Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, the department, ladies and gentlemen, I'm dedicating this speech to my son who has cerebral palsy and to all other children with disabilities. Parents should never lose hope when their children are born with certain disabilities. [Applause.]
With the new dispensation after 1994, the ANC-led government put programmes in place to encourage inclusivity - that's English - in society. [Applause.]
The ANC government has a lot to celebrate in the area of removing barriers faced by women with disabilities and in creating an environment conducive to all people with disabilities. In spite of these achievements, there is still a long way to go before we can all declare that we have made a significant difference in making it easy for people with disabilities to learn, work, play and pray in environments that provide them with adequate support.
The ANC calls on the department to heed its call when it says that we should improve services to people with disabilities, especially in the rural areas. Special consideration must be given to accommodate people with disabilities within poverty reduction and economic empowerment programmes. Government and public buildings must be made accessible to people with disabilities, thus the universal access design framework by the department must be finalised.
Society's efforts must be redoubled and focused on the elimination of barriers that limit participation. Disabled people should be treated as equals in society and the economy. This can be achieved by leveraging South African laws and domesticating the United Nations provisions in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in order to achieve the above. As a country, we do not have a scarcity of laws.
The ANC government has enacted various laws which are aimed at bringing about a society which eliminates the inequality faced by women based on sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, class and geography. We call upon the department to implement these laws and to follow up on their implementation through regular, targeted and systematic monitoring of their impact on the lives of people with disabilities.
The role of monitoring and implementing these laws should also relate to other departments to see whether they are, in fact, consciously setting out, in their planning processes, to achieve the legislative mandate of the department.
Our challenge is that we are sometimes overwhelmed by these laws. We have little or no knowledge at all of their existence and therefore we may fail to insist on seeing them implemented. This is where it becomes important to get the department to conduct awareness and empowerment activities and to facilitate access for people with disabilities to networks where they, too, can empower one another and conduct joint advocacy.
In creating these platforms, the department should not run inaccessible and elitist high-flown workshops. As the ANC government, we have to meet the people in their places of comfort, speak the language they understand and explain ourselves when we fail to live up to their expectations.
Society must recognise that children have rights which are enshrined in the Constitution. These rights include the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act of 2007, the Films and Publications Act of 2009, the South African Schools Act of 1996, and the National Education Policy Act of 2010. In these laws, provision is also made for children with disabilities.
A recent report on the representation of people with disabilities in the public sector is cause for concern. The report revealed that over a seven- year period disability representation within the Public Service grew from 0,16% in December 2005 to 1,4% by March 2013.
Reported challenges that feature strongly include inaccessible workplaces in many government buildings and the different interpretation about and attitude towards the provision of reasonable accommodation. These factors appear to contribute significantly to the failure to recruit, employ and retain persons with disabilities. With regard to disability, the Public Service failed to reach the 2% target set by Cabinet for March 2010.
The ANC calls on the department to collaborate with its sister departments to effect change to the above picture. In this regard, we note with appreciation the report from the Department of the Public Service and Administration in which it says that the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy, Palama, and the Department of Labour, are building capacity and encouraging compliance with the law by meeting equity targets.
In its 2013-14 strategic plan, the department acknowledges that it remains an indisputable fact that women, children and people with disabilities continue to bear the burden of inequality, a burden compounded by poverty, the HIV pandemic and inadequate access to health care and health care systems, and a burden that is also exacerbated by violence perpetrated against them.
The ANC acknowledges the many achievements that have been recorded, but calls upon the Ministry to redouble its efforts to remove the barriers in the way of fulfilling the dreams and aspirations of people with disabilities, particularly women and children.
I think I still have time. Mrs Lamoela, you should not be selective when dealing with matters. You are trying to score political points here, as far as I can see. It seems as if you don't understand your role as a Member of Parliament. You are supposed to hold the Minister accountable - yes - but that was not a favour. [Interjections.]
The ANC supports this Budget Vote. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!] [Applause.]
HON MEMBERS: Igama lamakhosikazi! [The name of women!]