Hon Minister, something that is seriously working against these goals at this present moment are the strikes and protest that are disrupting services and impacting on women, children, the disabled, the aged, etc. For example, yesterday and today, in Witbank where my constituency's offices are, protesters stormed the building and took over the offices of the South African Social Security Agency, Sassa, and all other offices. People were intimidated by protesters who were carrying sticks, threatening and removing the women who were working there. They removed and destroyed the files, and completely trashed the offices.
There are going to be a lot of people expecting grants to be paid, and there will be no information to be able to work with. This is going to be seriously disruptive.
The police responded extremely weakly and are still not responding with any enthusiasm to the situation. What would your department be able to do in terms of exerting pressure in this situation now to ensure that people who choose to go to work and the surrounding offices where people are not meant to be at work are actually protected? Thank you.
The MINISTER OF WOMEN, YOUTH, CHILDREN AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Hon Chairperson, the summit of disability that I referred to earlier on in my earlier presentation seeks to address all such questions that arise from concerns about what we need to do in terms of ensuring that we implement the UNCRPD, including children.
With regard to that, hon Chairperson, we want to ensure that South Africa develops a plan of action which will take forward the UNCRPD and also promote the rights of all children, including those with disabilities.
So, there is a programme in place, which we are working on. Hopefully, on 2 and 3 December, we will be having such a summit which will also help us to deliberate on measures that we need to put in place to reach the target that we set for ourselves for people with disabilities in the labour market as well. Thank you.