Hon Chair, Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and all our visitors, thank you so much for sharing in our Budget Vote debate here with us today.
I want to start by paying tribute to all our social workers and dedicated staff who, with minimal resources, huge challenges and brave intentions, fight diligently to implement and monitor legislation made by us in this Parliament.
I also sincerely want to thank all nongovernmental organisations, nonprofit organisations and other civil-society organisations on whom we rely for 60% of welfare services and which tirelessly protect woman, children and people with disabilities against discriminatory action. This is the fourth year since the establishment of the Department of Woman, Children and People with Disabilities, yet the interest received for the investment of approximately R500 million is rather disappointing, and outcomes predicted or expected could not be achieved. Have we again failed our vulnerable groups?
Minister, you often reiterate that your department is not an implementing agent and that your role is limited to monitoring and co-ordination, yet monitoring of all your line departments on the implementation of legislation does not occur.
If the hon Minister is serious about fulfilling her mandate, she should take the lead in co-ordinating a multipronged approach across all government departments to ensure the best possible outcomes for the most vulnerable of society, which are women, children and people with disabilities.
Minister, in the March 2011 review of equity and child rights you said, and I quote:
Childhood should be a happy time for all children. It should be a time when children have opportunities to grow, learn and develop, receive love and care, play freely, feel safe and protected, be healthy, etc.
You then made a commitment that, for the sake of the wellbeing of all children, be it in rural or urban areas, you would be working with all other Ministers of departments and other partners to ensure that no child was left behind.
Though we have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, we have failed in our commitment to make sure that we meet international and regional standards in the realisation of child rights.
Voorsitter, ek noem hierdie dinge, want tydens my onlangse besoek aan die Oos-Kaap was ek geskok om te vind dat kinders in Helenvale, Sewende Laan en Kleinskool - nedersettings van plus- minus 40 jaar oud - in die haglikste omstandighede leef. Ek het dit met my eie o gesien.
Hulle leef in omstandighede waar daar geen toilette is nie, en waar emmertoilette vir ses tot agt weke nie verwyder word nie. Hierdie emmers word dan deur kinders in die nabygele Chattyrivier leeggemaak omdat die ongerief nie langer verduur kan word nie.
Oorvol skole, 'n ho misdaadsyfer, behuisingstekorte en grootskaalse werkloosheid is aan die orde van die dag. Minister, ek het eensklaps besef dat hier definitief geen sprake van u stelling in sig is nie, en ek haal weer aan, "Childhood should be a happy time for all children." Of was dit net vir die plattelandse gebied van Nkandla bedoel?
Daar sal ook bitter min in hierdie finansile jaar vir hulle gedoen kan word omdat u departement se begroting vir die kinderregteprogram gekrimp het, terwyl die begroting vir administrasie die hoogte ingeskiet het met 61% van die totale begroting.
Voorwaar, ek kan nie anders nie as om vanoggend saam met Minister Trevor Manuel te stem toe hy ges het dat die regering van die dag nie langer apartheid vir hul onbevoegdheid en mislukking kan blameer nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, I am mentioning these things, because during my recent visit to the Eastern Cape I was shocked to find that children in Helenvale, Sewende Laan and Kleinskool - informal settlements of plus-minus 40 years old - are living in the most appalling conditions. I saw that with my own eyes.
They live in conditions where there are no toilets, and where bucket toilets have not been emptied for six to eight weeks. These buckets are then emptied by children in the Chatty River nearby, because the discomfort has become intolerable.
Overcrowded schools, a high crime rate, housing shortages as well as a high unemployment rate are the order of the day. Minister, all of a sudden I realised that in this instance there is no visible evidence of your statement, and I again quote: "Childhood should be a happy time for all children". Or does this statement only apply to the rural area of Nkandla?
Very little will be done for them during this financial year as well, because your department's budget for the programme on the rights of the child has been decreased while the budget for administration has risen steeply to 61% of the total budget.
Indeed, I have no alternative this morning but to agree with Minister Trevor Manuel when he said that the government of the day can no longer blame apartheid for their incompetence and failures.]
During our oversight visit to the department in Pretoria - surprisingly, the report on this oversight trip is, since the end of March to date, not yet complete - it became quite clear that the working conditions of your staff, staff that are mostly women, are completely unsatisfactory. Surprisingly, these women were too scared to even answer questions relating to their jobs. Some admitted that the conditions are not conducive. Untidy offices, dirty carpets, and no air conditioning greeted us on the first and second floors. It was a different situation on the other floors. Confidential documents, such as CVs and applications for advertised posts, were on the floors, as no files were available. A staff member in the communications section was sharing a desktop computer with someone else. No tools of the trade, Minister! Only after our intervention was he given a laptop.
Since the establishment of the National Council Against Gender-based Violence, costing millions, very little regarding this council is known. Six months down the line and we still need answers on the mandate of the council, the budget of the council, the establishment of the council and its achievements thus far.
During Question time in the House, the chairperson of the council, Deputy President Motlanthe, also seemed doubtful when answering questions. At least he was frank and open to the suggestion to get this council up and running.
In the meantime, our women, children and people with disabilities are still being abused, raped and murdered, and one tends to think that all previously established task teams, intersectoral committees and councils should be combined, working with a holistic approach, to ensure a compassionate, caring, safe society that could lead to a better life for all our vulnerable people.
The department's website is also an absolute mess. Clearly, very little maintenance takes place. So, it is impossible for ordinary South Africans to access any documents or information on what the department has done or is planning to do. The only message I received was: system offline. No government can flourish if it stifles the dreams of half its population. Unless those leading the department embrace the importance of compassion and care for the most vulnerable, the outcomes of the programmes implemented will be restricted.
You have failed dismally, Minister, at being at the frontline in overseeing the performance of line departments tasked with implementing policies and programmes aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable groups. Amidst the spiralling statistics of rape and crime, you lack vision for this department in achieving an inclusive society, free from unfair discrimination, inequality, abuse and exploitation.
Instead of taking advice from members of the committee - sound, opposition political advice - you prefer to verbally attack members when questions are addressed to you, with a rather negative attitude when replying to concerns about your department's administration and skewed spending priorities.
The wellbeing, care and safety of women, children and people with disabilities cannot remain a whispered dream. Minister, we cannot allow you to be the only survivor in this department. Vulnerable groups such as women, children and people with disabilities need to be the survivors. We dare not allow these groups to perish and we will not allow you to make a mockery of their suffering, abuse, rape and murder. I quote from one of the many letters received from one of your officials who resigned in disgust:
Unfortunately, I resigned from the employ of the department because of a lack of integrity, professionalism and mutual respect through all structures of the department. I resorted to rather being unemployed ...
A woman says this in a women's department -
... than being part of such a pathetic organisation. My reputation is already damaged. From being on top of my career to hitting rock bottom didn't do me any good.
One cannot think that this is happening, but it is happening and I have the proof.
In conclusion, I quote, "As the past is interesting to all of us, the future is more."
On behalf of the DA and people like the official just mentioned, children and the disabled, I therefore call on your department to be scrapped in order to free the vulnerable groups of society from your clutches and for them to be where their human rights can be respected. This department can be taken up in either Social Development, or it needs to go back to the Presidency. I thank you. [Applause.]