Chairperson, the department has developed a Green Paper on Families - not family, but families, because there are different types of families. We need to promote family life and strengthen families through a coherent, well co-ordinated and synergistic framework for all government policies, programmes and civil society initiatives. But, it is also important for us to understand that the family is the first line of defence for members of the family. That is why it is important for us to strengthen the family. We should also understand that strengthening the family is not the responsibility of government only. It is the responsibility of a number of sectors, as well as individuals and society at large, to ensure that we are able to deal with the issues that affect children.
In the Children's Act this is stated very clearly. There is a provision that parents must ensure that children access their rights, but they must also understand that children have responsibilities. So, this is not a one- way responsibility of government only; it is a two-way responsibility involving communities as well as government. Thank you.