Hon member, indeed you are correct. I think all stakeholders, whether they are members of unions or members of governing bodies or political parties, have a particular responsibility regarding the interests of the child in the Eastern Cape. In that regard we have to work together.
The information which I could share with the House - because it was put in such a dignified way - is that the agreement that the hon member might be referring to in the original question is one that was facilitated by the secretariat of Cosatu and ANC alliance partners, especially the secretary- general of Cosatu. The parties involved, we understand, were the premier, the MEC for education and the head of department over there.
We are of the view that we have an institutional, political and governance responsibility. But, given the nature of the problem, if political solutions can be found which would further promote the interests of the child in the Eastern Cape, we will not stand in the way of those solutions. I think it is critical that we recognise that if at all teachers are on strike, we would have to speak to the union leaders and ask them whether this was appropriate and proper.
We tend to distort realities. For example, in the Western Cape there are teachers, we understand, who belong to unions other than Sadtu that were on strike, but that was conveniently omitted from the statement. In fact, the MEC for education in the Western Cape - recognising the political reality that members of unions other than Sadtu would be on strike - said that alternative arrangements would be made in classes to ensure that the interests of the child would not be prejudiced whilst they were on strike, legitimately and legally.
What I am appealing for is recognition of the depth and scope of the problem and the need for all of us to pull together as political parties and as stakeholders, because the realities of the Eastern Cape and the legacy of educational problems are not a matter of one or two years. They go back over more than a decade. This is something that should preoccupy each and every one of us.
Let me conclude by saying that just yesterday I was in the Eastern Cape to satisfy myself, as you would be concerned, about whether infrastructure development was taking place. I visited a school to ensure that indeed there was work being done in relation to an identified site. I visited two other schools to ensure that the Annual National Assessment, ANA, exercise that we had carried out in the country was indeed a reality. Not only did we visit the school, we visited the classroom, sat in the classroom, engaged with the learners and tested them in terms of their ability to read, write and calculate. Now if that is not sufficient in terms of an intervention, I don't know what more you want. I thank you, hon Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Measures to deal with maternal and infant mortality rates
65. Ms M J Segale-Diswai (ANC) asked the Minister of Health:
Whether he has taken any measures to deal with the (a) maternal and (b) infant mortality rate; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?