Hon Chairperson of the NCOP and distinguished guests, ever since its founding in 1912, the ANC has dedicated itself to the historic mission of uniting our people in the struggle for the liberation of the oppressed black majority in general, and of Africans in particular. South African revolutionaries have been fighting, generation after generation, to fulfil this vision. Countless patriots sacrificed their lives, inspired by this ideal. Today, ANC members continue on this mission.
Apartheid deprived our people of ownership and control of wealth in such a manner that our communities were deliberately impoverished and turned into reservoirs of cheap labour. For the ANC, fundamental to the transformation of the economy is the need to eradicate apartheid production relations and to bring about a more equitable ownership and distribution of wealth and income. The most pressing challenges we face are those of unemployment, poverty and inequality.
To address these challenges and underdevelopment, we have placed the creation of decent work at the centre of our efforts, and all government policies and programmes are meant to speak to this goal. Within the context of scarce resources, we have put in place programmes to absorb the unemployed through the use of labour-intensive programmes, linked to infrastructure expansion and to meeting social needs.
The Bill of Rights we have today enshrines the rights of all people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The Bill says clearly that the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil these rights, which include the right to life, equality, property, human dignity, freedom of religion and opinion; freedom of assembly, association and expression; political and citizenship rights; the right to a safe and healthy environment; and socioeconomic rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, in Article 22, that everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to the realisation of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his or her dignity and the free development of his or her personality. Article 23 states that everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, and to just and favourable conditions of work and remuneration that ensure him and his family an existence worthy of human dignity. In terms of Articles 25 and 26, everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.
Our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights specifically, give expression to socioeconomic rights. Central to this is the ANC's programme on decent work and job creation, which has helped to shape the character of the New Economic Growth Path, so as to ensure growth and development.
The January 8th statement of the ANC outlines how to pursue sustained economic development based on an inclusive growth path. In this regard, the 2009 ANC Manifesto commits to ensuring that state-led industrial policy leads to the transformation of the economy. It further states that a state- led industrial policy programme will direct public and private investment to support decent work outcomes. This programme will target labour- intensive production sectors and encourage activities that have high employment effects.
The policy levers of the New Growth Path include: reducing youth unemployment, including targeted wage subsidies aimed at lowering the costs and risks of hiring inexperienced workseekers; supporting labour-intensive industries through industrial policy interventions, skills development, infrastructure investment and public employment programmes, including the rural development strategy; and improving the performance and effectiveness of the state, especially the provision of quality education and training at all levels. Decent work is one of the foundations of human rights, and the fight against poverty and inequality and its promotion is the cornerstone of all our efforts.
Again, the Bill of Rights speaks specifically to everyone having access to health care services. As part of its responsibility under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, the ANC government has historically progressively implemented programmes to achieve these rights. Historically, the restructuring of health functions to the point of delivery was introduced so as to ensure the most effective form of service delivery of health services.
Over the past 15 years, the ANC has embarked on a programme to transform the health care system, and it has been able to change the health paradigm significantly. Let me mention a few of the issues this programme has succeeded in addressing: redressing the harmful effects of apartheid health care services; encouraging and developing comprehensive health care practices; respect for human rights and accountability to the users of health facilities and the public at large; and reducing the burden and risk of disease affecting the health of all South Africans.
Consistent with what is contained in the National Health Plan of 1994, the ANC made the following commitments in its 2009 Election Manifesto: To introduce the National Health Insurance System, which will be phased in over the next years; and to improve the quality standards for both the public and the private sectors. The ANC acknowledges the fact that there have been many achievements in the health care system. It is also conscious of the amount of work that still needs to be done to ensure quality health care for all South Africans and to achieve better health results true to the spirit of equality in health care provision.
Turning to the rural areas: People living in rural areas continue to face the harshest conditions of poverty, lack of access to land and to basic services. The ANC is committed to a comprehensive and clear rural development strategy that is linked to land and agrarian reform, to the improvement of the conditions of farm workers and farm dwellers, and that builds the potential for sustainable rural livelihoods. With this in mind, government has introduced various measures to enhance household- and community-based food production, primarily for consumption, but also to generate income from the sale of surplus food.
Education is a means of promoting good citizenship, as well as preparing our people for the needs of a modern economy and a democratic society. Building on the achievements in education, the ANC government aims to ensure the progressive realisation of universal schooling, improving quality education and eliminating disparities. Some of the achievements that I can mention are that there were 8 million learners, approximately 19 933 of whom participated in the no-fee schools, and 130 000 students who were assisted through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The future plans for advancing education include: broadening access to post-secondary school and improving higher education; distributing enough workbooks to all Grade R to Grade 6 learners, accompanied by teacher manuals; and expanding access to quality early-childhood opportunities, especially for poor communities.
Our human settlements are not just about building houses. We are committed to transforming our cities and towns, improving the quality of life of our people, and building stronger, better planned and sustainable communities with easier access to work and social amenities, including sports and recreational facilities. In this regard, the Housing Development Agency has been established to assist provinces and municipalities with the acquisition of appropriate land for human settlement development.
Our social security system, such as the provision of social grants, is aimed at empowering our people to take active part in the social and economic life of our country, and at enhancing their dignity. We are all in agreement that the right to human dignity becomes more meaningful with the effective provision of services to our people, designed to continuously improve the quality of their lives.
The ANC is committed to transforming the state in a manner that benefits our people. We expect those who are in charge of the public sector to do more to speed up effective service to the people. To be a public sector official means service to the people and a caring attitude in dealing with citizens. Effective and efficient service to the people is dependent upon the commitment, strength and competence of public servants, who are charged with the conversion of state developmental goals into coherent programmes.
It is for this reason that the new ANC administration is placing particular emphasis on the need to strengthen public institutions, to reinforce a culture of service and to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of all state officials. The ANC is committed to a culture of service and will manage the economy in a manner that ensures that South Africa continues to grow. The ANC-led government's medium-term strategy goals therefore give effect to the Constitution and consolidate efforts at enhancing human rights by targeting and strengthening investment and job creation; reducing poverty and supporting vulnerable groups, education and skills development; creating sustainable communities; and enhancing service delivery.
In his acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony in 1993, the then president of the ANC, Comrade Nelson Mandela, spoke of human dignity, oppression and repression, liberty, human rights, poverty and freedom from want, and of common human decency. He spoke of those who suffered in the name of all humanity when they sacrificed everything for liberty, peace, human dignity and human fulfilment. He also spoke of the great masses who had turned their backs on the grave insult to human dignity which described some as masters and others as servants.
He said that this must be a world of democracy and respect for human rights, a world freed from the horrors of poverty, hunger, deprivation and ignorance, and that we must devote our lives to demonstrate, in practice, that the normal condition for human existence is democracy, justice, peace, nonracism, nonsexism, prosperity for everybody, a healthy environment, and equality and solidarity among the peoples.
Lastly, clearly there is still a lot more that needs to be done. The ANC remains part of the progressive forces for change, working internationally to promote transformation. [Time expired.] Thank you very much. Ndiyabulela. [I thank you.] [Applause.]