House Chairperson, the theme for Human Rights Day this year is United in Advancing Socioeconomic Freedom for All. This theme underscores the progressive and transformative content of the Constitution and its Bill of Rights that so many sacrificed so much for, including the men and women who were gunned down at Sharpeville and KwaLanga on 21 March 1960.
It's worrying, then, that some are making a concerted attempt to distort and to water down the progressive content of socioeconomic rights in the Constitution whilst, at the same time, trying to cast doubt on government and the ANC's commitment to the Constitution, political rights and the rule of law. We saw that here today in the early campaign speeches by the hon George, Lekota, and McGluwa. [Interjections.]
South Africa has received accolades from across the world for its progressive and transformative Constitution and the manner in which its vision is being implemented. A recent report by the World Justice Project put South Africa in the top half of middle-income countries in its 2012 Rule of Law Index. The report highlighted areas of concern, such as crime and corruption, that government itself has elevated to national priorities, along with education, health care, economic development and job creation, rural development and land reform.
We know this report to be true because we ourselves can see and experience a Constitutional Court that functions independently. Every day of every year it hears matters in which the constitutionality of laws and of executive action is being tested, and in each and every one of those cases, without fail, government or Parliament has honoured the judgments of our Constitutional Court. We know that to be true, because every day our Constitutional Court further develops a progressive jurisprudence around the socioeconomic rights contained in our Constitution.
We know that report to be true, because every day we experience the work of our Chapter 9 institutions, the Public Protector, the Human Rights Commission and the Gender Commission. We know that when matters are referred to the Public Protector, they are investigated without fear or favour, and that the reports of the Public Protector are dealt with seriously and acted upon. That never happened in the history of this country until the democracy we fought so long for. [Applause.]
We know that to be true, because we have an Auditor-General, established in terms of our Constitution, that does his or her work without fear or favour. We know that those reports are published and that they are taken seriously. That degree of oversight never existed before we became a democracy. [Applause.]
Last year, South Africa was also commended by states participating in the UN Human Rights Commission's Universal Periodic Review mechanism for its commitment to human rights and improving the lives of its citizens; the delivery of basic services, such as housing, health care and education; as well as our leading role in the UN Human Rights Commission regarding the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex, LGBTI, persons. Indeed, South Africa has made impressive strides, both in establishing and consolidating a culture of constitutional democracy, as well as in realising the socioeconomic rights contained in our Constitution.
Access to electricity now stands at 12,1 million, which translates into 85%. Access to education has improved dramatically, with 96% of children below the age of 15 in school. [Interjections.] [Applause.] With near universal access to education, the challenge of improving the quality of that education is now a priority, especially in maths, science and technology.
More than 10 million people have been provided with shelter through 2,6 million subsidised houses. Health care has been expanded through the construction of more than 700 clinics and the strengthening of primary health care, and will be further expanded with the imminent introduction of the National Health Insurance Fund. All of this is the result of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, that we are told has stalled. Of course some policies have never stalled because they have never started moving.
Few societies have been able to do so much in such a short space of time against such obstacles to make life better for so many, as the democratic South Africa has. [Interjections.] It's concerning, then, that some continue to propagate the untruth that government and the ANC are inimical to the Constitution, its institutions and the rule of law generally.
Of course, tremendous obstacles remain, in particular dealing with the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It is exactly for this reason that we've adopted and are implementing the National Development Plan, NDP, and the New Growth Path. It's more worrying because this attempt seems to coincide with the adoption of policy positions by the ANC and government that seek to accelerate the pace and depth of socioeconomic transformation. It's at exactly this juncture, when we talk about a second phase of our transition, that these attempts are being made.
A case in point is the article written by the hon Lindiwe Mazibuko, parliamentary Leader of the DA, after this year's state of the nation address in which President Zuma outlined government's programmes to accelerate socioeconomic transformation, including measures to address the land question. So, what does the hon Mazibuko write? She says:
Instead of condemning the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle, he should have focused on the proposals of the NDP which the DA supports. The President played a game of smoke and mirrors. He said his government would be guided by the constitutional principles underpining land reform, but the same Constitution prescribes the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle.
I've been in Parliament since 1994 and ... [Interjections.] ... the Constitution that I was part of writing ...