Hon Chairperson, we are undoubtedly internationally acclaimed for the kind of fight we fought and, indeed, we need to be proud of the kind of Constitution we produced. However, we need to address all the negative impediments that cause stagnation in our economy.
Police brutality constitutes complete abuse of power and shows disrespect for any procedures. They perpetuate being a law unto themselves and conduct their own trials, and this is definitely a glaring culture of ignorance. It is very clear that they have not been educated about human rights and the right to a fair trial. The fact that they are prone to using violence as their first resort instead of their last, calls for an absolute need to set a system in place that will select good police officers.
We need to develop a code of ethics, and those that are in violation need to be completely removed. We commend the Minister's attempts. Whilst the arrests that have been made are a positive stride, we cannot relax for a moment. We have to instil the correct culture.
With regard to socioeconomic rights, indeed, we can't realise them all in one go, but there are too many people that are poor and hungry. Their rights are violated because of instability. In order to give hope to the people, the MF recognises, beyond a shadow of a doubt, fraud and corruption to be the biggest threats to our human rights culture. We must address the issue of those that are denied social grants and those that qualify for housing, yet are denied. For those that are completely unemployed, it would be totally reasonable for them not to have houses, but for those that are better off to have houses. This nullifies our Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights. We need to go beyond race. Poverty is not a race issue. It cuts across all sectors of our communities, and the allocation of houses is very sectional, racial and biased in nature.
The South African Schools Act implies all children under the age of 16 must be in school and educated; if not, the parents will be arrested. But quite to the contrary, a number of children are seen begging on street corners. Their denial of education is a denial of their fundamental right. We need to clean up the streets and send these children back to school. There must be awareness and strategy enforcement. This is a suicidal problem and not a parental problem. The mere fact that this is mentioned in the South African Schools Act makes it incumbent upon all of us to act responsibly. All departments must come on board, together with politicians and government. As we profoundly uphold and protect the supreme law of our country, we must, indeed, ultimately ensure the protection of all our people's rights. I thank you. [Applause.]