Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers present in the House, hon Members of Parliament, distinguished guests in the gallery, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all. Education is indispensable to social and economic development and to the future of our youth. Education in our country was used as an instrument of subjugation. Now we want it to be an instrument of liberation and empowerment.
With education we can advance the ideals of our Constitution. We can promote democracy, nonracialism, nonsexism, decent standards of living and security for all, and fight inequality. The National Development Plan, NDP, is a long-term strategic plan of what the ANC government wants to achieve by 2030 to ensure that all South Africans attain a decent standard of living through the elimination of poverty and reduction in inequality. Among the core elements of a decent standard of living identified in the NDP is education.
Allow me, Chairperson, to touch on the issues raised by hon Lovemore when she came up here and had the guts to talk about radical and massive change when it comes to educational issues. As I was sitting there, I was wondering what hon Lovemore was talking about? What is the definition that she can put when she talks of massive change? As me, I was wondering, because in the Western Cape, where the Department of Basic Education is under the leadership of her party, we find unprocedural processes of closing down schools. [Interjections.] You have to listen, that is why I said unprocedural processes of closing down schools when it comes to the department of basic education in the Western Cape.
I was asking if that is the massive change that hon Lovemore was talking about. When you go around the Western Cape and visit farms owned by most of the people coming from her party, we find that learners experience unconducive conditions. If you ask, who are those learners going to those schools? Most of the time those are the children of farm workers, and I then ask myself, is this really the massive change that hon Lovemore is talking about? [Applause.] If it is so, I do not think that is the change that we need to follow as a country.
The question of creating a caring and supporting learning and teaching environment for learners and educators is at the core of our efforts to ensure access to quality education for all. This speaks directly to our task of addressing health, social and emotional barriers that prevent learners from participating fully in teaching and learning activities. The ANC believes that every school should inspire learners and educators to want to come to school and learn and teachers to teach to the best of their potential.
We debate this Budget Vote against the backdrop of three disturbing events, where satanic activities claimed the lives of children in schools; increased incidents of bullying, and, where we saw learners leaving their classes to join protest marches or service delivery protests. As the ANC, we condemn such behaviours and wish that learning should take place unhindered and in a caring and supportive environment. We strongly call for that since education has been made a societal issue in our country. Let us see all communities making sure that education is treated as a priority and a societal issue.
When hon Mpontshane came to speak on the podium today, yes, he delivered a very good speech ... [Applause.] ... but I was concerned again ...
... ukuthi kanti umuntu usheshe akhohlwe ngale ndlela. Uma umhlonishwa uMpontshane ekwazi ukuma impela phambi kwezakhamuzi zonke zaseNingizimu Afrika akhulume, agxeke ukuthi ezemfundo ziqhutshwa kanjani, okwenzeka ezikoleni aphinde akhulume nangezinto ezithinta izakhiwo zezikole.
Ngiyafisa ukumkhumbuza umhlonishwa uMpontshane ukuthi mina naye singavumelana kulokhu ukuthi sivela esiFundazweni saKwaZulu-Natali lapho inhlangano yakhe ibuse khona iminyaka eminingi. Ngonyaka we-1994 uma uKhongolose ethatha umbuso, isimo esizifice zikuso ezemfundo kulesiya sifundazwe kube yisimo esishaqisa igazi. Kodwa njengamanje ngiyafisa ukukhumbuza umhlonishwa ukuthi yimaphi amagxathu asenzekile la, nalapho kubonakala khona ukuthi ngempela ukhona uhulumeni wabantu futhi uyazilungisa izinto ezinjalo? [Ihlombe.]
Kukho konke ngiyafisa uma umhlonishwa uMpontshane ekhuluma nangokwenatshiswa kwezinsiza uma kufundiswa, ngingabalula isigameko esisodwa ngaphansi kohulumeni wenhlangano yakhe wawubona ngomgwaqo omuhle owenziwe obonisa ukuthi uya esikoleni lapho mhlawumbe kunenkosikazi yomholi wenhlangano yakhe. Ubone ukuthi yiwona mgwaqo owenziwe. [Ubuwelewele.] Yilapho ngizibuza khona ukuthi yikho yini lokhu ukusatshalaliswa kwezinsiza zokufundisa lezi akwazi ukuzoma la akhulume ngazo. [Ubuwelewele.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[... that a person easily forgets. Can hon Mpontshane can actually stand in front of all South African citizens, and criticize the processes of the Department of Education and further touch on the schools infrastructure?
I wish to remind hon Mpontshane - and he can agree with me - that we both come from the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where his party ruled for many years. In 1994 when the ANC took over, the state of the educational system in that province was shocking. I now wish to remind the hon member about the stages that have unfolded here which prove that indeed there is a democratic government and it is fixing such things. [Applause.]
In all that has been said, I wish that when hon Mpontshane talks about the distribution of educational resources, I can mention one incident under the leadership of his party, and that is that you would find a tarred road leading to a school where there was perhaps a wife of a leader of his party teaching at that school. And that would be the only tarred road. [Interjections.] That is when I asked myself if that was the kind of distribution of educational resources that he stood up here to talk about. [Interjections.]]