Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, guests, ladies and gentlemen ...
Phambi kokuba ndiqale, ndiyafuna ukuba ndikhe ndithethe inyaniso. Ukuba wakhe wayifunda incwadi ethi Animal Farm, i-ANC indikhumbuza loo ncwadi. Apha kuthiwa makungatyiwa, kodwa kuyatyiwa ngapha, gqitha. Kuthiwa abantu abatsha mabanyamezele kuba kuza kulunga ngeny' imini, kodwa ngapha imali iyatyiwa, iyaphela kwinto ekuthiwa yi-National Youth Development Agency. Kuthiwa ngapha lindani ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[... before I start I want to speak the truth. The ANC reminds me of the book entitled Animal Farm, if any have ever read it. They say let us not eat whilst they are over-eating. They appeal to the youth to be patient and to persevere because things will change for the better in future, but funds are being squandered by what is called the National Youth Development Agency. On the other hand they ask for patience ...]
... whilst the ANC makes the fat cats even fatter; the weak are becoming weaker and the poor even poorer today because of your government.
It was exactly 35 years ago this month that hundreds of students laid down their lives in a quest to liberate themselves from inferior education called "the Bantu Education system" and attain freedom for all.
Andizukuma ngegalari mna ndiza kuthetha nani. [I will not be referring to the gallery; I will speak to you.]
The demand for quality education was at the centre of their struggle and today I speak in memory of them all. However, the youth of today is confronted by a completely different challenge, and that challenge is economic freedom, HIV and Aids, unemployment, illiteracy, drug and alcohol abuse and many social ills. Our youth today demands that we, as elected public representatives, lead, guide and give them hope for a better life for all.
Last year, matric results showed that 67% of learners passed matric and only a handful of those passed with endorsement. Of those, very few are at school today due to a lack of access to finances, ngoba ityiwa nini. [because it is squandered by you.]
We are bequeathed with the courage to accept that South Africa will never become a better country unless we recognise that the plight of the poor is more urgent than ever and needs to be addressed. Illiteracy breeds poverty and disease. We need to free our young people and ensure that their future, and that of the generations to come, becomes the glory and hope for prosperity.
In this past election young people expressed their wishes and we dare not disappoint them. Young people need change and they need it now.
A 15-year-old young man, Sifiso Mkhabela, attended Orlando High School in Soweto in 1976 and lived without proper shelter, electricity, water, proper sanitation and, most of all, without access to quality education. Today he still lives in a shack and is unemployed and uneducated.
He has been deprived of his right to freedom and life for 50 years. Where is freedom for this man? Maybe the ANC will respond to that question. [Applause.]
It is necessary at this time to pause and ask the question: What is the difference between good governance and poor governance? The answer to that question is very clear and I will give it to you. The answer is that you have the DA here representing very good governance and you have the ANC representing very bad governance.
We have an education policy to respond to this challenge. [Applause.] It says that there should never be a difference between the former Model C schools and the township schools. The ANC continues to exacerbate that challenge.
We have the poorer performing schools in townships and those that were Model C schools in the affluent areas. We are saying that we will need a voucher system that will ensure that a learner can enrol in any school anywhere, as long as that school belongs to the government.
That learner will be able to study and become a doctor or social worker and come and sit in this Parliament tomorrow. [Applause.] [Interjections.]
I need to say thank you very much; thank you South Africa. [Time expired.] [Applause.]