Programme Director
Honourable Deputy President
MECs and members of the legislature
Executive Mayor of Msukaligwa
Councillors present
Representative of Civil Society and development partners
Community of Chrissiesmeer
I greet you all
Honourable Deputy President, today we are concluding yet another successful 16 Days of Activism Campaign on No Violence against Women and Children. It is the 12th year that our country has run this global campaign endorsed by the United Nations. The campaign continues to increase awareness amongst our people about the devastating effect of violence and abuse on the lives of women and children.
The campaign this year was held under the theme:
From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Proliferation of Small Arms and their Role in Domestic Violence
The theme provided an opportunity for us to focus on the challenge of domestic violence that is prevalent in our country. At the launch of the campaign on 25 November, we raised awareness about the availability of victim empowerment centres and launched the Green Door Campaign in Gauteng province. This campaign involves selection of facilities in the community that are used as places of refuge by victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. From these Green Door houses, victims are referred to appropriate service-points including police and social services.
We also used the case of a murder of a Soweto woman by her live-in partner as an example of the plight faced by women in abusive relationships. This woman, Moji Tsekedi, was gruesomely murdered by her partner, Wonder Hlongwa in May this year and kept her in their backyard shack in Jabavu for four days until her disfigured body was discovered by the community. Her murderer was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by Protea Magistrate Court on 02 December.
We believe that this sentence would have been higher had the social worker responsible for this case not submitted a very poor report as a motivation for sentencing. We have reported the conduct of this social worker as we need to ensure that our officials do not undermine endeavours to achieve justice for victims of crime.
Courts are able to hand down heavy sentences when all our officials have worked diligently and are supported by the community. This was the outcome in the case of Masego Kgomo, a 10 year-old girl from Soshanguve who had her womb and other body parts removed most probably while she was still alive on 31 December 2009. A man convicted of her murder was sentenced to life imprisonment by Pretoria High Court on 28 November 2011.
Our concern in this case though is that the people who paid money to get Masego’s organs for muti purposes are still at large and they remain a danger to society. On 26 November, we met with traditional healers who committed to work with government to stop these crimes. They say their work is to heal not to kill and, therefore, these atrocities cannot be committed in their name.
In line with our programme to create Child Friendly Cities, we opened a Child Friendly park at Ugu Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. We also observed the International Day for Persons with Disabilities on December 03 and acknowledged the challenges of abuse faced by women with disabilities in particular. We know that women who are blind or have severe mental disability still face a challenge in identifying their attackers in cases such as rape. Communication disabilities limit the chances of reporting crimes for many disabled women and girls.
There were a number of other activities organised by government departments, provinces and municipalities. This campaign can never be a success without full participation of civil society. I would like to thank all of them for initiatives they have undertaken to make this campaign a success.
I would also like to thank the media for continuing to carry the messages of this campaign despite the fact that our country was hosting a major world conference on climate change, COP17. Climate change itself increases vulnerability of women and children and hence we emphasize the need for implementation of adaption and mitigation programmes.
Programme Director, you have given me a task of introducing one of the major figures in our struggle for a non-racist, non-sexist and democratic South Africa. Honourable Deputy President Motlanthe was born in Alexandra Township and also spent much of his life in Meadowlands, Soweto.
In the 1970s, he was recruited into Umkhonto we Sizwe and was involved in recruitment of other MK cadres for training, movement of these cadres in and out of the country and other military activities.In 1976, he was arrested for furthering the aims of the ANC and detained for 11 months in Johannesburg. In 1977, he was found guilty under Terrorism Act and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island.
After his release in 1987, he was tasked with strengthening the union movement. Deputy President Motlanthe worked for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in charge of education and in 1992, he was elected General Secretary of NUM.
When the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he was put in charge of re-establishing the legal structures of the organisation in what is now Gauteng province and was elected its first chairperson. In 1997, he was elected unopposed as the Secretary General of the ANC and was re-elected in 2002. At its Polokwane Conference in 2007, he was elected Deputy President of the ANC.
In September 2008, he was elected by Parliament as the third President of a democratic South Africa. After 2009 General Elections, he was appointed the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa.
For all of us involved in efforts to stop gender based violence and abuse of children and women with disabilities, the most exciting development of this year’s 16 Days of Activism Campaign has been the decision by Cabinet to establish a Council to End Violence against Women and Children.
This Council is going to coordinate a multi-sectorial response to this scourge and lead the implementation of the 365 Days National Plan of Action to End Violence against Women and Children. We are very honoured and excited that Honourable Deputy President Motlanthe has been tasked to lead this council.
It is now a great pleasure for me to call upon the Deputy President to address us.
Thank you
Speech by Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities Ms Lulu Xingwana Remarks and Introduction of Deputy President Closing event – 16 Days of Activism Campaign Chrissiesmeer, Ermelo
10 December 2011
