Deputy House Chairperson, hon Minister of Social Development, hon Members of Parliament, MECs for social development and chairpersons from provinces, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a week ago democratic South Africa turned 16 years of age. Many of our citizens celebrated the occasion throughout the country because they believed that, in our time-honoured tradition, we will continue to implement the agenda of change that we promised when this nation was born anew on that glorious occasion in April 1994. This is the path on which we continue to travel.
On this occasion, our duties are defined not by the words we use but by the achievements we have made in the last decade and a half. Yet, despite many remarkable achievements in meeting the aspirations of our people, the experience of some remains far short of their expectations. That there are people in our society who continue to live in desperate poverty is well known and understood. That families and communities continue to break apart is at odds with the dream of creating strong, cohesive communities.
This dream cannot be achieved by government alone, because a huge part of building an inclusive society is to involve communities in shaping their own destinies. The future is theirs to decide. We will, during this year, continue to strengthen our community mobilisation campaigns to ensure that communities take ownership of the work we do with them as government. As most of us know, the creation and survival of cohesive families and communities increasingly depend on actively involving communities in interventions that make all South Africans feel that they too have a place in the evolving South African story.
The prevention of social crime, especially as it relates to children, is one of the cornerstones of building a caring and prosperous society. The breakdown of families has the potential to expose some children to situations where they are in conflict with the law. This cannot be allowed to continue unabated, and we will, during this year, ensure that we fully implement the Child Justice Act as an expression of our commitment to the realisation of children's rights as set out in the Constitution.
In order to effectively implement the Child Justice Act, we have trained over 800 probation practitioners to provide services to children in conflict with the law across the country. We have, thus far, established 33 fully functional secure care facilities which accommodate children awaiting trial. In addition to this, we have established at least 53 reception assessment centres where children in conflict with the law will be assessed within 48 hours of arrest.
There are many of our children who are on their own, without any visible parental or adult supervision. Some can still be found roaming the streets, some playing truant from school, with others not enrolled at school at all. Some of these children don't even have a place they can call home. This is unworthy of a humane society such as ours. This is something we need to address urgently. We will continue with our social mobilisation campaign through which, in the spirit of ubuntu, we encourage South Africans to adopt orphans and other needy children, for they too bear the image of the Creator. They too have rights and are of matchless value to our society.
I note with vicarious pride the role played by civil society organisations and other individuals who have taken up the remarkable task of establishing and registering early childhood development, ECD, centres. I am happy to announce that an increasing number of our children are being enrolled in these facilities. These are organisations and individuals who know what South Africa is all about: a caring and humane society which looks after the welfare of its children.
The scourge of substance abuse poses a serious threat to our efforts to build healthy and cohesive communities. This is creating a nagging fear that our communities are falling apart. We remain a young nation, so this cannot be allowed to continue. It is my fervent intention, in the spirit of the Polokwane resolutions, to intensify the fight against substance abuse in our society. We will, during this year, reposition the Central Drug Authority, CDA, in order to strengthen its efficacy and to co-ordinate the implementation of the National Drug Master Plan. All provinces, hon MEC Meyer, are represented in the CDA, and we think that the Western Cape, as one of the provinces that has been most severely hit by this scourge, is going to benefit enormously from this programme.
Our greatness as a nation also flows from our commitment to the welfare of our elders. We have already announced that we will, as part of accelerating the implementation of the Older Persons Act, Act 13 of 2006, continue to ensure that our elders receive the best care this society can offer. My department will work with the South African Older Persons' Forum to ensure that we create intergenerational networks which will enable the elderly to transfer their indigenous knowledge and skills to the youth, more particularly life skills through storytelling ...
... ngesintu esikubiza ngokuthi izinganekwane. [... which we call fables in our indigenous languages.]
They can teach them negotiation ...
... ukuziphatha kwabafana namantombazane, ngoba ukuziphatha akufuneki emantombazaneni kuphela nabafana futhi kufanele baziphathe ngendlela ehloniphekile, bakwazi futhi ukuthi bahloniphe abantu besifazane ngoba ngokwesintu umuntu wesifazane uhlonipheke kakhulu. Ngakho-ke abantu abadala bangakwazi ukuthi uma behlezi nabantwana abancane baxoxe nabo ukuze bakwazi ukuzenza zonke lezi zinto. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[... good behaviour in boys and girls, because it is not only expected from girls; boys should also behave in a respectful way, and they must know how to respect women because culturally a woman is highly respected. Therefore, adults should be able to talk to their youth when they are sitting together in order to enable them to do all these things.]
Our commitment to fighting poverty and building cohesive communities and strong families is, in part, a recognition of the fact that all is not well in our society. Many vulnerable people, especially women and children, continue to experience the scourge of abuse in society. In this regard, we have developed a victim empowerment programme which aims to protect and provide services to victims of domestic and gender-based violence.
On the eve of the kick-off of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup tournament, excitement across the country is already in the air. During the tournament, incidents of human trafficking are likely to increase, as hon Boroto has said. As part of our contribution to an outstanding tournament, we have already identified 12 shelters which will admit victims of human trafficking. Our social service professionals have also been trained to manage and assist such victims during the tournament.
All of these initiatives are inspired by our enduring belief that the eradication of poverty and the creation of strong functional families is only a prelude to the realisation of the dream that started over 15 years ago. It is, indeed, a prelude to the rebirth of a new society - one that cares for its children, its youth, its elders and its persons with disabilities. We believe that for our democracy to be sustainable destitution, hopelessness and despair have to make way for hope and prosperity.
Our government has obligations that are often difficult to fulfil, but that cannot be an excuse for failure. Accordingly, we assure all South Africans that the provision of comprehensive services to all vulnerable groups remains uppermost in our minds. We will ensure that we attract into our ranks strong, dedicated, professional and special cadres who will deliver on our mission. By special cadres we mean that we want revolutionary and exemplary cadres. These would be cadres who understand and implement government policy under all conditions, who seek to improve their capacity to serve the people, and who should win the confidence of the people on a day-to-day basis at work in the frontline offices. We encourage civil society organisations that render welfare services to do the same.
As I conclude, I wish to extend my words of thanks and appreciation to Minister Edna Molewa, members of the Select Committee on Social Services, especially the chairperson, hon Nomonde Rasmeni, for her understanding, MECs for social development, and the director-general as well as staff of the Department of Social Development and its agencies for their determination and hard work. I thank you. [Applause.]