Hon Minister, Deputy Minister, hon members and distinguished guests, our former President and world icon Nelson Mandela said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." We must reflect on the past 18 years and ask ourselves how this democracy and freedom are protecting our children.
In light of the challenges, risks and obstacles that our children face today, this department is in part mandated to ensure the progressive realisation of children's rights and responsibilities by promoting and advancing the mainstreaming, co-ordination and monitoring of children's rights.
Despite these commitments and promises, children continue to suffer violence, abuse and exploitation every day. We will only flourish as a nation when we have succeeded in protecting every child from exploitation, violence, abuse and neglect.
We read every day in the newspapers how children are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. It is shocking to note that it is reported that child abuse is so rampant in South Africa that a child is raped every five minutes, and child abuse has skyrocketed by 108% since 1993.
Minister, the failure to protect children undermines national development and has costs and negative effects that continue beyond childhood into the individual's adult life. While children continue to suffer violence, abuse and exploitation, we fail them and we will also fail to meet our development aspirations as stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals.
This department has the potential to act as a watchdog and ensure that our government departments - who are implementing agents and have a direct obligation to children - are living up to their constitutional mandate.
In August 2011 there was only one name in the Child Protection Register and, in December, there were 22 names in the register. This is nowhere near an accurate reflection of all those convicted offenders who should be banned from working with children. Minister, you should be leading the campaign by demanding that more should be done to protect our children.
As the ID, we are concerned that only R13,5 million has been set aside for the department's children's rights and responsibilities programme as an overall budget, while R24,9 million is budgeted for travel and subsistence. How can it be that almost double the amount spent on promoting and realising children's rights is spent on expensive trips around the world?
We urge the Minister to provide strategic leadership to ensure efficient and effective use of these limited state resources so that they are utilised in the best interests of our children. We are tired of overexpenditure by this Ministry and the continued abuse of funds on unnecessary things, such as overseas trips and luxurious accommodation, while so many of our children suffer. I thank you. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF WOMEN, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: House Chair, hon Minister, hon members, distinguished quests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Before I start with my speech, I would like to say thank you very much for the warm welcome to this new Ministry.
I must say that, since I arrived here, I have never understood why travelling evokes such emotion amongst Members of Parliament. Unless members have been requested to do desk work - and then they should say so - so that they can sit comfortably in their luxurious offices, if they are at all luxurious, and not protect the rights of those we are mandated to protect. I think it is important that we understand each other, because I really need to be assisted on how we are going to protect the rights of women, the rights of children and the rights of disabled people by sitting in our offices.
I also find it very interesting that New York has become a pain in people's "somewhere". [Laughter.] That is where the headquarters of the United Nations is based. When Parliament ratifies these UN conventions that are intended to hold this country internationally accountable for what we do as a collective, why must we go and report the work that we do? I need assistance and guidance with that, because that is where we are collectively held to account as a member state.
If the Human Rights Council, which we are about as a department, sits in Geneva, you are then saying we should have a telephone conversation. I don't know. But I would need help. As a department, we also don't have concurrent functions. If we are to deal with provinces, we must physically go there to deal with the issues of children. Should we not travel? I need this House to assist me with that - because if we are to meet the obligations of this country, we are obligated to do a lot of travelling. [Interjections.]
Among the yardsticks by which to measure a society's respect for human rights, to evaluate the level of its maturity and its generosity of spirit, is by looking at the status that it accords to those members of society who are most vulnerable, disabled people, the senior citizens and its children. This is what former President Mbeki said in relation to the Integrated National Disability Strategy.
The recent exposure of incidents of child-on-child violence and the rape of young children with disabilities speak about the mental state of our nation, although it is not a new phenomenon.
The protection of children and women with disabilities from exploitation and sexual abuse is a constitutional obligation placed on every South African, in particular members of this august House, as you take your oath or affirmation when you take office.
The recent cases of the sexual abuse of young people with intellectual disabilities have once again brought to the attention of ordinary South Africans the realities disabled people and their families live with on a daily basis. Their abuse often goes unreported, but even if they do speak out, they are unlikely to be believed. It is, however, regrettable that this ongoing abuse has to go viral on social media before the South African society sits up and takes notice.
The media, regrettably, often unintentionally contribute to an environment in which the abuse of people with disabilities occurs by the manner in which they portray people with disabilities as powerless, helpless victims and objects of pity. That I extend to some of the members in the House. Disabled people are human beings, not things. [Applause.]
It is the responsibility of the media to ensure that they use the power of words and images responsibly, and that their reporting promotes a culture of respect, dignity and human rights of people with disabilities.
We would all agree that education remains a crucial weapon to liberate people from oppression. The hon Surty and I have agreed on critical areas for intervention in facilitating progressive access to education for the estimated 467 000 children with disabilities of compulsory school-going age - who are currently out of school - at the beginning of the 2013 school year. Particular attention will also be given to accelerating the pace of implementation of inclusive education, and the creation of safe environments in special schools. Hon Lamoela, please assist us, because 200 000 of those disabled children reside in the Western Cape province.
Similarly, we have also agreed with the Ministry of Higher Education and Training that the focus this year will fall on developing minimum norms and standards for the establishment of disability rights units at all institutions of higher education as well as at further education and training colleges. These units will, among other things, facilitate access to reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities. We have agreed with the Ministry of the Public Service and Administration, supported by the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration, on what will be done differently to achieve the set target by the set date, as the Minister and the chairperson have already alluded to.
Other focus areas this year will be on monitoring equal access for people with disabilities to government's economic empowerment programmes, such as the Jobs Fund, co-operatives development and the review of the sheltered employment workshops where we were all dumped, courtesy of the former government.
The majority of people with disabilities in South Africa live in rural areas and survive on social grants. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the National Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec, programme by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is therefore recognised as an important step in ensuring sustainable livelihoods for those with disabilities and their families.
We will be working with the department to mainstream disability considerations in the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, CRDP, by targeting the existing CRDP sites to ensure that the roll-out of rural infrastructure meets the requirements of universal access and design. This will contribute to the equalisation of opportunities and the building of inclusive rural communities. Our commitment to rural development also extends to universal access to health services. The department will monitor the roll-out of the National Health Insurance, NHI, in the 11 pilot districts to ensure compliance with our constitutional obligations to equity, equality and nondiscrimination.
Community-based rehabilitation is an important aspect of the provision of rehabilitation and assistive device services to people with disabilities in rural communities. We will work with the Department of Health in escalating the roll-out of these services.
We commend the Department of Health for the progressive steps they are taking to reposition mental health within the social model of disability, and for the affirmation of the rights of those with mental impairments.
Noting the tortoise-like pace of progress over the past 18 years in creating an inclusive society for all, we therefore have changed the approach to co-ordinating and consolidating our work in championing the national disability agenda.
The principle of self-representation by people with disabilities is non- negotiable. We acknowledge the representation from the judiciary to the legislatures, to the executives, as well as the Chapter 9 institutions.
We salute the ANC in its centenary year for having understood this important principle, and we pay tribute to those disabled leaders like the late Friday Mavuso and Maria Rantho, who picked up the spear when given the opportunity by the august liberation movement to lead. To the ANC and to those leaders who have led disabled people, we say, Aluta continua [the struggle continues].
We remain committed to ensuring that the face of HIV and Aids changes from that of a burden of a black woman to that of society in general. We will be monitoring the implementation of the national strategic plan and we have made contributions to the operational plan as it affects women, children and people with disabilities. We will take the opportunity to elaborate further on the programmes that will be implemented in our Budget Vote in the National Council of Provinces where the actual delivery will take place.
The sectors we represent remain the most affected by the scourge of poverty, which leads to many other challenges. Amongst them are teenage pregnancy, diseases, and it also ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]