Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, chair of the portfolio committee, distinguished guests, members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, let me start by saying that right from the committee's inception when it was formed in 2009, I was fortunate to be a member.
I must confess that in four years, this is the first time I've heard such fiery and inspiring speeches as I have today ... [Applause.] ... especially speeches that are not based on the paperwork we do in our offices but speeches that are very inspiring based on what is happening out there on the ground.
Let me say that we are told - and this is in addressing the issue - that our core function is to co-ordinate, evaluate and monitor what the department does as far as the rights of women, children and disabled people are concerned. The point is: I think we are somehow misfiring if we throw punches at the Minister. This is like our turning her into a punchbag. The truth is that when things are not happening ... I was there when we called for reports from different departments - Police, Health - all the departments that are in our Ministries. We asked them what they were doing about the rights of women, the rights of children and the rights of people with disabilities.
Some of the departments submitted reports, and those reports were far from satisfactory. That is something that must not be blamed on the Minister, but on those departments. Some of the departments hardly submitted reports. We went to the extent of discussing this with the Minister, and she took the matter up with the President so that they could raise the whole matter with Cabinet. Now I'm surprised. You remind me of De Klerk when he said, "Don't play the man, play the ball." In other words, don't kick the man, kick the football if you want to play soccer.
I'm surprised that we are directing our attacks at the Minister when she has done the best she can ... [Applause.] ... including laying at her door the maladministration and the report thereon. She mentioned right at the beginning that she appointed a commission of inquiry to investigate the corruption and maladministration that exist.
Fa ne mme a re mme iname, o setse a iname, nna ga ke itse gore o batla a iname jang ka gore ... [Setshego.] [You earlier challenged her to put her department in order, and she has already done that. Now I am surprised, because what do you really expect her to do ... [Laughter.]
She has already taken corrective measures. The people who were involved, the high officials that were involved in corruption, have already been fired. New people have been employed, and appropriate and corrective measures have been taken.
Ka nnete ga ke bone gore o tla inama jang ka gore janong go inama ga teng o iname ebile o se a baakanye se se tshwanetseng go baankangwa. [Truly, she has already put appropriate measures in place. What else is she supposed to do? There are initiatives under way to address these problems.]
I want to talk about our international activities. We have been signatories to United Nations protocols. We have signed conventions, and this is because we are measuring ourselves and we are complying with what nations of the world are saying about the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. This is very important.
When the Minister spoke about women who are creative in the rural areas in manufacturing - selling things and making a livelihood for themselves without sitting back and crying - I was so inspired. She referred to the Department of Trade and Industry. I thought I heard Rob somewhere around. I would like to encourage him to give more support, because there is no way that we are going to solve the problem of poverty if we don't pull ourselves up by our bootsstraps - stand up for ourselves.
Ga bomme ba sa eme ba tshwara thipa ka fa bogaleng. [This can only be achieved if women continue to participate in the socioeconomic projects to eradicate poverty.]
We will never solve the problem of poverty, because that is what is at the core of all these problems, including the violence against women.
When the husband is not employed, he has to go back home to children with empty stomachs and a mother who also has an empty stomach. He doesn't know how to feed his family for the evening because he is unemployed. When we have that, there will never be peace and stability in our society. When people take the initiative - something the Minister and the Deputy Minister referred to in their speeches today - and use their own means and ways to add value to their lives and have a livelihood, that is so inspiring. We don't depend on anybody to liberate us economically. Just as we were politically our own liberators, economically we are going to be our own liberators. I want go give an example. It is said by experts that out of the 10 fastest growing countries in the world, six of them are in Africa. I went to the library and checked. One of those countries is Nigeria. Nigeria is growing economically at a rate of 12% per year. Analysts say that one of the most important reasons it is growing so fast - apart from its oil wealth - is that Nigerians are entrepreneurs. Everybody there is selling something, trying to make a livelihood for him- or herself and not complaining about unemployment.
We can even see them here in South Africa, though at times they are a bit naughty here. [Laughter.] Nigeria is growing very fast, at 12%, because Nigerians are trying their best to add value to their lives. Everybody is entrepreneurial, everybody is acquiring skills and everybody is selling something to make their livelihood. There is no such thing as sitting back and crying for leftovers or hand-outs. Everybody there is out fighting to make a living.
If that spirit grows in South Africa, as we have heard from the Minister, where women in the rural areas - the women, who are the backbone of our nation - start to stand on their own two feet and don't beg for jobs from anybody, but look around and see how they can make a livelihood, it will strengthen the philosophy. I think that is what is going to save our nation.
When I started and said that the speeches were very inspiring, it was because of this feature of a nation, which is doing things for itself and not depending on other nations like America. America will never depend on South Africa, to be honest. If South Africans stand up on their own and do things for themselves, I think we will be on the right path towards growth; towards addressing issues of poverty and stabilising our own society.
This is where the Minister started, and what the Deputy Minister emphasised. That is why I thought, irrespective of the challenges in our Ministry, that if the attitude is to address challenges and not just pointing out the failures, and to find means and ways of addressing them, that is something we should all be proud of.
The portfolio committee and all its members have worked very hard to address the issues of women, children and people with disabilities. As I have said, we have put the issues of women, children and people with disabilities high on the agenda in the National Development Plan. I therefore wish to support the Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]