Chairperson, I also greet ...
... Oomama abahleli phaya phezulu, abavela eGugulethu, kwaLanga naseMitchells Plain, njalo njalo. [... the people in the gallery who live in Gugulethu, Langa, Mitchells Plain, etc.]
The public outreach programme is a partnership between traditional leaders, represented by the National House of Traditional Leaders, and the Presidency. The programme seeks to engage government in reaching out to rural and traditional communities, while at the same time strengthening relations between traditional leaders and government.
Already, we have visited the houses of traditional leaders at Qaukeni, in the Eastern Cape, and others in Venda and Qwaqwa. All these visits are aimed at promoting the Moral Regeneration Movement and positive values; the use of African languages; the fight against HIV and Aids; youth development; service delivery; and improving relations between traditional leaders and government.
The issue of combating abuse against women and children was very central to the visit to Qwaqwa. There is a need for the traditional leaders to become centrally involved in promoting the combating of all forms of violence and abuse. This was more so in the case of this visit because it happened on the eve of the launch of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children for 2007, on Sunday, 25 November in the Free State.
We hope that the traditional leaders in that province will assist us to mobilise for the march of a million men and boys. The visits to and the work that we are doing with the National House of Traditional Leaders have led to the establishment of a committee on gender and on youth living with disabilities. The committee has already participated in the planning and, definitely, in the execution of the 16-days campaign.
The committee is also expected to draw up a plan that will include, amongst other things, year-long activities aimed at combating violence against women and children.
As indicated, further work will focus on the use of indigenous languages. However, I must also underline that with any activity that we undertake in the rural areas, it is important that traditional leaders are also involved.
We are developing programmes in partnership with the relevant institutions, also on moral upliftment, in our communities. This requires traditional leaders to play a leading role.
There are initiatives to improve relations between traditional leaders and municipalities, and in this case Salga, the SA Local Government Association, has provided leadership. There is a signed memorandum of understanding with Salga, which will be translated into programmes.
We also want to pay attention to better implementation of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, which is an Act that governs our relations and work with traditional leaders.