjourned at 16:38.
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