Hon Chairperson, hon members and fellow South Africans, this Thursday, 21 March 2019, will mark 59 years since one of the darkest days in our nation's history when 69 people lost their lives at the Sharpeville police station. They were only there to offer up themselves for arrest for refusing to carry their passbooks.
A protest that started out as peaceful soon escalated into a massacre, when police officers opened fire on the crowd, embodying the depths of horror that was perpetuated by the apartheid regime.
In this post apartheid South Africa, we honour those South Africans and many others in their fight for fair basic human rights on a day we call Human Rights Day. We cannot disregard the governing ANC's role in having achieved the human rights we enjoy today. The ANC, as a freedom movement, won those rights for all of us. The ANC, as a freedom movement, championed a noble cause for which we are all grateful. If we compare the conditions of the majority of South
Africans prior to and after 1994, we can recognise that there was indeed an improvement and empowerment of our people.
The South African Bill of Rights is one of the few across the world that include economic, social and cultural rights coupled with traditional, civil and political rights as legally enforceable rights. It is also included as one of the initial chapters in our Constitution.
It is, however, unfortunate and in many ways an infringement on the hard- fought human rights that the efficient ANC freedom movement could not prove themselves as an effective and respected government of our vulnerable newfound democracy. It is indeed not a celebration of human rights and democracy as envisioned by Nelson Mandela but rather a serious debate on how the ANC-led government failed to protect human rights in South Africa.
We need to look no further than section 25 of the Constitution that concerns the right to property. The efforts by the ANC and EFF coalition of corruption and their populist mission to demolish this important right - the right to own property, is an indictment of their disregard for human rights. This is one of the most important
rights to ensure accessibility to economic opportunities and economic freedom.
We have not forgotten the lives taken at Marikana, as well as the lives lost by Life Esidimeni. So sad to realise they suffered a similar fate to that of the Sharpeville 69 - a clear violation of section 10 - the right to human dignity and Section 11 - the right to life. The ANC-led government killed the people of Marikana and Life Esidimeni. We will never forget. The ANC are now robbing South Africans of human rights, just like how they robbed our state-owned enterprises.
It is troubling that the ANC has disregarded the Bill of Rights. But then again, it seems the ANC has also so easily turned a blind eye to China and their human rights atrocities when they accepted a loan to bailout Eskom - the conditions of such a loan South Africans are still not aware of.
Just recently, the President, in a radio interview said it is our "collective responsibility" to resolve the load shedding crisis of Eskom. As the official opposition, the DA did our job and provided the failing ANC with solutions for years. We have even submitted the Independent System and Market Operation, ISMO, Bill, but these were
simply disregarded and thus all South Africans rights are trampled on.
Hon Chairperson, we cannot ignore the pandemic of crime and how it is compromising all human rights. With an effective and professional police force under a DA national government, South Africans will enjoy the right to safety and freedom of movement. This will enable all South Africans to unlock our own potential economic freedom.
Hon Chairperson, just last week, more explosive details emerged of the corrupt state of the Zuma administration's handling of the State Security Agency, SSA. Reports now confirm that the South African Airways, SSA, was used by Zuma to conduct covert operations to address ANC factional battles - a clear contradiction of the agency's mission to remain politically impartial. There was evidently no separation of party and state - a typical symptom of populist nationalism.
The SSA also spied on South Africans and their communications, a clear violation of another right in section 14, the right to privacy. Human rights are essential for any functioning progressive democracy. Without them - even if you taught them to the rest of South Africa - if we forget them we lack guidance, dignity and
equality. As South Africans, the time has come for us to choose change that respects human rights by voting in a DA-led government on 8 May. I thank you. [Applause.]