Chairperson, hon Ministers and all protocol observed, today is an important day as we debate Freedom Day under the theme: Celebrating our shared pursuit of a united, democratic, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa.
Freedom Day is a reminder of the struggle for a free and just South Africa, which culminated in the first democratic elections, on 27 April 1994. On this day, South Africans of all races embarked on a new and common project to build their country, guided by the values enshrined in the interim Constitution and later in the Constitution adopted in 1996.
As we are preparing to commemorate Freedom Day next week on Tuesday, 27 April, firstly, we should not forget that Freedom Day marked the start of a democratic process in which South Africans came together to chart the way forward for their great country; secondly, we should not forget that as public representatives we have the responsibility to always remind South Africans about the importance of Freedom Day and what it means for our country and, thirdly, we should not forget that 16 years into our democracy, our country boasts of the many inroads it has made towards transforming our society.
As such, we must take pride in that, in line with our Constitution and political objectives, we have, firstly, established a new society that is based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights and secondly, laid a firm foundation for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and where every citizen is equally protected by law.
We have worked hard to improve the quality of life of millions of South Africans, and have built and continue to build a united and democratic South Africa that is able to take its rightful place in the family of nations. This is evidenced by our hosting of the Fifa World Cup, 40 days from now.
Freedom Day is a time for us to reflect on and celebrate the journey that we travelled to achieve our freedom and democracy. As we prepare to commemorate Freedom Day, we cannot help but remember all those who personified the sacrifices of our people in the fight for the realisation of our freedom.
Amongst the many recognised and unsung heroes and heroines, we recall the then president-general of the African National Congress, a Nobel Peace Laureate and a leader renowned for his immense contribution to the fight for nonracialism, and that is Nkosi Albert Luthuli. He defined the march to freedom, where there was no oppression of one race by another, as the most exacting and colossal one.
At the height of apartheid, he reminded peace-loving South Africans that the success of the struggle would only come if we face the threat of racism with indomitable courage and tenacity of purpose. We must build a formidable force of freedom lovers on the basis of a broad freedom front.
The colossal struggle for freedom that Nkosi Luthuli spoke about has given our country countless possibilities. Examples abound in the development of our communities, economic front and promotion of African solidarity and development.
The living conditions of many or previously marginalised South Africans have improved significantly, and democracy has become a defining picture of our political life. Government is working hard in ensuring access to free quality education for all. Quality health care services are being extended to benefit even the poorest of the people and, as we speak, the task of creating decent work and sustainable livelihoods for our people is one of the priorities of government.
As a result, in 2010, South Africa still needs a formidable force of freedom lovers, as Nkosi Luthuli said. The difference is that while the task at hand is still a colossal one, it has since shifted to improving the quality of our freedom.
In improving the quality of our freedom, we need, amongst other things, to work hard at facilitating better relations amongst the people of South Africa without regard to race, sex and language differences.
As President Jacob Zuma said when he took office last year, we cannot afford to be cynical about the changes that are facing our society. Rather, through our collective efforts, we must promote social cohesion and help engender a sense of patriotism.
In this regard, we would like to see Freedom Day being celebrated by young and old South Africans of all races and not just by the previously marginalised section of our population.
As we are preparing to commemorate Freedom Day in our provinces, next week, we must not forget to remind South Africans, young and old, about the debilitating injustices of the past, the real opportunities of today and the limitless possibilities of tomorrow.
Some of the people seated here will remember that there was a time when all of us used to sing the song, We shall overcome. To others' ears that was nonsense. But as the ANC, we've ensured that the sacrifices of the young and old, for the freedom of our people, are shared equally. And I say, never forget where you come from. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, MECs, colleagues and guests, many important freedoms are protected by our South African Constitution. And our Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic.
The Bill of Rights contains our rights and freedoms, as herein protected, specifically referring to the freedom and security of the person; the freedom of religion, belief and opinion; the freedom of expression; the freedom of association; the freedom of movement and residence; and the freedom of trade, occupation and profession.
So, we have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights to protect our freedom in South Africa. It is a freedom which many of us believe we have fought for; a freedom from racism and oppression; a freedom for equality of education; a freedom to be an equal citizen of South Africa and freedom of speech. I don't want to hear you labelling me a Nationalist because I never was one. [Laughter.]
To protect our Constitution and our rights, we have an independent judicial system, which is vested in the courts, and I quote from the Constitution:
The courts are independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they must apply impartially and without fear, favour or prejudice.
We have had a serious number of violations against our freedom as South African citizens and it is growing daily. It started with the arms deal, and I quote Helen Zille:
The criminal justice system has been perverted as an instrument for persecuting political opponents and protecting political allies. This abuse of the system is continuing on a daily basis. [Interjections.] Maybe I must look at you, hon Adams, so that you can hear me nicely.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeff Radebe, should be asked what his views are on the constitutional prescriptions for his department where prosecutorial excellence, independence and labour rights should be the order of the day. Why are the functions of the Asset Forfeiture, Specialised Commercial Crime and Priority Crimes Litigation Units fragmented and placed at a provincial level?
Why is the institutional independence of the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, reduced by moving its administration to the Department of Justice? Why is there such a concerted effort to reconstruct the NPA? Why is there this continuous rush to purge effective members in the justice system? Is it to protect the ruling elite from prosecution?
Die Burger van vanoggend verwys op bladsy twee daarna dat die Minister nie bewus was van die herstrukturering van die Nasionale Vervolgingsgesag nie en dat hy nie deur adv Menzi Simelane in die saak geken is nie. Ons wil graag glo dat hy iets hieromtrent gaan doen. Ons maan egter dat, ten spyte van die feit dat dit vanjaar die jaar van aksie is, ons weinig aksie tot dusver gesien het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.) [Page two of this morning's Die Burger makes reference to the fact that the Minister was not aware of the restructuring of the National Prosecuting Authority, and that Adv Menzi Simelane did not consult him in this regard. We would like to believe that he will do something about this. However, despite the fact that this year is the year of action, we would like to caution that we have seen very little action as yet.]
Our Constitution, as the supreme law, states in section 165(3) and I quote:
No person or organ of state may interfere with the functioning of the courts.
It continues in subsection (4) and I quote:
Organs of state, through legislative and other measures, must assist and protect the courts to ensure the independence, impartiality, dignity, accessibility and effectiveness of the courts.
But how is the Minister enforcing this through his leadership and oversight role? Is he protecting the freedom of the South African citizens and equality before the law?
Our Constitution also rules that freedom of expression does not include incitement of imminent violence or advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
The fact that a court interdict has not silenced the ANC Youth League's leader and the fact that the ANC leadership cannot take charge and responsibility to enforce discipline, to protect our rights and freedom, is a clear indication that there is a severe lack of leadership and accountability within the ANC.
Freedom in South Africa is threatened by the lack of political will to enforce the supreme law, the independence of our judicial system and its processes.
We are approaching a quagmire of a failed state, with tenderpreneurs for self-enrichment of the elite of the ruling party, with corruption and with cadre deployment, where the law and order of our Constitution only applies to ordinary citizens and taxpayers. These things threaten to violate our constitutional freedoms.
The DA will continue to protect our Constitution and the independence of our judiciary. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon MECs, hon members, "Celebrating our shared pursuit of a united, democratic, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa" - frankly speaking, there is no reason why we are not united.
Fifty thousand years ago human beings left Africa to populate the world. The great Ice Age had wiped out life everywhere else. The remnant of 5 000 or so people who helped to save humankind lived in Africa. That is why every human being today carries a gene of an African mother.
Over the past few centuries people seem to have forgotten this. Our world, therefore, saw racial oppression of one race by another. Today, Mr Obama is the President of the United States; today black and white govern South Africa together. Even so, unfortunately, race is deeply imbedded in the consciousness of many people; not only white people, but black and brown as well.
The laager, however, is no longer a safe place in the world to live. We therefore need to see the bigger picture. Climate change, globalisation, and resource depletion put all of us in vulnerable positions. We need one another like never before. The lesson of four millennia of history is that we must live co-operatively.
Whatever we hope to achieve in international relationships will depend on what we achieve in our national relationships. In recent weeks, Ventersdorp brought to the surface what we had all hoped had gone away. Clearly, our journey of the past 16 years left many people at the station from which we departed. This means that this honourable House must, therefore, add active nation-building to its agenda. Every city, town and village should engage in a programme of bringing people together.
A common curriculum should inform the nature and manner of discourse. We, in Cope, believe there is considerable goodwill to work with, but very little common understanding. We also believe that all leaders, whether adult or youth leaders, should sign a charter based on our constitutional principles and values. Let this House take the lead in this. Racist and sexist conduct in behaviour offends against our constitutional principles.
We need to educate our people to appreciate our Constitution, which is why we need to frame the question of democracy, unity, nonracialism and nonsexism within our constitutional context. People in the country, all of the people, must be encouraged to buy into the Constitution, and encouraged to take ownership.
Cope believes that this House has a big role to play in furthering an acceptance of the Constitution by all South Africans. This must be done in the letter and in the spirit of the Constitution. Ventersdorp is a wake-up call. We have a great solution and we must make it work for us. Long live our Constitution. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I'm privileged to take part in this debate, which narrates the story of our nation and the resilience of our people in triumphing over apartheid. This day remains an outstanding hallmark of our people's determination to fight for their liberation, and is one of the most solemn chapters in the history of our national liberation struggle.
This debate takes place in a month when our movement commemorates the lives of some of its illustrious fallen sons and daughters, whose lives remain so dear in the hearts of our people. In this regard, I would like to pay special tribute to Comrades Oliver Reginald Tambo, Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, Leslie Massina, Thembisile Chris Hani, Violet Seboni, Dr Molefi Sefularo, and many more unsung heroes and heroines of our movement who lost their lives in the month of April.
We also pay tribute to many of our people who lost their lives as they stood firm in their conviction and bold in their deeds, when they confronted the might of armed apartheid forces. I am sure that their spirits join us today in recognising the journey that our nation has travelled under the leadership of the ANC.
Our freedom came at the highest price. We cannot forget the hundreds of our people, including women and children, who died at the hands of the police, inside and outside the country, as well as the victims of the apartheid state-sponsored violence that engulfed our townships during the period of the state of emergency.
Again, I just want to contextualise this debate, and if I could be allowed to take this opportunity to convey our condolences to the family of Comrade Dr Molefi Sefularo, who recently passed away in a tragic accident. Comrade Molefi Sefularo was one of the warriors of the national democratic revolution and a patriot of the people of South Africa.
We can confidently say that when the roll call is read on the parade ground he will be among those present, and ready to work for the ANC. May his soul rest in peace.
On 27 April South Africa will celebrate 16 years since the dawn of democracy in our country. In the past 16 years, the lives of our people have undergone a dramatic change, and for the better.
Umama obethetha apha, uMama wethu uMam' uMemela uwucacisile lo mba. Ngale mini ... [The lady who was speaking here, the hon Memela, clarified this issue. On this day ...]
... I remember vividly that I was deployed by the ANC to monitor voting stations in the Eastern Cape, in the Queenstown, Lady Frere, Tarkastad, Whittlesea, and Sada areas. It was an historic day. We were learning how to run elections for the first time as the ANC inside the country. I will not forget the days I was deployed in that area.
The ANC-led government has made significant strides in addressing the challenges facing our people. We have taken active steps to ensure the protection and progressive realisation of their rights. We have moved decisively to redress the social imbalances created by apartheid. We have broadened access to basic services such as housing, electricity, clean water and health care.
We are proud that about 19 million of our people now have access to clean water and almost 11 million have been provided with sanitation, with the number of households using the bucket system reduced from more than 605 000 in 1994, to just under 113 000 currently.
We have built over three million RDP houses, providing shelter - a roof over their heads - to almost 11 million families. We did not build open toilets for our people, the majority of whom are women. Our movement has taken bold steps to dismantle apartheid settlements, and ensure that our people are given decent houses.
I heard Mr Carlisle talking about the human settlements that were created by apartheid. I have been to the kind of human settlements that were created by apartheid. I know what they are. In Fort Beaufort, where I grew up, we had so many houses in the township, had more than 3 000 people living in them, and had about 10 toilets provided for us by the apartheid government.
It was bad! It was a nightmare to live in that township. I grew up in those conditions. I know what apartheid means. I know what apartheid has done to our people, to our families in this country. We will never forget how brutal that system was.
We have also made huge progress in the provision of basic health care to our people, including the construction of clinics and hospitals in the rural areas, most of which had no facilities before the advent of democracy. We have seen an increased proportion of households with proper sanitation facilities. Clearly, these are signs that our nation is on a course to dismantle the pillars of apartheid.
The ANC-led government has also been working very hard to address the challenges of poverty in which many of our people live. Currently, our nation has the most comprehensive social security system in the world. More than 13 million people receive social grants.
A few years ago, I visited an overseas country - I think it was either Thailand or Bangladesh. When we were asked about what government was doing to assist poor people, even in Africa, for that matter, in terms of things like social security systems and the like, they were surprised and asked what we were talking about. So, I'm saying that this country is one of the best in trying to make sure that its people are taken care of.
We remain committed to sending a clear message to those who criticise our caring government for continuing to seek more ways to protect our people from the bondages of poverty. We want to say to our people that we care, because we, the ANC, understand their conditions better than those who benefited from the opulence of systemic protection by the apartheid regime.
As the ANC, we're aware that much more still needs to be done. We are aware that some of our people are still battling with some of the most inhuman conditions and face the harshest living conditions of poverty and unemployment.
Our nation is faced with some of the challenges that we never anticipated when we fought against apartheid. Our people are held to ransom by those who continue to steal the resources for self-enrichment. Incidents of corruption in both the private and public sectors in our country seem to have reached disproportionate levels and have reinforced the view postulated by the great epic work of the late Mazisi Kunene in his poem The Rise of Shaka, when he said:
Those who feast on the grounds of others often are forced into gestures of friendship they do not desire. Let me say without any hesitation that the ANC is committed to fighting corruption. We view corruption as a blatant violation of the rights of our people and as an intolerable crime. Perhaps this is where the problem lies in our country: When the ANC government is open and sets up laws and systems to uproot corruption; when the ANC government talks about corruption ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Thank you, Madam Chair, for allowing me to take part in this debate.
I was very interested in what hon Feldman had to say because, strangely enough, that had come into my speech as well. I do think it is important that we take note of that. It is easy to get up here and make racial distinctions, you know: If you are white you were apartheid, if you are black you were struggle.
It's easy to make those distinctions, but it actually fails to take account of the most extraordinary thing about ourselves and our country. That is, very simply, as Mr Feldman said, that mankind came into being in this country. We know now without doubt that the first men and women, from whom every human being in the world is descended, lived here in South Africa first, and, if we go back far enough, then I will find that my ancestral mother is the same woman as your ancestral mother.
It is so important that we who live in the cradle of mankind should accept that we are human beings, no different from one another.
It is also important that we recognise that here, in this, the beloved country, long before anyone anywhere else was, was first the family, was language, was culture, was fire, was technology, and most importantly, was compassion, ubuntu.
We need to know how special we are. Whenever I am asked to welcome a conference of people who have come from overseas to do whatever - to talk about trains or transport or whatever it is they are going to talk about - I always say to them: You have come home to Africa. Because that is what it is: They have come back, after so many years. And when they come - in hopefully their hundreds of thousands in five or six weeks' time - we should say: You have come home to Africa.
In this Chamber, about 54 years ago - I was alive then, long before most of the members were born ...
How do you know these things?
I know, because I was alive.
Where were we?
Unborn, I'm afraid, but I'm sure that you have made up for it ever since! [Laughter.]
There was a debate in this Chamber - it was then the old Senate - and, on the decision of the Senate, the few coloureds who were on the common voters' roll were removed. That was the last straw ...
And what did you do about it?
What did I do? Well, let me tell the hon member what I did. Before she was born, I was being interrogated by the Special Branch - which was the predecessor of the Security Police - because of my pursuit of a South Africa in which all South Africans would be equal. Before you were born! [Applause.]
But, in this Chamber the decision was taken to remove the coloureds from the roll after a previous decision had removed those few blacks from the common voters' roll. From there we rolled forward to 4,5 million forced removals over the next 36 years; to 12 million imprisonments for pass offences; to 100 000 detentions without trial; and to 25 000 violent deaths.
It is important that we, looking back to that black day in South Africa's history, recognise how we comport ourselves as representatives of the public. It is very important.
I would like to invite hon members from here to come to my legislature. Come and visit us.
Where is that?
The Western Cape. I would like to invite you, because I believe that freedom is the business and responsibility of every citizen. Freedom and truth must transcend collective loyalty and party affiliation.
The reason that I would like to invite you is that there is no better example of this than the Western Cape provincial legislature, where robust debate and ruthless oversight have made it one of the most free and democratic assemblies on earth. [Applause.]
The DA and the ANC fight each other savagely in the House, but, together, they fight corruption and maladministration even more savagely.
When the ANC government of Premier Lynne Brown came to power, they stopped a number of questionable and dubious projects, and they shone bright lights into dark places where the rats lived. The cause of South Africa was served in that legislature, because some brave people put freedom and truth above party.
Of course, I did not agree with everything that the ANC did; far from it. But I publicly salute those of its members who put freedom and truth first. They were true South Africans.
Finally, I want to come to those millions of South Africans ... and hon Mazosiwe referred specifically to this and I want to follow up on what he said. I want to come to those millions of South Africans who are not free: Those who are enslaved by hunger, want, unemployment, homelessness and despair, those that cannot be freed ... [Interjections.] ... and shouting at me won't make them free.
There are many reasons for this enslavement. Much lies in our oppressive and racist past; some in our current legislation. All those things are difficult to change and much has been done. This, every politician here, regardless of party, knows: Every rand stolen in corruption, every rand wasted in mismanagement; every rand lost in crooked contracts to tenderpreneurs; every rand lost - and they amount to billions - was stolen form the poorest of the poor. Those billions could have housed the homeless, educated the illiterate, transported the poor, created employment and provided better health care for the sick.
Let me conclude with this: There are two iron laws of freedom. The first one is: If some of us are not free, none of us is free. Nobody should know that better than South Africans. The second is: Where corruption flourishes, freedom cannot flourish. [Applause.]
Chair, hon members, allow me to speak from the heart today.
It is strange that today the DA wants to teach us a lesson while the DA was part of the suffering and our people are still poor. It is strange today that people want to talk about suffering while they don't know anything about what it is to suffer.
We, as black people in this country, have a beautiful heart. We have forgiven these people for all the wrong things they have done to us, and yet these very same people want to come and tell us how we should live our lives.
They are the reason why some of our dads, moms and aunts never went to school. They are the reason. They must stop this thing of trying to tell black people that they are better than us. They are not better than us. [Applause.]
Another thing I want to say today is: Freedom Day is not something that I hear. I have paid with my life.
Hon Gunda, just hold on. May I please know why the gentleman is up?
Agb Voorsitter, is dit reg dat 'n agb lid die Huis mislei? Is dit parlementr? [Tussenwerpsels.] [Hon Chair, is it correct for an hon member to mislead the House? Is it parliamentary? [Interjections.]]
Hon member! Hon member, I would prefer not to answer that, because it is my right, but you know the truth in your heart. Continue, hon Gunda.
Chair, let me just put things straight today.
Agb Voorsitter ... [Hon Chair ...]
Hon member, please do me a favour. Could you sit down, because I am not going to answer the question you are posing to me because, really, to me, it's not relevant. Continue, hon Gunda.
It's not relevant?
Madam Chair, thank you. Let me just say this one thing. When our black brothers were on death row, I was part of the Upington 26 ...
Hold on, hon Gunda, Okay, can you say what you want to say, Mr Lees?
Madam Chair, with all due respect, and on a point of order: A question was put to you by a member of this Council and, on a point of order, you need to rule whether that question is correct or incorrect. Please rule.
If it is not antiparliamentary, I'm not going to be drawn into it. It is not deliberately against the policies. Continue, hon Gunda.
Thank you, Chair. Let me say, I wonder how these people will explain this: You go and visit your friends, standing up for their rights, they were on death row, you were shunted around by these people, telling you what to do. And yet, we paid. Some of our mothers and brothers paid for this freedom. This freedom did not come cheaply.
I don't want these people to come and tell us that this freedom is cheap. It is because of the goodness of our hearts that these people are still here today. It is not because we are bad people.
Hon Gunda, hold on! Mr Faber, what is your problem? [Interjections.] Order, members! Let me hear what the gentleman has to say.
Madam Chair, I would just like to ask Mr Gunda who "these people" are that he is referring to, as we are a democratic party. Thank you.
Reference is made to people who know the truth. Continue, hon Gunda.
Thank you, Chair. Let me just say this to you, Chair. I am sorry, you can just see the attitude in how they stand up and speak because they don't understand the word - what it is to suffer and the word ubuntu. They don't know it.
They have never even heard the song of what we did in the struggle years. They do not know what it is to sleep and your mom and dad are woken up at night, the door is kicked open, and a light is shone on your mom and dad. They don't know those things. They don't know the humiliation; they have just heard about it. They have never seen it with their own eyes.
Today, all I want to say is: On Freedom Day, let us remember the heroines and heroes of this country - the people who paid with their blood. We are free today because we have said to ourselves - and I agree with what you have said, Madam Chair - we shall overcome. We have overcome and we will always succeed. We will never turn back. [Applause.]
Chairperson, I just want to ask Mr Gunda what he had for lunch today. [Laughter.]
Chair, I just made up my mind that I would speak from my heart on Freedom Day. I want to say this today in this House: People must remember. The world, today, marvels at freedom in South Africa because they thought we would have bloodshed. They did not know that these black people in this country understand the term "human being". They were human beings all these years. That's why we could forgive the people who oppressed us. We have forgiven them; we have even given them a million chances. Up till today, they reap the benefits.
Let me just say this one thing. You see the companies. Look at BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz, etc ... They have grown. In apartheid years they never sold so many cars. So all I want to say is that, on Tuesday, let us remember the heroes and the heroines of this country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon members ...
... modiri wa lebala, modirwa ga a lebale, [the doer forgets, but the one to whom it is done never forgets,]
Umenzi uyakhohlwa kodwa umenziwa akakhohlwa. [The perpetrator forgets but the victim does not forget]. I will ask hon Mabija to tell me what it says in Tshivenda, but not now. [Laughter.]
Chairperson, I am actually disturbed by hon Van Lingen on the theme, "Celebrating our shared pursuit of a united, democratic, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa". Until when are you, as a woman, going to be on the opposite side when we should be sitting down as South Africans, especially as South African women, discussing issues?
Through which glasses are you looking at South Africa? If you could also explain, but not today, when you say Minister Radebe is removing effective people from the justice system, who is effective and what criteria are you using or why do you come to that conclusion that that person is effective?
Chairperson, this theme recognises our collective responsibility to work together in all spheres of government, all sectors and formations of our society towards a prosperous South Africa. It recognises our collective duty to unite our people and work tirelessly to dismantle all forms of discrimination and shy away from our atrocious, divided past.
Chairperson, as we were preparing for the elections last year, while travelling across the country, our people told us stories that are crucial in assisting us to reflect on the path that our nation has travelled since 1994. Many of them told stories of how their families are still ravaged by the brutalities of the past - detentions without trial, disappearances of family members in detention, the hanging of those opposed to apartheid, imprisonment because of which many of them lost all opportunities for advancement and how family members were forced into exile.
Many women told us stories of how their lives were affected by apartheid. They have recounted stories of how their lives were destroyed by forced removals and banishment through the Group Areas Act and many other laws that made their lives unbearable.
After the elections, the ANC recognised the need to realign all government policies to ensure that there are policies on women, especially on those women in rural areas. We agreed on a strategic approach that led to the creation of a new Ministry for women, which was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring a co-ordinated approach towards the advancement of women in our country.
We have made it clear that this Ministry has a duty to forcefully implement its mandate and ensure that all government departments, provinces and municipalities ensure the protection of women. We have no time for petty talk and misguided political talk.
Chair, it is saddening that after 16 years on our democratic path, we see some acts of racism, racist undertones and commentaries about black people. We continue to read stories of women who are brutally murdered within the walls of their homes by those they regard ... [Interjections.]
Mr Carlisle, the three of you there, can you please be respectful. Someone is still busy talking to all of us and we want to take in the message. Please be with us.
Thank you, Deputy Chairperson. The current context of the conditions of women in South Africa can be assessed in relation to a number of factors and issues that have been raised by women in the fight against apartheid.
Central to this is a list of demands that was drawn up by the Transvaal Federation of South African Women for submission to the convenors of the real Congress of the People for incorporation in the Freedom Charter in 1955. It was titled, What Women Demand. It listed several factors that have informed the ANC's policy on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Chair, after a robust consultative process, the women of South Africa made the following demands: the right to vote; four months' maternity leave with full pay for working mothers; compulsory free and universal education from primary school to university; proper houses; indoor sanitation; a water supply and proper lighting in their homes; the right to own property; and the list goes on. In the last 16 years of democracy in our country, the ANC has moved with speed to redress the footprints of apartheid and patriarchal relations. Our legislative and policy framework does not only enforce gender equity, but also protects the advancement of women with the aim of redressing past imbalances and discrimination.
A number of laws and policies were passed to empower women to improve the quality of their lives and open up space for their voices to be heard on matters concerning their lives. Most importantly, opportunities for women to have access to basic services and social, economic and political opportunities have been actively promoted.
We are aware that in some provinces, like the DA-led Western Cape, women are still regarded as unworthy of leadership positions and that some public leaders have no shame in publicly stating that the position of women is in the kitchen.
Chairperson, the private sector is one of the sectors where the leadership of apartheid is still most prominent despite many initiatives since 1994. Women's position in the business sector remains weak and many women are marginalised and subjected to sexist tendencies.
Helang, nako e a tsamaya. [Time is running out.]
We have seen the advancement of policies that are targeted at women's empowerment at the frontiers of poverty in our country. We have seen an expanded focus on the improvement of the livelihood of women and mothers through the system of social grants and other poverty alleviation programmes.
We are proud that the participation of girls in education in South Africa is one of the highest in the world. Our nation has reached its commitment in implementing the Millennium Development Goals with regard to expanding educational opportunities.
Chair, you will agree with us that eradicating gender inequality and addressing factors such as respect, dignity and freedom should not be resting on the shoulders of only the government and the ruling party. It also remains the duty of the businesses, community, civil society and every citizen in this country. That is why we say that in working together we can do more. And surely we will achieve more if we undertake a shared pursuit of a united, democratic, nonracial and nonsexist South Africa.
Ke a leboga. Thank you.] [Applause.]]
Dr M B KHOZA (KwaZulu-Natal): Hon Deputy Chair, members of the House, the previous speakers are prompting me to just comment on one thing before I read through what I have prepared.
You see, the process of decolonising the mind is not just the responsibility of the formerly colonised. The former coloniser also has to decolonise the mind. Therefore, even when we talk about realising a nonracial South Africa, both sides have to work on it. If we don't work on it together, there is no way that we can realise it.
We need to avoid the temptation of letting freedom be influenced by our ideological convenience and probably trying to excuse the past. Let us not make it a crime for black people to speak out about the pain they went through. Even today, on the National Geographic and Discovery Channel, on DStv, digital satellite television, we still talk about what happened to the Jews during the Second World War.
Exactly!
Dr M B KHOZA (KwaZulu-Natal): That's because we don't want a repeat of the past. Therefore it is very important for us to remember that we all have the responsibility to work at this.
In KwaZulu-Natal, we have learnt the hard way that freedom is not an event, but a continuous process that has to be improved upon on an ongoing basis. We have had to reflect on our past, and critique our present. Through this process of self-assessment and dialogue we have come to understand that it takes two to tango.
Most of you would know that we had civil war in KwaZulu-Natal. We had violence that was portrayed as black-on-black, and yet we know that it was an apartheid-sponsored war. Therefore, we have learnt that you have to sometimes swallow a bitter pill and allow the process of reconciliation.
The hon member who spoke before me has made me remember that, by the way, as women today we can claim that we are free, but it doesn't mean that the struggle is over. This is because freedom is a continuous process, although freedom is the outcome of the struggle. Both of these things are a continuous process.
We owe our rights as women to women like Mkabayi kaJama, a Zulu matriarch, who played a critical oversight role on at least three Zulu kings to protect her nation against the abuse of power. This she did without any colonial influence.
When women speak about their rights, these are not rights that they are borrowing from the colonisers or the missionaries; they were also intellectuals in their own right. Ingcuce - the young maidens - today speak of pro-choice and we think this pro-choice just came now, but we had ingcice during the 1800s. There were young Zulu maidens who revolted against King Shaka's policy of forcing young women to marry older men. [Interjections.]
Those women died; yet we speak of pro-choice today. Let us remember women like Charlotte Maxeke; she was a philosopher, a real revolutionary, a visionary. Our history books are doing a disservice to this woman who was the first African woman to receive a BSc degree in 1905.
This woman spoke about African unity long before the founding of the Organisation of African Unity. We talk of her only when reducing her role to one of liberating women, but she was actually talking about the liberation of the continent. She saw the importance of unity.
On this particular day I also want say we must not forget Pixley Ka Seme. Today we are speaking as a nation because it was he who actually challenged all the ethnic groups to say, "Let's come together; we are not going to win this war if we fight as ethnic groups, as tribes, but let us unite and build a democratic country".
Today we stand here in this Parliament and all of us have been exercising that right to speak freely. In 1964, that was unheard of. Now you have just made a deep testimony. All of us have been speaking freely since then. As South Africans, we also have to stop underplaying the role that has been played by the ANC Women's League.
Women like Lilian Ngoyi, who was the first woman to serve on the national executive committee, NEC, of the ANC - we sometimes think that things in the ANC have always been equal, and the reality of the situation is that there are struggles within struggles - should not be forgotten.
We also have to learn that national reconciliation does not just come because you have allowed people to speak about the pain of the past. For pain needs healing, and healing is a process. We have had to learn from Comrade Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela that national reconciliation cannot be founded on bitterness; neither can you notice that freedom is on your doorstep if you think selfishly, for only those who are selfless understand the true meaning of freedom.
I just want to close with this quote from R V Selope Thema, who had this to say about Pixley Ka Seme:
After finishing his studies in America and England, this ambitious young African thought of returning to South Africa, his fatherland. The free life of the United States and Great Britain, with its pleasures and happiness could not hold him. He realised that the knowledge that he acquired was not only for his self-aggrandisement and enrichment, but also for the upliftment and the emancipation of his downtrodden people.
Let us remember on this Freedom Day that we have to fight corruption because it is a counterrevolutionary force. It is antichange and it is taking us backwards. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, and hon members ...
I have had to separate myself from my dear wife and children ...
Order! Just wait. Hon Rantho, hon Mazosiwe, I call for order, please. Continue, member.
On 26 June 1961, at a London press conference, Nelson Mandela had this to say:
I have had to separate myself from my dear wife and children, from my mother and sisters, to live as an outlaw in my own land. I have had to close my business, to abandon my profession and live in poverty and misery, as many of my people are doing.
He pledged that -
I shall fight the government side by side with you, inch by inch, mile by mile until victory is won ... I will not leave South Africa, nor will I surrender ... The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days.
Indeed, this was a long walk to freedom, a journey well travelled. It is an ideal he lived to achieve. This was a journey encouraged by stories and tales of many victories, of many battles fought by our ancestors, Dingani, and Bambata, Squngati and Dalasile, Hintsa and Makana, Sekhukhune and Moshoeshoe, who became the pride and glory of all Africans for defending our fatherland.
It was a journey born out of love, passion, loyalty and dedication to the emancipation of our people through fearless yet bitter struggles led by our heroes and heroines like Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Joe Slovo, Steve Biko, Lilian Ngoyi, Moses Kotane, Winnie Mandela and Chris Hani plus many more, who laid down their lives to secure our freedom.
These were men and women of character who lost everything for our freedom, and whose losses can never be measured or compared. Today I stand here as a free son of the soil. Yes, I am indeed free, free from the bondage of apartheid, from the chains of brutal oppression by the then government of the few by the few, from laws of tyranny that declared our people and forebears terrorists, killers and slaves in the land of their forefathers, laws that made them inferior because of the colour of their skin. Those are the laws of brutality that forced masses of our people out of the country, and millions to their early graves.
As we celebrate our hard-won freedom it becomes critical to remind each other never to cease remembering and retelling the story of our struggle. Blade Nzimande was right when he said:
How we go forward into our future is very much determined by how we recall our past.
He was right when he further said that our 1994 democratic breakthrough was the outcome of a protracted struggle over many decades, if not centuries. It was the outcome of a hard-fought victory for change in the balance of forces. Those who distort our past hope to disarm and demobilise us in the present and we will never allow that.
We celebrate this freedom, because it was fought for and won for us not to abuse it but to build a better future and better life for all. We celebrate because we have achieved more in just less than 15 years than any of our oppressors ever achieved during their 300-year reign of terror.
We celebrate because of the many things that we have achieved. A lot of speakers today have given statistics of things that we have achieved. I am not going to repeat that. The facts will speak for themselves.
As we celebrate, we are conscious of the challenges that our country is still facing. We are confident and positive that with the plans and leadership we have, victory is certain. Our pace might be slow, but the truth is that the slow movement of a tiger is not a mistake, but a calculated accuracy. A mother will never forget a child on her back. The ANC has not forgotten its people. We are alive to the reality that the freedom we are celebrating did not only bring about positive change, for sooner than we had expected, the draconian forces of racial hatred began to rise.
The demon of self-enrichment and greed is fast creeping in to reverse our gains. We should all stand firm and fight all these things with all we have. We must all unite against poverty, hunger, disease, unemployment and crime.
In the true spirit and sense of reconciliation and ubuntu, I challenge the critics of the ANC, in particular the DA and its white supporters, and all those whose minds accepted the distortions of our history to jump off their high horse and stop criticising the very party that created the freedom platform they are today abusing.
I want to give you advice from Mahatma Gandhi, who once said:
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.
I challenge you to be true and honest to the belief that we share a common pursuit of a united, nonracial, democratic country. Stop criticising and not offering alternatives. Remember the North American Indian proverb that says, that before you criticise a man, you must first walk a mile in his moccasins, hon Groenewald. I challenge all those who want to rob us of our rich history and distort it by telling repeated lies about the cause of killings of farmers - as if our townships and suburbs are immune from such barbaric acts of criminals - to tell the nation the truth.
This truth is that as long as the DA continues to shout slogans during elections like, "ANC gevaar!" ["ANC threat!], "Stop Zuma!"; as long as Afrikaners continue to hold high the apartheid regime flags and sing De la Rey; as long as white farmers continue to treat our people badly, killing them and saying they mistook them for baboons, pigs and guinea fowls; for as long as our people are killed by being thrown into lions' dens alive; as long as they are called "kaffirs" and are subjected to abject poverty and misery; as long as the lives of white farmers are seen as more valuable and important than those of black farmworkers; as long as our courts allow a situation where when a white person who has killed a black person such a white person is declared mentally unstable, and blacks are treated as the only people capable of being murderers; and as long as blacks still live in appalling and hazardous conditions as we see here in the Western Cape settlements, the struggle continues.
The people will ask questions, and stories will be told. The people will feel at a particular point that they have been generous enough, and that they have been provoked, they have been robbed and will think that it is justifiable for them to fight back. That will not help us in our peace and reconciliation mission. So, stop playing a blaming game, but play your part. Stop abusing reconciliation and the generosity of black people and please play your part because we deserve better. You are not fit and capable to lecture us on what our people want, for yours is nothing but a skewed and selfish political agenda.
During his treason trial Nelson Mandela said:
We of the ANC had always stood for a nonracial democracy, and we shrank from any action which might drive the races further apart than they already were.
But the hard facts are that for every one step that we move forward to close the gap, the majority of our white people move three steps away to widen the gap.
Despite all these things, Mandela taught us that the ANC, as the mass political organisation, could not and would not undertake violence because its members had joined in the express policy of nonviolence.
ANC leaders have always and up to this age prevailed upon the people to avoid violence and pursue peace through peaceful means. On the contrary, the same white community and their political leaders are failing to master this and at any slightest act of crime they advocate war instead of peace. It is in a period like this that one would expect the DA and FF Plus leaders to provide leadership instead of making a meal out of the death of a farmer.
Deputy Chairperson, can I rise on a point of order, just to say to Mr Chaane that the DA is a liberal democratic party.
Chris Hani's assessment of the prevailing conditions is as prophetic and relevant today as it was when he said:
We as the ANC-led liberation alliance have nothing to fear and everything to gain from a climate of political tolerance. We do not fear open contest and free debate with other organisations. Open debate can only serve to uncover the bankruptcy of our political opponents.
And today's debate has demonstrated just that. On that note I want to say to all these other parties, wake up and take the challenge. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Hon members, thank you very much for these deliberations. English speakers will actually agree with me when I say that the fangs of the truth have sharp edges.
Let's celebrate Freedom Day in a holistic manner. I can actually say openly that I am very proud to be a black South African woman. If the scars of the past history could be seen on our faces, many people seated here would not even like to look at us.
I am thus pleading with everybody here to say that we, as the ANC, are very proud of having walked that rough path with pride and being able to accept the losses we experienced during the days of the struggle.