Chairperson, let me acknowledge the presence of hon Minister Lulu Xingwana, hon Deputy Minister Sotyu, hon MECs and hon members of the NCOP.
Ke nnete gore go na le di le dintsi tse di rerilweng mo Ntlong eno ya NCOP le di le dinnye fela tse re ka di buang. Fa re lebelela gore rona jaaka Maaforikaborwa re simolotse leng go keteka letsholo leno la malatsi a le 16 a ipelaetso kgatlhanong le tshotlakako ya basadi le bana, re e simolotse ka 1999 mme fa re e simolola, go ne gona le kgatelelo ya gore ke goreng re sa keteke malatsi mo ngwageng otlhe gonne ... (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[It is true that there are so many things that have been planned by the NCOP but there are few things that we can talk about. If we take a look at when we as South Africans started the campaign of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, it was in 1999. When we started this campaign, concerns were raised as to why we could not embark on this campaign throughout the year ...]
... because violence does not only take place between 25 November and 10 December. Why don't we commemorate - if that is the right word - this particular campaign throughout the year? On 8 March 2007, a 365 Day National Action Plan to End Gender Violence was launched with the aim of increasing awareness and stopping the continuing violence against women and children. It is now four years after that particular launch and when we try to reflect on what we have achieved, it becomes very difficult because the carnage continues - our children are abused, our women are abused.
Let me raise a few issues that affect the province I am from: Mpumalanga. It has 3,66 million people and about 51,7% of them are female. When you look at the demographics of the province, 71,4% of the population is youth, in other words people younger than 34. When you look at unemployment, in the second quarter of 2011 the province was rated as having the highest unemployment rate, which was at 30,4%. Most of its citizens depend on social grants.
When you look at the crime statistics for the province, there has been a general decline, but some categories of crime have consistently remained high. At the top of that list is sexual crime. Looking at the period from 2003-04 to 2010-11, the number of sexual crimes has increased. When you look at the reasons for this increase, and when we do outreach in the province and into our communities, we realise that most sexual crimes are committed within families.
... Bomalome ba loma ditlogolo ... [Uncles abuse their nieces ...]
... and when you ask them why they don't report such cases, they say that has been the practice since time immemorial. The uncles will always sleep with the nieces. When you look at other family members who are also victims, you will find they are the ones who are disabled; who can't say much; who are more vulnerable and have no means of living. They cannot report the perpetrator because he is the breadwinner.
We must also note that this is the province where the prevalence of HIV/Aids is the second highest in the country, at 34,7%, so we actually need to do a lot in that particular respect.
The second-highest crime statistic is drug-related crime. Strangely enough, in the 2003-04 financial year, we had only 1 314 drug-related crimes and now, in 2010-11, we have 3 178. This is more than double - and we are talking about a period of five years. This is very disturbing for a rural province such as Mpumalanga.
... Le rona kwa magaeng ga se paje fela, re na le diritibatsi tse dingwe tse re di dirisang. [In our rural areas it is not only weed that is used, there are other drugs that are also being used.]
Kidnapping has increased from 149 cases in 2003-04 to 234 cases in 2010-11. And who gets kidnapped? It is the young children who will be the ones to disappear, taken by relatives to places beyond our borders and also to places such as Gauteng, where human trafficking abounds.
The use of drugs and alcohol has also increased, as is reflected in the number of people who are caught driving under the influence. When you look at all these figures and you relate them to the crime perpetrated against women and children, there is a very clear correlation.
We have a young community, with 71% being between the ages of 0 and 34. The kind of crime that is happening is related to drugs, alcohol and sex. As we move around the province, doing community outreach work, and when we engage some of the young people and ask them why they rape, they tell us that they rape as a form of entertainment since there are not enough sports facilities.
I am just trying to map out the route we have travelled since 1999 to now. What impact have we made on the country? We are aware that there are no quick-fix solutions for these social ills. We have various programmes as government, such as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, which is there to try to encourage the creation of jobs. We have a number of social welfare programmes that are there to bring poverty alleviation to communities. We have come up with the National Drug Master Plan to try to address the issues of substance abuse. We are addressing the many liquor outlets that are prevalent in our communities. Some are next to schools, some are even next to churches, and there seems to be no control. We feel that if we are to make progress and talk about eliminating violence against women and children, we have to take these practical steps.
During the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, we are going to ... [Time expired.]
In conclusion, Madam Chair, I would like to express our support for the 16 Days campaign.