Deputy Chairperson
Honourable Members
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the Freedom Day Debate in the NCOP on the eve of our Eighteenth Freedom Day celebrations.
We all become extremely emotional when we recall the events of that historic day, on 27 April 1994, when former President Nelson Mandela cast the first vote in a free, united, democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.
We recall the expressions of joy and dignity on the faces of the millions of South African citizens who patiently waited their turn in the long voting queues, that defining moment, when we exercised our fundamental right collectively to determine our common destiny.
This national day, also gives us an opportunity to pay tribute to the heroes and heroines who fearlessly sacrificed in pursuit of a free and democratic South Africa.
We remember the prisoners and detainees who suffered terribly within the confines of the torturous prison walls and our brothers and sisters who were banished from the land of their birth, exiled from their loved ones.
We salute these men and women past and present, for it is through their selfless struggles that South Africans enjoy the benefits of our constitutional democracy.
Chairperson, eighteen years later we must reflect too on the gains we have made and be mindful of the journey that lies ahead in strengthening our democratic nation.
As former President Nelson Mandela reminded us then on 27 April 1995, on the occasion of the first year of celebrating our hard won freedom, and I quote:
“We have learnt over the First Freedom Year that there is no short-cut to making South Africa the country of our dreams.
It requires hard work by those entrusted with positions of responsibility in government.
It demands that workers and employers work together to produce efficiently and compete with the best in the world, to achieve equity and to help create more jobs.
It requires hard work on the part of farmers and farm-workers, to feed the nation and provide raw materials, even in the face of adversity.
It requires hard work by students and teachers to build a literate, skilled and learned nation.
It requires greater exertion by our sports-persons and artists to always offer the best for the country and its people.
It demands of all of us, wherever we may be, to exercise our rights as citizens, and do so without infringing on the rights of others.
South Africa is firmly set on the road to peace and prosperity. In the spirit of Masakhane, “we must as a nation, strive to do better, and even better, all the time”.
The Theme for today’s debate is “Working Together to Build Unity and Prosperity for All”
Freedom day provides us with the opportunity to give effect and meaning to the Preamble of our Constitution by, inter alia :-
Honouring those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respecting those who have worked to build and developed our country;
Believing that South Africa belongs to all of us who live in it, united in our diversity.
The motto of the South African Coat of Arms so succinctly captures what binds us together as a nation, namely ‘!ke e :/ xarra // ke’ written in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people, literally meaning diverse people unite. It addresses each individual effort to harness the unity between thought and action. On a collective scale it calls for the nation to unite in a common sense of belonging and pride.
As we celebrate freedom day it is necessary to reflect on the history that made our constitutional democracy a reality. We should take pride in our National Anthem, our National Flag, our National Coat of Arms, our National Orders and our National Symbols, as they are all intertwined and linked, each with its own rich and unique story and place in the history of South Africa.
The National Orders, the highest awards that the Country, through its President, bestows on its citizens and eminent foreign nationals, ranges from the Order of Mapungubwe, awarded for excellence and exceptional achievement, to the Order of Luthuli, awarded to South Africans who have made a meaningful contribution to the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice and peace, and conflict resolution. As we celebrate Freedom Day, the President will also recognise and honour people that have and are making made a contribution in the rebirth of our country.
As the honourable members are aware, more than 500 persons who played a role in the struggle for freedom went missing and were reported to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as being unaccounted for. The burning memory of their beloved ones is a painful and necessary reminder of why Freedom Day is so important.
A Special Missing Persons Task Team under the auspices of the National Prosecuting Authority has been established to attend to the tracing, exhumation andreburial of such person. The investigations have already led to the discovery and reburial of the remains of 53 missing persons. Forensic examination and identification of a further 24 other missing persons are also in progress. Most recently, on 3 April 2012, Minister Radebe, MP, addressed the Cleansing Ceremony and Spiritual Repatriation of Oupa Ronald Madondo.
Oupa Madondo was recruited to the ANC in the early 1970s, where he was known as MK Scorpion. In July 1979 he was detained under the Terrorism Act, and later released after being severely assaulted and tortured. During that same year he was shot dead by the security police and his mortal remains were blown away by a bomb attached to his body in the middle of the Jozini Dam.
Minister Radebe, MP, also reminded the community that during that same year yet another young soul lost his life, namely Solomon Mahlangu, whose words continued to ring as an inspiration to many other freedom fighters when he declared that is blood would nourish the tree that would bear the fruit of freedom. Countless others lost their lives in the struggle against apartheid that left the Chairman of the TRC, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and many others in tears at the brutality of some of the confessions.
In our eighteenth Freedom Year, we have made steady progress towards achieving peace and prosperity, as President Jacob Zuma said at the seventeenth Freedom Day celebration last year:
“We are proud of the substantial progress we have made together since 1994.In comparison to many countries that have deteriorated after liberation, we have done exceptionally well, against all odds, in only 17 years”.
At the National Human Rights Day celebration, held in Kliptown Soweto, President further elaborated on this journey of freedom since 1994:
“To give meaning to our freedom and to implement the provisions of the Constitution, from 1994, the democratic governments immediately focused on building a new non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society”.
During the first ten years of democracy, Parliament approved 789 laws or amendments to eliminate institutionalised racism from our statute books.
The democratisation of the three arms of the state began – the executive, judiciary and the legislature. Chapter 9 institutions were established to strengthen and protect constitutional democracy and human rights.
To give effect to socio-economic rights, Government, working with the people, has over the years expanded the delivery of social services.
Since 1994, the national housing programme has delivered 2.8 million houses. This has provided shelter to 13.5 million people, making the programme one of the world’s largest subsidised housing programmes.
By December 2011, we had provided 87% of the rural households with water, and 75% with access to sanitation.
The Constitution specifically mentions social security as a human right. Government provides social grants to about 15 million people, mainly vulnerable groups such as children, older persons above the age of 60 and people with disabilities.
Access to education is being broadened through extending no fee schools, enabling eight million children to obtain free education, and also the conversion of tertiary institution loans into bursaries for qualifying students.
With regards to health, amongst many improvements, a total of 29 hospitals in rural and urban areas are under construction, while 17 others are in the planning and design stage."
These facilities will all include services for HIV and AIDS patients, as we continue to expand HIV and AIDS treatment, prevention and support services.
The National Health Insurance system will, in the long-term improve our health care especially for the poor.
Over two hundred and thirty one thousand households gained access to water between 2009 and 2011. 82% of households are now connected to the mains electricity supply.
We have done well indeed in a short space of time. However, we are aware that as more people gain access to these socio-economic rights, many more still live in hardship, due to centuries of neglect.
One of the challenges that we still face is to ensure that freedom must also mean freedom from violence against women and children in all its forms, racism, xenophobia, hate speech, and discrimination against persons on the basis of their gender or sexual orientation. Government is committed to eradicate this scourge by working together with all in society, because indeed an injury to one is an injury to all.
Government condemns in the strongest terms the recent spate of violence of a sexual nature against children and persons with disabilities, some of which has allegedly been committed by children and young adults.
Government has established a comprehensive legal framework through a number of legislative amendments, to ensure that all the role players in the criminal justice system have the necessary legislative framework within which to investigate, prosecute, sentence and rehabilitate a sexual offender.
The NPA has a Specialised Directorate in the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit, which supports the prosecution of cases involving mainly women and children with a view to, inter alia, improve the conviction rate in gender based crimes and reduce secondary victimisation.
The 30 Thutuzela Care Centres (TCC), that provide Multi-Disciplinary Services to victims of sexual offences are making a positive impact in the conviction rate and the roll out thereof are continuing. It is the intention of the SOCA unit to establish a further 5 TCC’s by the end of the current financial year that will bring the total to 35.For the past year the TTC’s have attended to no less than 28 000 victims of sexual offences. However, it is only through working together that we will be in a position to successfully address this shameful scourge.
In a few days time, on 8 May 2012, we will celebrate too the 16th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, in this very Parliamentary precinct where the new Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly.
The Constitution created a new fundamental legal order based on the principle of constitutional supremacy, in which all branches of government are bound by a Constitution that includes a Bill of Rights designed not only to end centuries of abuse of human rights but also to promote those rights.
One of the pillars on which our constitutional democracy rests is the separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This separation ensures that each branch of government does not exceed its constitutionally assigned authority.
A well-developed system of checks and balances forms part of the Constitution. These include judicial review, legislative oversight over the executive and a number of independent specialised institutions established by the Constitution to strengthen constitutional democracy.
The transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy has produced an exciting and vibrant response to the development of a human rights culture in South Africa. South Africa is a party to major international and regional human rights treaties and is therefore bound by its obligations to respect human rights.
Upon reflection on the provisions contained in these international and regional instruments on human rights and taking into account the prerequisites for good governance and a constitutional democracy, we are unanimous in our view that our Constitution not only meets these prerequisites but transcends the parameters set out in these instruments.
Chairperson,
The Constitution holds the promise of respect for human rights, freedom, equality and social justice. But we know that there can never be full enjoyment of freedom and liberation by South Africa’s people if the majority of her sons and daughters remain trapped in the social evils of inequality, poverty and unemployment.
As we steadily move forward towards South Africa’s 19th Freedom Year, the responsibility rests with us to unite in action to effect social change for the betterment of our people; we must re-dedicate and re-commit our collective efforts to the constitutional goals we set ourselves. To make this a reality, there rest a duty on the hundreds of thousands of Public Servants, to commit an extra mile by improving service delivery to all the people of South Africa
In conclusion, Government:
- Reaffirms its commitment to consolidate democracy and promote cultural diversity and social cohesion in South Africa, as celebrate living in a system that guarantees that never again will our humanity be taken away from any South African, irrespective of race, gender, creed or sexual orientation.
- Is investing in infrastructure to develop the country whilst creating jobs and fighting poverty at the same time.
- In commemorating all the heroes and heroines and the role played by ordinary citizens in the country and abroad, calls on all South Africans to unite in creating a better future for all.
- Nation-building requires all South Africans to live by example, ensuring that that the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution become a living reality in the development of fully functional communities.
- celebrate the Bill of Rights which distinguishes us among the nations of the world and guarantees all South Africans freedom from the repression and hatred that characterised our past.
We all have a responsibility to ensure that our democracy and freedom is maintained and strengthened for future generations.
Nkosi Sikekel’ iAfrika, God seen Suid Afrika, Morena boloka sethaba sa heso, God bless South.
I thank you.
