There is a screen, Minister, to see the time.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Oh, thank you, Chairperson.
I want to thank hon members for their valuable contribution to our budget debate. Indeed, there was an outcry from the chairperson, the hon Mabe, on the 0,01% budget or slice that we are getting from the national Budget. We say: Her cry is our cry also. On the Saartjie Baartman Centre, the hon Worth should actually talk to his MEC who appeared on television - the public broadcaster - to make a commitment that he would see to it that the centre would not close. I think it is high time that the DA kept their promises. I also remember in 2010, just a month after I was appointed to this Ministry, we went with the honourable Zille to Khayelitsha during the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. One of the homes we visited was that of an 82-year-old woman who was blind and living in a shack, and young people just came in and kicked down the door and stole all her food. She promised that she would prioritise housing for her, but to date this old woman is still living there.
I also want to thank the hon Themba for her call on all members of society to fight the scourge of gender-based violence. We welcome the fact that hon members support the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence, and also request all members in their constituencies to support victims of violence and abuse.
The hon Ntwanambi has just sent me a note in which she says that Umhlobo Wenene FM announced two days ago that a five-year old, a seven-year-old and a two-year-old girl were raped by their father in Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape - a father who is suffering from Aids. I think we must all make sure that that monster dies in jail - awelwe ngumgodi [and rots there]. I will make a commitment to contact the hon Majodina, who is very committed and working on these issues, so that we can give her all the necessary support.
I agree with the Deputy Minister that indeed some of us qualify in that we have already joined the disabled sector. Some of us are now struggling to read because we forgot our glasses. The hon Deputy Minister also alluded to some of the programmes that we have prioritised and that hon members referred to, so I will not deal with them.
Hon Ngubeni-Maluleka, we thank you for your support and reference to the National Disability Machinery meeting, which was convened by the Deputy Minister. Indeed, we are still far away from accessible housing, inclusive education, meeting the 2% target and accessible public transport. Also, we have not budgeted for the tools that are required for people with disabilities in the workplace.
We also have to make sure that the performance assessments of the directors- general and heads of departments are linked to their performance in promoting the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. [Applause.] If this does not happen, we will never realise the 2% and the 50:50 targets that we have set for our government and for the private sector.
We want to see accessible housing, accessible transport, accessible schools and accessible courts, including sign language in the courts. I note that sometimes we don't have sign language here in the House, hon Chair. Imagine if you are blind and you are supposed to go to court and are expected to identify the culprit, how can you be assisted by government? Or, if you are deaf and you are supposed to go and present your case and nobody understands sign language at the police stations, at the courts, at the clinics, at the hospitals - how are you supposed to present your case?
So all of these issues are the challenges that as government we still have to face and address. I am sorry, hon Chair, but I could not understand what the hon member from Cope was saying. He was just reading newspapers. I think he is thoroughly confused. I don't know if he comes from the Cope which is under the tree or the Cope that was in the hall. [Laughter.] He was confused also about the former president of the ANC, former President Thabo Mbeki. He never was confused; he never joined Cope. He is a member of the ANC. [Applause.] Just like former President Nelson Mandela is a member of the ANC until the day he dies. So, all those people who are confused, please don't come and confuse us in the House.
I want to thank the hon Nzimande for his contribution. I want to assure him that our entire disability programme is structured around the universal accessibility campaign. We have integrated it into our road shows with the executive councils in provinces, with universities and with companies, and we have also integrated it into our messages wherever we address communities or meetings. This campaign has been spearheaded by the Deputy Minister, and she launched it during Disability Month in November 2011.
We will also work towards finalising the minimum norms and standards for universal access and accreditation for auditing and advocacy of financial models for financing the disability sector. We are also working on pilot sites, such as the Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality, to assist municipalities to understand universal access in the planning and design of their programmes.
I also want to agree with the hon Nzimande that South Africa is leading the whole of the African continent, and the world is looking at us for examples of best practice. We are the only country in the world that has a Ministry that is dedicated to people with disabilities. We are the only country that has a Deputy Minister with disabilities. We are the only country in the world that has 18 Members of Parliament with disabilities, and all of them are probably from the ANC. [Applause.]
Therefore we are working very closely with the African continent in this, the African Decade for Persons with Disabilities. The secretariat is based here in South Africa, and we are working closely with them. I also want to say to hon members that we will work hard to revive and restrengthen the Europe-Africa disability partnership, because we need those partnerships. Of course, right now they have their own financial crisis, but we will make sure that we revive that and remind them not to leave Africa outside.
I also want to assure the hon Nzimande that we are working on the Annual National Assessments, Ana. The first batch has been delivered, and we will ensure through the Deputy Minister's programmes that we prioritise Ana as we understand its importance.
Right now, hon members, we are reviewing our disability policy and we hope to table that and share that with Members of Parliament quite soon. The draft is already there, but we are still finalising consultations.
As we go to the United Nations in September, under the leadership of the Deputy Minister, I hope that MPs will have deliberated both on the disability policy and on the report that we will be tabling at the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and that hon members will have made their inputs and looked at that report.
Also, Chairperson, I hope that one or two of your members will accompany the Deputy Minister as we go to the UN in New York to report on the progress that has been made with people with disabilities in South Africa.
Finally, I want to thank our officials, including our director-general, our deputy directors-general, who are here with us and who have walked the path with us. I want to inform hon members that last year in November we lost one of our deputy directors-general, Adv Nozipho Mabhena, but I am happy to say that we are welcoming a new deputy director-general today, Ms Thandiwe Mxenge, who has just been appointed by Cabinet. We are very happy to have her here amongst us. Phakama. [Stand up.] [Applause.]
I also want to thank the select committee that has really walked the path with us and has kept us on our toes to ensure that we are accountable to Parliament in our work. I also thank the NGOs and our international development partners, such as Unicef, UN Women, the United Nations Population Fund, the UN Development Programme, and organisations and agencies such as the Industrial Development Corporation, Xstrata and many others that have supported this department. I therefore hope that we will continue to work together to face the challenges that still confront women, children and people with disabilities, especially the challenges of violence and abuse of our women and children. I thank you, hon Chairperson. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.