It is therefore vital that the process of death registration be regulated and its integrity assured. Such a process, if not properly regulated and its integrity assured, could be open to abuse and could, in extreme cases, lead to serious social conflicts.
The Act did not have a provision for the designation of funeral undertakers for purposes of engaging in the activities relating to the registration of deaths. However, the Bill does make this provision and thus ensures that not all funeral undertakers are involved in the registration of deaths, but only those who comply with the prescribed requirements.
The Convention of the Rights of the Child, article 7, states, and I quote:
The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right, from birth, to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
A birth record is a statement of facts concerning an individual. It is a permanent legal record. Throughout life a person uses his or her certificate to prove age, parentage and citizenship. Not to register a child is to deny that child its citizenship rights enshrined in the Constitution.
To compromise the integrity of the National Population Register, is to risk national security. To build a caring society, we need to have a reliable database to enable us to plan development and effect the necessary social interventions.
Children are our tomorrow; let us treat them like the precious treasures they are.
Bagaetsho, dilo tse dingwe di tshwana le kgomo ya mo?ate, o a e gapa, o molato, o a e tlogela, o molato. Ke bona e kete Molao o o tlile go thusa bana ba rona, segolo bogolo jang ba ba tlhokang ba ba tshwanetseng ba kwadisiwe jaaka re utlwile fa DA e re bana ba tshwanetse go kwadisiwa ke mongwe le mongwe, fela re a itse gore go le gontsi bonweenwee bo kana kang mo nageng e ya rona e. Fa re tlogela gore bana ba kwadisiwe ke mongwe le mongwe re tla nna le bana ba le ba kae mo Aforika Borwa ba re tla bong re sa itse gore ba tswa kae, ba kwadisitswe ke bomang le gore ke bana ba bo mang.
Molao o, o fedisa dilo tse di ntseng jalo, gore go nne le batho ba ba tla kwadisang bana ka tsela e e latelwang mo Molaong, e seng re tsee mongwe le mongwe fela gore e nne ena yo o kwadisang ngwana fa a tsholwa mo lefatsheng.
Re a itse gore bana ba rona ba sotlega go le kana kang. Tshotlego ya bana e itsiwe ke rona rotlhe. Motlotlegi Mnqasela, o ka seka wa re ruta tshotlego ya bana mo malatsing a gompieno. Re a itse gore bana ba sotlega go le kana kang. Ke ka moo re tsayang matsapa a makanakana a go siamisa Melao e, gore e thuse bana mmogo le batsadi mo nageng e ya rona. Ke a leboga. [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Some things are difficult to deal with. It seems that this Act will be of help to our children, especially those who need to be registered - as the DA has already mentioned that these children must be registered by anyone despite the corruption that is experienced in our country. If we allow anyone to register those children, how many children will we have without knowing who their parents are.
This Act brings such things to an end; there should be appointed people who register these children in relation to the Act, not just anyone.
We all know the sufferings experienced by our children. Hon Mnqasela, you do not have to teach us about the sufferings endured by our children - we all know. This is the reason why we are taking effort to rectify these Acts so that they can help both the children and the parents in our country. I thank you. [Applause.]]