Chairperson, when the ANC came to power in 1994 we inherited a lot of poverty in the rural areas, characterised by overcrowding, underdevelopment and low levels of employment, or none at all, and access to basic services was nonexistent. There was no infrastructure at all.
This was due to the years of neglect of the former Bantustans by the apartheid government ... [Interjections.] ... in order to make them reserves, serving as a source of labour for mines and white commercial farms and as a dumping place for those not able to work in the white industrial farming areas, such as the elderly, women and children.
I think hon Kganare knows this very well, because he is a former secretary- general of an affiliate of Cosatu. The fact that he is angry doesn't mean that he is right about what he is saying. [Interjections.] I think we are creating a better life for the people in the rural areas.
Ke ngwana wa go belegelwa ga-Masemola, ke tseba go hlaki?wa le go hlokagala ga meetse. Ke tseba gore ge ke emelela goba ke tsoga mo mesong ke kgoromet?a kiribayi ke ye go ga meetse. Le gona bjale ke nyaka go bolela gore ke sa se dira seo ka baka la gore didiri?wa t?eo mmu?o o di beilego le meago yeo e lego gona, batho ba bangwe ba gaborena ba a di t?ea ka lebaka la gore ba senyegile ka mo ditlhaloganong; ba sent?we ke aparteiti. Ke ka moo e lego gore ge ke eya go yo etela motswadi wa ka, yo a nago le mengwaga e 85, ke sa nyake sehlopha sa babegaditaba gore se mpheleget?e. Ke dira seo ke tseba gore. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[I was born in ga-Masemola and I know their plight regarding access to water. I know that when I wake up, I have to push a wheelbarrow to get water. And I am still doing that, because even the facilities which the government has put in place, as well as the buildings, are being stolen and vandalised. People have lost a sense of humanity; they are damaged by apartheid. That is why usually, when I pay a visit to my parent, who is 85, I do not want media coverage. I do that knowing that ...]
... this is something that I must do for my mother, who cannot do it.
Ke a tseba gore bana ba kua ga-Masemola ge ba eya sekolong, ba sepela nako e telele. Se se bakwa ke eng? Se bakwa ke seo se bakilwego ke mmu?o wa pele. Bjale, ga ke nyake gore ge ke feleget?a bana sekolong, ke bit?e batho ba dikhamera, ba tlale ba nt?hale morago ke re ke bont?ha seo se diragalego bana, e le gore ke a it?hidolla ka polane ke rata go fokot?a mmele. Rena re se bone kgale seo, ga re i thute sona; ke seo re phelago re se dira. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[I know that in ga-Masemola learners walk long distances to and from school. Why is this? These are the consequences of apartheid. So I don't want media attention when I accompany learners to school in order to prove that. I am just exercising in a way, as I would like to lose weight. We've been doing that all along; it is not new to us; we do that on a daily basis.]
As a result of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, CRDP, leading to land and agrarian reform, food security has been identified as one of government's strategic priorities in terms of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework. The purpose of this priority is to improve the quality of life for rural livelihoods and also to enhance the country's food security through improving agricultural production. Through this implementation, infrastructure for basic services was provided in rural areas.
Batho ba Muyexe, Mhlontlo, Diyatalawa ... [The people of Muyexe, Mhlontlo, Diyatalawa ] ... bear testimony to what is happening. They see a future. They are not yet there, but there is a future for them.
The department has managed to create jobs, totalling 15 336. Of these, 3 936 were created through infrastructure development. [Interjections.]