Hon Chairperson, izithwalandwe, Ministers, Deputy Ministers here present, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, at the end of last month I was afforded a rare glimpse into the future, a glimpse of hope and victory: hope, because I was able to see into a future in which South Africa would be unencumbered by the past, by prejudice and by bigotry; a future in which every child has the enormous advantage only a country like ours can give. I saw victory over the inequitable order of things as we have come to know it. I visited a range of our new recruits in the military in their second month of training. Many of them were from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds with absolutely no hope. Here they were overcoming their adversities and inhibitions and proving that, given the necessary opportunity and space, they too could succeed. In the navy, for instance, were youth who had never been in water before - most of them came straight from Limpopo. It was amazing to see how, in the space of two months, they had not only overcome their fear of water, but had learnt to swim and survive in water and are now being taught to dive, paddle boats and read and interpret a map.
Above all, here we had youths that were learning in the most natural way that the country belongs to all of us. Here we also had youths from all classes and racial groups who had learnt that racial integration is the most natural thing when faced with common problems, common goals, common dangers and a common identity.
The forging of racial harmony was amazing to see. It was a victory over the illogical. Here, a new bond was being crafted, a new discourse that understood the strengths of each group and utilised it for the greater good, where song had become part of the culture of the navy, to motivate and unify. Here were white and Indian children singing in Zulu - all in the space of two months. I realised too that various racial groups that seemed unwilling to join the Defence Force after 1994 were now finding it an attractive place to be. It has been an exhilarating experience. And to the parents of those children in our care, that we are training, I want to assure you that your children are in very good hands.
I left these places even more convinced that there could not be a better equaliser in any society than the Defence Force; that there could not ever be a better place or a better tool for most of the problems we grapple with, including the skills shortage problem that we complain about and the high rate of unemployment. I am convinced there could not be another solution to the huge glut of unemployed, disempowered and unskilled youth.
In his state of the nation address the President gave a graphic analysis of the situation in our country. He indicated that we are an extremely youthful country and, yet, not investing sufficiently in its future. These are some of the disturbing figures that have emerged: that there are more than three million young people who are unemployed, presumably with no prospect whatsoever that they will be absorbed into a labour market that continues to shrink; that 50% of this group, which is between 18 and 24, are unemployed. Shocking statistics!
Having spent a year in this portfolio and having learnt what I have learnt, I am formally proposing through Parliament that the country consider the possibility of creating in the next year national service in which all youth will be gradually absorbed into our training facilities. [Applause.] What we are offering are skills that each would be able to build on. We offer training in a discipline that would create a sector, whether public or private, which is firmly grounded in a purposeful sense of tomorrow. What we offer is education, in essential respect for each individual and respect for authority - an element we would all agree is not in abundance in our youth.
After due consultation with all the necessary stakeholders, we intend to introduce a Bill that will provide the necessary legal framework for the creation of this national service. This will not be a compulsory national service, but an unavoidable service to the nation.
Throughout the world the defence force, that great social equaliser, is used for precisely the purpose that we propose to use it for here. Young people are leaving school with no skills and with no prospect of being absorbed into a labour market that is already being glutted. Any television footage of service delivery protests will show you that at the forefront of this, in great majority, are our youth - with excessive energy, misdirected sometimes, a great deal of anger and frustration etched on their faces. We as a country can ill afford this generation that is angry. Our youth are an asset and we must direct them properly.
History is replete with examples of how turning the youth into a disciplined purposeful force can change the fortunes of a people. Our own history tells how, by using the age cohort system, King Shaka of the Zulus harnessed the power of youth and changed the face of the subcontinent forever.
Most of our cultures have a process of a coming of age. This includes some initiation into responsible adulthood, where a line is drawn between the childish ways of the past and purposeful and responsible behaviour that is required of every citizen. We can do that for this country, because that is the one thing we need - to build a future for our development and our prosperity, a place where the young unemployed can find skills, dignity, purpose and patriotism.
This could be part of our essential education and, in partnership with the Ministers of Higher and Training, Basic Education, and Labour, we could create a seamless education system among compulsory basic education, national service, skills training and tertiary education, where access to education is not based on class. The benefits to the youth are enormous; the benefits to society are incalculable, and for the economy this means a solid bedrock that will sustain our development.
Should we find that the idea is taken up by the people in our country, we expect that in the next two years we could go ahead and build the necessary capacity and infrastructure in the Defence Force. I emphasise: this will not be a compulsory national service. We do not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. On the other hand, we do not want to throw the baby out with the bath water. There has been a concern raised in the past about this concept - that, in fact, if we militarise our youth, we would be turning them over to society, highly trained to kill and a greater danger than before. We can interrogate this concern and we will, it is hoped, be able to show that this is not the experience of countries with military service; that, quite the contrary, the greater danger is caused by people who have no purpose, no discipline and who come across guns that are so readily available in our society.
The past year has been an exceedingly eventful one for me, but one in which we recorded enormous successes in the goals we had set ourselves. In taking stock of our achievement in the last year, I wish to cast your mind back to a promise I made when I appeared before this august House in July 2009. In my maiden address at that time, as Minister, I stated:
I want to assure the Defence Force that their conditions of service are a concern. We are acutely aware that the state of readiness of the SA Defence Force, SANDF, depends primarily on the morale of our soldiers.
I went further to state that:
We are considering making a request for a separate dispensation for the Department of Defence that would allow us to creatively deal with our own needs and the specificities of our own unique security requirements.
The request was duly made to Cabinet and approved. We have gone a long way in establishing a separate dispensation for the Defence Force. Cabinet also approved the regulatory framework and mechanism to govern and oversee the dispensation. The dispensation we have been given has the authority and the regulatory mandate of the Public Service Commission. Within this environment we have been able to deal with a number of issues that are uniquely defence related, and I believe we now have an environment in which we can deal with our problems and in which we can provide enhanced conditions of service.
Soldiers are not workers. It is precisely because the Defence Force is so different from all other arms of state that we demand that we take extraordinary measures to enforce discipline. Soldiers are responsible for lethal instruments of ultimate force and therefore their conduct has had to be stipulated in the Constitution. Our relationship with the state is not that of a worker; it is not governed by an employment agreement, but by a solemn oath that is undertaken by every soldier. This dispensation is regulated by the Military Commission, due to be legislated for, it is hoped, by the end of this month. This dispensation has allowed us to restructure and enhance our grievance mechanism, which will be further enhanced by the re-establishment of the Office of the Military Ombud.
We have often been accused of wanting to treat the Defence Force as special and different. These accusations are repeated with scorn and with monotonous frequency. At one level it reflects a lingering attitude, which prevailed when we took over in 1994 - we ourselves had this particular perception. We had inherited a military state, and in our quest to rein in the influence of the military, we developed regulations aimed at bringing down the power of the Defence Force. In doing so, we may have gone overboard and risked compromising its strength, its capabilities and its uniqueness.
The Defence Force is special. We cannot deny that. They are special because they take an oath that commits them to giving their lives, should the need arise, in order that you and I may keep ours. No country or nation worth its salt should expect any less from members of its Defence Force. [Applause.] I wasn't sure whether we were applauding for the Defence Force or for Mr Selfe who has just come in. [Laughter.] I am certain there is no comparison there. [Laughter.]
The SA National Defence Force is a proud and disciplined force because that is its constitutional prescript. This is precisely why I am still distraught that some of our soldiers went on an illegal march to the Union Buildings in August 2009. We will not allow ill discipline in our ranks, ever, because it destroys the most fundamental premise of a soldier. We will retain our culture and not allow anyone to defile our image and the honour of our profession.
Our commitment as the state, to the Defence Force is complete and unconditional and will not be decided by any ill-disciplined soldier. The relationship the state has with its soldiers is unique and based on an exceptional amount of trust and responsibility. It requires of the state an enormous investment in each member, both in their conditions of service and education and training. We have been working on this over the past year and have made significant progress in a number of areas. We still have serious challenges in the Defence Force, most of which are as a result of serious underfunding. If we do not invest in our Defence Force, we are doing ourselves a grave injustice.
There are few components of the state which have such a high calling, which demand selflessness, bravery in the face of danger, the highest levels of discipline and absolute loyalty to the Constitution.
In peacetime our defence is a force for good. When all else fails, you can count on the Defence Force in providing whatever support is required for the state. When faced with disaster, with strikes, whether natural or man- made, we can count on these men and women in uniform to come to provide humanitarian assistance.
Who can forget the rescue mission our forces carried out during the floods in Mozambique in 2000? Who amongst us can forget the image of the child born in a tree and her miraculous rescue by our special forces? We have the child here with us, Chairperson, if you would allow me to ask her to stand up. [Applause.]