Hon Chair, hon Members of Parliament, our very important guests here today, our hon Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, our Deputy Minister and the House at large, I greet you this morning. First of all, I wish to express my appreciation on being afforded this opportunity, knowing full well that it is a right in a democracy to be a Member of Parliament and to speak on behalf of others, though this has not always been the case for black people, especially black rural woman in this country. It is therefore rather surprising that some decide to stay away from the election process and, many a time, to criticise all the processes, when many South Africans have paid the supreme price for such an opportunity. Indeed, we owe it to those who died far away from their beloved country for this opportunity.
Today, hon Minister, many South Africans are waiting for this moment with curiosity: for their hon Minister to pronounce the budget amounts that continue to enable them to survive under very difficult conditions on a daily basis. Having heard what you have said, hon Minister, I congratulate you on having been reappointed by our President to lead this difficult task.
For the past 20 years, this exercise has given hope to over 16 million people who currently receive grants. I therefore dedicate this debate to those whose lives have improved as a result of the grants. Indeed, hon Minister, you and your organisation have a good story to tell. [Applause.]
I congratulate hon Minister Dlamini on having spearheaded, with great success and impact, the very difficult political management programme, because it is always faced with the pressing and competing needs of the poor. Once again ...
... uMongameli weli lizwe uhlab'khangela ngokuthi buya kwakhona. Siyabulela , sithabile [kwaye siyavuya.] [... the President of this country has done the right thing by bringing you back. We thank you, and we are happy].
The history of poverty in the country can be traced as far back as 1652. We did not wake up poor. We know where it comes from. And I know I'm running the risk of being very unpopular for having spoken this truth, but I'm supposed to say this once in my life. When Jan van Riebeeck arrived in this country, he had been charged with corruption by the Dutch East India Company and sentenced, as I understand from many writers, yet he went on to colonise the Cape. It is for this reason that we have Marikana today. It is for this reason that we are talking about poverty. This is a community; a population that was uprooted and disrupted, leading to the tragedy we are faced with today. It is so nice to talk about it. Yet none of us in this House is responsible for those men having to leave their families to work far away, disintegrating their family life.
How I wish that when the matters concerning the platinum belt are resolved, there will be an opportunity to travel for one day to be with your family, rather than reinforcing the migration labour system by ensuring that you are kept at work for six months, or so many months, and that when you travel it takes you three days because these days flying is only for those paid by government. You can see this if you look at the statistics of who gets to fly.
I can say the process of dispossession led to the many evils I have mentioned, such as the migratory labour system and even forced removals. Those who are supposed to be enjoying their lives next to the sea that they were born near to are now scattered all over the country.
To date, the majority of the people in the country are said to be lacking scarce skills. This is simply because the current economically active population age group consists mainly of the survivors of the forced Bantu education system, which was prescribed by the Bantu Education Act of 1953. It is no mistake that we are where we are today. This is just one of the numerous evils of oppression, such as separate development, the Natives Land Act of 1913, and many more. All of these led to the state of affairs that was inherited in 1994: poverty, inequality, unemployment, hunger and starvation. I am convinced that no other intervention will enable so many South Africans to survive until the service delivery plans, hon Minister, are actually implemented from A to Z - then there will be peace and stability in your country, my sister. I am also thankful for the idea, the vision, the notion of the comprehensive social security model that is now a revised vision for the department.
The ANC has always been seized with the liberation of all South Africans - and I repeat: all South Africans - from the bondages of poverty. That is why the ANC went from door to door as far back as 1955 and found a plethora of challenges facing most South Africans. These challenges culminated in the noble Freedom Charter that we all say is good to have in this country.
When the new democratic South Africa was ushered in, departments were established to respond to those 1955 challenges, and this department was established to make specific interventions like the one we are talking about. The Budget Vote today, which I call upon all of us to strongly support and even to call for more, if possible, responds fully to the challenges of poverty, hunger, starvation, inequity and unemployment.
The ANC has flagged the emancipation of woman as an integral part of the struggle and has not failed to note that, in our situation, women are the most affected by all the evils I have mentioned, irrespective of colour, creed or race or even political affiliation. The fact is that women suffer the most and carry the heaviest burden in this country. Hence, the former president of the ANC, the late Oliver Reginald Tambo, when discussing this with his colleague Sam Nujoma, the late former president of Swapo, or the South West Africa People's Organisation, had this to say:
If, at the end of our struggle, South African women and those of Namibia are not emancipated we will have not finished our work.
The vision of the department, which is supported by the portfolio committee, largely resonates with the commitments by those struggle icons. This is also in line with the debates before us, namely early childhood education, which is a lifetime investment; comprehensive social security; food security; food for all; and zero hunger. If we get hungry at some stage - all of us here - we have choices: I want to eat a burger; I want to eat that. But others are not fortunate enough to have a choice. They have to eat whatever is going to relieve the hunger pangs.
During the election campaign, the ANC engaged with all South Africans with the aim of understanding their needs and the challenges that have been addressed, as well as those challenges that have not been addressed. The lessons learnt include the fact that South Africans in cities have had their share, despite the fact that there is still a plethora of needs to address in those communities in cities. Indeed, they engaged with those communities that, once upon a time, used to rent from aboMadam or in the back yard. In addition, they have now seen an opportunity to settle freely where they want to. Yes, it is irritating when you think about the backlog that creates, about the protests, about the ... [Inaudible.] But at some stage there was a reason that they left those rentals: They were free to go to the city. The city is their own city today.
So those people in peri-urban areas are not very rural or very urban. They might, then, lack focus, and I am sure the Minister has also experienced that during her visits. There are those who live in the back of beyond, like me: "kwa nja mayiphume". They have the same story to tell, a good story. This good story might be irritating, but others get bored simply because they never travelled the route or the journey that most of us have.
I come from the very same areas, where indeed I was born behind the door. Therefore, I always think of a more peaceful, democratic South Africa. Please support this particular Budget Vote for all of us to benefit. Ngiyabonga, Modulasetula. [Thank you, Chairperson.] [Applause.]