Hon Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and all our distinguished guests, good morning to you all. Academics often say that deep-rooted sociohistorical legacies have led to the high prevalence of sexual abuse in South Africa. They may be right.
However, at times like these we must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough to protect our women, children and people with disabilities? What role can each one of us play in preventing rape? What is the role of our government in this regard?
This year our country's democracy turned 18. Just as when a child turns 18 and attains adulthood, our country is at a point where we must be prepared to take responsibility for the welfare of our people. The recent brutal gang rape of a young, mentally disabled girl in Soweto - the Minister was at her home - sent a shockwave through our country. As a nation we all feel ashamed.
We recently read of the rape and assault of a young, disabled boy by a woman and a girl, and the alleged rape of a 19-year-old, mentally challenged woman in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. When I learnt of the 8- year-old, Grade 2 pupil who landed up in hospital after she had been raped, throttled and had her eye gouged out, I was shocked to my core.
These are only a few cases that we know of. What about the thousands of other cases that go unreported? According to Interpol, South Africa is the rape capital of the world, with fewer than 1% of rapes reported to the police. As a nation, we are failing our women and children. This government is failing our women and children. [Interjections.]
The Minister's department is responsible for promoting, facilitating, co- ordinating and monitoring the realisation of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. In these recent cases, children have had their rights stripped from them, and it is forever stripped.
As usual, I will, no doubt, be accused of playing politics with this issue. I cannot keep quiet about what is so obviously a failure of our government to protect these young people's rights to dignity and security of person. After all, Minister, it is your job to protect the most vulnerable members of our society. [Interjections.] It is also my job to make sure that you do. [Interjections.]
We must ask ourselves whether we really place a high priority on the importance of the rights of vulnerable people in our country. If this is true, why do we still have no compensation for victims of rape, abuse or violence? Why do we still have too few social workers, therapists and clinical psychologists who can counsel victims of abuse as well as their families?
This department spends millions on campaigns and events. that make little impact on the suffering of the most vulnerable South Africans. [Interjections.] The Minister often reiterates that her department is not an implementing agent. We know that its role is limited to monitoring and co-ordination. That is exactly how she has countered criticism on the underspending in key programmes in her department, and justified its skewed spending priorities.
The DA has been monitoring the performance of your department closely, Minister. The poor financial management and inappropriate spending priorities have become the defining characteristics of this department. [Interjections.] The department's failure to effectively spend the budgets in its Rights of Persons with Disabilities programme is tantamount to the violation of the rights of South Africans with disabilities.
It is for this reason that, in April, the DA requested the SA Human Rights Commission to investigate the failure of the department to realise and protect the rights of people with disabilities. [Interjections.] This constitutes a massive failure on the part of this department.
There is an urgent need for this department to take the lead in co- ordinating a multipronged approach across government to fight rape and sexual abuse. The Minister should take the lead in facilitating - and we will help to co-ordinate - between key departments such as Health, Social Development, Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, and Police, and ensure that a comprehensive strategy is developed to address issues facing women, children and people with disabilities.
Proper oversight and co-ordination must also be carried out by your department over the Justice department in order to strengthen our criminal justice system in its protection of vulnerable South Africans. Minister, if you are serious about monitoring, co-ordinating and facilitating the empowerment of vulnerable groups, then you need to address the following as a matter of urgency, and the DA proposes the following. The SA Police Service - and I do not know if you know about this - plans to downscale victim-friendly facilities where crime victims, particularly women and children, can be interviewed and counselled in private, and where they are offered support by professional social workers. Minister, you should not allow this to happen, as we desperately need these services, especially in our rural areas.
You should campaign to reinstate the family violence, child abuse and sexual offences units. In the year before these units were disbanded, 66 units dealt with 60 000 cases and made more than 28 000 arrests.
You should campaign for the institution of special rape courts. We in the DA believe that the establishment of special rape courts will go a long way towards achieving justice for victims of rape. [Interjections.]
You should campaign for the much-needed reinstatement of the SA Narcotics Bureau, which was disbanded in 2004. And, very importantly, Minister, you should co-ordinate a programme where young boys and men interrogate the concept of masculinity, and reframe their roles as men, fathers, husbands, brothers and uncles, against a background of protection, rather than domination. [Interjections.]
Verlede week, toe ek 'n besoek aan die begrotingskomitee gebring het, was ek uiters geskok om te vind dat amptenare van u departement rondskarrel om aan die komitee 'n verduideliking te gee ten opsigte van die oorbesteding van die begroting rakende reise en administrasie, die oorskryding van voorgestelde kerwe vir die besoldiging van poste - en die verduideliking was dat sekere amptenare meer ondervinding het en dit is waarom hulle meer geld kry - deur die Departement vir die Staatsdiens en Administrasie en die onderbesteding aan programme, veral vir gestremdes.
Dit is duidelik dat die bevoegdheid en kapasiteit om aan hul mandaat te voldoen, ontbreek. Dit is duidelik dat hierdie departement nie weet dat hulle slegs dit wat deur die Nasionale Tesourie aan hulle toegeken is, kan bestee nie.
Dit is duidelik dat die Nasionale Tesourie hulle nou moet leer en help, en 'n onderneming is aan die begrotingskomitee gegee oor hoe hulle hul begroting sal bestee. Dit is uiters duidelik dat, na drie jaar, hierdie departement nog nie weet dat oorbesteding in die huidige jaar van die volgende jaar se begroting verhaal word nie. Die impak van so 'n voorval kan verpletterende gevolge vir die departement se strategiese plan h.
'n Uiters groot gebrek aan kundigheid, veral finansile kundigheid, heers in u departement. Na drie jaar word die grootste gedeelte van u departement se begroting nog altyd aan administrasie bestee - en nie aan programme waarby vroue, kinders en mense met gestremdhede kan baat nie.
Respek moet gekweek word vir die betydse voltooiing van verslae deur alle lyndepartemente. Dit bly 'n bron van kommer wanneer selfs internasionale verslae, soos die verslag vir die UN Convention on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, nog nie voltooi is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Last week, when I paid a visit to the budget committee, I was completely shocked to find that officials of your department were scurrying about to provide the committee with an explanation for overspending the budget regarding travel and administration, for exceeding the proposed notches for the remuneration of posts - and the explanation for this is that because certain officials have more experience, they receive more money - by the Department for the Public Service and Administration and for the underspending on programmes, especially those for the disabled.
It is clear that the competence and capacity to deliver on their mandate are lacking. It is clear that this department does not know that it may spend only that which is allocated to it by the National Treasury. It is clear that the National Treasury should now train and assist them, and an undertaking has been given to the budget committee about how they intend to spend their budget. It is extremely clear that, after three years, this department still does not know that overspending in the current year is recovered from the following year's budget. The impact of such an incident can have devastating consequences for the department's strategic plan.
An extremely large dearth of expertise, particularly financial expertise, exists in your department. After three years, the greatest portion of your department's budget is still spent on administration - and not on programmes from which women, children and people with disabilities may benefit.
It is necessary to cultivate respect for the timely completion of reports by all line departments. It remains cause for concern that even international reports, such as the report for the UN Convention on Women, Children and People with Disabilities, has not been completed.]
The Constitution expressly states that the Bill of Rights is the cornerstone of our democracy. It preserves the rights of all our people - of all our people - and upholds the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil these rights.
Hon Minister, your department should play a significant role in realising these rights for vulnerable and marginalised women, children and people with disabilities. As it stands, it is not clear how your department is working to improve the lives of women, children and people with disabilities.
So tell us your plan to uphold the rights of those you claim to champion. Show us, Minister, that your Ministry cares about the vulnerable South Africans it is supposed to protect. [Interjections.] And, Minister, prove to us that your Ministry matters. I thank you. [Applause.]