On a more serious note, may I, through you, Chairperson, ask the Speaker's indulgence and, on behalf of all of us in this House, offer our condolences to him and the Minister of Defence and War Veterans, the rest of the family and next of kin for the sad loss they suffered upon the passing away of our mother, uMama Sisulu. In the same breath, however, let me also use this occasion to join fellow South Africans and the world at large in celebrating her life, a life that was well lived. Her towering stature is like the baobab tree, a beacon and a landmark that reminds us whence we have come, where we are and where we are going, or ought to be going. She was the baobab tree that offered shade when the scorching sun was too hot to bear and offered shelter from the rain. Its large trunk sheltered the children and senior citizens alike who came to her for support. We salute her. [Applause.]
May we also express our condolences to the victims of yesterday's fire in Ekurhuleni and welcome the Gauteng government's response of initiating an assessment of all the facilities that host our senior citizens, to prevent a recurrence of this sad tragedy. May we also spare a thought for the many policemen and -women who continue to risk both life and limb every day of their working lives in defence of our freedom and safety and for the protection of our way of life. We salute all those who have fallen to the vicious and ruthless murders perpetrated by evil criminals. May the families who were left behind be comforted in the knowledge that their deaths will not be in vain. However, we condemn the reckless conduct of those officers who act with little or no restraint, appear to be trigger- happy and resort to the unnecessary and excessive use of force against our people. They should be isolated and dealt with accordingly, so that the good image of the rest of the police force is not tainted by their recklessness. Security is at the heart of every nation, and indeed of everyone's life, and although security is often narrowly defined as the risk to life and limb and to one's personal belongings and assets, it goes far beyond that.
Every mother, and some fathers, of course, is concerned about whether her or his child or children will have enough clothes to wear and blankets to keep them warm in this cold winter, whether they will have food to eat, be able to go to school and have a safe environment to play. Every young person who has finished school is concerned whether he or she will have the funds to go to college or university or be able to find employment. As we grow older, or when we lose our jobs, we are concerned about whether we will have enough income to support ourselves and our families. We are also concerned about whether we will be able to afford decent health care, especially in the event of contracting deadly diseases such as HIV/Aids. All these things affect our sense of security, whether in the present or in the future.
In this regard, we should compliment government on the progress made towards the establishment of a new national health insurance scheme which would ensure equal access to health care services for all our people. This is part of a commitment that the ANC has made at several of its national conferences to develop a comprehensive social security scheme.
German law locates the principle of social solidarity at the centre of its architecture. This principle ensures that equal value is attached to the life of every German and ensures that social and economic policies are inextricably linked as the foundation on which the fruit of economic prosperity is shared among all Germans. We in South Africa have equally committed ourselves to these values, both in the Freedom Charter and in our current Constitution, by including socioeconomic rights, such as access to clean drinkable water, nutrition, shelter, education and social security, in our Bill of Rights.
Bruce Schneier, in his essay entitled The Psychology of Security, dated 18 January 2008, states that "Security is both a feeling and a reality, and they are not the same. The reality of security is mathematical, based on the probability of different risks and the effectiveness of different countermeasures". He proceeds to state that security is also a feeling based not on probabilities and mathematical calculations, but on your psychological reaction to both risk and countermeasures. He states that the feeling and reality of security are certainly related to each other, but they are just as certainly not the same as each other. In other words, you can be secure even though you don't feel secure, and you can feel secure even though you are not actually secure.
We have come a long way with the security question in South Africa, from the days of "die swart gevaar" or "die rooi gevaar" in our colonial and apartheid history, to addressing so-called white fears after 1994; from dealing with Afro-pessimism and the issue of the brain drain associated therewith, to exaggerated perceptions of crime and corruption which, although unacceptably high, are often the subject of unsubstantiated generalisations. Many of these critics were silenced by the almost incident- free hosting of the memorable 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup. The experience we gained from the hosting of the World Cup is that it is all in our hands; that we are in this together, black and white; and that our fate, and that of our children, depends on us reaching out across the fence to each other, holding hands side by side and working together to secure a better future.
In response to the poor-white question, after the devastating Anglo-Boer War at the turn of the last century, the newly established Union of South Africa introduced a number of policies that sought to address the physical, social and economic insecurities of the white population, to the exclusion of and even in confrontation with their black counterparts. These measures included the Land Act, Act 27 of 1913, the Job Reservation Act, the Colour Bar Act, the Group Areas Act, the Influx Control Act, several pass laws and many other similar measures calculated to deny black people citizenship rights and make them insecure in the country of their birth.
The Freedom Charter, as adopted at the real congress of the people in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, states, among other things, that "There shall be work and security" and "All people shall have the right to live where they choose, be decently housed and to bring up their families in comfort and security". Social security, as understood in its narrow sense, relates to measures to secure or substitute personal income or provide financial assistance to the indigent, unemployed, retired, senior citizens, children or people with disabilities. In its broader sense, however, it includes other social measures aimed at securing or sustaining a minimum standard of living for all in society, ensuring that their health, nutritional, clothing, housing, energy, transport and other basic needs are met. This is for any civilised society an equally important form of security to consider and address. Creating or developing sustainable human settlements and not just building and allocating houses, for example, is a policy response adopted and implemented by the ANC-led government in response to this imperative under the Freedom Charter.
But it is the creation and preservation of sustainable quality jobs which is at the forefront of the ANC's response to eradicating poverty, reducing inequality and providing security and comfort for our people. The ANC has also adopted other policy and legislative measures to ensure that our people are freed from the shackles of poverty through employment and other forms of sustainable livelihoods and do not drift back into poverty due to their vulnerability to exploitation by unscrupulous providers of various services, including financial services, through the introduction of such laws as the National Credit Act.
In your state of the nation address delivered on 10 February this year, hon President, you alluded to the progress made by the ANC-led government in addressing the basic needs of our people when you said:
We are also making progress. More than 400 000 additional people were served with basic water supply last year. About 81% of the country is electrified, as compared to 63% in the year 2000. The crime statistics show a decrease in most crimes, particularly armed robberies, housebreakings and business robberies as well as contact crimes. For example, the murder rate declined by 8,6% in the past year.
Our crime prevention strategies have begun to bear fruit with significant reductions in serious crimes, especially violent crimes, recorded in the statistics that were last released nationally. In this regard, we echo the confidence expressed by many South Africans in the current leadership of the police in the person of both the Minister of Police, hon Nathi Mthethwa, and the National Commissioner, Gen Bheki Cele. Their no-nonsense approach to policing has given fresh inspiration and hope to the nation as a whole and has assisted in enhancing the nation's sense of security. The ANC supports Budget Vote No 1: The Presidency. I thank you. [Applause.]