Hon Speaker, my apologies, for my flu still prevails, so if I keep on attending to it ...
... akusho ukuzithanda nje, ukuthi ngiyaziqhenya cha ... [... It does not mean that I'm paying too much attention to myself; it's not in vanity.
I am dealing with a problem.
When we reaffirm the Constitution, let us also reaffirm the fundamental right to life. The right to life and the right to the safety and security of women and children are paramount.
While welcoming the significant decrease in overall serious crime, we once again strongly condemn the shocking, barbaric and inhuman cases of rape that have taken place in our motherland. They need to be condemned fully by all of us. [Applause.] Some of these have gone beyond women and girls, as there have been reports of boys being molested as well. We have directed the police to show no mercy to perpetrators of these crimes. As outlined by Minister Radebe in this debate, we will re-establish the Sexual Offences Courts to complement the work of the Sexual Offences Units in the SA Police Service. [Applause.]
However, there are aspects of this crime that go beyond the criminal justice system. The hon Mphahlele stated correctly that legislation alone would not be sufficient to liberate women from the yoke of male domination, and that we have to work on our attitudes in public and in private. The hon Motshekga, the Chief Whip of the Majority Party, reminded us that, as much as we develop interventions, programmes and campaigns to stem this tide, we can all agree that the roots of this violence and the notion that life is cheap can be traced back to our dark and unjust past. Therefore, we must look at what it is that we should be doing to prevent such horrendous crimes. How do we build stronger and more cohesive communities? We also need to look at how we can promote values that define human beings, such as respect for human life, respect for the next person and their property, basic ubuntu and other values that cement the social fabric of our society. I met with religious leaders last year, who raised the need for a national discussion, as they also felt something has seriously gone wrong in our society.
As we head towards the 20th anniversary of our freedom, we as leaders need to look into this matter seriously. We must build on the work of the Social Cohesion Summit that took place in Kliptown last year, and begin the work of healing the nation as various sectors of society. We need stable communities to participate actively in the transformation of society. The Department of Basic Education is already looking at inculcating values of nationhood at a very early age, promoting rights and responsibilities amongst children.
We acknowledge and applaud the good work of many civil society organisations that are raising awareness about violence against women and children, and the many other issues affecting society. In addition, we are happy that the National Assembly will host a debate on gender-based violence next week. As Madiba taught us, none of us, working alone, can achieve success; working together, we will do so much more.
The hon Kilian reminded us to look more broadly into other aspects that affect the status of women. She raised concerns about the Traditional Courts Bill. Indeed, since its introduction, the Bill has been criticised for being flawed for a number of reasons. Among these are the following: that it is unconstitutional, in that it prohibits legal representation in traditional courts; that it does not contain provisions to ensure that women form part of the courts, nor does it go far enough to ensure that women can participate actively in the deliberations of the courts; that it entrenches the Balkanisation of traditional communities in accordance with the boundaries of the old tribal authorities of the defunct Bantustans; that it restricts access to justice by denying the right of persons to opt out of the traditional justice system and pursue redress of their matters in courts of law.
All of these concerns, and more, should be addressed during the parliamentary processes, as the Bill is currently before Parliament. In other words, we have an opportunity to look at this Bill again, as Parliament, and therefore deal with those matters that we believe need to be rectified in it. So, we are going to have an opportunity to do so. [Applause.] As government, we have heard the concerns loudly and clearly, and that is why we believe the opportunity should not be missed once it comes back to Parliament.
Hon members spoke at length about education, which indicates that we are agreed on this being the Apex Priority in our country. We are happy with the huge increase in the number of children attending Grade R, from around 300 000 in 2009 to close to 800 000 at present. [Applause.] This demonstrates our determination to fix education from the foundations upwards, and we will certainly succeed in doing so, because we have examined what the pitfalls and problems in education are, and we are now applying remedies.
The hon Shenge takes issue with the Annual National Assessment, ANA, tests that measure literacy and numeracy levels. The first ANA results in 2011 supported our diagnosis that things needed to change in the basic education sector in order to produce better results. The Basic Education Delivery Agreement identified a number of required changes, including the introduction of workbooks and the training of teachers. These are being implemented. The 2012 ANA results indicate that these changes are starting to bear fruit in the lower grades.
In fact, on this matter, I think we can say we are now rising from centuries of problems in education. We are solving the problems. However, of course, in the process of raising these issues, uMntwana kaShenge felt it was necessary to raise the issue of the letter that he wrote to me after joining the opposition in the call for a no-confidence debate.
I certainly have no difficulty with the opposition joining hands. It defines a particular political landscape, in one sense, if you all understand what democracy is. People are free to choose partners, to choose those they can work with. [Laughter.] However, it does also define the fact that some people, as parties, find it difficult to have their own, distinct views on issues. [Applause.] They must hang onto others, and feel very proud. "We are together, we are together," they say. [Laughter.] Fine - that is democracy! [Applause.] [Interjections.]
The reality, however, is that it is always good in a democracy when there is a view you can identify - this is party X; this is party Y. Once it is blurred, you do not know which is which; it is a problem! [Laughter.] However, the critical point ... perhaps before I come to my critical point, I should explain something to you. You must differentiate between an alliance, which is not a party in Parliament, and parties, that are in Parliament individually, brought here by those who voted for their programmes. They come here and push other people's programmes. [Applause.]
The alliance is an alliance of organisations that was forged in the struggle. Those other parties are not here as individual parties. They are an alliance in a different way, so you cannot compare it. [Interjections.] Parties contest elections, and they are voted for ... [Interjections.]